Good Food: 2012 Denver Restaurant Week

The 2012 Denver Restaurant Week menus have been released, and, as always, they look Good!

Every year during Denver Restaurant Week, restaurants all over Denver offer delicious prix-fixe multi-course meals at $52.80 for two people or $26.40 for one person.  The meals typically include at least three awesome courses, and the event is a Good excuse to try new restaurants, treat yourself and your partner to a nice date, or just be a part of the burgeoning Denver culinary scene.  Denver Restaurant Week has been so popular in the past that it has been extended to be two weeks long (this year from February 25 to March 9), and it is still hard to get a reservation at many of the participating restaurants.

Accordingly, now is a Good time to read through the menus and book your reservations so that during Restaurant Week you are savoring the taste of the Good food instead of hearing about it from friends!  The list of Denver Restaurant Week menus can be found here.  If you don’t want to look through them all, I’ve highlighted a few meals that look particularly Good below, and you can also search the restaurants by neighborhood or by cuisine.  Bon Appétit!

* TRATTORIA STELLA ON COLFAX *
Course One – Choose two for the table:

• Cherry House- Mixed Greens, Gorgonzola Cheese, and Sun-dried Cherries with our Red Wine Vinaigrette Dressing
• Tom’s Basil Salad – Baby Spinach, Fresh Basil, Tomato, House-Made Mozzarella, Red Onions, Kalamata and Sicilian Olives Served with our Mustard Balsamic Dressing.
• Tomato Basil Bisque Soup

Course Two – Choose one for the table:

• Fried Green Tomatoes – Thick sliced fried green tomatoes with a rosemary chipotle aioli & ricotta cheese
• Baked Brie – Brie cheese topped with roasted garlic & rosemary served warm with fresh bread & fruit
• Flash Fried Calamari – Flash-fried calamari served with a citrus chili aioli, fresno peppers, fresh limes & parsley

Course Three – Choose two for the table:

• Ricotta & Beet Ravioli – House-made raviolis stuffed with ricotta & goat cheese topped with red beets & candied walnuts in a marsala butter finished with baby arugula
• Spaghetti Bolognese – Italian sausage, ground beef & pork slowly simmered with carrots, sweet onion, plum tomatoes & white wine tossed with egg spaghetti
• Truffled Asparagus Spaghetti – Asparagus, wilted arugula, pine nuts, shallots & mushrooms in thyme butter tossed with Egg Spaghetti & finished with a drizzle of white truffle oil
• Creamy Sausage Tomato Rigate – House pork sausage cooked with cream & a touch of tomato sauce tossed with fresh beet rigate
• 32nd Street Pasta – Black tiger shrimp, roasted pecans & sun dried cherries tossed with spinach spaghetti in a spicy lemon aglio olio, finished with goat cheese
• Lasagna of the Day – Homemade Lasagna created fresh daily

Course Four – Choose two for the table:

• White Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Kahlua Bread Pudding – our house specialty!
• Tiramisu
• Key Lime Tart
• Chili Pot De Creme
• Sour Cream Apple Pie
• Berry Cobbler
• Flourless Caramel Chocolate Torte

* LE CENTRAL FRENCH BISTRO *
Hors d’Oeuvres (choose one):

• Feuillete de Queus d Ecrevisses, Sauce Nantua – Crawfish tails tossed with mushrooms and spring vegetables in a creamy crawfish sauce, accompanied by wilted spinach served on a light puff pastry boat.
• Galantine de Canard aux Pistaches – Juicy boneless duck breast, stuffed with a duck pate prepared with cognac and pistacios, poached in chicken stock and served with a lingonberry sauce.

Le Plat Principal (choose one):

• Koulibiac de Saumon – Wild salmon filet and wild mushroom hash wrapped in brioche, baked and enhanced with a dill cream sauce.
• Lapin aux deux facons – rabbit prepared two ways; stuffed and roasted rabbit saddle with a confit rabbit leg served on a bed of carrots, peas and Parisian potatoes.

Le Dessert (choose one):

• Nougat Glace – Creamy and honey meets nutty and frosty in this delightful frozen dessert.
• Baba au Rhum – A rich citrus scented brioche saturated with rum, garnished with pastry cream.

* LINGER *
Appetizer

• Spiced Chickpea Soup / Pistachio Butter, Roasted Cauliflower & Preserved Lemon
• Roasted Beet Bhel Puri / Puffed rice, Crunchy Lentil Noodles, Cashews, Fresnos, Raita & Apricot Chutney
• Pork Steamed Buns / Steamed Sesame Buns, Korean BBQ Pork, Kimchi & Scallions

Entree

• Thai Braised Short Rib / Coconut Milk Poached Baby Bok Choy, Black Sesame Rice Crisp & Sambal Oil
• Yucatan Huarache con Mahi a la Plancha / Seared Mahi, Black Bean Corn Flatbread, Pickled Chilies & Avocado, Achiote Creme Fraiche, Lime & Pepitas
• Chicken B’stilla / Crispy Pastry, Almonds, Apricots,Golden Raisins, Saigon Cinnamon, Harissa, Preserved Lemon Yogurt & Heirloom Salad
• Masala Dosa / Crispy Rice & Lentil Crepe, Masala potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, Black Mustard Seeds, Tamarind-Date & Coconut Chutneys

Dessert

• Soft Serve Ice Cream – Malted Bailey’s & Roasted Banana
• Mississippi Mud Pie – Miso-Butterscotch, Devonshire Cream & Walnut Tuile
• Peanut Butter & Jelly Cup – Cabernet Jelly Coulis, Whipped Cream, Brûléed Banana & Candied Peanuts

* ROOT DOWN *
First Course (choose one each):

• Organic Curry & Thai Red Curry Soup / Apple-Pear Chutney & Cilantro
• Organic Roasted Baby Beets / Arugula, Cana de Oveja, Toasted Hazelnuts, Beet-Sunflower Seed Pesto & Basil Vin
• Organic Butternut-Ricotta Gnocchi / Mushrooms, Spinach, Black Currants, Shallots, Chile Fake, Brown Butter, Sage-Hazelnut Pesto & Pecorino

Second Course (choose one each):

• Country Fried Tofu / Roasted Brussels, Cipollinis, Polenta Cake, Blood-Orange Chili Reduction
• Roasted Petaluma 3 Chili Chicken / Habanero, Chipotle, Jalapeno, Lemon Creme Fraiche, Green Chili Grit Cake & Carrot-Cucumber-Spinach Salad
• Pan Seared Barramundi / Smoked Prosciutto, Shallots. Roasted Brussels, Blood-Orange Chili Reduction, Miso-Vanilla Butter & Pumpkin Seed Crust

Third Course (choose one each):

• Chocolate Chip Croissant Bread Pudding / Sour Cream Ice Cream & Bourbon Sauce
• Chocolate Coconut Pie / Blueberry Gastrique, Coconut Caramel, Almond Ice Cream & Salted Chocolate Flakes
• Lemon Budino Cake / Pomegranate Sherbet & Toasted Merengue

Don’t live in Denver but want to experience Denver Restaurant Week?  Move here!  If you are moving to Denver, search all of the Denver homes for sale and let’s be in touch.

The Good Life Denver is written by David Schlichter.  To stay in the loop, like The Good Life Denver on Facebook and follow @thegoodlifeden on Twitter. 

Image source: http://www.denver.org/denverrestaurant/