We had another fantastic meal at Tables restaurant last Friday evening. Denver weather forecasters were all saying we would only see a few flakes of snow on Friday; however, about 7:45pm, a mini-blizzard hit! Our reservations were for 8pm, so we trodded four blocks through the storm and arrived at the restaurant totally coated in snow. No matter — we just shook it off, sat down and drank martinis.
For dinner, I had:
- Baby spinach, pecans, banana, apricots, bacon & black pepper-pineapple dressing. This salad was excellent: salty, sweet, crunchy, chewy — a perfect combination of textures and flavors.
- Braised spiced lamb shank, curried sweet potatoes & winter veggies. Also and excellent dish: falling off the bone tender, succulent lamb shank (with no strong lamb-y taste — think osso bucco) with a hearty rich red-wine type sauce; whipped sweet potatoes (very light); tiny carrots and squash.
Lee had:
- The special soup: Sweet potato & turnip soup. I had one spoonful of this soup and it was heavenly: creamy and flavorful — the flavors go very well together in soup — seems so very southern to me even though I’m in the wild, wild west.
- New York strip, blue cheese mashers, black pepper-Zinfandel demi & charred red onions. I didn’t get a bite of this, but the steak is always perfect at Tables. It looked great and Lee looked like he was totally enjoying it.
For dessert, I indulged once again in the double chocolate s’mores — the dessert I dream about.
The hospitality from Amy and service by Kristin were top-drawer, as always. Mike, who works at Tables, was very kind to give us two lamb shank bones he had saved for his dog. Rocco & Romeo (our Golden Retreivers) went wild for the bones!
I asked Amy (of the husband and wife team who own Tables) where her husband, Dustin, went to culinary school. She said they both attended Johnson & Wales*; he in Denver, she in Vail. Amy also told us that she invented the spinach salad that I enjoyed. What a team! And how fortunate we are to have such a good restaurant so close by our home.
* Note regarding Johnson & Wales: I have noticed that in cities where a Johnson & Wales school exists, the restaurants tend to turn-out excellent food. Providence, Rhode Island comes to mind as they too have a Johnson & Wales school. I remember having very good culinary experiences in Providence some years ago.