Category: Food & Beverage

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A great story on Oskar Blues Brewery

Channel 4 (KCNC) had a great story on Oskar Blues Brewery last night on their news. The story discussed how the brewery, makers of Dale’s Pale Ale, Old Chub Scottish Ale and others, is beating the recession and is actually expanding.
I must say I really love Dale’s Pale Ale and Old Chub. Both are extremely good beers and enjoy them.

The unique thing that they are doing is bucking the trend of bottling. They are not bottling, they are actually canning. They have developed a great way to can the beer where they use a water-based coating and the beer never touches metal of the can.

I think this is a great story of a local company. I hope they succeed and do well. I just want to enjoy the beer some more.

Watch the story on KCNC.

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Denver Restaurant Week 2009 Coming

Just a head’s-up to everyone out there that Denver Restaurant Week 2009 is coming. It kicks-off on February 21 and runs through February 27.
For those of you who aren’t aware, you can get a three course dinner for two for $52.80. Nearly 200 restaurants are participating this year.

My wife and I have done this for several years and we enjoy this. It provides an excellent opportunity to try new restaurants at a reasonable price.

Try it, you may like it. See my other posts on this.

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Ling & Louie’s a great place to eat in Northfield @ Stapleton

My wife and I headed out for a nice dinner before we went to the Denver Improv at Northfield @ Stapleton and we didn’t quite know where to go. We found Ling & Louie’s and it was a great choice.
We started our evening with the potstickers and crab wontons. The potstickers were quite tasty and the sauce that came with them really brought out the flavors. I particularly liked the crab wontons. Unlike crab wontons served at other restaurants, this included lump crab meat and no fillers. Thumbs up on both of them.

For my entree I got Ling’s Sweet and Sour Pork dish. This was quite fresh and tasty. The peppers and pineapple were quite fresh and were diced into small pieces, unlike other places that have big chunks of pepper and pineapple from a can. It was fresh pineapple. The dish also had a good bite, a little bit spicy.

My wife had the Evil Jungle Princess Chicken and she fell in love with this dish. Granted, she likes anything in a peanut sauce. But it had a lot of flavor and the vegetables that came with it were also fresh. Now this item was listed as spicy dish, but we found it not to be that spicy at all.

In fact, we found the Ling’s Sweet and Sour Pork dish to be spicier than than the Evil Jungle Princess Chicken dish. For other menu items, check with your wait staff to see if they are spicy or not.

The only thing that we were disappointed in was that the beer selection was not that extensive. I would like to see a better selection of beer. But they have a full beverage menu, full bar, and a good selection of wine.

If you are looking for a good place to eat in the Northfield @ Stapleton area look to Ling & Louie’s. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Read my review of this restaurant in Yelp.

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Mackeys Public House in DC a great place to hang out

I was just searching for a nice place to relax after a crazy day at work and found one near my hotel, Mackey’s Public House.
This was a great place to read the newspaper, listen to some great music, have a wonderful dinner, and drink some good beer.

Found a place to collapse, and I ordered a Smithwicks.  Then got a menu and it looked wonderful. There were a lot of good things.

I first noticed the potato cheddar soup and I had to have that to start my meal. I then found the entree’s and had to have the Shepard’s Pie.  I was going to get the bowl of soup, but the waitress recommended I just get the cup. I was glad I did.

The soup was delicious.  It had a good flavor and hit the spot.  But a cup was enough and a bowl would have been too much.

The main dish arrived and I ordered another beer, this time a Guinness.

The shepard’s pie was wonderful. It was warm and tasteful. It was full of meat and vegetables.  And it was quite tasteful with the Guinness.

After all this, I needed something sweet and I migrated to the bread pudding.  This was good and hit the spot. It had a good consistency.

This was the perfect spot to relax after a long day and recharge your batteries.  If you are looking for a place to hang out with friends or just relax, check out Mackey’s Pub on L Street in the Northwest area of Washington, DC.

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Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe a definite place to visit in Washington DC

I have been distracted from writing about my experiences at restaurants I visit and I have missed writing about them. It is time to get back to that and I want to start with my visit this evening to Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe.
Kramerbooks is becoming a place I need to visit whenever I am in D.C. Their selection of books is something that you don’t usually find in the chain stores.  I always find something different to take with me and read.

I had eaten at Afterwords Cafe before and enjoyed it, so I thought I might as well combine the two and find something and then grab dinner.

Well I checked out the books and nothing jumped out at me.  They seemed to have a lot of books about the election and I am quite tired of that. So I grabbed the new “The Atlantic” magazine. Sometimes that is almost like a book.

With reading material secured, I walked through the store and to the cafe.  I got settled in my seat and was soon enjoying a Peak Organic Ale from Maine. Quite tasty. (If you go to their website, they have several ales, just don’t know which one I had.)

For dinner I started with a mescaline salad that included apples, mushrooms, walnuts and a wonderful vinaigrette.  I had to have every last bit. For the main dish I had the crab cake platter. It was delicious.

The crab cake is served on top of fresh pasta topped with roasted corn, tomato, sweet peppers & scallions. It has the right about of spice. It all flows together for a wonderful taste.

The service was good and being a Sunday night they were training new waitstaff, but that was not a problem. Both were quite attentive.

If are in DC and find yourself in the Dupont Circle area, find Kramerbooks & the Afterwords Cafe for a wonderful read and nice meal.

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In-N-Out Burger is the place for burgers

I just want to say, that anytime I am at a location in California or Nevada where there is an In-N-Out Burger, I am there at least once.
The burgers are just perfect and the wash down perfectly with a milkshake.

I don’t know what it is, but a double-double, fries, and a milkshake are the perfect meal.  The meat is juicy, the cheese is just melted over the hamburger, and the vegetables are fresh.

The potatoes are cut into fries just before the are put in the fryer.  Nothing frozen here.

There is such a cult following, that there is a secret menu for ordering besides the three burgers.  There is a short-list on their website, but the real list is on the internet.

If you are in California or Western Nevada, find an In-N-Out Burger and try it out.

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Friend of a Farmer is friend of my taste buds

Friend of a Farmer is definitely a friend of my taste buds.  It was a really delicious dinner in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of New York City.
We needed to get out of midtown Manhatten yesterday for dinner and headed for Friend of a Farmer.  I had heard of this place from my sister in-law and my wife.  My sister in-law used to go here a lot and took my wife there before.

After a short walk from the subway at Union Square, we were there and sitting outside at the restaurant enjoying a cool evening breeze in New York, something that has been missing for most of our trip.

The service was prompt and friendly.  It was almost like visiting family for dinner.

I had the Tery Alan Chicken.  Was this delicious.  It is a chicken breast stuffed with granny smith apples and cheddar cheese served over lemon bread with citrus honey raisen sauce.  It is served also with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables.

This was just one of the items that were on the menu, but I just loved this.  It was quite flavorful and enjoyable.  It all was washed down with a Witte beer from the Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, New York.  It was a Belgian Wheat beer that was quite smooth.

For desert I had the key lime pie, but the berry tart also looked good.

It is more known for their breakfast and brunches, but is also a wonderful place for dinner.

It is a wonderful place to get away from it all in New York.  It is a nice, quiet, and restful place in a big city.  If you want to get away from it for an hour or two, head to Friend of a Farmer.

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Frankie & Johnnie’s a wonderful steakhouse in New York

We were looking for a place for dinner tonight, but didn’t want to go to far away from our hotel near Times Square.  I knew of a steakhouse near Rockefeller Center, but in doing some research I found one near our hotel, Frankie and Johnnie’s.
It is on 37th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues.  Walking down the street you wouldn’t think that a great steakhouse is there, but go inside and it is a wonderful place.

Downstairs is the bar and upstairs is the restaurant.  The hostess took us upstairs and we were greeted by the head waiter who promptly sat us and asked us if we would like to have anything to drink.

The service was wonderful and the Boddingtons was quite cold and tasty.

Now for the food. Continue reading “Frankie & Johnnie’s a wonderful steakhouse in New York”

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Woodlands Grill is impressive restaurant, great food and service

Woodlands Grill in Westminster, Colorado is a great restaurant.  It has great food and service and we will defintely be going back.
I went their last night with my wife, sister in-law, and some friends.  We had a blast.

The drink specials were great and innovative, the wine list was quite expansive and many good choices.  We had the Indian Wells Cabernet Sauvignon from Cheateau Ste. Michelle in Washington and the d’Arenberg The Footbolt Shiraz.

Both wines were great, good flavors, and were reasonably priced.  We enjoyed them alot.

The food was also great.  For appetizers we had the bruschetta and hot spinach-artichoke dip.  Both didn’t last long on the table.  We enjoyed them quite a bit.

For the main course I had a ceaser salad as a warm-up and the filet of beef tenderloin.  The ceaser was wonderful and for $6 you got quite a bit of salad.  It probably could have been shared by two people.  The beef tenderloin was quite tender and delicious.  The fingerling potatoes and fresh asparagus that were served with it were good.

Other entrees that members of our party had were the goat cheese tart, french cut pork chop, and the gemelli pasta with spinach pesto and chicken.  Everyone enjoyed their meals.  My wife was still raving about her goat cheese tart this morning.

For desert, the selections were equally amazing and delicious.  I had the William Tell (an apple cake and cheesecake combination). Delicious.  Also getting rave reviews were the other two items that we had.  The snowball (a chocolate concoction surrounding white icing) and the bruscheta bread pudding had everyone enjoying desert.

Overall, the Woodlands Grill is an impressive restaurant.  We enjoyed it and will be going back.  The drink and wine menu were quite expansive and will serve all your needs, there is something for everyone on the menu, and the deserts will leave you breathless.

I would highly recommend the Woodlands Grill for any meal, whether you are out with family, friends, or for business.  The service and food will not let you down.

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Casinos ticketed for allowing smoking

Casinos ticketed for allowing smoking – The Denver Post
I am sorry, but having a $200 for a business like the casinos is not going to deter them.  It is ridiculously low and something that they could cover quite easily.

The cigar bar loophole is also a joke. That loophole is so wide a few semi-trucks could get through, let along smokers.  That should be closed soon.  I was in Maryland and they have a smoking ban in the county I was in. The patrons of the cigar bar I walked by had to sit outside because they don’t have that loophole.

Finally, the sheriff refusing to write tickets and enforce the law is just plain stupid. He is not doing his job then. It is nice to see that he finally issued the tickets, but give me a break.

The casinos and others better clean up their act or the smoking ban will go to the voters as a referendum and they won’t like the results. I am sure that it will be much tougher than the already tough law today.  Albeight with out the big loopholes.