pepperedpalate

This should fit the bill ... . http://news.westword.com/2007-10-25/dining...-steak-seafood/

Rita-- As you probably know, choosing a top 10 "must-eat-here" list isn't an easy task. That said, when I'm pressed to choose, which is often, here's where I send people. These are also the restaurants that I eat at time and time again, not because I must, but because I want to. 1. Frasca Food & Wine, Boulder 2. Fruition, Denver 3. Mizuna, Denver 4. Deluxe, Denver 5. Rioja, Denver 6. Vesta Dipping Grill, Denver 7. Z Cuisine, Denver 8. Duo, Denver 9. Nine 75 10. Cafe Brazil, Denver As an aside, Denver also trumpets a litany of excellent ethnic joints.

While Aspen restaurants are notorious for their high price tags, most of the upscale dining dens offer exceptional bar rosters -- many of which mirror the dining room menu -- for a fraction of the price. Jimmy's, Mezzaluna, Pinions, Campo di Fiore, and Gusto are just a few terrific spots to eat well at the bar without buring a hole in your wallet, as is the Double Dog Pub, a shrine to all things canine. Even the J-Bar at the Hotel Jerome (you must go) slings a fantastic burger on the cheap -- and the people-watching/celebrity-spotting is worth the price of admission. Aspen’s centerpiece is the Popcorn Wagon, a near sacred symbol that lures tipsy late-night revelers with hangover alleviating, inexpensive, hot-off-the-griddle crepes. If you want to splurge on one dinner, make it the Pine Creek Cookhouse, which is not in Aspen at all, but in the nearby town of Ashcroft. Hitch a horse drawn sleigh, snowshoe or cross-country ski by miner’s light to a magnificent log cabin shrouded in majestic mountain wilderness. The cookhouse, which burnt to the ground in 2003 and was meticulously restored in 2005, boasts an expansive outdoor deck affording sweeping views of the Elk Mountains and a rustically elegant candlelit dining room helmed by executive chef Kurt Boucher, whose game-centric menu struts grilled quail, wild boar chops, porcini-dusted elk, caribou medallions and fresh fish creations. A winsome wine list adds to the magic. Warm clothes, reservations and a voracious appetite are essential.

Hi, All-- Have any of you been to L'Absinthe yet? Bombay Bistro? If so, what are your thoughts? Thanks, Lori

Mongo-- Mizuna's Website: Mizuna Frank has September's menu up. -L

I normally never visit, much less review a restaurant until it's been open at least a month -- usually longer. Frasca, I have to admit, was an exception, but only because I'm writing a story on them for Sunset, which runs in January and my copy deadline is today because my globetrotting editor is in France the whole month of September. So, I had dinner there last night, and despite tight quarters, those horrific bar stools (which are actually not the bar stools Bobby ordered, and you will see vastly new and improved stools shortly, which is a good thing because my butt was sliding all over them), curved cutlery that won't lie properly on the plates, and inexplicably bright lighting, I will go out on a limb and proffer that this was the single most extraordinary dinner I've eaten all year -- and the service was seamless. We had the salumi plate, which was, as Amy said, certainly ample enough to satiate four, although two of us quite easily devoured every last niblet. The pork pate was exquisite, the lamb, despite its Colorado origin, actually tasted of lamb, which means it was gamey (as I think lamb should be), and the shaved leg of pork literally flew me to the moon. We lingered at the bar after dinner and sipped a lovely camomile-infused grappa. Bryan Moscatello was there with his wife having dinner, as well -- as was half of Boulder. There are very few restaurant that I frequent because I want to (and not because I'm obligated by virtue of the written word), and undeniably, Frasca is one of those restaurants. In a word? Brilliant.

I agree -- Proto's Pizzeria rocks -- especially the white clam pie, which Basil Doc's had perfected beyond reproach until the lovely couple who owned it sold to the guys who own Handlebar and Grill. Oblio's Pizzeria in Park Hill is also excellent, as is Vincenza's, especially their vegetarian slices, the width of which is only slighly smaller than the tire on a bulldozer.

Empress! Empress! I vote for Empress! By the way, Mongo, The Golden Plate was sensational for dim sum. Before Elliott was born, Stephen and I used to go there every single weekend. Sigh...I miss it. But the Empress is convivial, chaotic, cavernous, and in my opinion, far better than King's Land or Mee Yee Lin, both of which I can take or leave. Then again, King's Land almost got its dumplings kicked right out of the car park for a fucking Walmart -- and that would have utterly and completely sucked. Ocean City is the real thing. So is Jay Jay's, also on Federal. I know, I know, it doesn't sound remotely Chinese, but trust me on this one.

Ugh. I can't make it. I'm in the throws of writing 300 reviews for two Zagat books, including both America's Top Hotels and America's Top Restaurants, so my Saturday night is now all about the J.W. Marriott and Mirepoix. I'll have to live vicariously through all of you. Have fun!

Yes to Table 6 -- if you read Colorado AvidGolfer, then you can find my review in the next issue, which comes out in a couple of weeks, but suffice it to say, I was less than enamored. I've also been to Mirepoix and will reserve judgment until they've gotten their sea legs, which, I believe, will take some time. I will say that the wine wall is brilliant.

Robin-- El Mercadito is brilliant -- a taqueria/grocer with amazing soft corn tacos and a wide variety of salsas; also an excellent selection of Mexican cheeses, chiles, and really terrific beef fajitas (in the meat department, not as a menu item). Tacos Y Salsas, way the hell down East Colfax is very good, too (an ndisputable dive), as is Tacos Jalisco on 38th and Tennyson and El Azteca on Federal, a few blocks south of Hampden. I like El Tejado as well, on S. Broadway. -Lori

If you insist.

Hmmm, their lunch must have been short-lived, because they've pulled it. I suspect they didn't get the foot traffic they needed to sustain it, which is too bad, especially now that it's summer and they have that great patio. Speaking of Zengo, they and several other Denver restaurants are joining together on June 19th for Surfonturf Sounds like it will be a wild party!

I think Zengo is fantastic -- unequivically one of the best restaurants to open in Denver since January. And I love sitting at the ceviche bar and inhaling all of the scents drifting from the kitchen. Cool and tendy, absolutely, but on every occasion I've been, service has been nothing short of impeccable. They are open for lunch, by the way. -Lori

Actually, they have a liquor license, and Colorado is one of those stupid states where you cannot (legally, anyway) bring your own libations into a restaurant.