Denver 08 : Day One

We(Pan) decided it was time to plan a family trip. Pan wanted to show Maya snow and Allen Iverson. Just so happens that A.I. plays for the Denver Nuggets. And guess what, Denver usually has snow this time of year.

The plan is to meet my cousin Eee in Denver, go to Winter Park to see snow and to cap off the trip with a Basketball game at the Pepsi Center with A.I. and the Denver Nuggets vs my boy, Kevin Garnet and the Boston Celtics.


It was s relatively short flight (2 hours), Maya slept most of the way. The travel Gods finally were on my side, no delays with United Airlines.


After a short Super Shuttle ride to downtown, we checked into our room, were Maya immediately climbed up onto the bay window to look out the window, 18 floors up. No fear. She would prop her head against the window, no hands and look down. I tried it and it made my butt pucker and stomach churn.

After settling into our room we decided to walk the downtown area. They had a FREE bus line that ran up and down LoDo (Lower Downtown). The one thing that amazed my about LoDo is the amount of Condos. It wasn't just the new build but the conversions. They had a lot of character. Unlike (cough, cough) San Diego.

So after a lap around and some shopping at the Patagonia store (Sale), we realized that it was almost 5 Pm and Pan and I had hardly eatten. At this point we still have not heard from Eee. That is how my family travels. No updates. Just make tentative plans and show up...or not.


Since it being Saturday night, we decided to try Noodles and Company.


We split the Chinese Chop Salad ($5.25)


Pan ordered the Mushroom Stroganoff with Braised Beef ($6.95)


I ordered the Veggie Pad Thai ($5.25) and a bottle of Fat Tire ($3.50)

The food was not bad for what it was. Portions was in line with the price. Maya liked both dishes and the fried wonton skin form the salad. The Fat Tire was wonderful, just like the frist time I tried it in Boulder years back. The Fat Tire we get in California tastes...different...not in a good way.

Noodles and Company
1460 16th Street
Denver, CO 80802
(702) 904-9590

As we were finishing our meal, Eee calls. Perfect timing. We decide that after our APPETIZER at Noodles we should go somewhere else for a bite to eat.

Eee's local friend suggests that we try Good Times. She describes it as being just as good as In-N-Out. Hmmm.


Good Times is a local Colorado chain. They use Coleman All-Natural beef, never frozen.


Eee and I split a 5 pack Bambino Burgers with cheese and a 3 pack of the Chicken Sandwiches. Pan got a milkshake and Maya some fries.


The Bambino Burgers are sliders which in turn made me crave a bag of Krystals. The first thing that stood out was the fact the cheese was not melted. Hmmm. Anyway the sliders weren't bad. Honestly, they were pretty good. Not as good as In-N-Out, not even close, but better than any other fast food burger joints.

We rolled out of Good Times, back to the hotel. It was time to sleep. We have an early morning train to Winter Park.

Power Thirst

Japan : January 2008 Tempura

Dubby took us to one of his favorite Tempura Restaurants. This place has been in business for over 20 years. This is a 3 person Mom and Pop operation. Two chefs and a front of the house person.


One of the first thing I notice is that they had a fish tank containing live shrimp. After getting Maya into her chair, Dubby did the ordering.


Right off the bat, to show the freshness of ingredients, the chef preps the live shrimp from the tank, then starts on the Anago (Salt-water eel). I have seen Anago prep in a sushi bar before, but never for Tempura.


While the head chef was prepping our tempura, the younger of the two was preparing a sashimi plater as our starter.

The sashimi was so good it made me sad. Sad for the fact that I know that I will not be able to get this quality in America...without paying out the nose. [Sigh]


Maya busied herself with some pickled vegetables, seaweed and some tempura fried mini "fishes".


Here, the head chef lightly char Abalone, which brings out the flavor.


Tempura shrimp, squid and green pepper.


The Anago Tempura followed by the fried bones (not pictured).


Tempura topped donburi. This a nice mix of vegetables and seafood tempura fried...washed down with a glass of cold beer. At the end of the meal, the head chefs give us some clementines to finish off our meal.

I will have to say that this was some of the best tempura I have ever had. Now that I am back in the states, I do not crave sushi or tempura like I once did. I think its because I do not want to be disappointed. I can only look forward to my next trip to Japan cause I now know where I am going to eat.

Thanks Dubby.

Mandles

Anyone Else But You - Michael Cera and Ellen Page