When I think of a Rockies home game, my food fantasy immediately goes to chowing down on a Rocky Dog, the famous foot-long tube steak with grilled onions, peppers and sauerkraut.
But Carl Mittleman, regional vice president of Aramark, the Coors Field food purveyor, had other treats in mind to blow my palate during a gastronomical tour of the baseball stadium Tuesday during the Rockies-Mets matchup.
“We spent a lot of time looking at fans’ behavior and what they want,” Mittleman said as we started our tour of the latest foodie finds at Coors Field. “Whether it’s pizza, popcorn or burritos, we do research in the marketplace, take surveys, talk to focus groups, use social media and track restaurant trends, and apply them to sports.”
I told you last week about the Helton Burger, named after famed Rockie Todd Helton, but proof of its yumminess is in the eating.
“We think we have the best burger in baseball,” Mittleman said of the new fresh beef burger, concocted under the first baseman’s supervision. “He’s been very humbled by this stand.”
Don’t miss the fresh-cut skinny fries, onion rings, and chocolate and vanilla shakes also featured at Helton’s stand — No. 17 Burger Shack, with a nod to his uniform number — and made from Colorado ingredients.
Other good eats at the ballpark: Rounding 3rd Gourmet Pizza’s pies and meatball sandwich; Xtreme Dogs’ hot dogs from around the league, including the Rockies Bacon Blue Dog, with blue-cheese crumbles, chopped bacon, red onions and blue-cheese dressing; and Fair Territory’s funnel cakes, hand-dipped corn dogs and fried Twinkies.
Also new this season is the remodeled Mountain Ranch restaurant, where they’ve converted the glass wall into a garage-door-style model that opens when the weather’s right. New granite tabletops in half-moon shapes face the field.
Reservations are available for the season and for individual games by calling 303-312-2444. Batter up!
New eats.
Denver is expecting a bonanza of new restaurants. Big Game, from the son of the founder of China Grill Management, is scheduled to open in the old Il Fornaio space on Wazee Street on Thursday. It will feature a sports-bar theme.
Slated to open in October inside the Sheraton on the 16th Street Mall is Yard House, another sports bar with a rockin’ happy hour, a 125-item menu and 130 beers on tap.
Yard House, which opened its first Colorado hot spot in the Colorado Mills shopping center in Lakewood, comes from University of Denver grad Steele Platt, who opened Kailua’s in the Tivoli in 1985.
He also owned the Boiler Room, EFFEX nightclub, Oink’s Diner, Newport’s Fish House and Wallstreet’s Bar & Grill in the metro area.
Platt picked the Sheraton location because of its proximity to the 16th Street Mall. “I think it’s a perfect fit for us,” he said. “Denver is probably one of the most shuttle-friendly downtowns I’ve seen across the country.”
Denver’s Yard House will be the 30th unit in the chain.
Out at Northfield at Stapleton, Guy Harvey, a nationally known marine artist, is opening Guy Harvey’s Island Grill, the first landlocked seafood eatery in the five-unit chain, which is based in Florida.
New hire.
Denver Magazine has hired former Rolling Stone assistant editor Nicole Frehsee as associate editor, filling the vacancy left by former Rocky Mountain News reporter Jeff Kass, who was let go earlier this year.
Frehsee, a University of Michigan history grad who has a master’s from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, moved from New York City to Denver “for a change of lifestyle,” according to a news release.
Ah, spa.
Conde Nast Traveler magazine has named The Spa at Viceroy Snowmass as one of the best new spas of 2010. It’s the only Colorado spa to make the list.
The Spa at Viceroy Snowmass was singled out as “a 7,000-square-foot oasis in the depths of Aspen’s hippest hotel, offering Native American- and Asian-inspired treatments.”
The seen.
Local notables have been making steak escapes recently. At Shanahan’s, Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd and 14 guests were dining in a private room after a game; Nuggets star Chauncey Billups and guests dining last week; Billups’ teammate Kenyon Martin and friends also seen dining; Broncos star Champ Bailey and pals seen dining.
Over at Del Frisco’s, political hopefuls Jane Norton dining, and gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis also seen dining there; Avalanche bigwigs Stan Kroenke and Pierre Lacroix hosting a season celebration dinner prior to the playoffs.
Taking in a Rockies game Tuesday night, Ritz-Carlton GM Andrew Rogers and two of his daughters. Back at The Ritz, Rockies hero Todd Helton dining at Elway’s with his daughter after the home opener.
Eavesdropping
at Mirada Fine Art’s Mimosa Sunday in Indian Hills: “Did that woman really say her name is Sushi?”
“It’s Susie, but that was her third glass of champagne.”
Penny Parker’s column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Listen to her on the Caplis and Silverman radio show between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KHOW-AM (630). Call her at 303-954-5224 or e-mail pparker@denverpost.com.
