Love Food? Love Beer? Love Food AND Beer?

Enjoy the Mountain Sun Winter Brewer’s Dinner at the Vine Street Pub in Denver on Feb 8th

For $50, come enjoy four courses of fine food paired with all Mountain Sun ales. To celebrate Stout month, Head Brewer Brian Hutchinson paired all stouts with the food creations of Executive Kitchen Manager Rob Green. Tickets are available now at all three pubs. (Mountain Sun and Southern Sun in Boulder and Vine Street Pub in Denver)

The 2010 Winter Brewer’s Menu:
1st course: Blue cheese stuffed bacon wrapped fig paired with Belgian Stout
2nd course: Posole soup paired with the Drop Kick Stout
3rd Course: Coffee rubbed beef with parsnip puree paired with Coffee Imperial Stout
4th course: Banana coconut bread pudding paired with Coconut Cream Stout

Cathryn Olchowy
Culinary Director

Pinxtos in Cherry Creek

If luck landed you in San Sebastian, Spain, for a night on the town, you’d probably begin with pintxos (pronounced pean-chos). The bite-sized snacks, usually served on thin slices of baguette, line Basque bars—so you can nibble Spanish tortillas (potato omelet) or marinated mushrooms while sipping a Rioja red.
As Spanish flavors make their way stateside, pintxos are increasingly common in the United States. New York City has a restaurant named after them, and Contigo recently opened in San Francisco to dish up single servings of chickpeas and anchovies.
Even Denver has its own pintxos spot. In late October, Kurt and Deicy Steinbecker, graduates of San Sebastian’s La Escuela de Cocina Luis Irizar, and long-time cooks in Spanish kitchens, opened Ondo’s in Cherry Creek North. Their ground-level restaurant serves up the Basque snacks just as you’d find them on bars in San Sebastian. Thin slices of mango, wrap creamy tuna, and sit atop toasts. Generous servings of salmon pate cover thin slices of bread. The Steinbeckers even offer bites of Spanish omelets.
But these ultra authentic snacks come at a cost. Since the couple imports all its product from Spain, its pintxos price out higher than they would in Europe. (Think $5-$9, instead of $3-$4.) Which makes Ondo’s a happy hour destination. From 4 to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, all wines and a few pintxos are $2 off. Those authentic prices fit the real Spanish eats.
For more information on the emergence of Spanish flavors in the U.S., check out the Cultural Curiosity section of Shifts 2.0.
Ondo’s, 250 Steele St. #100, 303-975-6514, www.ondostapas.com

Cathryn Olchowy
Culinary Director