Food Happiness

5280 week. Otherwise known as...eating at places you've never heard of or could never normally afford. I love it!!!! Ok, ok, its actually called Denver Restaurant Week (which is funny because its 2 weeks long). I call it 5280 week because at any of the participating restaurants, you get a full meal (apps, entree and dessert) for $52.80 for two people. This can be a REALLY good deal when you find restaurants that have entrees for close to that amount. Check out the list of restaurants.

Last night, Claire and I had our first 5280 eating experience. We have both been very aware of this dining special, but have never taken advantage of it. We headed to the Cork House Wine Restaurant... this was our 5280 menu to choose from:

First Course

Appetizer (choose one to share):

• Spicy Calamari ~ Breaded by hand and deep fried with peppers and onion; dip in a creamy chipotle aioli or savory red sauce
• Roasted Red Pepper Hummus ~ Served with warm pita and drizzled with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
• 5 Cheese Flight ~ Preselected from our famous list, served with Crème Fraîche, Strawberry Balsamic reduction, fresh fruit and candied walnuts

Salad (choose one each):

• Caesar Salad ~ Crisp romaine tossed in authentic Caesar dressing with croutons and parmesano, from a restaurant who loves and respects their cheese
• House Salad ~ Mixed Field Greens, fresh tomato and cucumber, croutons and your choice of dressings

Entrée (choose one each):

• King Salmon ~ Parmesan crusted fillet baked in a steam infused convection oven, drizzled with a ginger reduction, and served over three bean succotash
• Steak Diane ~ Filet medallions sautéed with red wine, scallions, mushrooms, garlic and bordelaise, served with garlic mashed potato and seasonal vegetable
• Chicken Cordon Bleu ~ Tender breast stuffed with Danish ham and baby Swiss wrapped in puff pastry, laced with creamy Alfredo and served with a side of garlic mashed potato and seasonal vegetable

Dessert (choose one each):

• Crème Brûlée ~ Made in house to rave reviews from our favorite French guest!
• Chocolate Mousse ~ Perfectly light, layered with rich whipped cream

Yum!!!! Claire and I started with the 5 Cheese flight. Who knows what kind of cheese we ate, but it was all very, very tasty. We followed this by the soup du jour (creamy potato cheese!). Then our entrees...Claire had the Chicken Cordon Bleu and I had the Steak Diane. Both we so tasty and delicious. Sadly, the most disappointing part of the meal was dessert. Claire's chocolate mousse was pretty good, but my Creme Brulee was pretty blah.
Other than that... dinner was amazing!!! The company was even better. It was the perfect combo of yummy food and girl's night. Could you ask for more?

We have another restaurant picked out for Sunday evening...maybe this time I will remember to take pictures!