A Taste of the Philippines, Denver, Colorado

I admit that the food I talk most about is rather "high-brow".  I'm a self-professed "Top Chef Stalker" and not ashamed to admit it.  Yes, I have the James Beard Award list bookmarked on my browser and I keep count of Michelin stars.  All this aside, at heart I am a lover of food no matter where it comes from.  I grew up on a lot of Filipino home cooking and know that really good food can come from humble beginnings and unexpected places.  So, it was rather fortuitous when I came across a Filipino food cart while taking a final stroll down the 16th Street Mall in Downtown Denver only hours before catching my flight out of town.

Donning the iconic sun of the Filipino flag, the aptly named food cart "A Taste of the Philippines" is situated on the Mall between Stout and Champa Streets (near Walgreens).  Lucky for me, we were looking for a drug store and Walgreens won out over Rite Aid.  Because, had I not ventured far enough to get to "Wags" (as it is affectionately called by my pharmacist cousin), I would have never known that this cart even existed and that would have just been a shame.

Filipinos are all over the United States and Canada.  We've been coming to the U.S. for years and quite a number of us (like me) are actually born and raised Americans.  Yet, regardless of our ties to this country, we are also very tied to our "pinoy" culture.  We are a proud people and we like to show it (mostly when doing karaoke).  To paraphrase Bruno Mars (who, yes, is Filipino), we are all so happy and proud to be Filipino!  So, when one Filipino happens upon another, we are compelled to introduce ourselves and demonstrate just how proud we are.  And that's exactly what I did when I met Kathy Gietl.

Turon

Kathy is the proud proprietor of A Taste of the Philippines.  She was born in Quezon City, near the country's capital of Manila.  And, although she immigrated with her parents years ago to Springfield, Illinois, she is still very conversant in the national language, Tagalog.  This I know because she asked me exactly from where in the Philippines I was from - all in perfect Tagalog - just after I placed my order for "turon" (plantain banana fried in an egg roll wrapper, often with a slice of jack fruit).  See, I was with my daughter, Anna, and naturally I had to say I wanted "tatlo" (three) pieces of turon because it was compulsory for me to demonstrate for Anna's sake just how Filipino I am.  (Let's forget that I only understand Tagalog and am only 50% conversant in "Taglish".   Let's also forget how I've bastardized both the Ilongo and Visayan dialects.)   Kathy's Tagalog is perfect and mine ...  is not.  So, from there, I quickly initiated a conversation with her - in English.

Kathy told me that she's had her cart on the 16th Street Mall for about a year.  And although she has some Filipino visitors, she is proud to say that she has a lot of American regulars too.  She offers a "frequent diner" card (so diners can earn a free entree) after 10 visits.  And her cart window displays quite a number of frequent diner cards to prove just how popular she is becoming with the locals.   What's intriguing to me is that Kathy's popularity is being built upon on traditional Filipino staples, our "comfort food" so to speak.  From her cart, Kathy serves dishes like fried "lumpia" (the Filipino version of the egg roll made primarily of meats and more tightly wrapped than its Chinese cousin), chicken adobo (similar to the Spanish version but employing soy and vinegar), bistek Tagalog (a version of stir fry beef and onions) and sinigang (a vegetarian or seafood soup often made with bok choy and similar greens).  (Photos of these Filipino favorites appear under the menu tab of Kathy's website.  Click here to see them for yourself.)  She does this with a personal mission to expand interest and awareness of Filipino culture.  And that is something that I can definitely support.

When I happened by Kathy's cart, I'd just had breakfast and it was too early for lunch.  She was just setting up shop and I didn't have enough time left in Denver to sample her usual lunch time fare.   So, my full review of A Taste of the Philippines will have to wait for my next trip.  But until then, I do encourage Denver visitors and locals to stop by Kathy's cart near 16th and Stout and give her Filipino dishes a try.  I think you'll find that Filipino cuisine definitely stands apart from other Asian cuisines that are better known to American diners.  Our food reflects a unique fusion of Spanish and Asian influences and even our more Asian dishes draw influences from all over Asia.  Believe it or not, Filipinos - like Americans - are diverse and varied people.  Kathy's chosen menu of usuals does a good job of demonstrating that.  And, if the reviews of other bloggers are any indication, I suspect that dishes will be satisfyingly good to the American palate.   But, of course, you'll have to try it and tell me for yourself!  Would love to hear your comments below!

Rioja, Denver, Colorado

For our final night in Denver this summer, I made a point of making reservations at the LoDo (Lower Downtown Denver, for those not in the know) eatery of Chef Jennifer Jasinski, Rioja.  Rioja is one of three popular and celebrated Denver eateries in which Chef Jasinski has had a hand.  (The other two are Euclid Hall and Rioja's across-the-street neighbor, Bistro Vendome.)  A former protege of the renowned Wolfgang Puck, Chef Jasinksi was both a semi-finalist and finalist for a James Beard Award and has been honored as Chef of the Year by Denver Magazine.  In addition to her success as a chef and her recent turn as a competitor on Top Chef Masters, Jennifer Jasinski has also ventured into the role of author, having recently publish a cookbook containing recipes from the Rioja menu.  Certainly, Chef Jasinski is one of the best and, like the adage, I saved the best for last.

Larimer Square
Lower Downtown Denver

Unlike my visit to Fruition the prior night, our experience at Rioja was incredible from beginning to end.  Rioja is centrally located in Larimer Square, an eclectic block of one-of-a-kind restaurants and shops lined with old fashioned street lamps, baskets of flowers and garlands of white lights.  Just driving onto the street makes you feel like you've just stepped through a door into another place.  Parking is not an issue since Larimer Square's valet stand is located just in front of the restaurant (valet service is $8 for Larimer Square customers).  Inside, the restaurant decor is modern and artsy featuring colorful glasswork on the walls.  The tempo of the restaurant is upbeat and energetic, to match the brightness of the street outside.  Although the noise level is a bit louder than other restaurants, it matched the restaurant vibe and was surprisingly acceptable.  Seating is situated in a way that didn't require either my husband or I to raise our voices to hold a conversation.

Just as the night before, we had children in tow.  But unlike Fruition, Rioja was much more welcoming to them.  Admittedly, the more energetic atmosphere is more forgiving for the diner with children.  Their questions about the menu and our reminders to them to mind table manners blended in with the other din in the restaurant.  They - and we - were also comfortable enough to allow them to busy themselves with their iPods without concern for bothering other guests.  The masque of the noise aside, however, the staff was much more accommodating than our prior experience.  The team of staff that waited on us at Rioja was very coordinated, more pleasant and conversational and sometimes even witty.    They complimented our menu choices, made suggestions for how we might better accommodate plate sharing with our children and even encouraged it.  Loved that.

For the table, we ordered the cardamom spiced Kurobuta "fresh pork" as a shared first course (again because I just have to try the pork belly wherever I go).  I then ordered two entrees to share with my children - seared sea scallops with leek custard, black truffle vinaigrette, grilled baby leeks and a white grape-fine herb compote; and Alaskan halibut pan roasted with brown butter, rye pansoti with a potato-butter filling, radishes three ways, watercress puree and nasturtium flowers.  My husband ordered the full size portion of Chef Jasinski's basil gnocchi served with chanterelles, micro basil, sheep's milk ricotta, olive oil and shallots.  When everything came to the table, we ate tapas style with entrees placed in the middle and sharing plates passed all around.  It was great to share such wonderful food "family style" in such a lively and energetic place.

What I loved:  All of the dishes were truly wonderful.  Everything was cooked well, seasoned well and timely served.  The handmade pastas were exceptional.  They were light and flavorful with the right amount of bite, not too toothy.  Often I find the filling in filled pastas to be on the scant side.  Not at Rioja.  The potato-butter filling in the pansoti was ample in quantity and velvety smooth in texture.  And where either the pasta or the filling can often overpower the other, in this case both were equal in proportion and could be equally appreciated.  Another element I loved was the white grape compote.  Subtlely sweet but not so much to standout above the scallops; they were wonderfully sweet little bites.  Frankly, what I found most interesting is how all the components of our dinner complemented each other, even as we were eating elements from different dishes together.  Everything worked, even if it hadn't been planned that way.  Perhaps I just lucked out in selecting our dishes, but the wait staff did say that some of the menu items contemplate sharing.  So, I suspect that this might in part be due to the genius of Chef Jasinski.

What I didn't love:  It's really hard to think about the low points of this dinner because it was really a great meal.  So, I suppose I just have to choose the things I loved least.  One of the items on the bread service was something akin to an herb crusted breadstick.  I didn't like that as much as the other bread selections, but only because the herbs were embarrassingly caught in my teeth.  And I will say that I did not find the goat cheese and fig-filled beignets to meet my expectations.  I'm a bit of a fig fanatic, so the dessert menu had me at "fig".  But these beignets are filled more with goat cheese than with fig.  I love goat cheese too but it did make for more of a salty-sweet dessert than I was prepared for.  That being said, I did comment several times to my salt-loving husband that they would certainly be to his liking.  He's on a self-imposed sweets hiatus right now so unfortunately he did not verify for himself.  And since I ate all of the beignets myself, he'll just have to rely on my opinion!

Raspberry Spuma with
Lemon Pound Cake and Raspberries

How much I spent:  ($$$)  Our family of four had one first course, three second courses and two desserts along with soft drinks and coffee.  Both still and sparkling water are complimentary at Rioja so there were no separate water charges.  Even with all of this food, we only spent $136 with a generous 20% tip.   I'm sure we could have spent more but it just wasn't necessary.  We had plenty to eat!

My overall rating:  4 1/4 spoons.  I loved Rioja and will definitely plan to make it a regular stop on my future trips to Denver.   Just like our shared dishes, everything about this place worked together harmoniously to make dining there a really great experience, especially when capping off a great vacation.  The atmosphere, energy, food and wonderful service contributed to a great dinner all the way around.  I wanted something to be a hallmark of this summer vacation in Colorado and Rioja obliged by giving me something nice to savor the next day as I traveled back home.  I fell in love with Colorado the first time I visited years ago and Rioja is just one more reason for me to come back.

Fruition Restaurant, Denver, Colorado

When I first knew that I would be flying in and out of Denver this summer, I began to research popular restaurants in the area.   My Pinterest dining board includes pins for notable restaurants in and around both Denver and Boulder.   Among these is Fruition Restaurant.  Fruition is housed in a renovated home along the busy thoroughfare of 6th Avenue.  It is an intimate setting for couples and small groups.  And its chef, Alex Seidel, is attracting attention.  In 2011, Fruition was rated Denver's top restaurant by Zagat.  Farm-to-table restaurants like Fruition are part of the current epicurean trend.

The four of us shared a slab of pork belly topped with a six minute egg and paired with english peas and handmade cavatelli.  My husband and son shared a grilled Bavette steak (which we learned is a flank cut) with duck fat french fries (yes, I said duck fat), swiss chard, summer leeks and olathe corn.  I enjoyed a Maple Leaf Farms duck breast with duck confit potato hash, poached asparagus, meyer lemon hollandaise and duck crackling salad while Anna ate pan roasted halibut cheeks en papillote.

What I loved:  The food was definitely good.  The sourdough bread in particular is a treat.  Soft in the middle with a nice crisp salty crust, served with appropriately softened butter.  Hmmm.  The farm-to-table concept is a plus and was most apparent in the service of the vegetables incorporated into our dishes.  The english peas, swiss chard, olathe corn and potatoes were all flavorful and fresh.  Believe me, one can really taste the difference when the vegetables are fresher.  The meats we ate were all cooked well (not the best we've ever had yet still good), but the veggies were the clear stars.

What I didn't love:  The service, which accounts for the shortness of this review.  We couldn't wait to get out of there.  The hostess was rather standoffish, which is a rather odd quality to have in a hostess.  When she mentioned the slight threshold between the entrance and our portion of the dining room, I swear she was whispering which explains why my husband tripped over it.  Our waitress clearly wasn't interested in waiting on us either.  We waited nearly 10 minutes for her to approach us from the time we were seated at our table.  Drinks did come in good time but the promised bread service was also slow.  Bread here is served by the piece and I actually found myself wishing they would just leave the bread on the table.  It was just a shame because I think the bread was probably my one favorite.  Our server rarely asked us how we were doing and whether we needed anything.  Again, very odd as I know there are other places that practically smother you.  And after our dinner was done, it took several more minutes just to clear the plates (which we were actually starting to stack on the table ourselves).  By the time someone noticed my nice, neat stack of dishes and realized we had been waiting, we were ready to go.  We asked for the check before she even had the opportunity to put down the dessert menus.  Our waitress couldn't have dropped that check off faster - the only really prompt service of the night.

What was most disappointing was seeing all the great service being given to our neighboring diners, not only by other servers but by our own server.  None, save one other table, included children.  It's sad to say, but I'm left to assume that was the problem.  Fruition did not have a separate children's menu, which did not surprise me, but our server made no attempt to make suggestions for my kids.  Now I didn't need suggestions, my kids are used to me taking them to restaurants just like Fruition.  But it would have been nice to see the effort.  Even the waiter at the more elegant Restaurant Kelly Liken tried to engage them, awkward as it may have been.  In fact, the hostess and servers all seemed uncomfortable serving my children.  They were tentative and unapproachable.  I suppose they just aren't used to young diners and frankly my kids are not that young.  (They are 8 and 13.)

How much I spent:  ($$$)  Because we were dining with our children, we shared several plates.  The four of us had a shared first course, and my husband and son shared their second course steak.  Because of her size and smaller appetite, I ordered a traditional first course halibut as my daughter's second course.  Although I stayed with water, everyone else ordered sodas and lemonade.  With a slim 10% tip due to very poor service, our bill came to $110.

My overall rating:  1 1/2 spoons.  The food is well prepared, not necessarily the best I have had but still good.  On food alone, this would have rated at least 3 spoons.  But the service was very poor, too poor to ignore.  It could have been much better, as clearly our dining neighbors got great service.  It's a shame that our server was not thrilled either by the lack of any wine at our table or the notion of serving our children.  And any place that isn't interested in having my kids there isn't a place I need to return to.  Chef Seidel should take a cue from Richard Blais and The Spence.  Now that's a place that loves kids, but that's another review for another day