The Yard House

Anyone who has been to the Yard House knows they have an extensive beer menu. I have learned that it isn’t just a great place to get a beer, they also have excellent food. In this instance, we had just watched a free concert by One Republic in the Park Meadows parking lot. Ryan Tedder mentioned how he loved The Yard House before leaving the stage. We thought the same thing and headed that way for a late dinner. After going over the menu multiple times, I landed on the salmon. It was a ginger crusted Norwegian salmon with wasabi mashed potatoes, snow peas, and carrots covered in a spicy peanut vinaigrette. I felt like the snow peas and carrots were overwhelming for the dish, but the salmon and potatoes were perfect. They were cooked extremely well.  Brian got the blackened swordfish tacos. All of the flavors of the fish, mango and papaya came together to make an excellent taco. Great food, great beer and fantastic service!

 

Emerald Isle

The Platte Bar and Grill holds a place in my heart for numerous reasons. I love that bar and I love being on that patio. To my surprise, Emerald Isle is a weird replica of The Platte. The decor is similar and the patio almost mirrors it as well, with a great view of the mountains. I have stopped by for drinks a few times, but this time, I thought I should try their food. I was in the mood for tacos. Well, when I am not in the mood for tacos? I got the crunchy ground beef tacos and Brian got the Philly sandwich. Overlooking Cherry Creek reservoir, this patio is perfect. There was a guy playing some jams in the sun while everyone sweats under umbrellas enjoying the summer. The food arrived quickly and was piping hot. The tacos were really good, but seemed to lack something.  I can’t put my finger on it, but it was just lacking something. Brian really liked his sandwich, and seemed content with the flavors. The server was great and always attentive and ready to get more drinks for us.  I will be back to try other menu items and of course, to enjoy the awesome patio.

 

The Hornet

The sun was shining and enjoying some patio time was on my mind. My girlfriends and I walked down Broadway and picked the Hornet to enjoy some grub and light cocktails. We were seated on the patio with a great view of people watching. We ordered some mimosas and began looking over the food menu. The waitress seemed to take forever bringing our drinks and finally taking our food order. I got the cheeseburger and fries. A friend got the lobster mac and cheese. The food arrived quickly, which was brought by someone else other than our waitress. My burger was bland. It was as if they didn’t season the beef at all and just threw it on the grill. I was a little disappointed.  My friend’s mac and cheese however, was legit! The lobster chunks were huge.  It was ozzing with cheese. I learned my lesson.  Next time, get the lobster mac and cheese. The waitress took her time coming to check on us, which at that time we wanted more drinks. She took the drink order and brought out the wrong ones. She seemed little distracted.  Other than her and the bad tasting burger, I would say this is a good place to check out for drinks.

 

Honey Bee Asian Bistro

I feel the need to try just about every restaurant in my area of town.  I recently moved to Aurora and have been trying out new places right and left. This time, I wanted to check out Honey Bee and see how their Chinese food is. I decided to go with my staple of Kung Pao chicken.  I base all Chinese restaurants on their Kung Pao. Brian got the orange beef and we got a side of spring rolls. The food took a bit longer than I would normally expect, but it arrived piping hot. I laid out a plate of white sticky rice and poured some Kung Pao on top and started to chow down. The flavor was a bit bland and the chicken was tough. So was the beef.  Neither were really that good.  Both of us were not impressed at all.  After talking to a friend about it later, they stated that Honey Bee has good pho, but not good Chinese food.  I guess I will be back to try the pho then!

 

 

Real De Minas

Word of mouth is probably one of the best marketing strategies there are out there.  Word of mouth is what brought me to Real De Minas for some delectable Mexican food. I had heard from several people that they have some of the best Mexican food in the Aurora area. That is not a lie. The menu is probably the biggest menu I have seen at any Mexican restaurant. I went there with intentions of getting fajitas, but one of the combinations sounded so much better.  I got the build your own combo with 2 chicken enchiladas and a ground beef taco. Brian went with the burrito de chili relleno and added chicharrons to it.  The burrito was HUGE!! The food was amazing. The recommendations were spot on. I love their food and the server was awesome and very attentive.  The margaritas were strong, and had great flavor, little heart burn. I will be back over and over.  I highly suggest trying Real De Minas if you are in the mood for some great Mexican food.

 

Bob’s Atomic Burgers in Golden

I am always in for a great juicy burger. When we parked in the Coors Brewery parking lot and saw Bob’s Atomic Burgers, I knew what we were having after we enjoyed our free beer. We walked in and saw that the ordering process is a lot like WhichWich. There are  bags on a counter at the front door and you mark what you want on your burger.

I marked each of my choices and walked up to the counter to turn in our order. We also got fries and a few sodas. I felt it was a little expensive for a small business burger joint, but if it was fantastic, then it would be worth it. We sat outside at a table to wait for our food.  It seemed to take more time than other tables.  People behind us in line were getting their food before we were. Finally ours arrived and we took our first bites. The burger was dry, thin and flavorless.  I was shocked.  This place was hopping and their reviews are good on Yelp. The burger was just not good. I did like the french fries, which was also shocking since the tip I got on Foursquare said their french fries were gross. I don’t think I will be back to Bob’s Atomic Burgers.  When I am in Golden, I think I will stick to Snarfs for a great sandwich.

Jus Grill in Aurora

This cute restaurant has an extensive menu and has good food. The place seems to always be busy,   we had a bit of a wait. We were seated and handed the large menu. The Santa Fe scramble jumped out of the menu and said pick me! Adding a side of green chili made it even better. Brian got one of the bennys with a side of pancakes. The food was great. It was a great stable breakfast. The service was a bit slow, but then again they were super busy. I would recommend trying Jus Grill, but I would suggest going on a weekday.  Maybe their service is better than the weekend.

 

2 Penguins Tap and Grill

My fiance heard of this new tap house in Centennial and said we had to check it out.  We arrived and they were really busy. I wanted to sit outside, but the patio was overflowing with people, so we sat inside by the bar. The beer choices are all local and the liquor is  made local.  I already loved this placed based on that.  There were too many beers to pick from, so I was going to do several 4oz pours.  The server came up and mentioned that it was supposed to be an Epic Brewing firkin Friday, but they failed to send the kegs.  So in that case, Epic was buying everyone’s first beer.  The catch was, you had to pick from 4 beers. One was on my list, so I went with the Wit’s End Banana Hammock. We were a little hungry, so we figured some appetizers would be enough to fill us up.  Selected the crab cakes, calamari and  onion rings. All extremely great choices, even though not great with presentation.  The calamari was my favorite. Not too chewy, and covered in a tangy batter. The server was fantastic.  He was on the ball with suggestions and never let us have an empty glass.  I need to come back to try more local brews and other tasty items on the food menu.

 

 

 

Katsu Ramen

My first  ramen experience besides the packaged Maruchan ramen was on the island of Oahu. I loved it so much, I ate there multiple times on each of my trips. I have now tried a few places here in Denver to compare to. This time, I tried Katsu Ramen. They were voted best ramen in Denver by Westwood magazine. I figured I had to check them out and see just how good they are. I ordered the miso ramen and Brian got the shoyu ramen bowl.  To start off, we got their gyoza to share.  The gyoza arrived at the table and we both went to grab one.  They crumbled in our chopsticks. By crumbled, I mean completely fell apart.  They were extremely under cooked and mushy. I was not a fan at all. The ramen bowls arrived and looked fantastic. The presentation was beautiful. I grabbed my first bite and it tasted pretty good. A bit bland when comparing it to island ramen, but still had some good taste to it.  Brian’s bowl on the other hand, was just plain gross. It almost had too many flavors that were overpowering each other. We tried adding some soy sauce and sriracha to it, but nothing could make this bowl taste good. The service was good,  but I still felt that it wasn’t worth the meal. I think I will stick to pho from now on.

 

The French Press

I couldn’t tell you how many people told me to have breakfast at The French Press.  I should have listened to them earlier. This place is great! A tiny restaurant located on the corner of Chambers and Iliff, this hidden gem is well worth the 30 minute wait to order your food.  The line goes out the door and you wait to order at the counter.  Once you order, you get a number and you can sit at any open table. I had a hard time making a decision and I must have changed it 15 times before getting to the counter. I finally settled on the build your own omelet. I had it filled with bacon, tomatoes, cheese, and onions smothered with pork green chili. Brian got the lox and bagel.  Both looked so amazing. There was so much green chili on my plate that I soaked my potatoes in it as well.  I can’t wait to go back and try everything they have on the menu.  A piece of advice, if you are going to frequent this cute place, then get a drink card.  You get a stamp for each drink you get. After 9 stamps, your 10th is free!