Monthly Features
Gabby’s Favorites Spots
Matsuhisa, Denver
98 N. Steele
Denver, 80206
303-329-6628
1st and Steele
Matsuhisadenver.com
OMG! Matsuhisa comes to Denver with the same extraordinary style, food, and service that made it the most esteemed restaurant in Aspen. Located in Cherry Creek, enter this huge building with valet parking in the rear and be delighted from beginning to end. The space is gorgeous with teakwood everywhere. The huge bar has a great look in the finish and of course, the wood on top. It spans the area with the back studded with glasses and bottles of liquor. The sushi bar dining sets a perfect place to watch the ultra-talented chefs show off their talents. A huge kitchen in the back prepares the cooked options. Wonderful seating with banquettes, booths, and tables throughout the room make a perfect background Todd Clark, the staff is awesome, friendly, knowledgeable, and so efficient. The big issue is where to start-and stop as one can consume the entire menu easily. Start with sushi bar starters with oysters, tartar with caviar, tuna tataki and more. The kitchen starters bring shishito peppers, lobster, beef, and tuna tacos, scallops, chicken wings, black cod lettuce cup, and gyoza. All are perfect in taste that makes every bite a delight. Sushi and sashimi are unbelievable in presentation, freshness, and taste and of course, easily make a meal. But leave room for more. The list of salads is enough to keep you just trying these for a week and then come the specialties. Soft shell crab, salmon phyllo or skewers, uni tempura, lamb chop, and skews are just the beginning. Eggplant miso, squid pasta, abalone, scallops, lobster, filet, chicken, are very special but the black truffle sea bass wins the blue ribbon for flavor. There are tempuras, stone oven dishes, soups, and of course dessert. Wines, saki, and cocktails and beer complement every dish. It is impossible to describe how chefs put their ingredients together to bring the sighs of happiness with each bite. Prices are not inexpensive but it Is so worth the price to experience this very special restaurant. Thank you Matsuhisa for coming to Denver and showing off what all dream of what seafood should be. Matsuhisa has it all.
MASTERPIECE KITCHEN
84 Rampart Way
Denver, 80230
720-324-8873
Eatatmpk.com
L-D-daily
Br-sat sun
Lowry continues to grow and now is the home of Masterpiece Kitchen, a sister to the wildly popular Masterpiece Deli. Enter into a modern, bright fun spot with lots of wood, dark wall and floors, a great focal bar with terrific looking bar stools where the design continues throughout. Nice lighting and big windows set the scene. Chef/Owner Justin Brunson works his creativity by combining the familiar items from his other restaurants and adds more choices and dinner specials. Start with BBQ ribs steamed mussels, vegetable dip, yummy meatballs, chicken wings, nachos, a cured meat and cheese platter, and fried Brussels sprouts with chili sauce. Gnocchi replaces pasta in the mac and cheese. Salads bring Greek, Caesar, and cobb, add a protein if you like. The sandwich list is familiar and great: pastrami, chicken salad, Cuban, ahi tuna, truffled egg salad, fried chicken, pork, Reuben, turkey, and a delicious grilled chicken. Grateful bread selections add to the taste of these favorites. There is a list of burgers as well. Dinner adds a 48 hour braised short rib, fried chicken, trout, ribs, and vegetable gnocchi. There are sides that come with the dishes or as an extra. Leave room for key lime pie, cheesecake, and chocolate mousse cake. An excellent list of beer, wine, and cocktails complement the food. Service is fun and friendly. The patio is super weather permitting. Masterpiece Kitchen brings casual, upscale food and dining where the family can enjoy this new hot spot in the hood.
Lo Stella Ristorante
1135 Bannock St
Denver
303-825-1995
Italian fare takes on a new meaning at Lo Stella as it features the cooking of Liguria and Portofino. Owner Alessandro Polo’s family has had restaurants for 170 years and he decided it was time to bring this special style to Denver. Enter the restaurant and find a wonderful bar area with tables for dining as well as a place to gather for drinks or dinner. The open kitchen, as you walk into the next area, features a wonderful wood burning pizza oven along with the treat of watching chefs at work. Lots of wood, pictures on the walls and a huge open window in front set the décor. Owners welcome you with Italian accents and heaps of charm with proud family recipes brought to Denver. One feels part of the family scene from the country. Start with antipasti of prosciutto and burrata, calamari steak sautéed in wine, beef carpaccio with baby artichokes, carpaccio of salmon with avocado, and mussels. Salads range from caprese and Mediterranean to a grilled vegetable choice. Homemade bread and focaccia accompany all. Pizzas are very special from the oven with so many options that it is hard to choose. Share or make it an entrée. Italian means pasta and Lo Stella stars here. Spaghetti marinara, ravioli with herbs and walnut sauce, fish ravioli, and pappardelle with awesome pesto sauce start the list with all recipes of the family. Add tagliatelle with Bolognese, and pasta of the day along with vegetable soup Genoese style and you can’t go wrong. Entrees range from grilled filet, chicken Milanese, grilled salmon and branzino to sliced strip topped with arugula, rack of lamb, veal scaloppini, and trout. All are beautiful in presentation and the flavors unique to the area and a delight. Decadent desserts end the meal. The wine, cocktail, and beer list complement the food, and excellent service adds to the experience. Located in the Golden Triangle, Lo Stella brings great food with a different twist that rocks to this popular neighborhood. Once there, you will be a fan.
HOP ALLEY
3500 Larimer
Denver, 80205
720-379-8340
Hop Alley amazes! In RiNo, this sister restaurant to Uncle brings the most innovative, divine Chinese food ever. The place is beautiful with a great bar as you enter, a comfortable dining room with great table seating for 45 lucky diners, complete with a focal open kitchen. Black wood, big windows, exposed beam ceilings, and super lighting set the scene for amazing food, wine, and cocktails. Start with steamed eggplant with crispy garlic, bone marrow fried rice, cumin lamb with pickled cucumbers to share. Then to die for pork chop wood grilled with garlic, sweet soy and chili oil, Beijing duck roll done in a scallion pancake, and rice cakes with ground pork and fried egg. Can things ever get better? Well, try sashimi, a salad of duck gizzards, fried chicken, soft shell crabs, and whole grilled fish. The cocktails are fabulous with different years-ie monkey, rat, and more the names, and super wines and beer all complement the food. Service is fabulous as well. Everything is so terrific that you just do not want to leave-and can hardly wait to return. Hop Alley (the name used for the old Chinese district in Denver) is just the best addition to RiNo and to Denver.
The Palm
Steakhouse
L: Mon-Fri, D: Daily
thepalm.com/Denver
1672 Lawrence St.
Denver, 80202
303-825-7256
Westin Tabor Center
The Palm is an American Steakhouse located at the rear of the Downtown Westin Hotel. Not just for out-of-towners this restaurant brings in a mix of local high-powered business people and a loyal group of regulars. The restaurant has been totally renovated and the new space looks terrific and converts the space to a hot spot for gathering and dining. Start with the bar as you enter. It is huge, a focal point and the place to be for drinks or dinner. The dining room is one huge room with a Denver mural and several celebrity caricatures on the walls. Comfortable booths and tables give diners a view of the scene as there are huge windows that open to a patio when weather permits. Several private dining rooms make a great alternative for meetings, parties and such. The menu continues in the style of the Palm nationwide and ranges from steaks and seafood to Italian offerings where this fare has been featured since the beginning of this chain. Appetizers include fresh seafood selections of jumbo shrimp cocktail, clams, oysters on the half shell, and signature lobster bisque. The crab cakes are excellent either as an appetizer or your main course. Tuna tataki is a favorite with jalapeno included in the topping. Salads are excellent and range from a wedge and grilled Caesar with crab to a top notch Monday night chop salad. Entrées begin with steakhouse classics, whole lobster and a large selection of fish, pasta and Italian favorites. Try the chicken Parmigiana for a treat. Lunch brings locals who arrive for business or fun. The lunch menu is much the same as dinner, with the addition of salad choices, a Philly cheese steak, and a corned beef Reuben. A three-course power lunch is offered as well. The cocktail and wine list are excellent with intriguing choices by the glass. The new Palm brings the same excellent food and exceptional service with a comfortable, accessible ambience for Denver diners to enjoy in Downtown Denver.
Denver-Denver-Downtown