Rioja, Denver
Local Colorado cuisine with a Mexican-Mediterranean flair
We heard about Rioja because the co-owners were featured at the James Beard house on the Culinary Media Network. It sounded great, and we were in downtown Denver, so we thought we'd give it a try.
The interior is modern, with old brick construction and modern art on the walls to add a splash of color. We arrived early and were greeted promptly by the hostess, who had us wait just a few minutes for our table. She came out and got us, remembering us from that brief conversation. Our waiter, too, was prompt and friendly, allowing us to hang out and wait for our fourth person to arrive.
The kitchen, at the back, is separated from the restaurant by a traditional counter, but that doesn't, of course, block the smells. We were seated right next to it, so we got to see the dishes come over the counter and go out to the restaurant, which just made us hungry. So we asked for bread, and as it turns out, there is a guy with a basket who brings around a selection of delicious bread. There was a lavender sourdough that we liked a lot, a black olive baguette that I liked a lot, a garlic rosemary cheese biscuit that was the consensus favorite, and a wheat berry roll with salt.
The rest of the food, when we did order it, completely lived up to the bread. The house salad with gorgonzola and dates had just a light tossing of almond vinaigrette, an unusual flavor that went well with the sharp cheese and sweet dates. The saffron fetuccine--house-made--absolutely stole the show. Good fresh pasta, especially with the delicate taste of saffron, with roasted eggplant, sweet red peppers, a savory pork and fennel sausage, and a soft cream cheese made it really hard for us to split the dish, as we both wanted to keep all of it. The other dish, the lamb chorizo pizza, was less remarkable, though still really good. It came with mozzarella cheese and mint pesto, an unusual combination that worked even though you couldn't really tell that the sausage was lamb.
We weren't going to get desserts, but then we kept seeing the cheesecake come over the counter with a tower of strawberry slices stuck together, and we were so curious about how the slices were stuck that we had to order it for an excuse to ask the waiter. We also, while we were at it, got the beignets with the fig paste and sweet goat cheese, with port wine reduction, just because it sounded so strange we had to try it. The cheesecake, soft and creamy, also came with a strawberry-basil compote. The aromatic basil really went well with the sweet strawberry and cheesecake, as it turned out, just like the fig paste and sweet cheese inside the fried pastry worked with the sweet port wine reduction.
That was our experience through the whole dinner. The unusual menu items all went together very well, and exposed us to new tastes or new combinations of familiar tastes. We'd go back again in a heartbeat, if only for the pasta and to watch the towers of strawberries come over the counter, defying gravity. If you want to know how they do it, well, you'll have to go and ask.
Showing posts with label mediterranean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mediterranean. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Coupa Cafe
Coupa Cafe, Palo Alto
Mediterranean/Venezuelan cafe off University Ave.
For our weekly writing nights, we're always looking for good places where we can eat, and also sit and write for a while. Coupa Cafe, on Ramona Ave. across from the Old Pro, looked like a likely candidate when it opened recently, and we got the chance to try it out for sure not too long ago.
They highlight their Venezuelan coffee and meals, but the bulk of the offerings would probably be more familiar to people if described as Mediterranean: hummus, pita, olives, panini, etc. They do offer arepas, which are traditional Venezuelan cornmeal griddle cakes, and an appetizer version called arepitas, which we tried. The light, tasty cakes came with cotija cheese and nata (Venezuelan sour cream), with chives sprinkled over them. Simple, but very nice. A little too much for an appetizer for one, but perfect for two to split. The Mediterranean platter appetizer featured a good hummus with crispy, warm pita bread, and a decent salad that could've used a little more dressing.
We were in the mood for crepes, which are also on their menu, so we chose crepes for the main course. The smoked salmon and nata crepe was also pretty simple but quite good, with thick salmon and irregularly distributed cream cheese. The crepe itself wasn't quite on the level of Ti Couz, but was a fine savory crepe, firm and light with good wheat flavor. The turkey and asparagus crepe came crammed full of turkey, asparagus, and sun-dried tomato, which thankfully did not overwhelm the dish. The asparagus, nicely cooked but not overdone, provided a good complement. We also sampled a serrano ham panini, which had nice flavor but was tough to eat due to the stringy ham.
If you're in the back room, the ambiance is a little more relaxed than in the crowded, coffee-centric front. Service is slow, but it's that kind of relaxing place. The people are unfailingly nice and there's a fireplace in the back, amidst the plaster, wood beams, and middle eastern rugs and curtains. And when you're ready for coffee, they will be happy to show off their Venezuelan roasts. For Tim, the attraction is a couple varieties of chai that do one of the best mixes of spicy and sweet that we've found in the area. They offer sugar-free options, but the artificial sweetener intrudes on the chai taste, so go for the Tiger Spice or Flamingo Vanilla. If only for the chai, we'd be going back to Coupa--the food is good but nothing really jumps it ahead of a dozen other Palo Alto places.
Mediterranean/Venezuelan cafe off University Ave.
For our weekly writing nights, we're always looking for good places where we can eat, and also sit and write for a while. Coupa Cafe, on Ramona Ave. across from the Old Pro, looked like a likely candidate when it opened recently, and we got the chance to try it out for sure not too long ago.
They highlight their Venezuelan coffee and meals, but the bulk of the offerings would probably be more familiar to people if described as Mediterranean: hummus, pita, olives, panini, etc. They do offer arepas, which are traditional Venezuelan cornmeal griddle cakes, and an appetizer version called arepitas, which we tried. The light, tasty cakes came with cotija cheese and nata (Venezuelan sour cream), with chives sprinkled over them. Simple, but very nice. A little too much for an appetizer for one, but perfect for two to split. The Mediterranean platter appetizer featured a good hummus with crispy, warm pita bread, and a decent salad that could've used a little more dressing.
We were in the mood for crepes, which are also on their menu, so we chose crepes for the main course. The smoked salmon and nata crepe was also pretty simple but quite good, with thick salmon and irregularly distributed cream cheese. The crepe itself wasn't quite on the level of Ti Couz, but was a fine savory crepe, firm and light with good wheat flavor. The turkey and asparagus crepe came crammed full of turkey, asparagus, and sun-dried tomato, which thankfully did not overwhelm the dish. The asparagus, nicely cooked but not overdone, provided a good complement. We also sampled a serrano ham panini, which had nice flavor but was tough to eat due to the stringy ham.
If you're in the back room, the ambiance is a little more relaxed than in the crowded, coffee-centric front. Service is slow, but it's that kind of relaxing place. The people are unfailingly nice and there's a fireplace in the back, amidst the plaster, wood beams, and middle eastern rugs and curtains. And when you're ready for coffee, they will be happy to show off their Venezuelan roasts. For Tim, the attraction is a couple varieties of chai that do one of the best mixes of spicy and sweet that we've found in the area. They offer sugar-free options, but the artificial sweetener intrudes on the chai taste, so go for the Tiger Spice or Flamingo Vanilla. If only for the chai, we'd be going back to Coupa--the food is good but nothing really jumps it ahead of a dozen other Palo Alto places.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Lola
Lola
One of the "Tom Douglas" family of restaurants in downtown Seattle
Downtown Seattle is bursting with lunch spots, but when we reached Lola, we didn't feel the need to go any further. Warm and inviting, the restaurant has a breezy Mediterranean feel to the decor, modern wood lit by wrought iron hanging lamps. Red neon over the bar gives the place a touch of "lounge" feel. When you walk in, you're greeted by a friendly hostess and taken to a pleasant table, clean and bright.
One of the appetizers is a choice of six spreads, served with warm pita bread. We chose the kalamata-fig spread and asked our server what would pair well with it. She suggested a mint-feta spread to go with it. They arrived quickly with a pile of fresh pita bread, which didn't have much seasoning of its own, the better to let the spread's flavors come through. We loved the kalamata-fig: the sweetness of the fig melded well with the sharp olive flavor. The mint-feta spread was good on its own: quality feta with a good bite and a nice undertone of mint, but it was best when paired with the fig spread, just as our waitress suggested.
For a main course, we split the lamb kebabs with Greek salad. The staff graciously split the plates for us, and in fact they were terrific all around, offering to bring us more pita bread, checking up to make sure we were okay. Lamb is one of those things that's tricky. It's easy to make it too tough, or gamey, but it should have some taste of lamb. The kebabs were perfectly tender, and the savory red wine sauce complemented it well. The Greek salad was the real surprise. There's a lot of flexibility with Greek salads, too. You can have soggy cucumbers and bland olives, underripe tomatoes and flavorless feta, and too often, restaurants will make up for that with overpowering dressing. Here, the cucumbers were crisp, the olives juicy and tangy, the tomatoes and feta perfectly ripe, and the dressing supportive without overpowering the other flavors.
It's a good place for a leisurely lunch. The food takes a little while to come out, and it's definitely worth it. If you want to enjoy your lunch, this is the place to go. And ask for a "Lorade" when you do--our server, Lori, makes a lemonade with a splash of cranberry that has been named for her now. It's that kind of friendly touch that puts Lola a cut above the other wonderful lunch destinations in downtown Seattle.
One of the "Tom Douglas" family of restaurants in downtown Seattle
Downtown Seattle is bursting with lunch spots, but when we reached Lola, we didn't feel the need to go any further. Warm and inviting, the restaurant has a breezy Mediterranean feel to the decor, modern wood lit by wrought iron hanging lamps. Red neon over the bar gives the place a touch of "lounge" feel. When you walk in, you're greeted by a friendly hostess and taken to a pleasant table, clean and bright.
One of the appetizers is a choice of six spreads, served with warm pita bread. We chose the kalamata-fig spread and asked our server what would pair well with it. She suggested a mint-feta spread to go with it. They arrived quickly with a pile of fresh pita bread, which didn't have much seasoning of its own, the better to let the spread's flavors come through. We loved the kalamata-fig: the sweetness of the fig melded well with the sharp olive flavor. The mint-feta spread was good on its own: quality feta with a good bite and a nice undertone of mint, but it was best when paired with the fig spread, just as our waitress suggested.
For a main course, we split the lamb kebabs with Greek salad. The staff graciously split the plates for us, and in fact they were terrific all around, offering to bring us more pita bread, checking up to make sure we were okay. Lamb is one of those things that's tricky. It's easy to make it too tough, or gamey, but it should have some taste of lamb. The kebabs were perfectly tender, and the savory red wine sauce complemented it well. The Greek salad was the real surprise. There's a lot of flexibility with Greek salads, too. You can have soggy cucumbers and bland olives, underripe tomatoes and flavorless feta, and too often, restaurants will make up for that with overpowering dressing. Here, the cucumbers were crisp, the olives juicy and tangy, the tomatoes and feta perfectly ripe, and the dressing supportive without overpowering the other flavors.
It's a good place for a leisurely lunch. The food takes a little while to come out, and it's definitely worth it. If you want to enjoy your lunch, this is the place to go. And ask for a "Lorade" when you do--our server, Lori, makes a lemonade with a splash of cranberry that has been named for her now. It's that kind of friendly touch that puts Lola a cut above the other wonderful lunch destinations in downtown Seattle.
Catal
Catal
In Downtown Disney in Anaheim, upscale Mediterranean food.
Of all the places in Downtown Disney, Catal seemed most eager to seat a party of six on Saturday night, or at least they had the shortest wait time. They have a lovely upstairs balcony overlooking a square in the downtown where their associated Uva Bar serves drinks and appetizers.
We can't resist a selection of olives on the appetizer menu, and theirs were fresh and exotic, not just your standard kalamata. We didn't get all the names, but I remember the five of them as dark and rich; green and mellow; small, dark, and intense; small, maroon, and slightly bitter; and immense olives with a soft eggplant color and a smooth, oily flavor. Accompanying them on our appetizer plate was the "Tapas trio": a gazpacho shot, a crab cake, and two dates stuffed with ham and bleu cheese. I like gazpacho, but Mark doesn't, so I took the whole shot. It was really more like a cold V8 with finely chopped tomatoes and cucumbers in it, but there was an undertone of spice that was quite pleasant.
Dinner certainly lived up to the appetizers. We shared an olive oil and dill-poached salmon over red pepper couscous. The tzatziki sauce on the side had great spice, garlicky and tangy--it wasn't just yogurt with cucumbers in it. Salmon is one of those things that Mark finds variable, but Catal's salmon kept a nice flavor of salmon under the light dill seasoning. The red pepper couscous could've used a little more red pepper, but the couscous was done just right.
We also sampled one friend's paella. It didn't compare to Mark's homemade one, but it was still quite good, rich and savory. The shellfish was tender and fresh too, the veggies crisp, and the rice tender and sticky.
The dinner was light enough that we felt able to get a cheese plate: two mild cheeses and a sharper Italian type that was quite tasty. They included a side of quince confiture, toasted walnuts, and balsamic vinegar drizzle. We polished the plate clean even after the cheese was gone. Then it was time for dessert, a carrot cake with coconut sorbet and carrot creme anglaise. We have a great experience of carrot cake, too, and this one scored pretty high. The cake was good and firm, tending toward a carrot flavor rather than a spice cake flavor, with big chunks of walnut & raisin, and--the part that's always hard to find--perfect cream cheese frosting. It went pretty well with the light coconut sorbet, too.
The service was good, although on occasion we felt slightly neglected, but that might be because we were out on the patio, or because it was a Saturday night and they were busy. It wasn't a bad trade for the view, and our waitress was friendly and very helpful. Maybe all the places on Downtown Disney are this good, but on a night when we couldn't go anywhere else, Catal made us feel like we were special, not like we were settling.
In Downtown Disney in Anaheim, upscale Mediterranean food.
Of all the places in Downtown Disney, Catal seemed most eager to seat a party of six on Saturday night, or at least they had the shortest wait time. They have a lovely upstairs balcony overlooking a square in the downtown where their associated Uva Bar serves drinks and appetizers.
We can't resist a selection of olives on the appetizer menu, and theirs were fresh and exotic, not just your standard kalamata. We didn't get all the names, but I remember the five of them as dark and rich; green and mellow; small, dark, and intense; small, maroon, and slightly bitter; and immense olives with a soft eggplant color and a smooth, oily flavor. Accompanying them on our appetizer plate was the "Tapas trio": a gazpacho shot, a crab cake, and two dates stuffed with ham and bleu cheese. I like gazpacho, but Mark doesn't, so I took the whole shot. It was really more like a cold V8 with finely chopped tomatoes and cucumbers in it, but there was an undertone of spice that was quite pleasant.
Dinner certainly lived up to the appetizers. We shared an olive oil and dill-poached salmon over red pepper couscous. The tzatziki sauce on the side had great spice, garlicky and tangy--it wasn't just yogurt with cucumbers in it. Salmon is one of those things that Mark finds variable, but Catal's salmon kept a nice flavor of salmon under the light dill seasoning. The red pepper couscous could've used a little more red pepper, but the couscous was done just right.
We also sampled one friend's paella. It didn't compare to Mark's homemade one, but it was still quite good, rich and savory. The shellfish was tender and fresh too, the veggies crisp, and the rice tender and sticky.
The dinner was light enough that we felt able to get a cheese plate: two mild cheeses and a sharper Italian type that was quite tasty. They included a side of quince confiture, toasted walnuts, and balsamic vinegar drizzle. We polished the plate clean even after the cheese was gone. Then it was time for dessert, a carrot cake with coconut sorbet and carrot creme anglaise. We have a great experience of carrot cake, too, and this one scored pretty high. The cake was good and firm, tending toward a carrot flavor rather than a spice cake flavor, with big chunks of walnut & raisin, and--the part that's always hard to find--perfect cream cheese frosting. It went pretty well with the light coconut sorbet, too.
The service was good, although on occasion we felt slightly neglected, but that might be because we were out on the patio, or because it was a Saturday night and they were busy. It wasn't a bad trade for the view, and our waitress was friendly and very helpful. Maybe all the places on Downtown Disney are this good, but on a night when we couldn't go anywhere else, Catal made us feel like we were special, not like we were settling.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Zucca, Mountain View
Zucca
Mediterranean cuisine
Another Sunday, another Mountain View brunch experiment. The last place in the Castro Street area that offered brunch was Zucca, a nice little Mediterranean place tucked into the restaurant block between Villa and Evelyn. They offer omelettes and other egg dishes, along with French toast--but no pancakes.
The restaurant itself is very pretty, and like most of the restaurants in that block, has an outdoor patio where you can sit and enjoy a lovely Sunday afternoon. Brunch is served until 2 pm, so it's a good option for the more leisurely riser. The downside to that is that if you don't get there until after noon, as we did, you might not be in the mood for breakfast fare any more.
Mark got an omelette with St Andre cheese, fresh chives, and crème fraîche, and I opted for the Turkish Lamb Köfte Wrap, because for some reason they didn't feature the French toast this time (there was some confusion because the menu they had on display was different from the one they handed out--the French toast was on the display menu). The service was slow, and if we hadn't been in a bit of a hurry to get to the farmer's market, we wouldn't have minded so much, because the food was definitely worth the wait.
The omelette was fluffy and cheesy, the crème fraîche complementing the eggs nicely. My only complaint was that it was fairly difficult to taste the chives in it. The lamb wrap was great, with tasty, well-spiced lamb and good (if scant) tzatziki sauce and soft, flavorful flatbread for the wrap. The service could be faster, but the ingredients are of great quality, well prepared, and you can't beat the location.
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