Duff Beerman's Profile
Boulder First Bite and Limited Menus
Tatamagouche, overall the experience at the Kitchen was good. On the one hand, my wife ordered off the regular menu -- a shortrib ragu over pasta -- and had an excellent meal. I had the mackrel off the First Bite menu and was disappointed; it was overcooked. That said, I enjoyed one of the appetizer selections -- marrow served with crisp toast. I'd never had it before; I'm not a huge fan, but it was fun to try. The service was excellent. The wine selection was also very good.
Claire, it seems to me that your response only further supports my general point. Colterra offered three interesting entrees instead of two uninspired preparations (the mackeral or sauteed squash) and three dessert options instead of just one. I don't object to limited menus in general, but at least show off something that the kitchen does well and provide diners with a few interesting choices. (Based on your comment, I'm looking forward to giving Colterra a try.) You make a good point about the price which is why I mentioned up charges. But perhaps Denver/Boulder should raise the dinner price to $30 in order to give the restaurants more menu flexibility.
But I stand by my main point. One of the thrills of going to an exciting and creative restaurant is to try new and interesting dishes. However, my experience with two of the most interesting and highly regarded Denver/Boulder restaurants is that their First BIte/Restaurant Week menus are anything but interesting or creative. If that's all that new diners experience at these restaurants, I think most won't bother to return. It seems to me this is a wasted opportunity.
Boulder First Bite and Limited Menus
This weekend, my wife and I went to the Kitchen in Boulder during the First Bite promotion. I was looking forward to trying this hghly-regarded restaurant. Once we were seated, I was disappointed to discover that their First Bite menu was very limited -- a choice of two apps, two entrees, and a single dessert. That's it.
I had a similar experience during Denver's Restaurant Week at Highland's Garden Cafe. As I recall, their Restaurant Week menu offered diners some sort of soup as the only entree selection. Now the HG Cafe is a fine restaurant, and I'm sure the soup was quite good, but with a regular menu that offers in excess of a dozen entree choices a night, only offering a single entree seems, well, ridiculous.
I moved to Denver not too long ago from DC. While in DC, I found that most restaurants offered pretty close to their full menu during restaurant week. Many would charge a modest up charge for certain apps/entrees with higher cost ingredients -- e.g. steak, lamb, certain seafood, etc. But I never went to a restaurant that offered the severely limited menus that seem to be the norm here in Denver/Boulder. Honestly, even though both meals were fine in terms of quality, I'm hesitant to return to either restaurant. I'd rather frequent establishments that take advantage of restaurant week-type promotions in order to market to a new audience, rather than simply grudgingly participating with the barest minimum of effort.
Middle Eastern in Denver/Boulder
I recently moved to Denver from Washington, DC. While in DC, I was spoiled by the Lebanese Taverna food empire and, more specifically, the delicious hummus and fresh pita bread available at their deli in Arlington, VA. I'm looking for something similar here. I've tried Boulder hummus, as well as the mass produced alternatives (e.g. Tribe of Two Shieks), but they are a far cry from Lebanese Taverna. I'm mainly interested in products that can be purchased for home consumption, but I'd also love some restaurant recommendations if any come to mind. Thanks.
