Here at the In Good Taste Denver blog, we’re big advocates for Denver Restaurant Week. It’s a chance to try out a restaurant you’ve been wondering about, or visit one you couldn’t otherwise afford, or to see what new and different things your favorite place is doing for the occasion. But it can be crowded and frenzied and reservations can be very hard to come by. Maybe in rebellion or maybe just because they don’t want to disrupt business as usual, there are restaurants that purposely don’t participate in the restaurant-sampling event. Some even run specials to celebrate their un-DRW-ness! Here are five alternatives we heard about.
LoHi
One of our favorite places, Postino WineCafé in LoHi, offers paninis, salads, soups, and the stars of the designed-for-sharing-menu Bruschetta Boards. Choose your four favorites from a menu of 12 country-Italian combinations, and you’ll get a beautifully arranged and precut array on a board, perfect for sampling and sharing. Think flavors like brie and fig spread with thin-sliced apple, or the tangy sheep’s milk cheese with a sweet and savory tomato jam. Meat lovers will enjoy the BLT homage of burrata, bacon, arugula and tomato, or the spicy and herby salami and pesto. A fantastic deal, come after 8pm on Monday and Tuesday night and get the entire bruschetta board and a bottle of wine for just $20. Stop in during the day you can wash down your bruschetta with a glass of wine for $5 until 5pm.
Larimer Square
Head downstairs through the shiny red door to the Crimson Room on Larimer Square. We enjoyed a wonderful evening there recently (review coming soon). Enjoy live piano and jazz music while sipping their classic French 75 champagne cocktail, or the warm Thelonious Monk made with Frangelico, vanilla vodka, coffee and topped with whipped cream. The Crimson Room is a destination for experiencing Denver’s best live jazz and acoustic sets nightly along with small bites and desserts that compliment drinks crafted table-side on vintage bar carts.
Stapleton
Up-and-coming in the restaurant world (just wait until The Stanley Marketplace and Eastbridge Town Center open!), Stapleton is home to some unique restaurants like Salati Italian Street Food, another one of our favorites. Craft your own multi-course dinner from their Small Plates and Signature Dishes plus yummy desserts.
Punch Bowl Social offers a one-stop group or date night outing with a scratch kitchen, craft beverages and signature shareable punches. There’s plenty of fun to be had with private karaoke rooms, bowling, ping-pong, darts, a brand new giant foosball table, wall-sized scrabble, corn hole, vintage arcade games and pinball.
Del Frisco’s Grille in Cherry Creek North has put together their own, 3-course, not-DRW special menu that highlights the culinary skills of Chef Dan Kane. For $30, diners can choose a starter (such as roasted corn soup, signature Cheesesteak Eggrolls or Deviled Eggs), a comfort-food inspired entrée such as meatloaf with hand-mashed potatoes and wild mushroom bordelaise, prime beef shortrib stroganoff (OMG!) served on pappardelle noodles with sour cream and tobacco onions, the grille prime cheeseburger, a dream of double patties with all the fixins, seared salmon with chilled quinoa-brussels sprouts salad and broken vinaigrette and crispy brick chicken breast with hand mashed potatoes, asparagus and roasted chicken jus. Finish it off with mini trio bites: coconut cream pie, Nutella bread pudding and chocolate cake.
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