February 23, 2007 11:44 AM
John Lehndorff on Denver Restaurant Week
Mark_Wolf(Q) For those unaware - and who didn't read today's Spotlight cover story - what is Denver Restaurant Week?
John_Lehndorff(A) Duing DRW, Saturday through next Friday, 150 Denver and metro eateries are offering a multi-course meal for $26.40 per person, $52.80 per couple, plus tax and a generous tip. The restaurants and menus are listed at denverrestaurantweek.com.
Mark_Wolf(Q) What's the background on it? How'd it get started?
John_Lehndorff(A) DRW is based on similar events in other cities. In Denver, it was prompted three years ago in part by the fact that the general public impression of the Denver dining scene wasn't as positive as the reality would suggest to people like me.
Mark_Wolf(Q) Typically, what does a restaurant offer for the $26.40 and how much of a bargain is it?
John_Lehndorff(A) Most of the deals are for three courses: starter, entree and desserts at many of the high-end places but other restaurants offer four or more courses and include wine or beer.In the case of Dave & buster's,you get a $10 game card besides frided shrimp and doughnut holes.
Mark_Wolf(Q) What's in it for the restaurants. I'm guessing mid-February, post-Valentine's is a fairly slow time. Does this promotion draw diners through the doors?
John_Lehndorff(A) It is a typically slow time. It fills moderately priced restaurants and introduces all of them to new diners. For high-end places like Mizuna (which is completely sold out), it's a money-losing proposition for the restaurant and the servers and only about 5 percent of restaurant week diners at Mizuna last year came back for diner in the following 12 months. That said, they do it because it creates a buzz around dining in Denver where people tend to talk sports or american idol aound the watercooler.
John_Lehndorff(P) Here's a sample 426.40 deal at Dolce Vita, 955 Lincoln: 1) calamari 2) Caesar salad 3) penne vodka 4) salmon picatta 5) tiramisu
Mark_Wolf(P) I hate it when we do these dining chats right before lunch. Diet goes out the window.
Mark_Wolf(Q) How important are reservations?
John_Lehndorff(A) Essential. Make them asap because it will already be hard to secure a table on a weekend night or at prime time on weekend nights. If you're flexible about time and day, you can find a place to eat.
Mark_Wolf(Q) Is this a loss-leader/break-even proposition for the restaurants?
John_Lehndorff(A) One chef told me that while she'll lose money on each dinner, in the larger scheme of things it's a wash because of the value of the advertising/marketing
Mark_Wolf(Q) The roster of restaurants looks like it runs from the high-end/high-profile places down through more modest eateries.
John_Lehndorff(A) Right. There are a bunch of normally pricey bistros and steak houses including Restaurant Kevin taylor and Del Frisco's but also a bunch of casual, family friendly places like Racines. There are also a lot of ool ethnic joints like Bombay Clay Oven which is offering a seven-course feast from soup to chai.
Mark_Wolf(Q) Give us a couple of choices from among the lesser-known places.
John_Lehndorff(A) It's a good chance to sample the new kids in town. For instance Alto, the new Italian eatery at 1320 15th in LoDo from the folks at Cherry Creek's Amore are offering, for example, 1) seafood bsque 2) half roasted game hen with braised escarole and fingerling spuds 3) vanilla creme brulee 4) glass of wine Other new places include Buenos Aires Grill, Prime 121, Tula, Texas de Brazil and Sketch
John_Lehndorff(P) another $26.40 deal, this one at Golden's Bridgewater Grill: 1) fried green tomatoes 2) soup 3) smoked chicken breast with asparagus and pasta
Mark_Wolf(Q) One of the most appealing aspects about DRW is the abundance of ethnic cuisines. What are a couple of choices for those who'd like to expand their palates beyond steak/Mesican/Italian?
John_Lehndorff(A) Diners can expand their gastronomic horizons and maybe push the flavor envelope at: Aix: French India House: Indian Asian/Japanese: Kyoto Asian Fusion (Littleton) South American: Samba Room Japanese: Sonoda's
Mark_Wolf(Q) I've always thought the Avenue Grill delivers as good a meal (ambience and food) for the money as any restaurant in Denver. Do you agree and what are they offering?
John_Lehndorff(A) Avenue Gril is a consistently good neighborhood bistro and a nice casual atmosphere. Among their restaurant week offerings are: 1) antipasto platter with meats and cheeses 2) roasted beef short ribs with star anise-infused bb sauce,mashers and vehetable 3) dark chocolate budinowith real whipped cream
Mark_Wolf(Q) Anything else new on the Denver dining scene?
John_Lehndorff(A) A ton of new places have opened recently including : Montecito, from Mel and Janie Master Fruition, from former Mizuna chef Radda, new boulder Italian trattoria from the Mateo owners Vita, new Italian in north Denver Il Posto, new regional Italian on 17th next door to the new Chada Thai, good little Thai spot
John_Lehndorff(P) Last words: Spend some time at denverrestaurantweek.com looking through the menus and I'm sure you'll find a $26.40 deal that suits your taste buds. happy dining, John Lehndorff Rocky dining critic
February 24, 2007
8:00 PM
Janet Morris writes:
My daughter and I were excited to eat at Yia Yia's tonight. The food was terrific, but the service was lacking. Our server rushed us through the meal and seemed put out when I asked for coffee for our (shared) dessert and did not ask if we wanted refills. Was it because we were "5280ers"? Who knows.
February 25, 2007
7:52 AM
Jack Harddy writes:
Eight of us got together at O's Steak & Seafood House and we were pleasantly surprised but the variety of offerings (6 appetizers - the crab cakes were fabulous and a meal in themselves, the french onion soup was delicious; 6 entrees including salmon, white fish, prime rib, buffalo steak (the best meal on the menu); and 3 desserts). The staff, including the manager (Patrick) were very attentive and kept our water glasses full and our wine poured. The only negative was the cost of an $8 wine ($38) but the meal more than made up for that.
February 25, 2007
3:23 PM
Jean Scriven writes:
Last night 3 of us had a fabulous meal @ Rhapsody's at Clear Creek in Golden. We had 2 of the 3 appetizers offered - Crab Meat Beggers Purse w/Red Beet Salsa, Wasabi Beurre Blanc & Rhapsody's Salad Green w/apples, dates, pears, walnuts with a apple cinnamon vinaigrette. We each had one of the 3 entrees - Salmon & Mahi Mahi w/shrimp mousse "Wellington" on baby spinich w/saffron nage - Blackened Buffalo Sirloin on sweet patato mash w/honey poppy seed straw & vanilla flovored cranberry sauce - German "Jaeger Schnitzel" flattened pork tenterloin w/wild mushroom sauce, home made spaetzele w/braised red cabbage. 2 desserts were offered - German Apple Strudel w/home made vanilla ice cream - Chocolate Mikato Cake w/white balsamic flavored strawberry sorbet. All the food was fantastic, served hot, & our server Evie was very attentive, kept our water & wine glasses full & did not rush us through our meal. A great time was had by all & we will be back to enjoy Rhapsody's at Clear Creek again soon.
February 25, 2007
6:39 PM
mark and zabeth from centennial writes:
we ate at via italian restaurant last night...the staff is friendly, (notably daniel from chicago), the food was amazing and the atmosphere is very comfortable...the pastaless lasagna was incredibly delicious and the chocolate hazelnut tartufo is to die for!...ask to be seated in the "supper club" dining room...you can enjoy the $52.80 meal while watching an old movie on the big screen tv (james cagney and company) and listening to some nicely arranged tunes...highly recommended...cannot wait for via to offer lunch (wood fired pizza) during the rockies season!
February 25, 2007
7:52 PM
Jordan writes:
We enjoyed the meal at Elway's. However, there was no printed "restaurant week" menu and the waiter omitted certain items that were listed on the website. Not sure if that was intentional. Again, the food was great, but I doubt we'll be back any time soon. The constant up-selling was annoying.
February 26, 2007
12:11 PM
michele writes:
We dined with friends at The Palm and were very, very disppointed in the whole experience. They limited each person per couple to different entrees. The food was fair, not wonderful, our waitress seemed very disinterested, unattentive to our party. Very disappointed and will never return to The Palm.
February 26, 2007
12:42 PM
Mary Crier writes:
6 of us ate at Aqua on Saturday nite. We arrived ahead of our reservation @ 6pm and were told as soon as we sat down we had to be out by 7:20. She rushed through all of our courses and we were done eating before 7pm (even after having the wine & dessert which was extra) and STRONGLY encouraged to leave the table. During most of this time there were empty tables. Altho the food was good, we will not go back there because of the attitude. I guess they count on their restaurant never being busy. They should not participate in 5280 week if it is that much of an annoyance to them.
February 27, 2007
9:07 AM
Miriam writes:
Texas de Brazil review: excellent food and possibly the best value during Denver Restaurant Week. If you had to choose one restaurant to try, I would recommend this one!
Normal price per person: $44 with meat, $29 salads/sushi/hot sides stations only. Dessert is extra. DRW price: $27pp including meat and dessert. I can't think of another restaurant that allows you to eat everything on their menu and unlimited quantities during DRW.
March 1, 2007
8:46 PM
David Hix writes:
We had a great dinner at "Siena" in Castle Rock. We had 2 young children with us and we were treated perfectly. The food was superb, and more than we could eat. The appetizers, salads, and main courses (scallops, Italian pot roast, and chicken were excellent.) We will for sure go back, what a great place!!
March 4, 2007
2:24 PM
Jen Biernbaum writes:
Just wondering if any of the restaurants are going to expand the 5280 deal for a week or two. I think I remember hearing that the Wellshire Inn might do this. Just want to make sure.
March 14, 2007
1:24 PM
S.K. .. Denver, from Philly writes:
We ate at Tula's on Friday nite...they were too overwhelmed to pay attention to us. 1) it took 10 minutes for anyone to greet us when we were seated- the booth we were seated was nice, but we wouldve rather have sat at a kids table and gotten exceptional food and service. 2) the best thing about the meal was the salsa and chips 3) that "corn" soup and house salad... what the @*&#(?? the soup was basically bean dip with a corn flavor. gross color, gross consistency. the first thing we had was even more disgusting. it was the house salad, and the dressing was unbearable. more bean-like consistency for the dressing- just seems like there is undue infatuation with the cuisinart puree machine.. flavor was WAY off. couldnt eat it. so we got the soup, which was better, but still mediocre. 3) then, the main course came out- carne asada-- waaaaay salty meat... at least it was really tender. the enchilada was okay. the rice and beans didnt taste like anything special whatsoever. 4)deserts: the tequila "jello" on the key-lime was pretty gross, actually. pieces of a jello shot just plopped down next to the key-lime concoction, which was actually not bad, but the "churros" were COLD and MUSHY. Gross. I'm not sh*tting you when i say they looked like turds on my plate.
I give that meal 1/2 star, for the poor server that seemed to be way overwhelmed, yet very nice and attentive when he wasnt swamped. He didnt mean to drop the utensil in the glass of water, but we did make him feel comfy enough to just wipe it with a napkin and give it to us to use. the margarita was also not special. i dont think the meal was even close enough worth $30 per person. i hope theyre not just going to be ANOTHER mediocre restaurant in Cherry Creek that gets away with it for its location and "upscale", overly privledged, stuck up and snooty clientele. I dont know if they are prepared for 5280 havoc.