The happiest hour at Colt & Gray

The restaurant Colt & Gray has won more than a few accolades since it opened on Platte Street in Denver several years ago, and is also conveniently located right next to ES's workplace. But how do you eat at a high-end gastropub without dropping a load of cash on a full meal?

Enter happy hour. Colt & Gray has a particularly nice one, boasting a variety of specialty cocktails along with a small, low-priced menu of interesting nibbles.

All of this takes place in the restaurant's elegant and clubby-feeling barroom, full of tall, cushy leather chairs and extremely pleasant, white-aproned servers. So one afternoon ES and I settled ourselves at a corner table—and then proceeded to order nearly everything on the happy hour menu.

Our first drink order consisted of a Sazerac (rye, absinthe, and Peychaud’s bitters) for ES, and a Platte St. Sling (gin, rhubarb, lemon, basil, and club soda) for me. Though ES found my drink too sour, and though I wrinkled my nose at the taste of whiskey in his, we were both perfectly pleased with our choices. I loved the floral sweet-tartness of the cocktail, as well as the surprising saltiness of the olive garnish, and I wasn't a bit sorry that ES wasn't trying to steal sips.

The cocktails made a nice accompaniment to the food—or was it the other way around? The one-bite wings tasted like very tender pieces of barbecued short ribs, or some other kind of fatty, succulent meat; the sheep's milk cheese (whose name I can't remember) came with a delightful apple compote that made a strangely excellent pairing with its funk. And while the gougères were not what I expected—instead of small puffs of a savory pâte à choux, these were Utz cheeseball–sized nuggets dusted with what tasted like a slightly more complex version of neon "cheez" powder, and with an oddly grainy and pasty texture within—they were crisp and warm and made for good snacking.

The only one I wasn't impressed with was the crispy pig trotter, which ES had fondly remembered from past visits. I was imagining a whole, deep-fried pig foot, like something I'd get in a Filipino restaurant, but out came two breaded pucks of chopped and mushy meat in a pool of mild-tasting mustard sauce, the whole of which tasted a lot more like tuna than pork. Nothing against tuna; the disconnect was strange, is all.

And then along came the caramel popcorn. Not just any caramel popcorn, but a bacon and cashew caramel popcorn, each bite smoky and salty and chewy and sweet all at once. It was so good that we ordered it twice, our fingers having reached the bottom of the bowl too soon. Apparently we're not the only ones enamored with this popcorn's charms; the recipe can be found as part of Bon Appétit's 2010 "Best Bar Snacks" feature.

All the while we were having more cocktails, such as the Marguerite (gin, Dolin Blanc vermouth, and orange bitters), the Picador (tequila, lime, and Curaçao), and the Bees Knees (gin, lemon, and honey). I also ordered Colt & Gray's housemade Brandy Milk Punch, which according to the menu consists of "Smith & Cross Jamaican rum, applejack, Batavia Arrack, milk, Teatulia green tea, lemon, and spices." I expected the punch to be, I don't know, milky, but actually it wasn't at all—just clean and sharp with the taste of mingled rums and liqueurs and freshly grated nutmeg.

By the time we left, both of us were full and I was just a little bit tipsy. More than that, however: I was satisfied that I'd taken in not just food and cocktails, but also the pleasures of dining in an eminently civilized, stylish, and somehow still friendly atmosphere—all without breaking the bank. It is obvious that I'll be returning, right?

Two dinners, one night: Ototo Den and Sushi Den

Ototo Den is the newest of a set of long-established Denver restaurants that also includes Izakaya Den, a self-described "sake house with tapas," and Sushi Den, one of the city's most popular sushi restaurants, all of which I'd been hearing about for a while. It so happened that I was in town the week that the three restaurants were pledging to donate a portion of their dinner sales toward Japan relief efforts, and it seemed like a good time to finally give the place a try.

ES had heard that Ototo Den was offering ramen, and as the night was chilly we drove to Pearl Street especially eager for big, steamy bowls of noodles and soup. Unfortunately, when we sat down and opened up the menu there was no such bowl to be found. A query to the server revealed that the restaurant had decided to revise their offerings and decided ramen didn't fit in. He suggested that we have some snacks at Ototo Den while happy hour was still on, and then walk across the street to Sushi Den, where ramen was still being prepared. Ototo Den has a great happy hour list, with both food and drink at a good discount, and I was totally fine with that plan.

We ordered a number of small plates, not knowing exactly how much food we would end up with, but figuring that we couldn't get that full just off of appetizers. The foie gras terrine came out first, drizzled with marinated beetroot cubes and microgreens and accompanied by grilled triangles of chewy bread. For five bucks this was an ample amount, and the sweetness of the beets set off the rich creaminess of the duck liver beautifully.

Roasted sunchokes with aioli were wonderful too, the preparation bringing out the tuber's gentle sweetness and lightly crunchy texture, not quite potato and not quite water chestnut. A coating of garlic and parsley finished the dish, and the aioli was a nice touch.

We'd ordered all of the three skewers that were on the happy hour menu, and they came out at once. I didn't get to try the oyster skewer, but the single bite of panko-crusted calamari I had was tender and perfectly fried. I liked the charred shishito peppers and fat shiitake mushrooms too—each bite was earthy, intensely smoky, almost bitter.

The last thing we'd ordered was the country pate, which came out with more grilled bread and accompaniments of grainy mustard, greens, and cornichons. You can't really tell in this photo, but this was a fairly large slab—maybe a few centimeters thick and a little bigger than the size of a playing card deck. This is definitely a hearty appetizer, especially at the same price as the foie gras terrine.

Both of us were getting full at this point, but we'd had our hearts set on ramen all along, and so even after all that food somehow it wasn't a question that we would still head over to Sushi Den. Though there was a busy crowd that night, we were seated at the sushi bar after only about twenty minutes. Hot hand towels and water were set down before us, as well as little bowls of a refreshing cucumber and squid salad.

But wait! There was udon on the menu, but again, no sign of ramen. We flagged down a server and once more made an inquiry, and his reply? To try Ototo Den, "because they're still serving it." ES and I shook our heads and, with sadness, filled in our server on the situation.

No matter. Since we were already sitting we figured there were other intriguing items to try, including the Dynamite, which ES checked off on the sushi bar menu immediately, explaining that he orders this appetizer every time. Shrimp, button mushrooms, and tiny scallops blanketed in a thick, creamy layer of broiled mayonnaise—sure, what's not to love? The richness of the dish made eating too much of it at once a little bit sickening, but it was nonetheless a trashily delicious indulgence.

The meat in the Kobe Beef Roll, paired with lettuce, asparagus, mayo, and a sprinkling of shichimi, was thinly sliced, marinated in a sweet soy-based sauce, and tasted exactly like Korean bulgogi. While it was good, it really wasn't all that special—the beef could have been any beef, and the roll was hastily constructed and already unraveling when it reached us.

Better was the Tuna Firecracker Roll, filled with tuna, avocado, and cucumber and paved with wasabi tobiko, and then topped with cilantro, shallots, and slices of raw jalapeno. Normally I'm not a fan of fusion-y Japanese food like this, but something about the flavors really worked, with the jalapeno adding freshness, crunch, and heat. I admired the rice, too, which was perfectly done—each warm grain flavorful and distinct but also melding together with the ingredients to create a tasty mouthful.

By now we'd eaten so much food I was about to burst, but nonetheless out came the "new style" salmon roll, where the raw fish had been quickly passed through hot oil seasoned with ginger and scallion—just enough to warm up the fish and lightly cook the outside. These tender pieces arrived draped over a roll that held asparagus, cucumber, and avocado, and I really enjoyed the interplay of textures and temperatures in each bite.

Thankfully, that was the end of our meal. Somehow ES and I had managed to consume two dinners in one evening, our brains believing that because each plate had been so small, and that so many had been billed as appetizers, we hadn't eaten as much as we really had. Our groaning bellies told the truth, though, and though we'd had no ramen that night, we'd definitely had plenty else to satisfy, and how.

Stove: A favorite of Astoria

TL has been a fan of Stove in Astoria for a long time, to the point where he refused to tell other people about it so he could keep the place his own little secret. I'm not sure there's too much danger of that though—the restaurant is located in a residential area far from any train stations, so a person wanting to eat at Stove would have to be pretty dedicated. Even I never made it out there until a week ago, despite TL swearing by the honey-glazed double-cut pork chops for the past year.

I was back in New York City for the weekend in order to attend a friend's wedding (congratulations again, JF and JA!), and managed to arrive in time to celebrate JS's birthday with him the night before. Since we planning to hit up the new beer garden that night, dinner in Astoria was a natural choice.

At Stove, I passed up the pork chops in favor of a hanger steak, cooked medium rare, and with mashed potatoes substituted for the shoe string potatoes it was supposed to come with. I'm not an expert on steaks, but this one seemed full of meaty flavor, though slightly on the chewy side. It also arrived with lightly sauteed carrots, broccoli, and string beans, which were fresh and buttery.

Our side of the table split an appetizer of the Prince Edward Island mussels steamed in white wine and garlic, which was a smaller portion size than we expected. The mussels were plump and briny, and the sauce made a perfect dip for the crusty bread our server amiably refilled for us throughout the meal. We also got a appetizer special of Irish sausages encased in puff pastry: Stove's version of pigs in a blanket. The onion jam they came with was probably the best part, serving as a perfect complement to the juicy sausage and flaky pastry.

I tried a bite of the birthday boy's strawberry ice cream (the only dessert they don't make in-house, according to our server), as well as several spoonfuls of a dish of strawberries in cream. Both nicely showcased the flavor of the fruit.

In the end, I'm not sure whether Stove is worth the trek. Service was great and everything was tasty, but nothing about the place seemed unique. I felt like I was having a well-prepared meal of pretty typical grub, at a place more like a good neighborhood joint than a destination restaurant. Still, maybe I should try those pork chops….

Seva: A question of consistency

I've been into Seva ever since I first discovered the place, but a few things seem to have changed in its offerings, both for better and for worse. I still count Seva among my favorite restaurants in Astoria, but it seems to be pretty inconsistent in its offerings and preparations, so I've been finding it hard to peg what kind of experience I'm going to get when I step in there.

The veggie samosa comes as one of the appetizer choices for the $7 lunch special, which includes either the samosa or mulligatawny soup, an entree, and basmati rice (this special used to be $8, but also included a drink). I've had the samosa a couple of times now, and it's always been good. Well balanced flavor, and Seva seems to have a knack for frying items while keeping the greasiness to a minimum.

I liked the new eggplant chat dish both times I had it, an appetizer which consists of tender slices of Japanese eggplant coated in a chickpea flour batter and served with pickled onions, mint chutney, and tamarind chutney. But FoodMayhem paid Seva a visit recently and ate what appears to be a somewhat different version of the same dish.

Sadly, the bok choy crispy curls have gone downhill. On the left is the appetizer as I first had it; the bok choy was fried in a really light batter, and the focus was on the vegetable and not the coating. Now, the appetizer is made with a different batter that's more crunchy than crisp, and the fritters taste heavy. The current portion size is nearly half that of its previous incarnation.

The malai kofta at Seva is probably one of the best versions I've ever had, though I can't claim to eating malai kofta often. Unlike the dense rounds of unknown matter that usually appear in this dish, Seva's vegetable balls were tender, loosely packed croquettes of potato, cheese, raisins, and fresh-tasting vegetables. The creamy sauce pooled around them managed to taste both rich and light. Since this was the first time I ordered this dish here I can't say whether or not it's changed, but now that I've tried it I am a fan.

On another occasion, I tried a piece of their suji halwa—a moist, lightly sweet semolina cake that also happens to be vegan—and liked it a lot. Prices are still exceptional, and Seva's convenient location to TL's apartment means that I'll probably keep going for a while yet. I'll just cross my fingers that the restaurant starts being more consistent for the better, and that they bring back the old recipe for the bok choy crispy curls!

Stand, for burgers a step above

I never thought it could happen, but I actually OD'd on Asian food by my third week away from Colorado. Between the Burmese, Shanghainese, and multiple Vietnamese meals I'd had in San Francisco; the Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese meals I'd had in Philadelphia; and the Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Malaysian, and Japanese meals I'd had in NYC, I'd completely satisfied any cravings I had for noodles and rice and was totally ready for some good ol' American food.

So TL and I met up with my brother and SS for dinner at Stand, which I had been wanting to check out for a while. What's more American than a burger? The restaurant is conveniently located just off of Union Square, and so dinner marked yet another occasion of me trying to scout out a place to grub in the area.

After our server misheard our order of fried bread and butter pickles as one for an order of their "pot of pickles," we found ourselves with not one but two briny appetizers. I was pretty happy the latter arrived by mistake, because I really liked the pickled carrots and string beans. The fried pickles were great too: the sweetness and acidity of the pickle slices stood right up to the hot, crunchy batter, and they barely needed their dipping sauce of honey mustard. Despite the menu's claims, tempura-battered they were not, but I wasn't bothered.

Both SS and I went for the "Kid's Pack," which includes a mini burger, small fries, and a drink for eight bucks, and we both got pretty excited when we realized our drink options extended to a kid-sized portion of any one of their milkshakes. Above is my honey-lavender milkshake next to TL's full-sized maple-almond one; the minis are probably about half the size of the regular.

The milkshakes weren't as thick as I prefer and their flavors were a little muted, but I still liked them. I especially dug the crunchy bits of almond in TL's, and I kept stealing sips of his between mine. He didn't mind…I think.

Our burgers came out shortly after. TL went with the classic (left), which came topped with red onion, lettuce, tomato, sliced pickles, ketchup, and dijon mustard, while my brother went with the hamburger (right), which came with onion marmalade, lettuce, and a side of green peppercorn sauce. Both burgers came with a few fried pickle slices, too.

Above is the Kid's Pack in its entirety. The Mini Burger consists of a small beef patty on brioche, topped with pickles and ketchup (I added Swiss cheese for an extra dollar). I think the Mini Burgers actually suffered for their size—both SS's and mine were cooked too long (more medium than medium rare), and both were extremely salty. TL and my brother didn't have any complaints about their burgers, but SS left half of hers uneaten.

Innards shot. Not sure if you can tell, but the meat was far from juicy. I'll stick with a regular-sized burger next time.

Not only did we have the piles of fries from our Kids Packs, but we also had two other side dishes, which came out a little after our burgers. The onion rings weren't anything special, but the sweet potato fries were quite good—nice and crispy instead of soggy like so many other versions. The odd thing was that they didn't have much sweet potato flavor; had you mixed them in with the regular fries, I don't think I would have noticed too much of a difference.

I could have had a better burger, but Stand is still a decent, inexpensively priced option for the area. Otherwise, if you haven't overdone it with Asian food like I did, Num Pang is right across the street.

Cafe Zaiya: Sandwiches, a snack, and a sweet

Cafe Zaiya has held a special place in my heart ever since I had my first meal there, and when RT and I decided to meet up for lunch I jumped at the opportunity to eat there again. I arrived before he did and immediately picked up a box of assorted sandwiches, which RT amiably agreed to share with me once he showed up. He told me that he usually eats the trio of sandwiches in order of least flavorful to most, which for him means that he first goes for the tuna salad, then the egg salad, and then finally the chicken katsu. I took his suggestion and ate the sandwiches in the same order he did, but whether that added to my experience or not, I have no idea. Heh.

I also got a beef croquette. The inside was like mashed potatoes mixed with a bit of ground beef rather than a straight beef filling, but I had no issues with that. It reminded me a bit of the Caribbean Food Shack's Combo Pie, but with a substantial, crunchy panko crumb shell instead of one of thin fried dough.

I stashed away a "Chestnut Pie" for later, and was disappointed when I finally ate it and discovered not a filling of chestnut puree, but one of red bean with a single sweetened chestnut in the middle of it. The whole thing was too sweet overall, but I can see how others might be fans. Experimenting at Cafe Zaiya is always fun—you never know what you'll find.

Via Emilia redux

When DL suggested going to Via Emilia I was happy to say yes. I'd enjoyed the meal I'd had there last time, and since the place is tasty, inexpensive, and close to her office, meeting up there for lunch was an easy decision.

As before, they started us off with a basket of sliced focaccia and a dish of fruity olive oil for dipping.

As a starter we went for one of the day's specials, mozzarella in carroza. I have a feeling this is one of those recipes that has a lot of variations, but the basic concept seems to involve slipping mozzarella cheese between two slices of bread, and then dipping the whole thing in batter and pan-frying it until the bread crisps and the cheese gets gooey. Like the love child of french toast and grilled cheese, maybe. Via Emila's version added thin slices of proscuitto to the mix, as well as a weird green puree on the side that tasted vaguely of spinach. I don't know what that puree was supposed to accomplish, but it neither added or detracted from the dish.

During my last meal at Via Emilia I'd eyed my friend's tagliatelle al ragu with envy, and I seized the opportunity to order it for myself this time. I have a feeling I've found my go-to dish at this restaurant—the tender ribbons of fresh pasta were coated in a rich, beefy sauce that made each bite pure pleasure. DL ordered the farfalle al salmon I had liked, but after the tagliatelle al ragu I wasn't even interested in taking a bite.

I think I crave that fresh pasta even now…I might have to start looking into how to make my own.

Malaysian favorites at Laut

For some reason, whenever I'm in NYC I find myself constantly looking for good places to eat near Union Square. Maybe it's because I used to work around the area (well, a little further up, in the Flatiron Building), and so whenever I'm running errands I still go to the same places. Or maybe it's just a natural place for me to be, since it's on the train lines I take most frequently. In any case, I was happy to discover Laut, a nice-looking Malaysian/Thai restaurant just a few blocks off of Union Square.

I was there with MH to take LT out for a very belated birthday dinner, and the three of us split two appetizers, the roti canai (above) a thin, chewy, griddled pancake, and the roti telur (top photo), which was a pancake filled with an egg, scallion, and onion mixture. Both came with a chicken curry dipping sauce. I order one or both of these nearly every time I step foot into a Malaysian restaurant, and these two were pretty decent.

I asked for the nasi lemak on recommendation from my brother, who had passed on the tip that it was excellent. I'm not familiar enough with Malaysian food to say for sure, but this certainly seemed like a great version of the dish—the items around the mound of coconut rice (chili shrimp, chicken curry, little fried anchovies, pickled carrots and cucumbers, and chili onions) were all super flavorful and appetizing. I couldn't decide whether to eat each item bit by bit, or to pair some with others, or to just mix up the whole thing. I think I did a little bit of the first two until I got midway through, whereupon I swirled my spoon through whatever remained and ate the dish all together. Now I can testify that however you feel like eating nasi lemak, the dish will taste good.

Carb on carb at Pizzeria Uno

Along with Olive Garden, Pizzeria Uno (I just noticed that now it's called "Uno Chicago Grill") was another restaurant I and my high school friends frequented. I ate there through college as well, now that I'm thinking about it. What can I say? Back then the place offered the kind of affordable, junky deliciousness that perfectly appealed to my tastebuds.

Fast-forward ten years to the present. I had spent the afternoon shopping for supplies with TC, who was about to spend two and a half years volunteering in Ghana for the Peace Corps. I think we were feeling more than a little nostalgic over times gone by—when we met up with MH for dinner in Forest Hills, we passed up all the new, unfamiliar restaurants for the ol' tried and true.

At Pizzeria Uno, the pizza skins were exactly as I remembered them: a thick layer of creamy mashed potato inside a buttery deep dish crust, topped with melted cheese, bacon, and sour cream. While eating vegetarian for four years in college I had asked for the pizza skins to come without the bacon, thereby making the appetizer "healthy"—not that I had ever fooled anyone.

Knowing I would be scarfing down more than a few pizza skin wedges, I had ordered a salad for my entree, but it was probably one of the least healthy salads I could have gotten. The Honey Crisp Chicken salad combined slices of a breaded chicken filet, red peppers, cheddar, bacon, and an inexplicable tangle of cold, gummy noodles on top of mixed greens, with a honey-mustard dressing that I requested come on the side. I didn't even bother with the noodles—they made no sense—but the rest of the salad wasn't bad.

More important to me than the food was the the place managing to match up to my memories, and it did. That was all I wanted that night.