Food extravaganza!

Sorry for the lack of posts. ATT was in town, so we've been stuffing our faces.
Wednesday night was Sputnik (next to the Hi-Dive at Ellsworth and Broadway), where we had the yummy sweet potato fries with ketchup, banana ketchup and ranch as our sauces. Quite addictive. We also got the banana fritters, which our server told us is not going to be served there much longer. Fine by me. The fritters are fine but nothing special.

Thursday night we went to Frasca for the pork loin (serves two), sorrel soup (a chilled soup, with King salmon and potato in it...not for everyone but if you know you like sorrel...) and crispy Hawaiian sea bass with arugula (like fish and chips!). Paired with a very yummy Riesling. I didn't get the details. We were going to walk around Pearl Street after but instead went home to avoid a coming storm.

Back in Denver, we stopped at City O'City, (13th and Sherman) the bar/coffeehouse/vegetarian pizza shop in the former space of WaterCourse Foods. Owned by the same people. City O'City has just been added to my list of favorite bars in Denver. There's a wide bar to sit and eat or spread out a newspaper without feeling like you're infringing on someone else's space or the bartender's. There are booths along the wall like at a bar, tables like at a restaurant and some couches and a floor lamp to sit under like at a coffeeshop. Same vibe as at WaterCourse. Anyway.

Friday lunch was at Limon (17th and Franklin), which is expanding, by the way. The setting is all comfy, dark woods, dark red paint on the walls, banquettes with fluffy pillows. The food is Peruvian, with lots of kick, colorful presentations. We had plaintain chips with passionfruit aioli. From the Causa selections (potato cake with fillings, served cold), we had the Limena (chicken, scallions, avacado and tomatoes) ... refreshing choice for hot weather. I'd be curious to try the cured tuna one with garlic oil and Limon salsa. We also had Locro Serrano con granos andinos y queso (stew of squash, Andean grains, cheese,olives and garlic rice, w/ a fried egg on top). The cheese was a great part of the dish. There's quite a bit of kick to the dish.

The highlight of the whole gorge fest for me was Fruition! The spring menu is out now. We had the seared Alaskan halibut cheeks w/ zucchini squash tagliolini (great texture and flavors), and the house cured pork belly. Both were a bit on the salty side, so you had to get a big spoonful of sauce or eat w/ bread. But the appetizers whet the appetite for the main courses. (Like the guy at the table behind us said, "if the main courses are as good as the appetizers, i'm in heaven!") and YUM, we had the pan roasted petrale sole w/ Pine-Nut Crusted, Braised Baby Artichokes, Lemon-Truffle Hollandaise. ATT really liked the artichoke flavor she was getting. It was a big hit of the evening for other diners around us as well. We also had Maple Leaf Farms duck breast, w/ duck prosciutto, arugula, risotto and red onion marmalade. You have to get a little bit of everything in one bite because the flavors , textures, etc all go so well together. We were not planning on having dessert here at all. At all! But we got tempted by the lemon meringue w/ blueberries, which went great w/ the light graham cracker crust of the meringue, yum. ATT liked how attentive the service was and thought Maitre d’ Paul Attardi was very nice. So there.

Then we went to Luca D'Italia, hahaha, for more dessert. We had the deconstructed tiramisu (coffee custard pudding -- so the basic tiramisu flavors but they're served in a glass, with a ladyfingers), plus the pear crostada with ginger gelato. The crostada is amazing. Served warm, it's got the perfect pastry construction, dusted w/ powdered sugar. Favorite dessert here by far. We also tried the rice pudding with strawberries now and basil. and the amaretti!!!!

At this point I was extremely stuffed ... not quite "quail full" ... I could still breathe at least. I won't have to eat again for 3 days.