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Rioja will leave your tastebuds delirious

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Contributed by: Anthonette Klinkerman on 7/7/2008

I've always wanted to feel like one of those lucky judges on the Food Network's Iron Chef. Rioja in downtown's Larimer Square is the place to do it.

This is one I'm reluctant to share as this was the finest meal I have had in five years. The last memorable meal I had was at Opus, in Littleton, when I was seven months pregnant and scared to death of eating anything undercooked, overcooked, from the sea, or land.

Rioja now holds the distinction of the eatery that makes me want to avoid going out until I can visit again. I'm salivating just thinking about the incredible marriage of flavors chef Jennifer Jasinkski presented.

It's rumored she was a challenger on the Food Network, and judging by how I felt when we finished, I'm sure she did very well. According to her bio found on the restaurant's webpage, Jasinski has close connections to Wolfgang Puck, and spent many years at some of the more notable restaurants in California and Colorado.

To start, a breadbasket was brought around with goat cheese puffs and lavender sourdough bread. Yes, I thought so, too, but the floral notes of lavender mixed with the tang of sourdough was delectable.

Next, my husband and I tried two of the new daily items on the menu. He chose the radish-watermelon-and-goat-cheese salad, and we found it was refreshingly spicy, crunchy, sweet and salty all at once. I chose a chilled plum soup with curry and a fried squash blossom. There was cool, crunch, sweet, and heat, a flavor combination I've never experienced. Pure heaven when you're sitting outside on a steamy summer evening.

We shared a plate of the candied lemon gnocchi with crabmeat and microgreens, and really should have stopped there. It was regrettable we did not make a full meal of those as they were a perfect summer meal - not too heavy, lots of fresh, light tastes and complimentary textures.

Yet, we had to push onward to a main course. His choice: the pork chop oozing with truffle butter and nestled on bok choy. My choice: the halibut resting on a potato-mushroom cake, surrounded by green swirls of pureed sugar snap peas and brown curls of pureed mushrooms. The fish was moist and seasoned beautifully, and the pea puree, to me, was how peas are supposed to taste.

By that time we were truly stuffed and did not have room for dessert. This was a really sad thing. I didn't even want to look at the menu and disappoint myself further. Well, I guess I'm going to have to go back.

Reservations strongly recommended. 303-830-2282
Grade: A+++++ (Can I give those?)
Prices: Reasonable - did you read what we ate?

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Showing 1-2 of 2 comments

Submitted By: Anthonette Klinkerman

posted on 7/12/2008 @ 3:02:47 PM

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Thanks for sending the link, Fairlight! What a great story. You are going to be so impressed when you get to Rioja. Need a dining buddy??

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Submitted By: Fairlight Baer-Gutierrez

posted on 7/11/2008 @ 5:59:40 PM

Rated Story

I would love to try all of these! How have I always passed up Rioja? Thank you for this exquisite review, Anthonette. Here's a story about how Jennifer Jasinski did in the Food Network challenge: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/flavor/article/0,2792,DRMN_26356_5143736,00.html.

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Showing 1-2 of 2 comments

CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Anthonette Klinkerman

Castle Pines North

Anthonette Klinkerman has posted 80 stories and 44 comments since joining on 4/14/2006. Anthonette Klinkerman 's average story rating is 4.95.

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