Foodies in Denver: burritos for breakfast

The dining room overlooks a lake, surrounded by the all-too-perfect Colorado mountains. Brunch in this eatery means buffalo carpaccio (thinly sliced raw meat, vinaigrette), crab and avocado omelet and a classic brunch item, eggs benedict. The chefs are locals, promising locally sourced fare and even the town's name sends you painting a perfect winter piece of artwork in your mind: Evergreen.

They were even kind enough to call us to confirm our reservation, but we took a detour...

We stopped at Santiago's instead.

Homemade green chile sauce is the specialty, a recipe of roasted and peeled jalapeños crafted by founder Carmen Morales' mother, though the $2 burritos which get smothered by this sauce are equally as famous.

{breakfast burrito, smothered, mild}

And how much heat can you take? They've got a mild, hot and half-n-half option (what others might call "medium"?) We ordered a little of everything, all smothered in chile sauce, some smothered in additional cheese, some mild, some half-n-half.

{smothered, plus cheese on top (it's already stuffed w/cheese!), half-n-half}

Flavor? Excellent. Stuffed with potatoes, onions, cheese, and today's burritos, with ham (this changes: sometimes you get chorizo, bacon or breakfast sausage).

Speed? To our table in a flash. When you have a small breakfast menu (and they do) with a long line out the door (and they do), you can make items fresh and speedy! Perfect combo, especially when you're eager to make a steep climb onto the slopes of Copper Mountain.

Value? C'mon, you saw the the pictures of these $2 burritos. Need we say more?

Today, we ate at Santiago's. And we declared that it was good!

{the coffee is lacking, but hey, we didn't come here for the joe!}

Let's eat what we buy!

Since the Urban Farms Market and corner store have opened up, we've given ourselves new challenges. For our first trip, we bought what was available and cooked with it. (NOTE: produce inside the store isn't necessarily local, but rather, gives priority to giving folks in our neighborhood fresh produce that otherwise isn't as readily available to them. For local produce, visit the outdoor market!)

So, we shopped.

see the sneaky sweet potatoes at the bottom? Mmmmm!

waiting to be chopped...

lovin' that fresh cilantro

Add a few spices (cinnamon, cumin, etc. etc), potatoes, carrots, onions, cilantro, and you've got something that looks like this...

Yes. Delish.

Choosing to shop at a smaller store, with a smaller selection, is an intentional decision. We're giving up the selection of a megastore and letting dinner choose instead, more or less (instead of us choosing dinner). This may seem limiting, but really, shopping at the Urban Farms corner store is much less overwhelming, personal (conversations with customers and employees), and simple.

We hope you'll visit! The corner store is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-7pm, and Saturday from 8am-3pm. The outdoor market is open on Tuesdays from 2-6pm and Saturday 8am-1pm.

Let tomorrow's meal choose you.

hello, awkward coffee shop picture!

**Edit on 5/14/11: Memphis Brew is now closed.**

This is me. Awkwardly holding up my frappe at Memphis Brew, a new-ish (new to me, at least) coffee shop in Memphis.

Jeff and I are here on a Wednesday early eve, reading and blogging, with an Americano and a sugar free vanilla frappe.

sounds || the heat clicking on and the TV a couple rooms away

sights || one other person reading, besides Jeff, scatterings of what I presume to be local art on the walls

thoughts || I wish there was some easy, low music playing, but otherwise it's really nice to have peace in a coffee shop and not constant rushing and way-too-loud music. This is actually perfect for my dull headache that's been with me for a few hours now.

layout || a variety of seating areas, some at ground level, some at a basement-ish level; couches, tables, bar stools, group tables.

I read some reviews before I came, and I hear their cold brew is really, really good. But unfortunately, they're out of it right now! So, we'll have to come back very soon, on the hunt for this cold brew.

fast food... "with avocados, please!"

When we're on the road, it often feels like we simply have no choice but to swing through the drive-thru, get our sugar-loaded Dr. Pepper, and oh-so-delish Mickey D's fries; we all know they're the best. This, we speculated, might be one of the hardest habits to break as part of our "No Chain Challenge".

But we were actually wrong.

On our last trip down I-55, towards the warmer land of South Mississippi (Hattiesburg, we love thee), we had some good food in tow. Specifically, these sammies with turkey (veggies only for Jeff), carrots, avocado, bell peppers - so good and fresh that no condiments were necessary!

And it only took me (Abbye) about 10 minutes to get these sandwiches together, and that's pretty ding-dang fast!

local: doesn't always mean kind

Have you ever been chastised when you walked in the door of a cute little coffee shop, the one you like to frequent on Sunday mornings with your journal and book and a mostly-good cup of coffee? Me neither; that is, until about a month and a half ago.

Oh dear, I've debated writing this blog. But, if I'm taking a "No Chain Challenge" in favor of local restaurants, telling you all the reasons that local is generally a better choice, then I also have to tell the truth about these experiences - even the ones that are less than desirable.

The victim? Poplar Perk'n (or me, depending on how you look at it). The crime? Pen marks.

What? That's right pen marks. One Thursday morning, I go in to get my coffee, and 3.8 seconds after I walk in the door, I hear, "Hey, you're the one who was in here on Sunday. You got pen on our couch." Stunned. "What is she talking about?" I think.

"What? I'm so sorry..."

"Yeah, weren't you writing over there? Well, you got pen all over our couch; we'd just gotten it that morning." ("We're not mad at you or anything," another barista chimes in.) Really? Seems you're not happy with me either.

The story could be longer, but I'll stop here. I'm sorry about your couch; I'm sorry I brought a pen anywhere within 100 feet of your couch. But don't worry; I won't be coming back anytime soon. I'm too embarrassed and shocked that I was treated like a 5 year old.

The point is this: local establishments still choose their standards; they still choose who to hire; they still choose how to (or how not to) value their customers (who, honestly, didn't mean to get pen marks on that nice, new couch). This is by far uncommon in local, Memphis restaurants (though I can think of one other coffee shop that makes me feel not-cool-enough when I visit).

But still - go there. Support local business. Figure out for yourself. But dear friend, please don't take an ink pen through those doors...

Mosa: rainbow curry recommendation

Lemongrass, coconut milk, cilantro: we could call these the trinity of goodness in this dish. This red curry (looks more orange-y, actually) is too good. Perhaps too rich for my usual lunchtime dining, but that is no complaint! The cilantro garnish - another Pates favorite - added a real clean, crisp taste. (Any cilantro lovers out there? We find that folks either love or hate our favorite herb!) Mine featured tofu, which gloriously takes on the good flavors in this dish. Of course, you can order it with your preference of meat.

Panang Rainbow Curry is the name, and you won't find it on the menu at Mosa, but you can expect to hear it as a recommendation from the owner (who has been there almost every time we've visited) and listed on the specials board.

And what is Mosa? Locally owned, dishes inspired by the many flavors of Asia, this restaurant boasts great food and an owner who isn't beyond taking orders and sauteing veggies on the stove - in other words, he knows his restaurant.

Jeff's dish: the Korean BBQ, also on the "specials" board. Since Jeff is already a lover of Korean BBQ, he really liked this dish. Though it was nice reminder of his time in Vancouver (10 weeks during college), it wasn't the same. Should you order it? "Absolutely," is Jeff's response. But if you have not had homemade Korean BBQ, you'll need to book a flight to Canada and make some Korean friends with a grill and a hankering for a good feast!

Visit them at one of two locations: 850 S. White Station, Memphis, TN; or 1825 Kirby Pkwy. As they say on their website, "...make the Mosa your day!"

Three Angels Diner: what took us so long?

Please forgive us. We've broken a very important rule of blogging: we didn't blog. We introduced ourselves, our "rebirth", and then left you hanging. So, without further ado, a word about Three Angels Diner.

Why go to Three Angels? Fittingly, three reasons: location, Urban Farms, good food.

Three Angels is just down the street from our house. As in, mere blocks. We can ride our bikes, walk, or on this particular Friday night, drive (because it's rainy, dark, and Jeff has a hurt foot). They are located in the historic Broad Avenue Arts District, which is just on the edge of Binghampton; we're proud to be living here during its revival. We try, when we can, to be supporters of business in the very place where we live - right down to the same neighborhood.

Urban Farms. As we at down on this Friday night, we were ready for the veggie specials, some of which were from Urban Farms, a new happening, also right here in our very neighborhood (volunteer workday tomorrow, 2/20, 1-3pm - join us!) Whatever seasonal veggies are growing at UF right now, you can be sure to see some of them on the daily specials menu at Three Angels. Local supporting local. Perfect!

Good food. Fried egg sandwich, veggie chili (w/tofu, yuuuuuum), adult grilled cheese, to name a few. On this night, I got the fried egg sandwich - really good, though nothing to scream and shout about. This sandwich had a fried egg, tomato, lettuce, cheese on really great bread. Their homemade chips were my side item (now these are delish!) Jeff ordered mashed sweet potatoes with cumin and garlic, and if you know the Pates, we LOVE cumin! So, thumbs up for this side item!

There are many other great reasons to visit Three Angels: liveliness, art, fun atmosphere, open late. See for yourself! Check it out at 2617 Broad Ave., Memphis, 38112.

Three Angels - local, friendly, go there.