Denver has quickly become one of my favorite cities to visit and I had the opportunity to go back just a few months ago with one of my best girlfriends when some friends of ours had twins - two perfect baby boys! Beyond the time we spent ogling over the new tiny humans, we explored all new restaurants and areas throughout the city, so I made sure to update the guide to give you even more suggestions on where to go and what to do on your next vacation to the Mile High city - including a review of my new favorite Denver restaurant, Colt & Gray. Click here for all the delicious details. Enjoy!
Eat. Drink. Read. - A Culinary Event for Literacy in San Diego
While I obviously love to travel and explore the world around me, my husband and I also realize the importance of home and caring for where you live. We are always looking for ways to give back to our community and we were honored to attend this incredible event that combines our passion for amazing food and for raising awareness for reading and education.
My husband Colin has always been an avid reader - flying through at least a book a week since I've known him and we've both been blessed with the accessibility to education throughout our whole lives; however, not everyone has those same opportunities even here in San Diego. If you've ever traveled to another country and been confused or lost because you couldn't translate the menu or the street signs, imagine what that would be like at home on a daily basis. A staggering number of kids and adults struggle to read at a basic level and the San Diego Council on Literacy helps to provide literacy assistance to 170,000 of those individuals in need each year.
The event took place in Brian Malarkey's beautiful La Jolla restaurant, Green Acres. Dozens of Chefs and local restaurants came together for the night, each creating a dish that represented their favorite book. Hundreds of people and businesses gathered to taste the delicious food and celebrate a worthy cause and it was a pleasure to be part of it. A great thanks goes out to the San Diego Council on Literacy volunteers who worked so hard to organize the festivities and to the chefs who so graciously gave of their time and resources to shed light on an organization that seeks to provide the gift of reading to children and adults in San Diego. I hope you will join me next year or reach out for ways you can help support the San Diego Council on Literacy.
The Red Crow Grill - Unexpected Luxury in Bettendorf, Iowa
Occasionally I travel for my "real" job and most of the time it's to eastern Iowa... not exactly the capitol of luxury travel or five star restaurants (or four stars for that matter). But on my most recent trip, I stumbled across true foodie gold at The Red Crow Grill and have been dreaming about my incredible meal ever since.
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On the last night of the trip, my colleague and I booked the Chef's Table (yeah, I was shocked that even existed in Iowa!) for only $99 a person; a steal compared to the $250+/pp I'm used to in major cities. We were led to our intimate table literally in front of the kitchen where we were greeted by Executive Chef Erik and Chef Darren and that's where the magic began.
These guys are not your typical boring Chef's that just make the same old thing night after night or the egotistical guys who sit behind a pedestal and make everyone around them do the real cooking. They're young, they're creative, they take risks and Erik has a diagram of pork parts tooted on his forearm... if that's not a sign of a guy obsessed with food I don't know what is. Combine Erik's drive for creating perfect dishes and genius flavor combos with Darren's Chemistry degree and artistic eye, these best friends develop a menu with depth and sophistication that you'd be hard pressed to find at any five star restaurant.
Executive Chef Erik Johnson
Chef Darren
For over three hours, my friend and I were spoiled by the beautiful dishes that came pouring out of the kitchen; I honestly lost count after the 13th dish so who knows how many we ate that night. These guys aren't afraid to take risks in an area where meat and potatoes reign as king; they served everything from rabbit to kobe beef along side their homemade jams, cheeses and a plethora of Asian flavors and unique ingredients all perfectly plated to the left (you heard me right, always plated to the left!). Every gorgeous dish was like a fancy present waiting to be unwrapped by my fork and not so daintily shoved into my mouth.
What made our meal unforgettable was the intimate and intentional conversations we had with the guys throughout the entire evening. Even when they were slammed with orders, they took time to thoughtfully explain every dish and answer all of our questions along the way - never making us feel like we were in the way or interrupting. We felt like we got a front row seat the the best show in the city and it was just for us; it couldn't have been better. And to top it off, the Pastry Chef, Jeff Tertipes, sent us home with a box of decadent homemade cookie dough to enjoy later in the week - so sweet and unexpected!
I don't know if many of you will be taking a trip to Iowa anytime soon, but if you want a glimpse of these rising stars before they end up at some swanky New York City spot that you'll never be able to get reservations to anyway, go soon. I'm just thankful that I had the opportunity to experience their talent in such a special way early on and you can guarantee that I will continue to go back every single time I'm in town as long as these guys are running the kitchen.
Cheese Board | Rice Crisps | Apricot Jam
bourbon braised pork neck | buttered popcorn | grilled onion | house made garlic vinegar | stir fried cauliflower
35 day dry aged duck | braised grains | salt preserved beets glazed in apricot | sea beans | sweet and sour meat broth
rabbit ravioli | chewy charred carrot | apricot jam | boiled cashew | pepper jam | violas | bbq butter
Ora salmon | plum jam | dehydrated fennel jam | charred asparagus | leeks braised in leek jus
pumpernickel toast | molasses carrot purée | onion jam | almond milk crumble | garden roots poured table side burnt pepper soup
mushroom dumpling | bouillon reduction | onion sour cream | poppyseed relish
black forbidden rice crisp | bigeye tuna tartare | baby cabbage | yuzu kosho | chewy line nuts |
a5 Kobe beef | 50/50 potato | baby spinach dressed in truffle vinaigrette | shaved perigord truffle | dehydrated "onion soup
cookie flight | cream top milk
peanut cake|salted caramel cremeaux|peanut mousse|caramel powder|sweet corn gelato|peanut encapsulated in sugar
the team