Another year wiser and so many places to visit.....AROUND TOWN

Dinner at District Meats was great fun. The place looks great with the redo—friendly, smaller and super lighting make the place friendly and comfortable. Our dinner was good. We had super bread and then shared bibb lettuce salad with bacon, tomato, and ranch and the excellent Caesar. Then we had trout, steak slices, a burger, and a pizza from next door. Sides of mashed potatoes and mushrooms were great. Dessert was a rich delicious chocolate cake. There is valet parking on the corner and they were great too.

Shells and Sauce—I may be a regular and the bar-but met some great new friends-one just moved here-we have another date!!!! Miranda was behind the bar and we had great wine—and fabulous food. First comes the super bread and dip and then Caesar and arugula salads---yum. Entrees of vongole, chicken, and fruitti de mar were all winners-my new friend had eggplant parm—she is a veggie and this is a great choice-veggie or not. And then we ended with tiramisu-Mark wanted to start-but finished.

I went to Wystone’s World Teas. This is one great place with fantastic-the best-teas ever. They are loose leaf and amazing---and so is the food. We had breakfast-oatmeal, sausage, and Bennie’s—for me of course. We are doing a special event-a cooking class and tea information ---wow!!!! Look at Gabby dinners—and the money goes to Give Paws.

We went to Charcoal for dinner and our guests who had not been were totally impressed. The décor is soft and welcoming, service is great, and we started with lovely selections of wine and terrific bread from Chef Patrick. We had an amuse of duck confit and then not to miss starters: gravlox, the feta mousse, and the grilled Caesar salad. All are worth the trip. Entrees were wonderful as well. Try the lamb T-bone, the chicken with amazing Brussels sprouts, or a perfectly done salmon. And do not leave without dessert. The chocolate soufflé is decadent but the berry tart won top honors. Charcoal also does lunch and weekend brunch.

Valentine’s Day is always special and Elway’s Cherry Creek had a special menu if you wanted, as well as offering the regular menu---which we did. We were in the bar area-our place of choice and every inch was filled in every area of the restaurant. The valet, hostesses, servers, everyone amazes with the great service and feel. We had the breads, fabulous wine, and then the BLT salad and the crab cocktail. They were amazing as are all the appetizers and salads here. Entrees were Elway’s special salmon with seafood, the plain salmon, and the strip with sautéed onions. Every dish was perfect—and then came the grand finale—dessert. Chocolate was the theme with the most decadent chocolate cake enough for 4 (but finished) and the brownie ala mode. That was finished too. And one really does not want to leave as this place is HEAVENLY. Enjoy Elway’s anytime for lunch, dinner, and great weekend brunch. A tip for Restaurant Week—do not use Open Table but call instead. It is hard for restaurants to take reservations for all on Open Table so if it looks full, call and you might get a place. That is not for sure, but it often works.

TV fun on Channel 7 on the 11am news today with Restaurant Weeks starting on February 25 and continuing through March 9, we featured some of the restaurants that are participating. We will do more next week. These were great. We had Restaurant Kevin Taylor that is fabulous at the Teatro Hotel. Some of the items they will serve are Hawaiian rare tuna with gazpacho salad and yellow gazpacho puree, scallops with cauliflower potato puree, carrots, and crispy prosciutto, and a blackberry panna cotta with white chocolate, pistachio squares and fruit. Solera on E. Colfax and Grape featured creamy tomato lentil soup, salmon with arugula and cauliflower, and pork chop with kale, bacon, and fingerling potatoes. Lola Costal on Boulder in LoHi brought shrimp ceviche with housemade potato chips, flank steak with root vegetable stew and mole, and carrot soup with spicy Lola hot sauce and cheese. Last but certainly not least was Bella Bistro in Arvada on Ralston Rd. They showed—and enticed us with duck confit with faro and mini broccolini flowers, rare tuna with Israeli couscous, and beet gnocchi with root veggie hash. Remember to call the places in case Open Table could take no more on their system, or walk in and eat at the bar—or maybe someone did not show up. AND TIP YOUR SERVERS WELL!!!!! I will show you more next Wednesday on TV----and our entire radio show this week at Root Down is about 5280 week with the folks from Visit Denver---and some great giveaways. You do not want to miss it. That is 1-3 on KHOW 630am on the dial. The call line is 303-713-8255.

Paxia
4001 Tejon
Denver, 80211
720-583-6860

Paxia is one great Mexican restaurant. The entire menu—and staff is new, very different from the beginnings and now is one of the best spots in town. Start with fabulous margaritas, great wine, and beer along with salsa and chips. There are three extra salsas to please all tastes from mild to hot hot. The food is not typical Mexican. There was no heavy cheese on anything, and beans and rice were special, not just there. We had ceviche 3 ways—white fish, shrimp, and divine octopus with great flavor. Then we had tostadas de tingas—mini tostados with chipotle marinated beef with queso freso, and tlacoyos which translated to masa and black bean cakes topped with grilled pear cactus, jalapeño, tomato, onion and chicken. This was a real favorite. The most favorite dish of two of us was the chiles en Nogada: read white and green with a poblano pepper stuffed with pine nuts, almonds, raisins, and seasoned beef covered with walnut cream and pomegranates. The other blue ribbon winner—for the rest of the guests—was the molcajetes: a broth of stewed tomatoes, garlic, jalapeños, and onions served in a huge mortar and pestle and filled with shrimp, fish, seafood, and cheese. Sides include rice, terrific guacamole, salsa and house made corn tortillas. Dessert was a tower of sorbets over fresh fruit and spun sugar. The new logo (very impressive) boasts “authentic Mexican cuisine” and Paxia is keeping true to its word. With great food, service, drinks, and fun, this is the place to be.

We had a lunch meeting wrap up for Mi Casa Charity event and it was great. Elmir, F & B guy who is amazing—at the Warwick and we were at the Restaurant, Randolph’s, was fabulous. There were 10 of us and we each ordered from the menu, and Jean Claude made everyone happy. We had everything from tuna and scallops, to special salads with chicken, a burger, a grilled cheese sandwich, and on and on. What fun to get to have great food and a great meeting all at once.

Wooden Table was the birthday dinner spot and we loved it. The place is so busy-but our family had a wonderful time. We had super bread and dip, the Caesar, the fritto crudo, and the spinach salad for appetizers with the great bread. Then we had the pasta with lamb, the cod, the mussels, and sausage with chicken cacciatore for entrees-we all loved them. And the applet tart tatin with cinnamon ice cream and the chocolate mousse were a perfect ending. What a wonderful way to celebrate.