What would improve Denver dining? Some residents wrote Tucker Shaw, Denver Post food critic, and had this to say:
This Jersey girl is craving a New York-style bagel. Not a Panera, Einstein or whatever, wanna-be. A real crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, piled high with real cream cheese (not the kind you get in a little plastic package and spread with your plastic knife) Bagel, with a capital B. In fairness, Moe’s comes close but not quite. Maybe it’s hard to make a good bagel at this altitude, blah blah blah…but it would make me and probably a lot of other east coast transplants happy if we could find a good bagel in the morning.
The other thing we need in Denver – good old-fashioned delis. New York Deli News on Hampden is a perfect example. Reubens piled high on rye bread with a crunchy pickle and a side of coleslaw. And, if you’re lucky, a waitress with an attitude. That’s what I’m talking about. I love your column. Thanks for keeping Denver honest about its dining! – Julie
Good article in today’s Food section “What Would Improve Denver Dining.” I agree with all of your comments particularly that of the lack of bakeries that make bread fresh daily. Oddly enough, my wife and I recently visited 6 bakeries within a 10-mile radius of our home in Aurora, and found none that make fresh bread. Plenty of good pastries and cookies, but no bread. I find it a shame that I look forward to 4 p.m. when Safeway, Albertsons and King Soopers roll out their fresh baked bread. I also agree with your comments about pizza and farmers markets.
Here is one area that I would like more information on. I grew up in the East Coast and some of the finest and quick cuisine in cities such as New York, Boston, and Hartford were from street carts. Tell me why is it that the only street cart vendors in Denver are on the 16th Street Mall and all serve the same things? Hot dogs and chips? Or what about the multitude of people selling small burritos wrapped in aluminum foil “fresh” from their cooler? In New York, there are street vendors who serve just about everything imaginable, most prepared in front of your eyes, such as hardy shaved steak sandwiches cooked on a skillet and topped with options of your choosing. Where are these carts in Denver?
Additionally, one of my favorite things to do back East was to head to my butcher for fresh meat products. Why does that hardly exist in the Denver metro area? You can’t tell me that the best meat comes from our local grocery stores. The meat markets that I have been to in the Denver Metro area are always empty and I worry about freshness and quality due to lack of customers. Along the same lines, is the absolute non-existence of the Fish Monger. I recognize that we are land-locked, but there has got to be an interest in fresh fish products in this state. I only buy my fresh fish items at Whole Foods.
Lastly, The main problem with Denver is it’s lack of original style and mom and pop shops and over-saturation of chain stores and grocery markets. Take a look at all the new communities popping up everywhere in the metro region. There are about 50,000 strip malls and they all have the same places to eat; Qudoba or some generic Mexican food chain, Cold Stone Creamery, Noodles and Company (or Wild Noodles), Starbucks, etc. . . I also did a yellow pages search of grocery stores within a 10 mile radius of my house in Aurora; get this, 11 King Soopers, 9 Albertsons and 3 Safeway’s!! Are you kidding me? I believe that Denver is sacrificing food quality and uniqueness as it continues to grow. I believe that too many generic or chain food options stagnate the potential for Denver to truly emerge as an area proud of it’s dining choices. – Sincerely, Jonathan Rutigliano
The few piano bars and such are all located downtown; it would be great to have a supper club or piano bar in the suburbs. I strongly support your wish to have one spectacular French restaurant in town. My mother had ten brothers; six of them retired from successful careers as professional waiters. I was trained, by them, as a professional wait person and enjoyed good earnings when living back east, and for a while at Denver’s old Normandy. (I always enjoyed the “performance” that is table-side food preparation.) We have grown so accustomed to chain restaurants that feature bouncy gum chewing youngsters bringing food to our table, that elegant French or Russian table service is no longer available. I don’t tell Coloradans that I was a professional wait person because they don’t get it. I always got a kick out of the young female office workers who would enjoy my service, while sometimes looking down their nose at me. I earned more on an average week night than they earned in a week. – Lois Kaness
Enjoy your column (columns) each week – Wednesday is my favorite day for the Post. Today you asked for other items for your restaurant “wish list” and I thought I’d add mine. I can’t imagine you’ll get many – or any – like it! I “wish” that more restaurants were aware of Celiac disease and would consider having a few entrees which are gluten-free and so-indicated on their menus. It makes it so much easier for the diner, server and kitchen when the server doesn’t have to go to the chef and quiz him/her about possible choices. Two chain restaurants, P.F. Chang’s (not necessarily my favorite, but it’s workable) and The Outback, each offer a gluten-free menu. Tim’s Thai here in Longmont recently adjusted his menu so that gluten-free dishes are indicated. Makes it very easy to eat there often because I know I’m eating safely. Some restaurant chefs are very knowledgeable and so we go there because I can eat safely, but I still have to quiz the server who in turn has to quiz the chef. We celiacs are not a small group – 1 in 133 people cope with this – and eating out is a real challenge. More than that, it is hazardous to our health! It would be great to think that more restaurants were willing to offer us options. – Beth Stefano
I moved to Denver from New York about 26 years ago. What I miss most are Spanish restaurants. There was one a number of years back located on Hampden Avenue, east of I-25, but it’s long gone. Folks didn’t understand what it was. When I was there, I’d constantly hear people asking why they didn’t have tacos or enchiladas. I love Spanish food but I am unaware of a single Spanish restaurant in the metro area. Enjoyed your article. – Thanks, Al
I totally agree with your wish list for new Denver restaurants in the paper today. I lived in Los Angeles for many years, and I loved going to small, bistro neighborhood restaurants to see and be seen. It was “The Cafe Society” – just like in Paris. It was a big part of my social life for many many years. I do not see much of that here – I live in Uptown, with lots of restaurants on 17th and all over the place, really – which I am glad for. But there really are very few small, intimate, neighborhood restaurants to hang out in with good food. P17 is one – but I do not like Vietnamese food all the time. But like that. Would love to have more French and small Italian cafes with good food. Good article. – Kerry
