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Blog Entry 9 of 45 A view from The Hill
Hi, I'm Joey Kirchmer, author of this blog and a community journalist at YourHub.com. I live at the intersection of 13th and Washington, smack dab in the middle of Capitol Hill. If you have news tips about Capitol Hill or the greater Denver area, feel free to e-mail them to me at kirchmerj@yourhub.com. You can also call me at 303-954-2650. Otherwise, sit back, relax and enjoy these blog entries.

Blog Url: http://denver.yourhub.com/~DealinInDouglas

Cafe de France a little stuffy but pleasant

Contributed by: Joseph Kirchmer/YourHub.com   on 3/8/2007

During my college days, I would pack my bags and head home to Fort Collins to work in the kitchen of a country club in Windsor called Ptarmigan Country Club -- it kept me out of trouble and allowed me to save up some money for the upcoming school year.

It also gave me a glimpse into the "country club lifestyle" and some of the finer foods that I had never experienced before then. (i.e. marsupial).

In summary, here's what I learned from working there:

1. I will never be a chef
2. It didn't matter how fancy the special was on any given night-- a New York strip with garlic mash potatoes always was the top seller
3. I will never join a private country club

Sitting at Cafe de France, located in the cluster of businesses off Interstate 25 and Castle Pines Parkway, took me back to those hot summer days I spent slaving away in the kitchen.

Dining there is sort of like eating at a private golf course in the afternoon. It's nice and quiet and there are lots of old women eating fruit plates and cobb salads and middle-aged men with golf shirts eating a hamburger sans bun.

To its credit, though, Cafe de France's menu has some superb choices for breakfast and lunch -- the bavacado omelette and chicken parmesan croissant are just a couple of dishes that look fantastic and are moderately priced.

But of course, I was there for the hamburger and fries (and let's not forget the obligatory Diet Coke).

The sourdough burger with 1000 Island dressing sort of jumped out at me when I glanced at the menu. It's a little different than what you might expect out of a basic hamburger meal, so I decided to give it a whirl.

The funny thing about it is that the only thing I really remember were the fries. They reminded me of the fries that are (or were) served at a steakhouse in Fort Collins called the Charco Broiler.

I haven't been back there in years but at one point, that scarcely lit restaurant/truck stop located on Mulberry Street was one of the hottest restaurants in town. And suffice to say, you couldn't stop eating the fries.

So the fries were outstanding but the sourdough burger was somewhat of a let-down, though it wasn't necessarily bad. It just wasn't great.

But it's all about the subtle details here. My plate, which was accompanied with a nice piece of kiwi, watermelon, an orange slice and garnished with fresh spring greens, is an inidcator of the care they take here to make everything above average.

And for $9.98 with tax, it's a pretty good deal.

Grade: B+

Cafe de France is located at 562 E. Castle Pines Parkway in Castle Pines. Call 303-308-1111 for more information. To view the menu click here.


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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments
Submitted By: Gladys Mercier
posted on 3/24/2007 @ 8:12:04 PM
(Not Rated)
I might have been one of the old women eating a cobb salad. They are great! Nah...I am only 76.
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Submitted By: Dennis Cox
posted on 3/21/2007 @ 11:50:47 AM
Rated Blog Entry
Joey, thank you for the reviews. We're always interested in others' experiences with our local restaurants.
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Submitted By: Barbara Neff
posted on 3/17/2007 @ 5:20:32 PM
Rated Blog Entry
Joey, thanks for reviewing all these places right in our neighborhood. You're becoming our local dining authority.
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Submitted By: PL JOHNSON
posted on 3/15/2007 @ 11:05:01 AM
(Not Rated)
I had a nice dinner there once but the roll that came with it was yesterdays (or the day before's) Perhaps this is why those men in golf shirts were eating burgers sans bun.
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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments
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