RESTAURANT DIGEST: Broadmoor’s giant gingerbread house; FNG, Izakaya Ronin now open
Some days it may feel like you’ve eaten 3.7 million calories, but The Broadmoor’s 12-foot-tall, 150-square-foot gingerbread house actually is 3.7 million calories (as calculated by someone with perhaps too much time on their hands).
The Broadmoor has created a larger-than-life gingerbread house for the past 32 years, but this year’s is the biggest ever. An army of 10 master pastry chefs and two carpenters spent more than 220 hours building this stunning gingerbread replica of the property’s Pauline Chapel. Because nothing says ’tis the season like 288,495 percent of your recommended daily intake of carbs.
Here’s what went into it: 958 pounds of powdered sugar; 475 pounds of flour; 650 eggs; 19 pounds of holiday spices; 200 pounds of honey; 128 pounds of molasses; 6 pounds of salt; 78 pounds of assorted candies, gumballs and fruit jellies; 164 pounds of dark chocolate; 89 pounds of butter; 3 pounds of baking soda; 10 pounds of heavy cream; and 2 pounds of fresh yeast.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? Just don’t go biting into it; I think that’s frowned upon.
The gingerbread chapel will be up through New Year in the lobby at Broadmoor Main.
The Broadmoor: 1 Lake Ave., Colorado Springs; broadmoor.com
While we can’t print what chef Troy Guard’s new Highland restaurant FNG stands for, we can tell you what to expect.
The culinary rock star behind TAG, Los Chingones and Guard and Grace has opened a rockinspired restaurant with a comfort-food-with-a-twist menu.
“Rock ’n’ roll on the speakers and cartoons on the TV,” general manager Sam Haupt said of the concept. “There are a lot of little boutique restaurants popping up trying to do tricky things. We’re trying to bring it back to what good, classic food is.”
That classic food includes super-creamy mac and cheese, fried bologna sliders, rabbit green chili, chicken-fried steak, housemade sausages and an incredible-looking salted caramel pie. Outside of some specials and the fresh catch of the day, nothing goes for more than $16.
If you’re into classic rock albums on the walls, giant KISS cardboard cutouts and $6.50 burgers (yes, $6.50 burgers in a trendy Denver neighborhood!), then you’ll probably want to make it your neighborhood spot, whether you live nearby or not.
FNG opened Dec. 1. FNG: 3940 W. 32nd Ave., Denver, 303-963-5931; fngrestaurant.com; Mon.-Thurs. 4-9:30 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 4-10:30 p.m., Sun. 4-9 p.m.
Sushi Ronin fans — and if you’ve eaten there, you’re probably a fan — have something to get excited about: Izakaya Ronin opened in the Industry building on Dec. 2.
An izakaya is essentially a Japanese pub. Done well, it should be a casual, comfortable spot in which to grab a drink (or three) and some bites to eat.
Izakaya Ronin’s upstairs is the tamer version of the traditional izakaya. With warm lighting, a sushi bar and standard tables and seating, it’s a nice, welcoming spot to relax with a Saketini and plate of nigiri.
But go below, and you enter a cooler, subterranean izakaya featuring a red-lit bar and concrete, prison-like walls. This “Izakaya after dark” opens at 10 p.m., and it’s perfect for late-night adventures (and late-night cravings; it serves food until 1:30 a.m.).
Downstairs, there’s ramen on the menu. But it’s not just any ramen; it could be Denver’s best ramen. Chef Corey Baker won a recent Ramen Showdown.
And the Japanese whiskey selection is incredible. So incredible, that the rarest bottles go for $350 a shot. (They’re only allowed to import one bottle per year, thus the price tag.)
Izakaya Ronin: 3053 Brighton Blvd., Denver; izakayaronin.com; Tues.-Sat. 5-10 p.m. (downstairs Wed.-Sat. 9 p.m.-2 a.m.)
The Denver Tech Center is about to sizzle.
Ruth’s Chris has been in and out of downtown (out in 2009 when a franchise-owned Market Street location closed; in again in 2014 when the current corporate-owned outpost opened), and now the chain is adding a second Denver spot in the Tech Center.
Opening Dec. 18 in the new One Belleview Station, the DTC Ruth’s Chris will feature three private dining rooms (that’s a lot of rehearsal dinners and fancy corporate events) in a 10,000-square-foot space. On the 18th, the restaurant will host a steak-cutting ceremony, which is pretty much how every new business should debut from now on.
Ruth’s Chris Steak House: 7001 E. Belleview Ave., Denver; ruthschris.com
How did it take this long for a restaurant concept built around dogs to open in Colorado?
Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, the pooch-friendly, elevated casual restaurant that got its start in California in 2003, will open in Westminster at The Orchard Town Center on Dec. 20. (Not to be confused with Boulder’s Lazy Dog Sports Bar & Grill. Then again, how can the two not be confused?)
This will be the first Denver metro location for Lazy Dog, which cares so deeply for your fourlegged friends that it has a special menu just for dogs.
That means that my pug, Smeagol, can feast on a hamburger patty, grilled chicken breast and brown rice. Except I’m not willing to spend $4.95 for Smeagol to eat a hamburger patty, so never mind.
People food at Lazy Dog includes comforting creations like BBQ Bison Meatloaf, Fettuccine Alfredo and Country Chicken and Biscuits (available at weekend brunch). There’s also a full bar — presumably for the people; not the dogs.
Alas, your pups can’t enter the 8,000-squarefoot restaurant, but there’s plenty of room for them on the 1,700-plus-square-foot patio. A second Lazy Dog will open in Aurora in January 2018.
Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar: 14618 Delaware St., Westminster, 720-459-5613; lazydogrestaurants.com
’Tis the season for giving, right? Even better when what you give gets you something in return. Donate a coat Dec. 8-9 and get 50 percent off dinner at Keystone Resort’s mountaintop restaurants, Alpenglow Stube and Der Fondue Chessel.
Know of a nonprofit that can use a little love in 2018? The Real Dill ,a Denver-based pickle company, is taking applications for a charitable partner for 2018. So far this year The Real Dill has raised more than $8,000 for its 2017 recipient, The Growhaus. To submit a local nonprofit, visit therealdill.com/pages/givingback.
Den Corner restaurants (Sushi Den, Ototo, Izakaya Den) raised $20,000 for disaster relief charities at their annual Den Rooftop Party in October. The money will go to groups in Houston, Miami, Mexico and Japan that are dedicated to hurricane and earthquake humanitarian efforts.