Mustard's Last Stand

If Mustard's Last Stand wasn't within walking distance of the University of Denver, it would not survive. At least, I hope the good people of Denver would be wise enough to take their money elsewhere and let this place suffer the consequences. 


Honestly, even if the food was delicious I couldn't give the place a positive review. I had the same experience as a Yelp user who had reviewed Mustard's Last Stand. I've been at DU for a while now, I've walked past Mustard's Last Stand many times and I really liked the idea of walking in there and getting some good grub that could transport me back to Chicago or Milwaukee (also a place that has great hotdog joints). But when I finally decided to go in last week, I immediately knew it was going to be a one-time visit. No one greeted me and when I was looking around for a menu a crabby old man pointed at a menu to his right, again, with no uttered words. 


I wanted a Chicago dog and I said the same. "What on it?" The old man asks. Seriously? Just give me a Chicago dog like they would in Chicago if I ordered a Chicago dog. A great joint decides for its customers what the fixings should be on a Chicago dog. A customer orders a Chicago dog because they want the usual: mustard, onions, sweet pickle relish, or a pickle spear, and tomato (chopped or sliced). Dragged through the garden, so to speak, because of its thorough toppings. Any shred of validity Mustard's Last Stand had left was lost on me as soon as I ordered. 


Two Chicago Dogs and a small soda cost me $9.63 too. That was the icing on the cake for me. This place is not worth your money or your time. Look up a Chicago dog recipe online and cook it at home for less and it will be far, far better and you won't have to deal with any one of the grumpy employees at Mustard's Last Stand.


Dined February 22, 2012.


Written by B.

Jimmy John's - 2075 S University Blvd

To be honest, I didn't really want to go to Jimmy John's on this occasion. It had been a while since I had gone, but I'm just generally not a sub sandwich kind of guy. Either way, I needed a fast lunch and I just wasn't feeling Chipotle again or anything else near the DU campus, let alone Subway across the street from JJ's. 


But by the time I had the first couple of bites of the Italian Nightclub with peppers (the only thing I get at JJ's) I was satisfied with my decision. It was a relatively cheap meal (less than $7 without chips and a drink) and it did the trick, i.e. it was going to hold me over until I got home later that evening. It was a very utilitarian lunch.


At this particular location there aren't too many places to sit. Three tables (two of them high) and a bar along the right wall as you walk in that has chairs, which deceives one into thinking they could comfortably sit there and enjoy a sandwich and a drink. But one realizes this isn't possible when one has sandwich in hand and finds out that the sandwich is twice as long as the counter at the bar is deep. What the? It's a completely worthless bank of chairs. That doesn't seem to bother people, or maybe it does, since the only guy eating a sandwich in the place besides me was an employee.


Just briefly, as I sat their chewing through the Italian Nightclub, I tried to envision a woman working at this particular JJ's. Maybe one does, but on this stop there were six guys who addressed everyone as dude, bro, or buddy. It was very sausage-party-esque. I think this is sort of the standard for JJ's. I don't see too many girls working there at JJ's. Maybe I am completely off, but in my experience every JJ's has a strong aroma of bread making and a vibrant aura of bromance.


Dined February 15, 2012.


Written by B.

Ale House at Amato's

The Ale House has intrigued me for a while, knowing that they have a great view of the Denver skyline and that they have 40+ beers on tap. After driving by it for almost two years (after dinners elsewhere in the Highlands), we finally made it inside. We took a table in the bar and perused through the beer selection, selected an appetizer (seared tuna), and put in an order for two burgers. 


I ordered the beer-b-que burger, which is served with an oatmeal stout and honey beer-b-que sauce, caramelized onions and applewood smoked bacon. It was a delicious burger. The only problem I had, was that the bun got soggy fairly quickly from the sauce. The bun may have just been smashed a little, its liquid-absorbing powers greatly diminished. Nevertheless, I polished the burger off. There wasn't anything exceptional about the fries because as I sit here and write this I can't remember one bad or great thing about them. 


The seared tuna appetizer was a bit of a gamble. That is, why order it at a brewery? But, I think it paid off. The tuna was fine and very rare, but I was most impressed with the tortilla chips. That probably sounds very lame, but it's true. They had a nice coating of oil and salt and they were served warm with some pico de gallo. 


The Ale House is in the family of Breckenridge Brewery brewpubs. We found this brewpub to be better than the one in Breckenridge, where we dined in August of last year and the food was a bit of a letdown. The views of the Denver skyline across Central St and I-25 are great. There is currently some roadwork near the restaurant and some major construction downtown that hurts the view some, but for the most part, you couldn't find a better location for a brewpub. With the views, the bold collection of beers on tap, and the location in the Highlands, the Ale House will probably be around for a while. 


Dined February 14, 2012.


Written by B.

Jerusalem Restaurant

I first went to Jerusalem Restaurant, on the corner of Evans and High St, eight years ago. The food and the interior (from the ratty furniture to the heat on so high it feels like a blast of hot air from the oven) hasn't changed one bit. 


On this visit I skipped on my usual meal of falafel and hummus and got a falafel sandwich, which I found to be wrapped in a disappointingly dry bread. The sandwich was full of too many onions and tomatoes. It was quite disappointing. Luckily, I ordered a side of hummus which did come with fresh pita bread, the bread that should have been used with my sandwich, but clearly wasn't. I didn't order the baklava this time, although I do recommend it. 

A staple dish in the Middle East, chicken shawarma, was once ordered by a friend of mine. He is from Israel and he wanted a taste of home, but when the shawarma arrived, he said, "This is not shawarma. This is bad." I later visited him in Israel and we had magnificent feasts of shawarma and many other middle eastern dishes that far surpassed anything from Jerusalem Restaurant. However, most of Jerusalem Restaurant's customers haven't had that experience and so there is nothing to judge the food here against, besides another middle eastern restaurant in Colorado. This is why Jerusalem Restaurant has won a number of awards for being the best middle eastern restaurant in Denver. 


And all that aside, the place remains good enough to keep me coming back. I don't have the same standards as my friend has, even though now I have had the real deal overseas. I'll go back. And, if you've never been, I would definitely recommend a visit. In my experience, you'll have a great meal sticking with hummus, falafel, baklava, and a nice stack of pita bread.


Dined February 9, 2012.


Written by B.


Picture is of the real thing in Nazareth, Israel.

Sushi Den

I had only been to Sushi Den once before and in the time away I think I've developed a fairly sophisticated appetite and a better sense of good sushi. On this particular night we tried to dine at two other restaurants but couldn't find a parking spot for one and the other was closed and by that time we had wound up just a few blocks from the famous Sushi Den. Why not? We said. 


The crowd just inside the doors wasn't the best sign if you just wanted to sit down, get some good food, and get out the door, but the wait wasn't bad at 25 minutes for a place that was so crowded it was hard to find a place to stand. The atmosphere inside was hip, fast-paced, and very chatty with groups of people anywhere a server wasn't currently occupying space. Founded in 1985 and quickly recognized as Denver's best sushi restaurant and then later recognized as one of the country's best sushi restaurants, the Sushi Den has developed into a place for sushi and sashimi lovers, but also as a place to see and be seen, which often happens to popular restaurants. That is, people come as much to be there as they are there to eat excellent food. Standing around waiting for our table and sipping on a 22oz Sapporo, I couldn't help but notice a lot of people occupying themselves with people-watching and not with the friends at the table nor the food in front of them. 


Once seated in a cramped corner of the restaurant, we didn't spare any time ordering. We focused primarily on getting some rolls, thinking it would provide us the best bang for our buck since we were both starving. We tried the Spider Roll, Shrimp Tempura Roll, and the Tuna Firecracker Roll. My favorite among the three was the Shrimp Tempura. All three rolls were excellent and reasonably priced for how popular this place has become. That said, maybe Sushi Den developed a strong reputation on its sashimi, its extensive sake list, and overall freshness of its fish, because I didn't think the rolls were extremely impressive. Not bad in any way, but Sushi Den's reputation precedes actually eating there and it has a lot to live up to. 


Will we go back? Yeah, we'll go back. But I don't know if we'll go back in 2012. There are still a few sushi restaurants out there that we want a piece of and by then 2013 could be upon us. Until next time, Sushi Den.


Dined February 8, 2012.


Written by B.

Chipotle - 820 S Monaco

Unlike last time I visited a Chipotle, I ordered my regular burrito with Chicken, white rice (fully cooked this time, but that tends to be a problem with their brown rice), black beans, a mix of salsas, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole. 

I tried to look up the address of this Chipotle on the restaurant's website and found that it's not listed. The location (in a strip mall near a King Soopers) is not the best, it sort of makes the restaurant isolated. If you are coming from the west and turn right on Monaco, then you have to weave through the KS parking lot and dodge shoppers. That can be an inconvenience if you don't know to turn in just east of Monaco allowing for quicker access to Chipotle. 

Another thing I have to say about this location is that the sunlight can be unbearable. At times it is hard to find a table that isn't in direct sunlight and even if it's 40 degrees outside, the Colorado sun can roast you in five minutes at one of these tables, especially with their metal tops. Bring your sunglasses into the restaurant if the sun is out.


Dined February 6, 2012.


Written by B.

Rioja

I appreciate the inventive dishes that Rioja serves, and I can say that the scallops and fresh bacon from the appetizer menu are divine. The PBJ dessert was a great blend of flavors for an adult with grape jelly and sorbet, peanut butter mousse and peanut brittle--a sophisticated taste of a beloved childhood tradition.  The Monkfish was enjoyable, but light with the sides and not worth the price for what was served.  The Wagyu beef short ribs tasted heavenly, but the croquettes served with it left something to be desired.  Overall, I am happy to have eaten here, but feel the value for what you get isn't always there.  I would recommend others try this restaurant, because it is worth the experience, but I won't be going back for awhile. 


Dined February 3, 2012. 


Written by K. 


I must add that Rioja's entrees start at $22. I almost feel like the pricing there is jacked up just to give it a prestigious feel. The restaurant must realize that people probably aren't leaving their meals thinking it was worth it, but instead feeling like they have been had a bit. And I suggest that they have to an extent because it's Larimer Square. Restaurants get away with a lot on Larimer Square and the worst offender is Ocean Prime. And, in a wildly bad judgment, 5280 magazine named it Denver's best seafood restaurant in 2011. Perhaps I will write about our experience at Ocean Prime last year, but without a doubt, we won't be dining there this year. That said about Rioja, there are a couple dishes there that I've really enjoyed: the fresh bacon starter and the Petaluma chicken entree.


Written by B.

Chipotle - 371 E. Alameda

Yes, Chipotle again. We weren't planning on going out tonight, but we were up north and driving back into town and we didn't want to start cooking a meal at 7pm. 


I had never been to this location. Right next door though is Lucille's, one of the best brunches in town. I changed it up a bit tonight, ordering steak in my burrito. I was reminded a few bites into the burrito (once home) that Chipotle's steak has the tendency to be quite gristly, to the point that it can distract from the rest of the goodness before you. It made me miss my typical chicken burrito. 


K got a burrito bowl, which was only okay because the brown rice she ordered (Chipotle introduced brown rice in 2011) was about halfway done. It was nearly crunchy. Had we stayed, K would have definitely ordered something else with white rice, which I have never found to be undercooked, but the brown rice has been undercooked on more than one occasion. Not just on this visit. Some rice cookers out there obviously don't remember that brown rice always takes longer to cook. 


So, it wasn't the best visit to Chipotle. The other two visits in January were better. 


Dined January 30, 2012.


B.

Cafe Rio

One would not expect to find a good eatery at the base of a chain hotel, but that's exactly what one finds in the case of Cafe Rio (founded in SLC, Utah) and the Hilton Garden Inn at the corner of Cherry Creek S Dr and Colorado Blvd. Having passed by Cafe Rio for nearly a year without trying it, I finally gave it a try this past summer. And I've been back a few times, including last Sunday.


In online reviews, Cafe Rio has been compared to Chipotle and Qdoba. In respect to how you order, Cafe Rio is somewhat like those places, but the menu is more diverse. Rio is close in price, even cheaper at times than those more famous burrito joints. I cannot speak to most of its menu, but I can recommend their smothered burritos and their tacos (I got the beef tacos on this visit with rice and beans and pico de gallo). Their pork is especially sweet and flavorful and whether it's in a burrito or a taco, it's always wrapped in the freshest tortilla made right in front of you. 


This is no glamorous place, but the food is fresh, and the price is right, the staff friendly, and the service good. This is also a place I could see myself writing about again in 2012. 


Dined January 29, 2012.


B.

Chipotle - 2760 S. Colorado Blvd

Chipotle at S. Colorado was my second visit to this chain in 2012. I’ve been to this Chipotle many times before. It has a big interior and a decent outdoor seating area that wraps around its northwest corner.

On this particular visit, I stopped by around 4:30, a very slow time at Chipotle. There was no one in line and every single employee immediately said hi to me when I walked in the door. It was a bit overwhelming, but pretty cool. I get that a lot at Chipotle and it helps the place feel like a local joint even though the chain is massive and in nearly every major city in the US now. A picky drawback to this place is the parking lot. Located near a massive fitness center, it can be a bit tricky to find a spot, but look along the northern edge of the parking lot, these spaces are reserved for Chipotle customers only, not gym rats.

Dined January 26, 2012.

B.

The Bull and Bush

Glendale, Colorado has one great restaurant, The Bull and Bush. Founded in 1971, the restaurant sits across from the Cherry Creek trail near the intersection of Cherry Creek S Dr and Cherry St. The exterior is made of white stucco and wood beams intentionally bringing to mind a stand alone English pub that one might see in any countryside town in the UK. Actually, according to the restaurant’s website, the pub is designed after a pub in Hampstead Heath, a north London park and suburb. The interior feels reasonably British too, with a few American flourishes like a ton of TVs and a small display of merchandise from t-shirts to shot glasses. It's dark inside with comfy chairs and live music on Sundays.

Despite its fame, the place still feels local. I go to the Bull and Bush for its beer (brewed on site), the food (amazing burgers and a great brunch), and the atmosphere (good service and from my experience, nice customers). It also doesn't hurt that I'm within walking distance either, but if I lived across town it would still be one of my favorite stops. I tend to get the Queen Mother burger and the Allgood Ale for starters, but they have great nachos and brunch specials. Actually, they have specials everyday. Like on Wednesdays, a burger order gets you a free pint. On Sundays you can get a double bloody mary for $4.50.   

This won’t be the only time I blog about the Bull and Bush. I am bound to go several times this year, so I’ll stop now. But this food lover highly recommends the place. It’s good and unapologetically greasy food and a great atmosphere. You’ll love it.

Dined January 24, 2012.

B.