BekkiM

So far this year I've gone to two places: Via and Rioja. We went to Via the second? night (Satuday) with a group of 12--big mistake! We had a 7:00 reservation, but weren't seated until nearly 8:00. In the meantime, we ran up a sizable tab in the bar (new bartender--didn't even know the short list of cocktails on their menu, also didn't bring us water despite repeated requests--one of those times when you want to reach over the bar, grab the dispenser, and remedy the problem yourself). Once we were finally seated, things did NOT improve. It took them at least 30 minutes to take our order and bring us bread. They were out of the wine we wanted and initially balked at giving us our second choice at the same price (they did finally relent). Our "spinach with gorgonzola, bacon, and dates" salads were nothing more than a raggedy handful of spinach (it looked like they'd rushed out to SafeWay and grabbed every bag of baby spinach they could find) slapped on a plate with nary a date, sliver of bacon, chunk of cheese, or lick of dressing in sight. After flagging down the waiter, they replaced them with equally disappointing "caesars" Entrees were bland and when we finally managed to order dessert, they were out, so half our table didn't get any. On the plus side, they knocked 30% off our bill when we complained. All-in-all, it was a truly bad dining experience. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, they're a young restaraunt and they clearly weren't prepared for the influx of people from Rest. Week. Last night (Tuesday), I went to Rioja and it was 180 degrees from the experience at Via. We arrived a few minutes prior to our reservation and our table wasn't ready (no biggie), so we sat at the bar and had a glass of wine. Once seated, they explained the menu (they offered the full menu for the fixed price, with a small premium on some of the more expensive dishes) and someone arrived with a glorious basket of mixed breads (the goat cheese biscuits are to die for). I had the pork belly , which has got to be one of the top five things I have EVER eaten, followed with the seared duck breast with truffle rissotto (which our server described as "far and away the best thing on our menu" and I'd be inclined to agree if it wasn't for the pork belly)--marvelous!!!! And dessert was goat cheese beignets with port wine reduction--divine. I'm still drooling... The service was excellent throughout the night (we never had to search for a waiter even though the place was definitely hopping) and all-in-all, we truly enjoyed ourselves. It must be hard for restaraunts during 52.80 week since they get so many more, and more inexperienced, diners than usual, but the two places I tried this year definitely displayed the spectrum of responses--either treat it like a chore and end up panicking when you can't handle the pressure, or treat it like an opportunity to expose more people to your art and end up creating devotees who will sing your praises to anyone and everyone... I'm off to Duo tomorrow night--I'll let you know how it goes.

Froogle says approximately $15,000 usd for the "monument to food preservation" that is the Pro 48.

The 9th Doorclaims to be and while I've heard good things about it, I can't vouch for it myself. CitySearch lists these places when you search on "tapas/small plates"

I've done it a couple of times (once by accident when we just happened to drop in to Jax and once on purpose to go to Zenga) and I think it's a pretty neat idea. The best draw, IMHO, is that you can try a restaurant that might otherwise be out of your price range (or try it out before making a big dollar commitment). It's like a sampler menu--you get to get a sense of the food at a place since most of the menus include several courses. When we went to Zenga (which is an okay, if slightly over-hyped, place), we went with two other couples who don't eat out much and would have balked at the regular menu prices there, so it worked out well. It was silly at Jax b/c I don't really like their food and would rather have spent $26 on oysters, but check out the menus first and make your decision from there.

Ahhh... Ikea.... I spent Christmas in Michigan with the in-laws and one of the few redeeming points of the visit (with apologies to people from Michigan who actually *like* living somewhere grey and flat) was our visit to Ikea. Husband and 9-year-old son weren't nearly as enthralled as I was, so the visit was a bit hurried, but it was still wonderful. Yes, many items are not very durable, but I love the design, the quirkiness, the low prices, and the hidden gems. I came home with a stainless steel mixing bowl (can never have too many of those and since husband tends to use them to water the dog after which I'm a little queasy about cooking in them, I always need a few more), a stainless steel tall collander, some lavender candles, and a meat-pounder (that will be used almost exclusively for crushing candy for cookies). I liked the 365+ dishware, but decided I could order that from home and let them package it for shipping, as well as the planters, lamps, and wineracks. I haven't used the cabinets and am glad to hear that they hold up well. We've got a few places in the basement that could use built-in storage and I'm hoping I can find Ikea pieces to fit. The good news is that Denver is scheduled to get an Ikea--the bad news is that it isn't until 2010 or some such. But I'm willing to wait. I just loooooove the place!

I think it *is* a bit pretentious and (for Denver) over-priced, but the food was definitely good. My husband still drools when he mentions (as he does quite frequently) the homemade peanut-butter-cup dessert--on the other hand, I cannot recall anything else about that meal except that the restaraunt was virtually empty and our service was so-so. Of course, this was more than a year ago, things may have changed.

Aren't they wonderful? I love shopping there--and I like Fred's Meats on Holly and Pete's Market next door as well. Have a lovely visit!

Care to share? My favorite wine shop--large selection, reasonable prices, apparently knowledgeable (sp?) staff--is, hands down, Applejack Wine & Spirits in Wheat Ridge (out of your way, I know, but if you're driving around provisioning, it's worth the trip). The only down side is that they don't take credit cards. (Down side? What am I saying? This is the only thing that's prevented me from mortgaging the house when I'm there. ) City Wine gets good reviews in Denver (on Colarado at Alameda), tho their selection is small. Argonaut also gets good reviews (on Colfax), but for some reason I've never warmed up to the place. I'm sure there are others, but those are my favorites. A plus if you go to Argonaut is that you're not far from Marczyk Fine Foods (770 E 17th) which used to be one of my favorite groceries. Unlike Whole Paycheck (however, if you choose to go that route, the best one in the city is on Hamden), it's small, locally owned, and they'll sell you cheese in picnic sizes. But... my original reason for responding to this post is that, much as I think Denver is improving, I have to agree that we don't/can't match "real" food cities like NYC and SF. That being said, I think there are some very good options here (and Frasca, up in Boulder, which I've raved about before is even better than very good, but it's not within easy driving distance of downtown and you must have a reservation). Potager is definitely one of them, as are Rioja, Luca D'Italia, Restaraunt Kevin Taylor, and (so I've been told) Duo. I was singularly unimpressed with Tula (bland, lousy service, waaaay over-priced) and Tamayo (ditto) and haven't tried Ocean (which is in the very lovely ex-Mao location in Cherry Creek). Many people really like Zengo although I haven't been particularly wowed there and I've enjoyed the Highlands Coral Room (don't bother with the Stapleton location, though--it's almost as if they're not the same restaraunt). Table 6 is very good and North is fun for people-watching and Sushi Den is out-of-this-world, but extremely loud. Hope this is helpful! Edited to add that the only reason Marczyk's isn't still one of my favorite groceries is that it's too far a trip across town for me AND the Hampden Whole Paycheck is on my route home from work (a fact my husband is none-to-thrilled about since, unlike Applejack, they DO take credit cards )

Well, I have two ovens now and I actually use both of them fairly regularly, especially now that I'm getting smarter about planning dinner party menus to cook most things ahead of time and/or plan long cooking items that are ready when I am without a lot of last-minute fuss (triple-steaming couscous being an example of the "last minute fuss" kind of item ). I'm really coming around to the idea of putting another oven someplace (even if it's not the island) b/c I was pretty skeptical of getting much use out of the smaller oven in the range. My SIL has a double-oven configuration in her range that is a "normal" lower oven and a short, wide one on top. She says she uses the upper one almost exclusively. I've never seen this layout in a serious stove, though (she has an electric glass cooktop which I admire for cleaning purposes, but for no other reason). Another question, though... If I go with the 6-burner 36", will I really be able to fit more than 4 pots on it at a time? One of my big beefs with the current 4-burner is that I can't fit two stock pots front to back without sliding the rear one partially off the flame. Won't I have a similar problem only now adding side-to-side issues with the 36"? Anyone have any insight. Granted, it's not likely that I'll ever have all 6 burners in use at one time (I had an "authentic" Indian dinner once where I might have needed that, but since I've sworn off last-minute panic, I hope to never repeat that experience), but I can definitely see needing some of them. Hmmmm... Maybe a 5-burner configuration so they're kind of offset?

The more I think about this idea, the more I like it. I could reduce the size of the main range to 36" (keeping my six burners, which is probably all I'll need) and add a single wall oven in the island. The thing I like most about this concept is that I could make the island my "baking" station, using the oven there as my "baking" oven (with the range oven available for larger projects). My question is... Have any of you had experience with a wall oven in an island? Will there be much heat on the surface of the island itself or are the ovens sufficiently insulated to keep this from being a problem. I'm imagining we'll have concrete or some other thick stone as a counter which retains heat pretty well--don't want visitors to burn their biscuits if they're leaning on the island chatting while I cook. Thanks in advance. -Bekki

I just returned from a similar trip (although I had only a weekend ) and thought I'd chime in... I had a lovely time browsing the shops in Noe Valley (24th between Church and Castro)--lots of stocking stuffers and small gifts for the home. We also wandered around Fillmore and Sacramento and there are some lovely shops with home-type gifts (although a little on the pricey side). We didn't make it to Laurel Heights, but wanted to--as I recall from my days living there, there are some great little shops on Sacramento and a few on California. Unless you really like mall shopping, I'd avoid Union Square altogether. The new mall for Bloomingdales/Nordstrom is huge and beautiful, as malls go, but it's incredibly crowded, doesn't appear to have much that any urban mall doesn't have, and was waaaaay too much stimulation for me. IMHO, if you're going to SF to shop, there's no need to subject yourself to run-of-the-mill commercialism--much more fun to poke around the many beautiful and unique neighborhoods the city has to offer. As for meals, we had a fantastic meal at Andalu, a tapas place in the Mission. The Crab Rangoon was really tasty, as were the Lamb Cheeks (perfect size, perfectly tender, mmmmm...). The Tuna Tacos were very good as well and my dinner companions enjoyed the sliders (I don't like burgers of any type, so I can't report on them personally). The cheese fondue was tasty, but is better with the bread (which they brought us as an afterthought) than with the toasts and pears that accompany it. The pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon was indifferent, though, as were the polenta fries. For dessert, the doughnut holes looked good and I had the banana split--nothing new, but very tasty none-the-less. I also ordered the bubbly flight and liked the two white sparklers (prosecco and something else), but really disliked the sparkling shiraz--it tasted a bit like sparkling port, if you can imagine, and had a bitter aftertaste. Not my favorite drink ever. Have a great time!

I agree on the Kohl's and Target suggestions. I'd also add Cost Plus and Crate & Barrel as possible sources--sometimes you can get pretty good deals at C&B. As for online, have you seen CB2 (Crate & Barrel's "funky" side) at http://www.cb2.com/? IKEA is also an option, although their white isn't always as white as it could be (my white bowls, at about $1 per, are a little off white compared to the C&B stuff, as well as not being as "delicate").

Ahhh... plates... I think I've actually scheduled a dinner party as an excuse to get the latest white plate/serving piece/bowl/sauce dish that I've got my eye on. I actually have a template in Visio for each of my plates that I use when I'm planning a dinner party (I usually do 4-6 courses) so I can diagram out my plating plan. My friends give me grief for being an incurable food geek, but it does make the night go more smoothly. As to the individual Beef Wellingtons, Fine Cooking did an article on them a couple of years ago which I used for a dinner party for 14. The really, really, really wonderful thing about them (did I mention it was wonderful?) was that not only could they be made ahead and frozen, they could go straight from the freezer to the oven. Lovely, lovely, lovely. My only beef with them (sorry, couldn't help myself) was that they were too large for many of the guests to finish, so cutting them in half is probably a good solution. I might have to go home and make a batch.

Were the complimentary tequila shots in reemed out limes your first clue as to the bar-like atmosphere? Glad you liked Lime. Milagro's better, but Lime isn't bad. I've enjoyed the Sweet Corn Tamales several times and the chips are good. Haven't tried the carnitas yet, but I think I'll have to (Mmmm... Pork...)

I was thinking bar stools on the back side of the island--good place for people to hang out maybe, also for said son to do his homework (where I can keep an eye on him!). I'm also considering a table-level extension on the west end of the island where our kitchen chairs could go--but I'm afraid it might look like a runway, being so long and all. If that fails, the dining room really isn't too formal, so with the bar stools for casual eating, we could happily use our dining room on a daily basis. That's a great idea! This is why I posted my ideas on eGullet--everyone here has so many better ideas than I do!!! I have been seriously worried about the size of the second oven and putting it in the island makes a ton of sense. It shouldn't be a huge problem, since there are only three of us in the household--not usually a lot of people in the way. Buuut... What about a slide out shelf right under the microwave (I know I've seen a picture of one somewhere) that could be extended as needed for holding hot soup/oatmeal as it's being stirred before being zapped a second time? Hmmm... Have to add that to the wish list. I've been thinking about that too, I'm just not sure where to put it? I definitely want the wine fridge (we drink a lot of wine), but I'd love to have a bar fridge down at the other end of that section, more easily accessible to the deck. I'm just not sure there's room given that I want to preserve as much lower storage as possible. There are (I love what Varmint did), but I'd prefer not to have corner cupboards at all, if I can help it. But of course... AND I want a garbage can on castors so I can roll it around the kitchen (I currently drag the very uncool plastic one) to whereever I'm making a mess. Thanks for the input!

Hey, any excuse to come back to the Bay Area! I'll tell my husband it's "research"! Nice to have the attic access for future wiring needs. Unfortunately, we did our basement before the kitchen project--now we're going to have to pull out part of the basement ceiling to access the plumbing or pull up the subfloor to access it from the top.

I am in the extremely early stages of planning my new kitchen and, inspired by many of the creative and daring people on eGullet (MelissaH and Varmint, to name two), I thought I'd share/document my thought process and solicit feedback from other people who *think* about what a kitchen can/should be. Some background: My current kitchen is functionally not bad--the layout is actually pretty good, although the appliances drive me insane and the cabinet quality is lousy. My goals for the kitchen are: 1) Upgrade the appliances (currently GE Profile) to serious home cook level, including getting more (and more powerful) burners. Two of the four on my current cooktop barely function (it irritates me that I have to light them with a match) and the other two don't sear or simmer well. Also, the ovens are uneven and I don't like the upper wall oven because it's precarious loading hot, heavy pans in and out, especially if I'm cooking in a water bath. 2) Improve the quality and functionality of the cabinets. The cabinets are MasterCraft and they're just poor, poor quality. They're maple, Shaker-style, and almost all of them have had to be glued where they've cracked along the frame b/c the wood is too thin. Two of them have broken completely and, because I hate them so much, I've been unwilling to replace them so we've been living with missing cabinet doors for several years. Also, the storage in them is terrible. I'm not sure of the terminology, but all of the cabinets have a center stile (that is, when you open both doors, there's still a vertical piece of wood in the center of the cabinet) which means that loading large pans or any of my pots with handles, is like playing Jenga in reverse. I want wide, pull-out shelves in every lower cabinet and I need stronger drawar glides because my son can't seem to be broken of the habit of leaning on the drawer when he opens it. 3) Get rid of the closet that is supposed to function as a pantry. For one thing, it’s too deep, so items get lost at the back of the shelves. For another thing, there’s too much wasted space above the top shelf. I’ve got boxes stacked there, but unless I remember that something’s back there, I end up purchasing duplicates, triplicates, and quadrupulates of random, seldom-used ingredients. 4) Get rid of the desk area. It just collects clutter and looks terrible. We’d rather put a desk in the corner of the family room for our son to do his homework. Ditto with the half-wall between the kitchen and the family room. It is ALWAYS covered with unsorted mail, magazines, random Lego creations, etc. I just hate it. 5) Improve access to the deck on the back of the house. It’s a good-sized deck and, if we ever get our act together to complete the landscaping, the backyard is a lovely place to be. Here in Denver we can use the grill year-round and I’d like to make it more accessible. So here’s the current kitchen layout: As you walk into the kitchen, the family room (about 17'x17') is on your right and the desk area is just to your left. In front of you is our current kitchen table and behind that is the sliding glass door to the deck. Along the east wall is the pantry closet, the double wall ovens, and a 4-burner gas cooktop. On the south wall is the sink and the dishwasher. The KitchenAid is generally stored on the counter in the southeast corner. The things I like about it are: * The workspace flows pretty well. There’s a good distance between the stove-sink-refrigerator areas and there’s good landing space by all of them. * The island is great working space for big projects and, during parties, it’s a great space for appetizers and cocktails, since everyone stands around the kitchen anyway. That’s about it. The lighting sucks, there are too few outlets, the soffit space above the cabinets collects clutter, the tile floor is a pain to clean, the microwave above the cooktop is virtually inaccessible to my son, there isn't enough venting, there's no undercounter lighting (wait, I already said the lighting sucks, didn't I?)... Anyway, I think I've worked myself up about it enough that it's time to make a change. For other projects in the house, we've worked with an interior designer that we very much like. She did our library/dining room (pictures later) that I absolutely love. She also did our basement which, while it's a completely different style than the rest of the house, is truly wonderful. So we're planning on working with her again. However, having had some experience working with her, I want some other feedback too, because I want to know where to stand firm (no, a smaller stove is not okay just because it balances the design better, but, yes, we can go with that cabinet hardware) and where to accede to her expertise. I've drafted an initial layout that I know will be significantly tweaked as we go about the process, but this one pulls in all of my ideas, even if they're not fully fledged yet... My idea is to remove all the cabinets from the south wall and replace the existing window over the sink, as well as the sliding glass door, with French doors. What I really want is this, but that's just not in the budget, so French doors are my curret compromise. Having removed the cabinets that house the sink and the dishwasher, I'd move them into the island. Much as I love the uninterupted counter space in the current island, I'm willing to sacrifice it for better access to the deck, especially since I'd greatly lengthen the island (from 4 feet to 9 feet), gaining more counter than I lose along the existing wall. The other big change is to remove the desk area in favor of real pantry cabinets, with pull-out shelves and space for the microwave. Moving it there means that the primary user of the microwave (my son) will have better access to it while I'm doing the "real" cooking. I rarely use the microwave anyway, so I don't think I need it near the stove. In place of the existing closet, I'd add an undercounter wine refrigerator--a) we want one and b) that places it conveniently near the dining room, which I think is good. The counter above it becomes a staging area from kitchen to dining room, which I'd love to have. I'd also remove the wall ovens in favor of a dual-fuel, 48" range. I'll still have two ovens, but I'll gain counter space. Little things that can mean a lot are that I'd get rid of the corner base cabinet with it's tricky storage/access issues, add a bookshelf in the southwest corner for my cookbook collection, get rid of the half wall to the family room. and add a real vent hood over the range. Finally, the plan is to run all the cabinets to the ceiling, getting rid of the soffet space. Seldom-used serving pieces and holiday stuff could go in the upper-upper cabinets--my husband wants one of those rolling library ladders for access, but I suppose a step ladder would work too. Phew! That was a lot of stuff. I'd love feedback, good and bad. As I said, this is very preliminary and I know that we've got a long way to go, but this is what I'm thinking so far. I've got ideas for the specifics of the appliances and cabinets, but I'll document those later. My fingers are tired! -BekkiM Edited to add smaller images

Wow! Thanks for documenting your progress. Like you, I've been reading the other (very well-documented, thank you) threads on kitchen remodels here as I'm planning my own. I think I've almost got the hubby convinced we should do this, but, damn!, it's a lot of money! I've been waffling on the Wolf vs. the DCS ranges myself--can't decide which I like better, especially since what I really need for the decision is a chance to put them through their paces. Do higher-end appliance suppliers have demo equipment in their showrooms? I'd like to hear more about the GE Monogram, too--I've got GE Profile appliances now and I HATE them--can't tell you how much. In 8 years, I've replaced the computer not once, but twice in my double ovens (plus the self-cleaning mechanism has NEVER worked ) and only two of the four burners on the cooktop work at anything other than full blast (which is not very hot to start with) and if you turn on the vent fan it sucks all the heat away from the pans. But many eGulleters seem happy with theirs. What did you decide about ceiling speakers? I hadn't even thought about it myself, but since you mentioned it, it's going on my (very long) wish list. Can't wait to see more pictures!

I'm right there with you. I mean, Frank left his toothbrush in the fricking kitchen, for god's sake. Aren't these people supposed to be kitchen people? According to the footage they included in the show, not only were there toiletries in the kitchen (I'm assuming there's a bathroom where they could be stored), there were underwear on the floor and cigarette butts in the sink. I agree with Michael's comment--if I knew I was eating food from that trash dump, I would have thrown up! Betty's "smile" (I think "grimace" is a better word) gives me the creeps.

You're in a pretty good location to meet your dining requirements, as East Colfax is undergoing a bit of a renaissance and there are lots of not-too-pricey options. Within Walking Distance for the Healthy * My husband and 9-year old son have eaten at the Milagro Taco Bar at 17th and Vine. Don't let the name fool you; it's a sit-down restaurant with more than just tacos, but it's reasonably priced. Not 5-star cuisine, but not bad either. * I've heard (but can't personally vouch for) that Sushi Heights has good sushi. * You're not too far from Table 6 (609 Corona St) is a little more expensive, but they have lovely food. The service can be sketchy though--sometimes it's fabulous and sometimes it's incredibly bad. * I haven't been in a while, but used to go to the Painted Bench (400 E 20th) quite frequently. The prices are reasonable (but not cheap), the food is good, and I like the service. The atmosphere leaves a little to be desired, but it's not bad. * For breakfast, WaterCourse (206 E 13th Ave) does a great job for a great price. We've had brunch there a couple of times and been very pleased. Downtown You're a very easy drive (if you're willing to drive) to downtown from there, so there are actually an overwhelming number of choices, depending on what you're interested in: * 1515 Restaurant (which I have not eaten at) is listed as $21-$30 on CitySearch * Wazee Supper Club (1600 15th Street) has my husband's favorite pizza * Il Fornaio (I've eaten at the Tech Center one, but I'm sure they're similar) at 1631 Wazee St has mid-priced, decent Italian. For my money, though, Panzano (in the Hotel Monaco at 909 17th St) is better and doesn't cost that much more. * Vesta Dipping Grill (1822 Blake St) has great food and I think it's reasonably priced for what you get. Plus it allows the picky eater(s) in the group to tailor their meal to their tastes, while allowing you to explore a little bit Cherry Creek North One other option is to head to Cherry Creek North. There are a number of restaurants there that might do the trick. Our favorites are Cherry Creek Grill (salads, burgers, rotisserie chicken) and Cucina Colore (moderately-priced Italian). The nice thing about CCN is that it's a lovely neighborhood to walk around in.

I absolutely LOVE my Crate & Barrel plain white "buffet" plates --I use them for every day and for dinner parties. They're oversized (12"?), food looks lovely on them, and they're about $7 apiece (there's a discount if you buy them by the half-dozen). I also love that I can mix and match them with other C&B pieces... I've got the triangle plates which I adore for trios of small desserts, the rectangular plates for salads, bowls, various small plates/dishes for butter, salt, and sauces. I agree about Correlle. While I love the idea of them, I think they look plastic-y and kind of cheap. But maybe I need to give them another chance. Cost Plus often has open stock plates that look pretty good and are inexpensive, but I haven't bought any so I don't know if they hold up any better than IKEA. PS: I probably should post this in the actual thread, but I've been meaning to thank you for exhaustively documenting your kitchen remodel. It was absolutely amazing and I'm using many of your ideas/sources in my effort to convince my husband that we should embark on our own remodel!

I'm very partial to Fine Cooking--the recipes are well-researched (although perhaps not as exhaustively as Cooks Illustrated), well-documented (through photos of various stages), and each month usually contains a good mix of daily standbys and more esoteric or complex dishes that you might reserve for a dinner party. I've lost count of the number of times I've made the polenta (in the oven, no stirring required), the parmesan chicken, the crusty french rolls, and the individual beef wellingtons (cook them directly from the freezer!). It's the only cooking magazine that I file in its entirety--all others get ripped apart and mostly tossed.

That's exactly what I thought! I too cooked them for more like 45 minutes, then let them cool in their juices so they were more easily transportable to my "competition" and reheated them in a 300F oven. Did something similar the second time I made them, only that time I planned ahead to let them sit overnight and I think it made a huge difference in the flavor. When I made them the third time, they weren't quite as good and I think it was because I forgot I had brined them for 30 minutes or so the first two times in 1/4 cup salt, 1/4 cup sugar in ~1 quart of water.

Good news! We may not need CR after all! Full text of the article on CNN

What about the thousands of recipes I've clipped from magazines and printed off the web thinking "Gee, that sounds really good... I'd like to make that sometime" and then filed away, never to emerge in the light of day. Do they count?