discoveries

as in, food!

In Denver you would have to be blind to miss the eatery just across the street from the Hyatt Regency downtown: Bubba Gump's. The place was fun and the food sounded fabulous. It was hard to decide what to eat and I, unfortunately, did not choose well. They boasted New England Clam Chowder. If you're no where near New England, it had better be good if you're bothering to put it on the menu. Well, at Bubba's not so much. My companions, however, thought their mahi mahi was fabulous, and my director's shrimp was given two thumbs up. Like I said, I didn't choose well.

Night two, however, was another story. I joined three directors on our team to wander a bit farther down the tourist-beaten path to Venice. Ooh la la! The ambience was nice, the wine good, and the food--extraordinary. We shared calimari with two sauces: a pesto, and a red sauce that was made up of marinara and buffalo wing sauce. Yum! There was just enough heat and the flavor combinations were great. One of our number had a rissoto with lobster and strawberries that was a hit, another had butternut squash ravioli, still another had tortellini with an amazing gorgonzola sauce. I had ravioli with chicken, spinach, pancetta and tomatoes. Ohhh, my... We had coupons from the hotel for free desserts, and three of us went for profitiroles with chocolate mousse sauce. OMG! And check out the wine cellar!On the third night I met my sister-in-law, Margaret and we headed out in search of anyplace that had room for two. We lucked out at the Rialto cafe, where I had ahi tuna with ginger and wasabi, and a caeser salad. Yummy! Margaret had the soup of the day, a ginger-carrot soup, and a fabulous spinach salad. We struck gold, and had great service.Back on home turf, this morning I passed a mediterranean restaurant downtown on my way to an appointment, and on my way back stopped in to pick up lunch. I'm thinking it's time to spend some culinary time with mediterranean fare. I had a gyro, which I always love, and it's a safe place to start. But the place was hopping with all sorts of folks, and I even ran into a fellow 'pisci priest from Vermont who is doing a Ph D at Vanderbilt. We had a nice chat, and I will definitely be visiting the Fattoush Cafe again as soon as I can! Next time, the platter.