We woke up to a sunny day on May 2nd and were
finally able to uncover our peach tree and saw little glimpses of Spring start
to come back from our May 1st snowstorm. I made some French toast in the morning and we hung around
the house trying to figure out where to go for dinner that night.
This pregnancy hasn’t been the easiest for me to try anything new
so finding a restaurant isn’t the easiest task and it usually takes quite some
doing. We decided to go to a
little place on Old Pearl Street in Denver, Gaia Bistro. This place is known for their brunch
and outdoor dining experience, which we have yet to try but is on our list for the summer. It just started serving dinner earlier this year. Lucky us!
Walking
up to the restaurant, you feel like you’re visiting an old friend. Their ambience is very inviting. They have about 12
tables on the patio but all are separated from the street by a picket fence and
the garden in front secludes the tables from each other.
We were the first ones in the restaurant that evening and we
were offered a table outside or in.
We opted for inside because the temperature had dipped. The cook was cutting up ingredients in
the open kitchen in the back as we were seated at a nice little table in front
of a window. The menu is very eclectic
ranging from Ceviche to Caribbean spiced chicken. Water and bread were brought promptly. The bread was very good and I think it
came from the bakery down the street. Local, Local, Local!
I had looked at the menu online and really wanted to try their Green Chili Cheesecake with tortilla crisps. I am so glad we got that as an appetizer. It came out a bubbly, cheesy goodness in a very appealing arrangement. To say the least, we didn’t leave a crumb.
For dinner, I ordered the Stuffed Poblano with black beans,
red peppers, red and green chili, and crème fraiche. I always forget to snap a picture before taking a
bite but I will work on that. It was very good and
reminded me a meal we had in Palisade, CO.
Mike had the Bacon Wrapped Shrimp with Polenta cakes and a
spinach cream sauce. I think the
only complaint here was that there weren’t more shrimp!
The food, ambience, and service were all very good.
Walking out of the restaurant, I took a little tour of the
grounds. I was delighted to see in
their “backyard,” two large garden boxes.
I love when restaurants grow some of their own food!
We opted to forgo dessert at the restaurant but ended up going to a new Gelato place near our house.
Glacier just opened up in February of this year and it has
been a big hit with the neighborhood.
They offer you as many samples as you please but it is very hard to make
decision from the, at least, 40 flavors they have, which also change
daily. I opted for the Caramel
Straticella in a cone and Mike, who had a difficult time deciding, had Sea Salt
Caramel Vanilla in a waffle cone!
Yummy, yum, YUM! I would recommend any of these eateries to Denverites. We will definitely be back to Glacier and will have brunch this summer at Gaia.
