Drizzle ‘N’ Dip offers specialty oils, vinegars
When Michael Sandhoff and his wife, Kaeli, worked at their Savory Spice store in Aurora’s Southlands Mall, they noticed that several customers each day asked if they also sold balsamic vinegars and extra virgin olive oils.
They didn’t, but Sandhoff tried to help.
“I tried to get some of these companies to come to Southlands Mall, but no one wanted to do it,” he said. “So I did it myself.”
Last week, they opened Drizzle ‘N’ Dip, a specialty olive oil and vinegar shop that’s just a few doors down from their franchised Savory Spice shop.
Drizzle ‘N’ Dip offers 28 different flavors of extra virgin olive oil, from vanilla bean to citrus habanero, plus 31 types of balsamic and varietal vinegars, like red and white wine.
Sandhoff, who formerly worked in the hotel management business, is passionate about cooking and helping others try new recipes or cooking styles.
“Honey ginger balsamic goes really well with chicken stir fry with a little garlic oil,” he said.
He also likes hickory balsamic vinegar with a rack of ribs or barbecued chicken.
Until May 30, shoppers can get a free sample-size bottle of flavored olive oil “so that they can really make sure that’s what they want to commit to,” he said.
And there’s an ongoing deal — if people shop at both stores on the same day, they get 10 percent discount at the second store.
6235 S. Main Street in the Southlands Shopping Center. 720-251-8527.
Eat like a president
Every president throughout history has had his own relationship with food — and also used food to impact their public image.
“A lot of presidents didn’t want to seem aristocratic in their food preferences,” said Denver culinary historian Adrian Miller. “They may eat French food privately, but publicly they’d talk about the comfort foods they ate at home.”
Miller, who won a James Beard award for his first book “Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time,” is now working on his second book, about African-American presidential chefs. He’s dug through hundreds of historical books, cookbooks, and newspapers to discover what our presidents loved to eat.
Now he’s teamed with Relish Catering and Events to create “Presidential Soul,” with favorite menus of three presidents when they dined in the Executive Mansion entertaining honored guests.
George Washington’s menu includes stoved potatoes — layers of sliced potatoes with steak or lamb in between, a rich dish served on a bed of wilted spinach.
Thomas Jefferson’s meal features baked macaroni pudding — an early forerunner of mac and cheese with macaroni, parmesan cheese, butter and a little seasoning.
The Nelson Mandela State Dinner re-creates the state dinner President Bill Clinton hosted for Nelson Mandela when he was president of South Africa, a fusion of American ingredients with South African influences. The main dish is seared halibut crusted with sesame and wasabi, along with a vegetable side dish of red curry with lemongrass.
These catered meals can be ordered for private dinners or charity events, with an option of Miller — a lawyer who once worked in the White House as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton — sharing entertaining stories about presidential meals. His new book, “The President’s Kitchen Cabinet,” is due next year.
For more information about these meals, go to soulfoodscholar.com/ catering.
Mexican food on South Pearl Street
Que Bueno Suerte! will open in the Platt Park neighborhood this summer with a focus on upscale modern Mexican food.
Chef Dana Rodriguez of the popular restaurant Work & Class will oversee the restaurant as consulting chef, with Vincente “Vinny” Sosa helming the kitchen as executive chef.
It’s owned by Mission Yogurt, Inc., the Denverbased company that owns and operates food-and-beverage concepts located mostly in airports, such as Root Down and Que Bueno! Mexican Grille at Denver International Airport.
The company bought the building that formerly housed Session Kitchen, at 1518 S. Pearl St., at the end of last year after learning the Westminster Promenade — home to its 11-yearold restaurant, Que Bueno! — would be demolished in May 2016.
Qué buena suerte means what good luck, or what good fortune, in Spanish. Rod Tafoya, company president, said they chose this name for the new restaurant because of the fortunate timing — the closing of one restaurant offered the opportunity to embark on a new culinary adventure with Rodriguez and Sosa.
When the restaurant opens, it will serve lunch, dinner, and late-night eats on the street where popular restaurants keep diners out late enjoying the scene.