Category Archives: Colorado

Pastavino’s Half-Price Suprise

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Last-minute promotion pares food and wine prices

P1030181Pastavino, an excellent Pearl Street Italian restaurant, sent out last-minute notification yesterday announcing half-price food and wine that very evening. I was planning to make pasta and a salad, and since the kitchen of owner/chef Fabio Flagiello would do a far better job than I, off we went to this cheerful modern space where “simple organic Italian” is the three-word guiding principle.

Bright and spacious PastaVino.

Bright and spacious PastaVino.

While we studied that short menu, we sipped our wine — Barbera for my husband and Grüner Veltliner for me, because I really like this Austrian wine, even in an Italian restaurant — and munched on breadsticks. Decisions. Decisions. I couldn’t resist the lobster ravioli, fettuccini Bolognese was my husband’s choice. Pasta is attractively served in wide-rimmed bowls, and while the portions look small, the food is so rich that a little goes a long way. The service was excellent, and our excellent waiter said that one of these last-minute dinners will probably be monthly. I’m certain that being on the newsletter E-mail list resulted in the notice.

We shared a super-fresh, lightly dressed salad.

We shared a super-fresh, lightly dressed salad.

Pockets of house-made past enfold lobster filling -- appropriate since my Maine friends alerted me to upcoming National Lobster Day.

Pockets of house-made pasta enfold lobster filling – timely since my Maine friends alerted me to National Lobster Day coming on June 15,.

Fettuccine Bolognese are robust ribbons of pasta mixed with a flavorful meat sauce.

Fettuccine Bolognese are robust ribbons of pasta tossed with a flavorful meat sauce to combine but not to drown..

Torta della Nonna (Grandmother's tart) is a vanilla/lemon custard in a tart shell, topped with toasted pine nuts. Chocolate sauce squiggles on the plate.

Torta della Nonna (Grandmother’s tart) is a vanilla/lemon custard in a tart shell, topped with toasted pine nuts. Chocolate sauce squiggles on the plate.

Price check: On the regular dinner menu, Paste del Giornio (three different pastas at a time in daily rotation), $10-$15; salads, $7-$13; soups and antipasti, $6-$8 plus antipasto misto for two or more, $18; pizza, $11-!4; grandi classici (traditional first courses, including more pasta),  $9-$13; sides, $3; desserts, $6-$8. While breadsticks are on the table, an order of  various house-baked bread flavors is $2 additional.

Pastavino on Urbanspoon

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Avon’s Cima Transformed Into Maya

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Westin Riverfront’s restaurant shifts to Sandoval’s modern Mexican

P1030120 The Westin Riverfront’s lobby-level restaurant, boasting a spectacular view toward Beaver Creek’s ski runs, is in its third incarnation. When this award-winning hotel opened in September 2008, local star chef Thomas Salumunovich was tapped to operate the food service. Restaurant Avondale, which I wrote about here, was a dramatic beauty, but it lasted only a year or two before it was transformed by nationally renowned chef/restaurateur Richard Sandoval into Cima. The décor remained similar to the Avondale, but the culinary focus shifted.

Regardless of how many restaurants Richard Sandoval operates, he still manages to spend a week in each new one before it opens and another week once service has started.

Regardless of how many restaurants Richard Sandoval operates, he still manages to spend a week in each new one before it opens and another week once service has started.

This Latin Fusion restaurant might have been better suited to a city than a mountain community, and now, the space has been transformed once more into Maya, Sandoval’s flagship concept of modern Mexican cuisine. Manhattan’s Maya just celebrated its 15th anniversary. The Colorado Maya is warm and welcoming, with rich wood, Mexican tiles, commodious tables, leather upholstery and hand-blown glass light fixtures.

Maya's look of pared-down style is a suitable setting for chef/restaurateur Richard Sandoval's modern Mexican cuisine.

Maya’s look of pared-down style is a suitable setting for chef/restaurateur Richard Sandoval’s modern Mexican cuisine.

The dishes are signature Sandoval — robust flavors in mouth-watering combinations plated enticingly and cleverly. When I relate it to Sandoval’s Denver restaurants, it is more like Tamayo than La Sandia. In fact, the casual, elegant look of Maya is a bit reminiscent of Tamayo as well.

Four guacamoles on the menu are served in a triple pedestal. This is a traditional version, but the most interesting which I did not photograph but happily tasted, is the tuna tartare version.-- raw tuna, avocado (or course), dhipotle, tomato and red onion. The inspiration for the combination? California rolls.

Four guacamoles on the menu are served in a triple pedestal. This is a traditional version, but the most interesting which I did not photograph but happily tasted, is the tuna tartare version.– raw tuna, avocado (or course), chipotle, tomato and red onion. The inspiration for the combination? California rolls. Maya’s mixologist concocts fabulous cocktails as well.  I recommend the Margarita Maya to accompany your choice or chips and guac.

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2 Local Chefs on Upcoming ‘Top Chef Masters’

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Jennifer Jasinski & Richard Sandoval among the 2013 “Top Cheftestants”

TopChefMasters-logoI know I’ll be watching the fifth season of Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters” beginning on July 24, because two of the 13 new award-winning contenders have Colorado connections. Jennifer Jasinski is the chef/partner in three acclaimed Denver restaurants (Rioja, Euclid Hall and Bistro Vendôme) and Richard Sandoval (Richard Sandoval Restaurants with seven restaurants of different names in the Denver area, the mountains and overseas). They are competing for the title of ‘Top Chef Master’ and $100,000 for a charity of their choice. Jennifer’s is Work Options for Women and Richard’s is Careers Through Culinary Arts. It seems that both Colorado-connected chefs are eager to help train people for the business.

Another new wrinkle is that each Master has his or her sous-chef competing in a separate online competition, “Battle of the Sous Chefs.”  Jenn’s sous is Jorel Pierce of Euclid Hall, who competed but didn’t get too far on last season’s “Top Chef.” Richard’s is Greg Howe, but I’m not sure where he cooks. The results of each online episode directly impacts the Masters, awarding such advantages as immunity (the winner of each battle earns immunity for his or her boss) and sometimes, disadvantages, depending on their sous-chef’s performance (the poorest-performing sous-chefs who perform “earn” obstacles for their Top Chef Masters). Each “Battle of the Sous Chefs” episode precedes the next episode of “Top Chef Masters” and explores the uniquely interdependent relationship between a Master chef and his or her sous. To get an idea of this The series is already in the can, the they know who won what, but it’s a secret to the rest of the world. Continue reading →

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New Brew & Food Too in East Boulder

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Noted Boulder chef opens BRU specializing in hand-crafted ales & food

PrintIf I wrote a blog post about every new microbrewery, brew pub or particular new beer or ale, I’d have room for nothing else on this blog. Still, I’m giving a shout-out to BRU handbuilt ales & eats, which opens today, because it is the brainchild of Ian Clark, former executive chef of Centro Latin Kitchen, who moved his base of operations from downtown to East Boulder to expand his barely one-year-old garage nano-brewery.

Clark, who was recently named one of the “Six Food and Beer Innovators” by Draft Magazine, took “handbuilt” to heart when crafting just about everything at his new “brupub” — building each table and booth by hand, pouring the concrete bar, welding the handrails, building the barn door that separates his brewery from the dining room, the list goes on. Those who saw it pre-opening say that craftsmanship shines throughout the restaurant from the food, to the beer, to the tables themselves.

Ian Clark in his brewmaster duds rather than his chef's coat. Photo courtesy BRU.

Ian Clark in his brewmaster duds rather than his chef’s coat. Photo courtesy BRU.

On tap are 11 rotating handbuilt ales including the “founding brews” that have been available at local liquor stores and restaurants for the past year. In addition to Obitus American Brown with dates and caramelized sugar and Chef’s Collaboration BRU, Clark’s libations also include such new offerings as Rigley Red IPA and Slocum Barleywine. As a gift chef himself, he is instituting a monthly collaboration beer with a local chef. Rounding out the beer selection is one handpicked beer from one of Colorado’s great craft breweries. The names are as creative as the beverages: Szechuan Cherry, a handcrafted soda, and a lineup of interesting beer cocktails like the Beer Cooler (Belux pale ale, agave nectar, lime juice and salt) or the Dark Cross (barleywine and hard apple cider) help round out the drink menu. I’m much more into wine than beer, but those cocktails sound really appealing.

What of the food? For Clark, after all, being a chef came before the beer biz. He has installed a wood-fire oven to craft a sort of cultural fusion menu that he calls “urban American cuisine.” Examples of his culinary creativity: Sumac and Cilantro Trail Mix with almonds, popcorn, and oat clusters; Crispy Pork Bahn Mi with pickled cucumber, kimchee, shaved daikon, lime aioli and rooster sauce (aka, sriracha), and Colorado Trout with a Dutch biscuit, arugula salad and celery vinaigrette are just a few of his dishes, all handbuilt from scratch, and available for lunch, happy hour and dinner.

BRU Handbuilt Ales & Eats on Urbanspoon

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New Orleans Food Coming Back to Boulder

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NOLA’s opening today in Boulder hotel

MillenniumThe Millennium Harvest House Boulder has an amorphous identity. Tennis players know it for its fine courts, and its gorgeous pool and terrace are popular too. University of Colorado football fans have been drowning their  game-day sorrows there. The Friday Afternoon Club has long been a warm-weather favorite for sipping and snacking and socializing. Joggers, walkers, bicycle commuters and stroller-pushers on the Boulder Creek Path pass if by the score. There’s a sports bar called Coaches Corner and another bar called Cedars Lounge, but I’ve never been to either.

There’s also a restaurant, whose most recent name was Thyme on the Creek, and as of today, it is called NOLA’s. I never ate at Thyme either, but maybe I’ll make it to NOLA’s. Named for New Orleans, Louisiana, its cuisine echoes that of the Big Easy. According to an item from the Boulder County Business Report, “New Orleans-style recipes will be a strong influence on the dinner menus.” That implies inspiration rather than authenticity, but we’ll see. Other than Lucile’s, a Creole breakfast and brunch place, Boulder’s most recent Louisiana-inspired eatery was the Red Fish Brew House, which closed several years ago.

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Colorado Urban Winefest Coming Up

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Wine event moves to new Denver venue

ColoUrbanWinefest-logoI was out of the country during the 2012 Colorado Urban Winefest, but I’m here this year and have penciled in June 8 to check out the growing festival and its new venue, Infinity Park in Glendale. The Winefest, called the capstone of the third annual Colorado Wine Week, features more than 40 Colorado wineries plus food from Denver restaurants and entertainment. Organizers from Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology (CAVE) expect a record of more than 2,500 attendees.

General admission ($40) includes free samples from all participating Colorado wineries, educational seminars, chef demos and live entertainment. The food will be available for purchase, as are wines by the glass, bottle or case for on-site consumption or to take home. Click here for a Colorado Wine Week schedule beginning on June 2 and to buy tickets online.

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eRetailer Gets Down to Earth & Helps Farmers

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Organic foods e-retailer supports suppliers with a new cash-flow model

DoorToDoorOrganics-logoDoor to Door Organics has become one of the nation’s leading e-grocers with delivery into nine states, but with an eight-year history that began in Lafayette, its roots are deep in Colorado soil, where it has cemented strong relationships with the state’s farmers.

Door to Door Organics has developed a new type of partnership with a local farm that is likely to become a model for similar arrangements with others. Door to Door Organics is lending Longmont’s Full Circle Organic Farms owner Dave Asbury $50,000 to help with cash flow during the spring, which is an expensive time for farmers who need to purchase seeds, starters and equipment all at once while they don’t have much ready to sell – yet. Federal, state and local agencies, and non-governmental organizations offer some financial support for small farms and farm-related businesses, but it is very limited, and the demand is high. Later in the summer when crops are harvested, Asbury will pay back Door to Door Organics in trade (i.e. vegetables that Door to Door Organics will then be able to deliver to their customers).

Many Colorado farms rely on the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) model to help balance the income/revenue cycle with most expenses early in the season, but little or no significant sales revenue until late summer when crops are harvested.” Colorado location director Bret Ebel noted that “even that model doesn’t always work – for example, Colorado’s largest organic farm and CSA, Grant Family Farms, had to close last year. It’s difficult to be an organic farmer. This new type of partnership [first with Full Circle Farms] is a win-win for everyone: we help them succeed in growing high-quality organic produce, which we can then provide to our customers, and everyone benefits.”

Last year, Door to Door Organics offered produce from more than 15 local farms including Full Circle Farms, First Fruits and Ela Family Farms in Hotchkiss, Grant Family Farms in Wellington, Fossil Creek Farms in Fort Collins and Isabelle Farms in Lafayette. At the peak of the Colorado growing season, up to 60 percent of Door to Door Organics’ produce is sourced from local farmers. From late June through October, the company also offers a “Local Farm Box” containing only Colorado-grown produce.

Full Circle sells to local restaurants, Whole Foods and at several area farmers’ market, so their bounty — wherever you get their produce — is partly thanks to Door to Door Organics, which has closed a critical loop in bringing certified organic foods to local tables..

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