Originally published Saturday, April 17, 2010.
Every so often, I enjoy a meal that truly moves me. Sometimes it is the result of hours of my own sweat equity in the kitchen, but more often I am the benefactor of someone else’s culinary creations. This was the case this weekend when Serena and I dined at Frasca in Boulder, CO.
I feel compelled to share my thoughts on the dinner dish by dish. I'm saddened that these words can never truly express the oral jubilee that was this meal.
Antipasti
- Columbia River King Salmon “Crudo” with beets, horseradish and olive oil
In all honesty, this has to be my favorite dish of the night. I know it’s silly to start a review/rave with the apex, but hey, I’m just writing chronologically here. It’s their fault for making the first dish so freaking good! Crudo is Italian for raw; so I guess this makes it my favorite sashimi dish as well. The fresh horseradish is a paste rubbed on the paper-thin cuts of raw pink fish flesh. The olive oil path was an excellent counterpoint to the horseradish tang.
- Treviso and Honeycrisp Apple Salad with sopressata, asiago and apple “purea”
This was a good starter that we ordered primarily in anticipation of having several heavier courses to follow. It did not disappoint. The greens were fresh, and appropriately sprinkled with matchstick-sized slices of apple and sopressata (a salami-prosciutto hybrid of sorts).
Wine
- Domaine Wachau Gruner Veltliner Smaragd “Achleiten” 2005 from Wachau, Austria
Our first venture with a sommelier was certainly a success. He listened patiently to what we had ordered, and then proceeded to rattle off a few wines followed by strings of descriptives that I had never heard applied to things that could be ingested. In the end, Serena keyed in on "hints of pear," and we were on our way to Austria. Upon further review, this year received a 92 rating and was not nearly as sweet as a Riesling, which would have taken over the meal.
Primi
- Four Story Hill Farm Rabbit “Agnolotti” with marsala “brodo” and pecorino grand cru
I am a sucker for light Italian pasta sauces (brodo = broth). The simplicity of this dish was it's selling point. There wasn't much to interfere with the delicate and distinctively not gamey rabbit.
- Hand-cut “Pasta alla Chitarra” with Colorado lamb meatballs, baby artichokes and roasted red peppers
Another light pasta dish, the noodles here were fantastic. Alla chitarra simply means that the long, thin noodles were cut on a device similar to a guitar. Get it? Serena particularly complimented the roasted red bell peppers. She should know, the ones she makes at home are quite divine.
Secondi
- Maine Diver Scallops with borlotti beans, chard and house-made pork sausage
I really through common sense to the wind here and went with a shellfish dish in a city about 850 miles from the nearest living scallop. My "adventurousness" was rewarded however! The scallops were done very well and the crispness of the chard and the grit of the borlotti complemented their texture well. There could have been a couple more pieces of sausage, but as it was, the scallops remained the focal point of the dish.
- Poached Pacific Halibut with Chanterelle mushrooms, fennel and broccolini
I might venture that this was the blandest dish of the night. To me, it could have been spiced a bit more, but then again, I often like to get punched in the tongue. Perhaps I need a bit more patience with white fish of this variety.
Dolci
- Chocolate “Torta”
Silly me. I was expecting a molten chocolate torte. It seems that it was lost in translation that torta actually means cake. And cake I got. Delicious light chocolate cake with a surprise dollop of vanilla (with a hint of almond?) gelato with bits of praline. Scrumptious.
- Formaggio assortment
Cheese for dessert? Oh yes she did! Not surprisingly, I didn't get to taste this dish much because any of my advances were met with stabbing fork motions from across the table. It sure looked good. The jam that I got a taste of was quite good.
There you have it. A dish-by-dish breakdown of a meal that lands itself firmly in the top five all-time. Frasca, you undoubtedly get my glowing recommendation.
For the interested reader, the restaurant opens reservations up two months ahead of time, and the good times go quickly. Advance planning is an absolute must.
As you may have guessed, the photo above is not from Frasca. When they start serving Spam pizza, I will return and write another review!
