May 20, 03 02:32 am — Did the 'special occasion' Berfday dinner thang tonight, and as always, I wanted to try a new restaurant, one that neither the wife or I have been to. I opted to go to a place called Q's at the Hotel Boulderado. What a great dinner. The place is quite nice, but not stuffy or overblown. There is actually ROOM between the tables, so you don't feel squished in (Mrs. Spud has a bit of a claustrophobic tic), and the service was professional, friendly, and unobtrusive. We both had the Chef's Tasting Menu, in which the Chef prepares whatever he damn well pleases, and doles it out in five courses (Amuse Bouche, Appetizer, Fish course, Meat course, then a dessert). The twist here though, is that instead of each of us getting the same dish, we each get a different dish for each course. This way it's like getting two whole different tasting menus. To summarize (I could go on and on), this is what we had:
-An 'amuse' of French breakfast radishes and sea salt
-Ahi Sashimi with purple Peruvian potatoes, truffle vinaigrette, and baby greens
-Kobe Beef Carpaccio with warm sesame dressing, watercress, and glazed carrots
-Green lip mussels with a miso-something crust (can't remember all the ingredients, sorry)
-Torchon of Foie Gras with fig compote, pickled shallot, frisee, and roasted pistachios
-Seared Sea Scallops with Corn crepes, caramelized endive, tomato, basil, and balsamic reduction
-Soft Shell Crab with andouillle and potato hash, with tomato concasse, garlic aioli, and herbed oil
-Intermezzo of a tart green apple sorbet (simple, yummy, not overdone)
-Herb crusted rack of Colorado lamb with veggie couscous, tomato confit, minted Favas, and veal reduction sauce
-Pan roasted Venison sirloin with celeriac, spinach puree, cabernet and star anise syrup
-Dessert consisted of (a "special" plate for my birthday, I believe) "S'more" cheesecake with cocoa sorbet and caramel; Babas with candied cherries and crme Anglaise, raspberry sorbet, fresh strawberry and sliced Granny Smith apples.
They also threw in two dessert wines for free, one was sweet raspberry wine, and the other a Muscat. Mmmmmmm.....
Just out of curiosity's sake, does this sound like a great meal to you, or is is overdone, too weird, too fancy, or do you feel the opposite, that it is too plain, simplistic, or perhaps not innovative enough?
What is your favorite "special" meal?
Nothing wrong wiht comfort food. Mac and Cheese is always tops in all food surveys it seems. It is very simple to make from scatch as well. Give this a try:
Mac and Cheese
Hmm sounds enticing but honestly too much extra 
I'll give it a shot though. ::grin::
Wow, it's impressive you managed to eat all that.
I love food. Depending on my mood (hungry or very hungry) there's loads of stuff I enjoy. A top 10 would have to be something like this:
1. Lobster and champagne
2. A good pate de foie gras, with maybe some vintage port
3. Gnocchi and red wine
4. Home made pasta (yeah, red wine with that as well)
5. Lamb
6. Salmon, smoked, some caviar on it.. Hmmm... with champagne again
OK I got stuck at six, because I'm way to hungry to go on now. Where's that bag of chips?
Wow, it's impressive you managed to eat all that.
no shit.. maybe the next "special meal" should be a simple salad and water followed by some extreme cardio
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy
Turtles all the way down
It sounds like a lot, but Tasting Menus are always much smaller portions thatn regular entrees. As I mentioned, they also gave us both different dishes for each course, so we had twice the variety as we sampled each others stuff. The only really 'fatty' dish was the Foie Gras. There was not a lot of cream or butter sauces to deal with, they rounded out sthe meal with bright, contrasting flavors, like pickled shallot, frisee, etc.
I actually left quite satisfied, not overstuffed or uncomfortable. They did a great job of maintaining the portions so it was not cumbersome or a waste.
Hard to argue with that list! If you never had Foie Gras simply lightly sauteed with a port, fig, or dried cherry reduction sauce.........mmmmmmm......
I like the pate as well, but sauteed bring a more caramelized rich flavor. A little goes a very long way.
Sashimi, carpaccio and soft shells....thats good eatin !
Sounds like a great menu...
Mrs. Spud used to be a real "meat and taters" kinda person until she met me...
Mrs. Spud used to be a real "meat and taters" kinda person until she met me...
That sounds very good... haven't had a meal like that in a long while...
Believe me, it is few and far between that we do this kind of thing. It is quite enjoyable for me, sometimes you just have to splurge.
But, now it's back to good, basic home cooked food....
::grin::
I'm a real "foodie." I read cookbooks for pleasure. Food is a sensual art.
How wonderful that you and Mrs. Spud enjoy culinary delights. When I read your list, I could just imagine each dish - it's like opening Christmas presents! Yummy yum yum.
"Food is a sensual art."
You DO understand! How cool. Yes, it is nice to indulge once in a while. Quality over quantity and the like. Some people relate good food=huge portions. Not necessarily so. Some thought that it sounded as if I gorged, but that was not the case. There is a delicate balance to be made, and tasting menus are tooled carefully as to not overload.
I also collect cookbooks (well, at least what I can afford). The ones by Thomas Keller (French Laundry), and the late Jean-Louis Palladin, are almost...pornographic (in a foodie sense)....
[Comment was edited by spudlump on May 20, 2003 at 04:04:27 PM]
I am right there with you on this. I read the descriptions, imagine substitutes, think about the prep, fantasize about the smells... and drool over the pictures. My kitchen is my haven. And my best friends also love to cook, so when we get together we argue more about who GETS to cook rather than who HAS to cook.
Last year I attempted a first - I did a wedding cake. It turned out great. The couple wanted a unique piece with Han Solo and Princess Leia on top of the cake. I had a blast with it. The hardest part was transporting it - almost had a nervous breakdown.
My family is Polish, so my latest project is rediscovering my grandmother's recipes - and the ones she got from my great-grandmother. I'm eating a lot of Pierogies for breakfast...
Our culture has distanced itself from the enjoyment of food being prepared and eaten with family and friends. It is a communal experience, bringing forth feelings of friendship, happiness, content, and also cultural heritage. Sad, that we have become such a frozen-food and pre-packaged mentality.
Bravo on the cake, that is a great feat! Baking and me don't get along, but I can hold my own on occasion. I fully respect those that can pull that kind of thing off, especially a wedding cake!
I have found that the more research I do on ethnic foods, the more I find I love the diversity, nuances and flavors of it all. Pierogies are absolutley one of the greatest! It's that kind of home-style comfort food that we cannot lose sight of. Simple does not mean plain or boring. I think we all need to get back in tune with what has some before, and appreciate where it came from. Too many people think cooking is too difficult, or too intimidating. Bullshit. Arm yourself with a few good recipes, techniques and fresh and quality ingredients, and you can kick ass over and above those insipid fast/frozen/ boxed packages of dreck.....
(sorry...blew out a bit of a rant there.....)
Let me ask you this: Do you get a "high" when you put out a spread for people? When I feed people I love, I feel like I'm giving love. Does that make sense? I get so much happiness from having someone at my house for a meal. And I believe in talking and laughing and being LOUD at the table!
Exactomundo, my dear. Well said!
I get a real feeling of warmness, and it makes all the hard work more than worthwhile. I don't want them to tell me how 'great' everything is, I want them to eat, enjoy, savor, and have a great time. It's about the food, and friends and fun.....
Sounds like the journal of some weeks back asking what we'd want for our "last meal". Stop it, you're making me hungry.
Heh, heh......
duztin
Sadly most on your list of food there I have no clue what it is, I eat way too much pre cooked stuff. But favorite meal would have to be mac and cheese (kraft dinner for the Canadians) or lasagna.