Denver, Colorado-The Corner Office

What: The Corner Office restaurant + martini bar

Where: Lodo (Lower-downtown)-Denver, Colorado

Overall: The Corner Office is located in Lodo, underneath The Curtis Hotel. The crowd was a good mix of young and old professionals, and an a-typical Valentine's Day crowd. The music was playing at a good volume, but it was neither mine or Riar's taste in music, which made it distracting and seemingly louder than it actually was. They are open Monday-Thursday from 6am-12am, Friday 6am-2am, Saturday 7am-2am, and Sunday from 7am-12am (serving Sunday brunch from 7am-3pm). 

The Menu: We dined with The Corner Office on Valentine's Day, so they offered a prix fixe menu and their regular menu. Everything on their prix frix menu (as explained to us) you could order a la carte as well. They also have a breakfast menu and a Disco Brunch menu that features "coconut milk french toast". One thing that we liked about the menu overall was the fact that they had appetizers and "shareables" and they offered lighter options if you were too hungry or if you are health conscious. However, the menu does offer an interesting blend of Asian, Italian, and Southern comfort food. Everything from orange chicken to chicken and waffles was presented on the dinner menu. Maybe it was to appease to the hotel guests with a little bit of everything, but it was a bit overwhelming (like the Cheesecake Factory menu).

The Service: The waiter we had was great. He didn't beat around the bush with answer such as, "Oh the pasta is great if you're in this kind of mood, but the soup is great if you're in this kind of mood." Or my personal favorite (typically given when they dislike whatever option you have asked about), "I haven't tried it." Our waiter gave us a straight-foreward answer on his favorites for each course we delighted in. He was extremely helpful and efficient, but we felt like the speed was almost obnoxious because it was so fast. We felt rushed, which was unsettling.

The Food: We started out by ordering the Bowl of Shishito Pepper, which our server called "phenomenal", but then told us they were out of them for the evening. So we decided on the Calamari + Rock Shrimp. It was plated nicely and was served with a Thai chili sauce and an Aji amarillo aioli. We both favored the Thai chili sauce over the slightly bland aioli. We also both favored the rock shrimp pieces over the calamari pieces. Then we moved on to the main course and we each selected the Fazzoletti Bolognese. Riar and I both agreed that the slow-cooked pork and beef ragu was delicious. It had a great, unique flavor to it, and we were impressed with the originality of a seemly mundane bolognese dish. One thing that we were not super amped on was the fact that the noodles were called "handkerchief" pasta, which translates into: they taste great but are awkward to eat because each noodle is roughly the size of your hand. But overall we both enjoyed the dish. Then we finished off our meal with Blood Orange Sorbet & Chocolate Pate (which was on the Prix Fixe menu). It came highly recommended, and we were severely let down by the taste of the chocolate pate itself. The blood orange sorbet was delicious, but the combination of the two made us wish we would have ordered something different to culminate our otherwise delicious meal. 

Overall Rating: 7/10

Westminister, Colorado-Village Tavern

What: Village Tavern

Where: Flat Irons-Westminister, Colorado

Overall: Village Tavern is located in the upbeat Flat Irons area in Westminister. It is you typical Tavern-nothing special. The Village Tavern does, however, have a spacious bar, and it is in a great location at the mall, if your boyfriend/husband does not want to go shopping with you he can kick back with a beer at the tavern. Kid friendly. They are open Monday-Thursday from 11am-11pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-Midnight, and Sunday from 11am-10pm (serving Sunday brunch from 11am-2pm). 

The Menu: Village Tavern has various menus ranging from a Sunday Brunch menu to a Full-Service Dinner menu. They also have a great late-night menu with various specials such as $5 (6 slice) pizzas, and 1/2 price cocktails. On their full-service menu they offer everything from Prince Edward Island mussels (P.E.I.) to a 10 oz. filet. And on their critically acclaimed brunch menu they have several eggs Benedict's to pick from, or you can try their new Southern Shrimp and Grits! They have a special Valentine's menu.

The Service: There were a number of locals hanging out at the bar, and the service was exceptional. Our waitress was very knowledgable about the menu, and her recommendations were direct and concise, which was a nice change.


The Food: We started out ordering the regular bruschetta-it came with marinated tomatoes with capers, black pepper, and shaved Reggiano Parmesan cheese. It was pretty delicious. The shaved parm was really good on top of the yummy marinated tomatoes. I (Riar) ordered the potato-filled gnocchi with italian sausage which was a creative dish that I had never seen before. Unfortunately, this is where the originality ended. The gnocchi was delicious, but the Italian sausage and the sauce covering the dish were disappointing. The sausage was over cooked and very chewy. I left unimpressed, but happy to have a meal in my stomach.  It was far from a foodgasm, but I was able to choke it down without any problems. and a fat tire that was $3. The sausage was a little bit chewy And I (Erin) ordered the late night pepperoni pizza. I was shocked that it was 6 slices of regular sized pizza for $5 and a Chardonnay for $4. The crust was great and the pizza sauce was fresh and homemade-tasty.  GREAT VALUE.


Overall Rating: 6/10

Denver, Colorado-Highland Tap & Burger

What: Highland Tap & Burger

Where: Lower Highlands-Denver, Colorado

Overall: Highland Tap & Burger is located in the trendy lower Highlands area. It is a great place for catching a basketball game, but it is not your typical local sports bar. You can grab a gourmet burger or have an amazing piece of mascarpone cheesecake. It is basically a sports bar plus. There are plush leather booths, and they are using the top quality ingredients that all the top restaurants in Denver are using, but at the same time they have 17 flat screen TVs. 19 out of 20 beers on tap are Colorado Beers (their Gins and Vodkas are also from Colorado), so they do feel a responsibility to buy local, but they do not claim to be local-they just feel it's responsible to buy as much as they can locally, and hire as many kids as possible from the local surrounding area. They are open Monday from 3pm-2am, Tuesday-Friday 11am-2am, and Saturday-Sunday from 10am-2am. 

The Menu: Highland Tap & Burger has various menus. They have a weekend late night menu, a football brunch menu, a lunch menu, dinner menu, and a happy hour menu. They offer a wide array of appetizers including an artisan cheese board, and Modus Hoperandi Mac N' Cheese (all the rage with the locals). They offer sandwiches, but what they are known for is their gourmet burgers. 

  

The Service: Everyone was incredibly friendly offering suggestions on what was the best on the menu (which were very consistent), and we got the pleasure of meeting one of the owners, Juan, and hearing about their ideals for HIghland Tap & Burger which was very cool.

The Food: We started out ordering Stranahan's Barrel Smoked Chicken Wings, (a recommendation) and they were unbelievably delicious. The chicken literally fell-off-the-bone, and had an incredible smoky taste accented by their signature tap sauce that was so good, Riar wanted to bathe in it. We then moved on to our entrees, Riar ordered the TAP BURGER with the fried egg. It was literally almost a foot tall, and the pulled pork was a unique twist on a classic bacon cheeseburger. The fried onion rings were sensational! The culmination of all the ingredients (including real cheese and not the kraft singles nonsense) amounted to the perfect bite. Erin ordered the Shroom Luva's Burger(which was awarded with the People's Choice award at the Denver Burger Battle). She ordered it with the shaved foie gras. It was such an intense taste of the best burger I have ever had the please of eating. Usually I can eat about 3/4 of such a large burger, but the Shroom Luva was SO delectable that I just kept on eating. One thing we must not forget to talk about is the french fries. Usually the two of us don't finish all of our french fries, but that was not the case at HTB. The french fries are handcut from the highest quality potatoes, and seasoned to perfect. YUM were they good! To finish dinner off with a bang, we order the Mascarpone Cheesecake. The mascarpone made the cheesecake lighter than your typical run-of-the-mill cheesecake, and although we were throughly stuffed, we ate the whole darn thing! It was so good! In terms of drinks, Riar recommends the Lefthand Breweries "Milk Stout Nitro", and Erin recommends the Denver Donkey-these are strong. (Please drink responsibly). GREAT VALUE.

Overall Rating: 10/10

Additional Quotes that we enjoyed from Juan:

"Local bars are a community centric place. We wanted this to be a destination." 

"We thought Is it going to be a sports bar or is it going to be a restaurant? We did not want it to be a sports bar per say, 'fine dining in between the bun' is exactly what we accomplished." 

"In general, most of the people who come in here are young professional and networking groups, but we do have one of the largest women's craft beer clubs in the nation."

Denver, Colorado-Cake Crumbs/Denver Cupcake Truck

What: Cake Crumbs/Denver Cupcake Truck

Where: Park Hill-Denver, Colorado

Overall: Cake Crumbs is a wonderful bakery that is located in the historic neighborhood of Park Hill. It is a full-service bakery that makes everything except bread. From their designer custom cakes, to their deep dish breakfast strata, this place has got it goin' on. A lot of the locals from the surrounding neighborhood frequent Cake Crumbs to do homework, utilizing the free wi-fi for research, or to read the newspaper, or to grab a cup of joe and chat with friends. It is open Monday-Saturday from 6am-7pm, and Sunday from 6am-3pm. Constantly coming up with innovative ideas, Cake Crumbs is also the parent bakery to the ever-popular Denver Cupcake Truck.

The Menu: They offer breakfast, lunch, and cake. Showing a variety of items from tuna orzo salad to a vegetarian picnic, the menu is concise while still displaying the diversity that Cake Crumbs is known for. They also serve a variety of drinks including expresso and tea. 

The Service: Each of the employees at Cake Crumbs was incredibly friendly, and made us feel like regulars right away. They also made sure we were all taken care of, and constantly asked us if we were doing alright.

The Food: When we got to Cake Crumbs, everything looked so good! We were blown away by the intricate details on each cake, and the cupcakes were colorful and looked stunning. We were also salivating over the looks of the quince. Unfortunately, we were unable to try any of the savory sandwiches or breakfast items on the menu, but we were able to taste quite a few cupcakes. We fell in love with the carrot cake cupcake. It had great flavor, with nuts in the cake part, and the cream cheese icing was absolutely unbelievable! (If you're an icing lover (Erin), you will love this place) They serve each cupcake with a healthy portion of icing. And as an aside-the plating is adorable. Check it out.

Overall Rating: 8/10

**Please note that bakeries and their ratings are not compared to restaurants. They are in a different category.