Blue Spice

After a long weekend trip to Rhode Island, we had nothing ready to go in the fridge. So we took the excuse to go out for dinner and then grocery shopping. We had a gift certificate to Bangkok Bistro on Central Avenue, but when we got there, we realized that they were closed on Mondays. Darn, but Blue Spice is our favorite Thai restaurant in the area, and they are just across the road.

It's been a while since we've been back, but we've never been disappointed whenever we go. The food is authentic, and service is friendly and on target. The decor is spacious, relaxing, traditional, and fresh all at the same time. Right when you walk in, you are greeted with a large bowl of floating flowers, the flowers are real too! I just love this display. If I didn't have a toddler at home, I would totally keep something like this in my entrance area or patio.

We decided to order 3 entrees, the intent was to have some left over for lunch tomorrow. But everything was so good, we finished every last bite! Yum!

Here are the dishes we got:

Three Muskateers: "A combination of chicken, shrimp, and scallops immersed in a panang curry sauce, with red pepper, mushrrom, green peas, and fresh basil, served with crispy eggplant." The sauce was simply delicious, a bit spicy and tangy, but not too hot for the baby. The fried eggplant was tender, but a bit soggy, I wished it was more crispy. The shrimp and scallops were perfect, but chicken was just a bit too dry for my taste. Also wished that I got more rice to gobble up all the yummy sauce with.

Pad See Eew: "prepared with flat rice noodles, eggs, and vegetables with soy sauce". Another yummy dish. The rice noodles are soft and flavorful. A bit salty for my taste, but gobbled it down nonetheless. There are bits of egg in this dish and the waitress was nice enough to warn us in case anyone had egg allergies. You can get this dish with chicken, beef, tofu, or vegetarian. We chose the beef, and it was tender for sure. For extra cost you could get shrimp or scallops. The noodles and egg were baby friendly, and he also loved to suck and chew on the broccoli.

Pineapple Fried Rice: "Served in a fresh pineapple shell a mouth watering combination of jasmine rice with fresh pineapple onion, egg, tomato, and cashews, finishing with fried shallot, scallion, and cilantro." Ahh, this dish never disappoints since my college years. At Blue Spice the presentation takes it up a notch with a fresh half pineapple and fresh pineapple chunks. The rice is sticky and sweetened by the pineapple. We got it with chicken, and I was glad to find that the chicken here was much juicier and flavorful than in the 3 Muskateers dish. Our goal was to save this dish for lunch the next day, but we failed miserably. All three of us left with full stomachs and no room for dessert. 

Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Blue Spice. The ambiance was relaxing, clean, spacious, and visually stimulating. We also like that it wasn't too loud. Service was fast, friendly, and smooth. They make you feel at home and the crowd consists of families, young adults, and business people staying at the near by hotels. They also have beautiful unique traditional Thai table settings where you can sit on pads and pillows, but I was told before that you had to have a large party to take advantage of that. We will certainly be back, maybe with more friends next time. 

Food: 4.5 out of 5
Service: 5 out of 5
Ambiance: 5 out of 5

Domo

Domo, a country style Japanese restaurant in Denver, is many layers beyond what's expected in an average restaurant. As you enjoy the food, don't forget to explore the beautiful Japanese garden including real bamboo and water lilies, a Mongolian ger. Also don't miss the museum of Japanese folk art filled with sake cups of WII soldiers, a traditional tea room, and an viewing area of the world class Akido studio; you will catch live classes if you are lucky.

The entrance is picturesque and I feel as if I'm stepping into a Japanese fishing village hundreds of years ago. Tables are giant slabs of rock, and stools made of large tree stumps with cloth cushions. The hostess is friendly and wait-staff courteous and attentive. I'm seated in a nestled table near a window shaded by gauze like curtains that look at least 50 years old. Lighting is a combination of natural sunlight and oversized branch and newsprint chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. I'm entralled.

Brown rice green tea is served in a large bowl, but I'm surprised to see a tea bag in the bowl. The menu is quite extensive including Teriyakis, Udon, Soba, Nabes, and Sushis of course. I was pleasantly surprised to receive 6 side dishes of steamed, stir fried, pickled vegetables and meats. Also my favorite, soba noodle salad.

Since it was a raining day, I opted for the "Sankai Nabe @ $22.75" which includes Salmon, Tilapia, mussles, chicken and pork teriyaki. The portion is huge! There are 3-4 pieces each of chicken and pork teriyaki, a large piece of salmon and large piece of tilapia, among tofu, bean sprouts and seaweed. I knew at this point that I'm definitely going to need a doggie bag. The broth was surprisingly flavorful. I am used to expecting a dashi based soup stock, instead I taste more soy or teriyaki flavor, with a hint of spiciness. While its a little too strong to sip, the soup goes quite will with rice. I'm still unsure about the compatibility of chicken and pork teriyaki with fish based soup.

Domo also offers a 3 or 5 course Sushi meal which includes side dishes. Since the sushi is uniquely flavored, no extra soy sauce or wasabi required (actually strongly discouraged by the chef/owner, see story of soy sauce), I had to try it. When I asked about the type of tuna they serve, I was told that they only offer Albacore tuna to protect other endangered species of tuna. I love the taste of Albacore, and this one is fresh, rich, and creamy with a hint of soy sauce and wasabi served on top of lightly flavored sushi rice. One disappointment is that white tendons in the fish are still present. While the taste and texture of the fish was perfect, the soft by stringy tendons marred the experience somewhat.

Food: 4 out of 5

Authentic flavors and evident attention to detail. Generous portions. Great fresh fish, but with stringy tendons attached. For the folks used to sushi bar style cuisine, the style at Domo might be a shocker, but keep an open mind and enjoy the full immersion experience of Japanese country culture and cuisine.

Service: 4 out of 5

The wait-staff was courteous, friendly, and fast paced. Only a few minor suggestions: 1.) I noticed the hostess walk around and greet the guests and ask if everything tastes good, I never got the greeting... maybe she became too busy later in the evening. 2.) I had to pack my own left overs which included three containers, and was given no plastic bag to carry it all home until I had to ask for it. 3.) As I read on the website, the chef/owner mentions that a good restaurant can be judged by the quality of its hot towel service at the beginning of the meal, to enable eating sushi with hands. No hot towel service was offered tonight.

Will I go again?

Definitely. I would bring any sushi lover of anyone interested in an authentic Japanese cultural experience. I want to try to 3 or 5 course sushi meal next time, or a Donbury. If I'm not driving, I definitely want to try their sake, the only Japanese restaurant in Denver that uses official sake tasting cups.

Have you been to Domo's? Leave your comments!

Little Ollie's (Denver, CO)

Little Ollie's is located in the Cherry Creek neighborhood in Denver, CO. The atmosphere is modern and relaxed. I especially like the enclosed patio that I believe was added on recently. Unfortunately I didn't get to sit in the patio, I was dining by myself, and I was seated promptly at a table for two at the intersection of two walk ways, which later proved to be distracting since servers and customers kept passing by me throughout the meal. At one point, the hostess actually handed some napkins over my table to a server on the other side of me, I almost had to duck!



My waiter was friendly and service was fast. I asked for lemon for my water, and I got two fresh slices (tastes great with Colorado water). The waitor suggested "Crab Ragoon @ $5.95 for 4" and "Chinese Dumplings @ $5.95 for 4", since I am trying to stay away from fried food, I decided to go with the Dumplings (steamed with pork filling). The filling was mostly meat, (as expected in more Americanized Chinese cuisine, I'm more used to a near 50/50 mix of meat and cabbage filling). The ginger in the filling gives it a slight kick on top of a hint of sweetness that's not too overwhelming. The filling was moist and had a loose texture. While the skin looks hand made, it's slightly too thick for my taste. (Authentic northern China style dumplings are near translucent and have a more beautiful shape.) It also came with a sweet tangy soy sauce that enhanced the sweet flavor. (I'm more used to a vinegar base sauce.) I also don't understand the pickled ginger, which is usually served with Japanese sushi.

I wanted to try the sea bass and half duck, but since I'm only one person, I decided to go with something a little less daunting. "Yushan Eggplant @ $10.95" was my choice of the evening. The eggplant texture was near perfection since it was either deep friend or stir fried for just the right amount of time. I'm also glad that they used the long Asian eggplant rather than the oval shaped ones you usually see in the grocery stores. The eggplant peel was removed before cooking, which is fine, although I don't mind the peel especially after being deep fried. The sauce for this dish was also sweet and tangy, which could very well be the Yushan style that which I'm unsure about. Other vegetables also included asparagus, red pepper, and zucchini (all of which are not really true Chinese vegetables). The dish went well with the long grain rice. I had plenty to take home, which will make a nice meal for me the next day.

Food: 3 out of 5
Edible but not spectacular. Probably suits American taste more than my own, definitely a nice alternative to the more fast food/take out versions of less healthy Chinese food. The owner claims that "You'd be hard-pressed to find Chinese food this good - even in New York" in Denver's Dining Out magazine (Summer/Fall 2009), I beg to differ.

Service: 3 out of 5
Ambience and location is nice. Waitor was friendly and food was fast so I tipped well, but owner/manager walked by me many times without paying any attention to me. She even yelled "pack up the food" in cantonese to the waitor, without asking or acknowledging me.

Will I go again?
Maybe if I have a couple friends who are more into American Chinese food. I'd definitely ask for a spot at the enclose Patio, and want to try the Sea Bass and half duck. Perhaps combine it with stroll to check out the Cherry Creek shops.

Have you been to Little Ollie's? Leave your comments!