August 17 - August 30, 2000
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Volume 2, Issue 18
August 17 - August 30, 2000 |
Spy Games
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Price: Expensive |
Standing amidst tapastries, rounded doorways, huge pillows and soft Arabian music it was hard to believe that just behind the heavy velvet curtains was the lesser region of hell known as Colfax. After a brief survey of a very tiny private room that would fit only half a wrestler or maybe a manager or two, we choose an open room lined with plush floor seats and gigantic pillows, tapestries everywhere, cool hanging lights ... very groovy baby. I was offered a medium-size bath towel draped over my shoulder in lieu of a napkin. It made me feel kinda like a decorated Morroccan official ... by the name Mustaffa ... working on an evil plan of world domination ... in an underground hideout ... uh, never mind.
Our waiter was Alish, a slightly nervous but competent foreigner, lending a little more authenticity to the environs even though I think he was German, (maybe a spy, sent to infiltrate my lair ... uh, oh yeah, I wouldnt know a Morroccan if he bit me on the fez). Anyway he poured a whole pot of lemon water over my hands. This prompted an immediate visit to the bathroom were I found that the tiny Morroccan style hallway was just slightly smaller than the width of my shoulders.
I choose a traditional mint iced tea --refreshingly simple and satisfying. Morroccan wine and beer are also available, but I had to stay on my toes, ever watchful, for rival evil-doers.
We were promptly served harar, a thick and slightly creamy lamb and lental soup, which we drank directly from the bowls. Next was an assortment of salads including curried carrots, spicy beets, creamy spinach, fava bean pasta (Hannibal Lecter where are you?), eggplant roulade of some kind, tomatoes and cucumbers, potatoes, it just went on and on, eating it all with my fingers, slurping, and sopping, like Jabba the Hutt. Then a carrot pinapple and raisin palette cleanser, suspicously resembling the carrot salad of school lunch days ... brings to mind the matronly nurse Gretta, charged with my upbringing, who ritualisticly shaved my ... uh, never mind.
What looked and smelled like dessert was a tasty third appetizer called bastia. It was comprised of chicken, eggs and almonds wrapped in filo dough and sprinkled with powdered sugar (yeah, it scared me too, but was suprisingly good). I choose a hot and spicy chicken split roaster with hot Morroccan sauce as as my entrée. Half a chicken eaten with both hands and no regard for neatness or civility. Steamed veggies with cous cous were served with our main course.
Generous portions of fresh fruit were served as dessert. Sweetened Chinese gunpowder tea with spearmint was balanced on the elbow of our earnest Alish, then deftly flipped. We were told to close our eyes. HA! I knew it! A spy after all, maybe even an agent! Slowly reaching into my tunic for my dagger, I complied. Warm rose water was sprinkled on our faces and hair, or was it? Quickly retrieving a vial of antidote from my boot heel I...
Eva the belly dancer, a tiny little creature full of fire, obviously involved in the plot thickening around me, was hypnotically pleasing, but I was able to resist her powers with my specially designed anti-hypno contacts.Although Mataam Fez is typically the "exotic" hot spot to sing happy birthday and make your date wiggle with embarrassment from the belly dancer's pulsations, it's the place to go to get away from Denver, the 20th century, the ever watchful eye of 007, and the unending sea of do-gooders trying to thwart my every plan for world domination, but I will not be denied ... I will reign triumphant! A
Cilicia A. Yakhlef
Purple neon is something like a god symbol for me, so when I saw the sign for Chloe's restaurant casting a pool of ethereal purple light over the grimy midsection of Colfax Avenue, I felt like my dining experience was bound to be unique to say the least.
Proprietor Brian Jaymes, who also owns Boston's Walden Grill, opened the doors to Chloe's just four weeks ago. Located in Capital Hill on East Colfax, the establishment is close enough to downtown for convenience but not too close for comfort.
Jaymes classifies the cuisine as "American Fusion." Mmm. Fusion. Yes, that fits. Looking over the menu was like perusing a Club Med travel catalogue. There were plenty of exotic ingredients with an underlying safety net of familiar names and staples. The wine list offered some very uncommon, but quite serviceable domestic fare along with a few exotic alternatives.
The general demeanor of the staff was courteous and efficient. I personally prefer warmth and character to white glove service, but hey, I'm from Colorado and god knows we natives can be a touch uncivilized, a fact we tend to pride ourselves on.
Although the menu was brief, offering nearly as many appetizers as entrees, if variety is the spice of life, then there's plenty of spice at Chloe's. Seafood items are shipped fresh from Boston, and the menu includes duck, lamb, beef and even greenlip mussels from New Zealand. Now I don't want to go off on a tangent, but I have to tell you I was tempted to order this last item just to find out exactly where a mussel's lips were. But then I got to thinking about what it was that might have made their lips turn green and wondering if they were smiling when they were cooked, or if those little green lips would be curled back in a blood chilling musselesque type scream and well, I decided to go for the chicken. I had my children with me after all.
My party wound up going for variety in their valiant effort to make sure I got as much rich food in my gut as possible so I'd be well equipped (if far too full) to go home and write my review. I sampled the Thai Flank Steak, which was cooked exactly to order bathed in a rich, spicy brown sauce and served with garlic potatoes and a just wilted crown of bok choy. The Southwest Seafood platter included a shrimp rellano, crab enchilada and a crawfish tamale along with a deliciously different tasting mango black bean salsa. Delicate might be too kind a word, however, for the pork piccata in caper-lemon sauce. Capers notwithstanding, the dish was a little on the sedate side for a place like Chloe's, both in presentation and flavor. The Chili Roasted Chicken was very spicy with an adobo sauce that stung just enough to thrill the tastebuds, served up with a nearly perfect polenta. The dessert tray was enticing with a number of creme brulee items along with, of course, (can any restaurant do without it?) chocolate cake.
Aesthetically speaking, Chloe's has a pleasant interior landscape with curvaceous, graceful interior surfaces, suspended halogen lighting and walls full of original artwork. I recommend sitting by the windows facing Colfax. From these tables the contrasts between the interior landscape and the exterior goings on is interesting and engaging to say the least. The highest aesthetic accolades however must go to the chef for the presentation of the food itself. Sails of bokchoy, carrot confetti strings and triangular towers of polenta were cleverly arranged to evoke an essence of the places from which each dish was derived, so be sure to take a minute to look at your food before you dig in. Oh, and by the way, if you should decide to take on the greenlip mussels, do me a favor and try to find one that's smiling. If you do find one, and you can bring yourself to part with the happily departed little shellfish, please put it in a box and mail it to my editor. He just loves it when he gets gifts from our readers. Bon apetit!