Bacco’s Beguiling Happy Hour

Italian restaurant in North Boulder offers wide selection, modest happy hour prices

My friend Anne-Marie Leon, formerly from Boulder and now living in Seattle, was back in town. We met when our now-grown sons were attending Mapleton Elementary School, and she has stayed in touch with a number of Boulderites, including our kids’ first- and second-grade teachers. She arranged to meet them (and I joined in) for a nostalgic happy hour at Bacco Trattoria & Mozzarella Bar, the first time in a year and a half that I was there.

Mrs. Sciaky, long-time first grade teacher at Mapleton School, and Anne-Marie Leon.

What a fine time we had, and how tasty and affordable the happy hour eats and drinks. Check out the menu and see for yourself. Here are some of the dishes we ordered — perhaps looking a bit striped because the setting sun cast strong shadows on the table:

Roasted beet salad layered with cheese atop organic greens.

Fabulous salad of golden beets layered with Fior di Latte mozzarella atop mixed greens and kissed with olive oil and basil.

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Mussels with pepperonata, tomato, crushed red pepper and mint.

Meatballs, a perennial Italian favorite.

Bruschetta Pomodoro, thick Italian bread grilled and topped with Roma tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic and extra virgin olive oil.

Price check: At happy hour, items are $3, $4 or $5, with pizzas $6-$9. Drinks range from $2.50 for Coors Light (and just 50 cents more for better beers) to $5 for martinis.

Taste Buds Bloom at Botanic Gardens

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Locals and lucky visitors know the Denver Botanic Gardens for their year-round horticultural displays outdoors and in the soaring conservatory, gardening classes, concerts, plant sales and Blossoms of Light every December. But the monthly cooking classes for adults (except in summer) and weekly classes for children (Fridays during the summer) are less well known.

Even less known than these culinary classes are the Gather dinners, pop-up feasts offered roughly quarterly with guests chefs from leading local restaurants presenting creative dinners for a maximum of 75 guests. Previous chefs were Alex Seidel of Fruition, Elise Wiggins of Panzano and Hosea Rosenberg, Blackbelly Catering and “Top Chef” Season 5 winner.

Yesterday evening was my first opportunity to experience a Gather dinner — and what an experience it was. Two long tables were set up in the narrow Orangerie with a garden view and indoor fruit trees in one direction and a view of the opulent conservatory plants in the other.

Chef Daniel Asher desscribing both his culinary philosophy and the next dish to Gather diners.

Chef Daniel Asher describing both his culinary philosophy and the next dish to Gather diners. Photo courtesy Denver Botanic Gardens.

Last evening’s guest chef was Daniel Asher from Root Down and Linger, two restaurants that have been on my Denver Dining bucket list since they opened. Asher created what he called a plant-centric four-course menu, more nuanced and elaborate that he could do in a restaurant dinner menu.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The evening began with gorgeous ruby red cocktails mixed by Mike Henderson, who according to his two-sided business card is both Root Down’s “cocktail service tech” (which is yet another extension of “mixologist” and “bartender” before that) and also Linger’s “spiritual advisor” (which seems just plain whimsical).

Mike Henserson, mixing two drinks at a time.

Mike Henderson, mixing two drinks at a time.

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Then it was time to dine. Chef Asher is a gifted culinarian and committed advocate of fresh and local products. He not only conceived of a brilliant menu full of veggie wonderfulness, but presented each dish artistically — and named each one cleverly. My friend friend and fellow foodie, Toni Dash, who has serious gluten issues, was able to clean the plate at each course, and even though the macadamia-sesame crust on the dessert was reportedly gluten-free, she avoided it — in case. Continue reading →

Irish Egg Rolls: A Yummy Oxymoron

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Typical Irish ingredients in an Asian egg roll wrapper

Our friend Vickie invited us to an Irish dinner. She planned to make soda bread and Irish stew, and she accepted my I offer to bring an appetizer. An Internet search for “Irish appetizers” yielded several salmon recipes (tempting) and a few for Irish egg rolls (an intriguing combination of Irish and Asian, and therefore even more tempting). The recipes were similar, but I changed the proportions — more corned beef than those called for being the main change. Below is my version. but it’s not fussy, so you can tinker with the amounts. One recipe even called for sauerkraut rather than steamed cabbage.

Ingredients

1/2 pound corned beef, shredded
1 1/2 cups cabbage, shredded and steamed
1 large russet potato, peeled, diced, boiled and drained
1 1/2 cups carrots, peeled and shredded
1/2 large onion, peeled and sliced thinly
salt and pepper to taste
package egg roll wrappers
canola oil for frying

Ingredients for Irish egg rolls.

Method

1. In a large bowl, combine corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrot and onion. Season with salt pepper to taste.
2. Lay egg wrappers, 4 or 5 at a time, on a clean,dry surface. Place 1/2 cup of filling onto the center of each wrapper. Follow package directions for folding and sealing each egg roll. being sure to wet edges to seal. Set finished rolls aside until all filling has been used up.
3. In a large cast iron skillet, heat canola oil about 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep. (Or use deep fryer set to 375 degrees.)
4. Fry egg rolls a few at a time until brown and crisp. If in a skillet, as I did, start frying seam side down. Drain on paper towels
5. Serve with spicy mustard or beer mustard.

Yield: I got 15 egg rolls out of these amounts.

Egg rolls out of the frying oil, placed on a jellyroll pan to be reheated.

Pearl Farmers’ Market a Real Gem

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Historic brewhouse backdrop for locavore food shoppers

In my world, Saturday is a day to visit a local farmers’ market. Last Saturday, just one week ago, I was in San Antonio, and I didn’t have break my routine because I was able to visit the Pearl Farmers’ Market, held in the shadow of the historic Pearl Brewery, which a century ago was the largest brewery in all of Texas. Like Boulder’s, this market takes place every Saturday morning, but unlike Boulder’s, it is open year-round.All the the items are grown or produced within 150 miles of San Antonio, which is just down the street by Texas standards. Here are some random images from this fine market, with a special nod to cooked-to-order dishes made with local ingredients:

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Frank Bonanno’s New Pizza Place

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Bonanno Brothers Pizzeria debuts at Park Meadows

Frank Bonanno, one of Denver’s brightest star chefs and most prolific restaurateurs, opens Bonanno Brothers Pizzeria today at The Vistas at Park Meadows, a cluster of (mostly chain) restaurants near the Park Meadows Mall. Even though Bonanno Brothers Pizzeria is the tenth member of Bonanno Concepts, a restaurant group that includes Mizuna, Luca d’Italia, Bones, Osteria Marco, Green Russell, Wednesday’s Pie, Lou’s Food Bar, Russell’s Smokehouse and Vesper Lounge, it will surely be as distinctive as the other nine.

The exterior of Bonanno Brothers Pizzas fits in well with the Park Meadows style of modern-day grandiosity, while the interior was inspired by the railroad station in Florence. (Photo courtesy Bonanno Concepts)

Bonanno Brothers Pizzeria is a tribute to Bonanno’s days growing up in New Jersey with his Sicilian family, folding pizza boxes at the local pizzeria in exchange for a slice of pizza—the days where his passion for pizza and Italian food really took root. “The pizzeria is a direct reference to my family in a couple of ways,” Bonanno says. The family construction company is called Bonanno Brothers, and since he had already named restaurants after his sons, Luca d’Italia and Osteria Marco, honoring the family seemed like a good idea.

Bonanno Brothers Pizzeria’s menu is casual and meant for communal dining. The decor was inspired by the Art Deco train station in Florence (Italy, not Colorado), and it features an open kitchen with an Italian wood-fire oven with skilled pizza makers, cheese mongers and charcutiers plying their trades. Bonanno enlisted executive chef David Lindberg, previously of Luca d’Italia, to execute the menu. Wine director Kelly Wooldridge and beverage director Adam Hodak have creafed a beverage mnu featuring draft wines, craft cocktails on tap and microbrews that elevate Bonanno Brothers far above the regular New Jersey pizza parlor.

Urbanspoon hsan’t yet found the pizzeria, which is at 8439 Park Meadows Center Drive, Lone Tree, 303-799-8900.

Cuban Food for a Good Cause

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Just a handful of Boulder eateries participated in Dining Out for Life

Project Angel Heart is an extraordinary organization that prepares and delivers fresh, nutritious meals at no cost to men, women and children living with AIDS and other live-threatening and debilitating conditions. It is a national organization, and the meal count is nearing half a million brought to some 900 clients in the Denver area. Dining Out for Life is a signature fundraiser. Participating restaurants donate 25% of the day’s revenue — April 25 this year — and volunteer hosts/hostesses greet diners and give present envelopes for further voluntary donations.

I try to eat out at a participating restaurant every year — either with my husband or with friends. I wanted to volunteer this year, but whether or not I could have gotten a slot in Boulder, I would have been required to drive to Denver for “training.” I am no entirely sure how much training could possibly be required for that task, but who am I to ask? In the past, a number of Boulder restaurants participated. This year, it was just a handful, and my husband and I went to Cuba Cuba Sandwicheria. Project Angel Heart literature was placed at the counter near the register, but there was no host/ess and no pro-active encouragement. Still, the food was tasty (as usual), the prices were reasonable (especially since we slipped under the happy hour wire) and the restaurant excruciatingly noisy (as usual), even though it wasn’t nearly full when we were there as the sun was still high in the western sky. Click here for my December 2012 report.

A tall mojito sets the Cuban tone.

Maji wrap with Cuban fish, Suban slow and a spicy habanero aioli.

Mahi sandwich with crisp tempura-fried fish, Cuban slaw and a spicy habanero aioli — contrasting tastes, temperatures and textures.

Steak platter with grilled onions and a scoop of rice.

Empanada, available in beef or veggie version, curiously served in a soup bowl.

Price check: Sandwiches; $7; plates, $7-$8; sides, $1-$2.50; salads, $3-$5. Happy hour is from 3 to 6 p.m.

Asher to Cook at Botanic Gardens’ Next “Gather”

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Root Down and Linger chef at the quarterly event

Word is that Daniel Asher, whose cuisine I have yet to try at either of his Denver restaurants, Root Down and Linger, will be cooking for the Denver Botanic Gardens’ next Gather event on April 30. The fact that I’ve never eaten at either of restaurants where Asher captains the kitchen has nothing to do with desire but a lot to do with the challenge in getting reservations at a desired time. This pop-up dinner is presented by the Denver Botanic Gardens, in partnership with Catering by Design.

Asher, like the Gather chefs before him (Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg, Fruition’s Alex Seidel and Panzano’s Elise Wiggins), is developing a special menu for the event. Each Gather event is limited to 75 attendees, served at a long family-style table in Denver Botanic Garden’s Orangery, features four courses of seasonally inspired cuisine. I’m thrilled to have been invited next week, and I promise to report back. Gather is always BYOB, and I’ll have to drink judiciously since my husband, who is usually a good sport about driving home after a dinner out, declined the opportunity to attend. Call 720-865-3585 to check on last-minute ticket availablity for the event.

Culinary Colorado

Claire Walter's Colorado-oriented but not Colorado-exclusive blog about restaurants, food and wine events, recipes and related news.

Bacco’s Beguiling Happy Hour

Taste Buds Bloom at Botanic Gardens

Irish Egg Rolls: A Yummy Oxymoron

Pearl Farmers’ Market a Real Gem

Frank Bonanno’s New Pizza Place

Cuban Food for a Good Cause

Asher to Cook at Botanic Gardens’ Next “Gather”