The Cache, Ft Collins, CO

Posted on April 13, 2018 by melsmosaic

With the recent opening of Ginger & Baker in Fort Collins, CO that also meant a couple new restaurants. Had to check out The Cache.

Made a reservation a couple weeks ahead and the only times left on a Saturday were early evening or very late night. Went with the early choice. Of course the thing to start with was wine and opted for an Erath – Resplendent. It was a Pinot Noir. Had never seen that one from them and just a nice one, not too light or heavy. Also looked for it at stores the next week and didn’t see it anywhere.

For dinner, we opted to split anappetizer – Cache House Salad, mixed greens, crispy onion, grape tomato, sourdough croutons, lemon-olive oil $8

The dressing, so amazingly emulsified, so awesome! Perfect size to split

For the dinner, I opted for the Seared Sea Scallops, green apple-parsnip puree, quinoa, brocollini $36. Some darn big scallops. Bring it on! And I’ll say, I don’t go shopping for parsnips, but they made they taste pretty darn good!

The other one at the table went with the Colorado lamb shank, whipped potato, haricots verts, lamb demi-glace $34. Apparently the lamb shank just sort of melted off the bone, into the potatoes, that melted in the mouth. They were devoured.

Overall:

One thumbs down, we wanted to nibble on something before all the food came out and bread was not free but rather $11. No, that’s not a typo…eleven dollars. Really, it’s bad enough when a place charges you 5 bucks, rather than bringing it for free. But double digits? Nix that. And prices overall were a bit high for this area.

But on the thumbs up, the food was all very good, and nice presentation. The service was also excellent. A manager came out to check on us see how things were. We couldn’t have asked for more. We had one mishap with my lactose intolerance (which I told the waitress of when ordering) and it was beyond taken care of in ways I have never seen before.

So, while I will say for Fort Collins the prices are a bit high, at least everything else was great. Worth going to for a nice dinner if you’re going to splurge.

Jax Fish House

Posted on December 24, 2017 by melsmosaic

Slowly but surely checking out more restaurants in Fort Collins, CO. One of them was Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar. It’s a cozy place where you can sit at the bar for happy hour and watch the oyster get shucked or get a table.

Went on a Thursday night and though we had a reservation, we had a high top-like table facing the bar. It was quite loud and in one of those areas that was sort of ignored because it was almost invisible. It was between support beams/dividers and almost seems like it was more used for people to lean on while socializing during happy hour, but would be used to maximize table space.

We did get some service eventually and chose to start with some drinks while looking over the menu. I chose to go with some bubbles.

When the waitress came to take food orders, I decided to go totally hard core on fish that night for both courses. Started with the Fruit De Mer ($9) – Squid, shrimp, mussels, octopus, basil, jalapeño, red wine vinaigrette.

It was similar to a ceviche. And, there were green olives in there. Bring it on! Good amount for the two of us at the table.

For the main course, I opted for the Seared Scallops ($32.50) – parsnip hummus, balsamic roasted beets, belgian enive, carrots, bourbon pecans.

Overall, each component tasted fine, but the bourbon pecans did not fit with the scallops. They just went against their taste and texture. The sweet didn’t work. The pecans go with the thought/taste of fall roasted veggies, but not scallops. I was pretty disappointed.

The other entree ordered at the table was the Cast Iron Seared Salmon ($28.25) –
brown butter cappelini, roasted celeriac, butternut squash puree, crushed hazelnuts, roasted root vegetables, sage.

I was told it tasted quite good. The celeriac was a unique twist on traditional tastes.

I took quite awhile for these entrees to come out — maybe 40+ minutes. It didn’t appear to be that busy of a night. And just getting our water refilled was a challenge. I was happy to go to the restaurant, there was nothing wrong, cooking-wise, with my food, but it’s not a place I am putting at the top of my list to return to.

Smokin’ (Scallops)

Posted on April 5, 2015 by melsmosaic

Scallops = good. Smoked flavor = good. Combining the two = must inspect. Came across some Smoked Scallops the other day while at Whole Foods and it just sounded intriguing. I was planning to make some form of salad for dinner and they seemed liked they’d be a great ‘topping’ for it. The scallops were small — as in nowhere near U5s. Likely U50s? Do they count that small? I just don’t know the count for the size of that (yes, I’m biased; I love U5-10). Anyway…picked them up in the nice package.

Got home, opened the package and popped one in my mouth. WOW! Nice taste! That smoke, just like that taste I like in Pinotage. In the end (after nibbling on several) threw them on top of a nice arugula salad. Worth trying if you’re up for something new.

No Recipe Green Sunday Dinner

Posted on March 17, 2014 by melsmosaic

Last night I wanted to make a pre-St. Patrick’s Day dinner, color-wise. I had done an Irish brunch so needed something lighter but wanted a green theme. I assessed what I had in my kitchen and off I went.

Started with some green olives to nibble on while prepping. Then went for some scallops with ginger, garlic and green onions, some Brussels sprouts (with pistachios) and arugula with grapefruit.

The key to the taste of this was some sesame oil!

Put some of that in a pan then added the green onions, garlic and ginger. My kitchen smelled SO good.

Then, I purposely used a big pan to (1) save time and (2) get some of those amazing, drool inducing flavors/tastes into both the scallops and Brussels sprouts.

Wanted to add some (more) tang to my arugula salad so added some grapefruit.

While all this was happening, had some kale chips going — just tore some kale, tossed in olive oil, sprinkled with salt and baked at 400 for 10 minutes. I put the kale on a rack so I don’t have to flip it.

Opened up a red from Italy that I’d had for awhile to serve with dinner — amazing! Osel Ruche.

Final product all around was AMAZING. Plenty of green on the plate — green kale, green arugula, green Brussels sprouts, green pistachios (tossed with them), green onions, green olives for apps. Love just throwing stuff together!

Holiday Lunch

Posted on December 19, 2013 by melsmosaic

Today called for a holiday lunch, which also meant I got to check out a new (to me) location in DC. Had a nice 3-course meal at Decanter at St. Regis with some colleagues.

We started with delicious focaccia and a mesclun salad. Under all the lettuce was an amazing tapenade. Heaven for olive lovers!

For the main course I opted for the scallops. Pan seared with both a chickpea puree (can we say hummus?) and chickpeas, along with great seasoning. Very nice portion size, too!

Though white would have paired a bit better with the scallops, I went for some Malbec. The waiter said this stuff was great and I couldn’t turn it down. The rest of the table was drinking beer or white so I had to take one for the (red) team. I enjoyed some Siete Fincas from Argentina. Medium body, smooth, fruity.

The other food options were a steak or pasta. They were both inhaled/enjoyed quite a bit.

The meal closed with a nice dessert of 3 sorbets — lemon, raspberry, lime, with a little meringue on top. Perfect ending.

I would be interested in checking this place out for dinner, as well. Delicious food, excellent service, nice atmosphere. Might just add it to my list.