NatureWurks Where To Eat Tips   NatureWurk's staff is always being asked about our favorite places to dine,  we are happy to share with you some of our experiences. If you have any comments, please contact us Below we hope you will find some helpful advice for dining & traveling   in   Denver, Colorado Denver has over 2,000 restaurants serving all varieties of cuisine. Area specialties include Rocky Mountain Trout, fresh Colorado beef, and lamb (Colorado is the fourth largest producer of lamb in the U.S.). Another popular local dish is buffalo. High in protein, lower in fat, calories and cholesterol than chicken, buffalo is gaining popularity among health conscious diners and is offered at numerous restaurants in Denver. Among the restaurants serving buffalo are the historic Buckhorn Exchange, the oldest saloon and restaurant in the city with a unique dining room covered with 500 stuffed animal heads; the Denver Buffalo Company, which has an art gallery, gift shop and western wear store attached; and The Fort, which is housed in a reproduction of Bent's Old Fort, a fur trapper's post on the Santa Fe Trail. Local residents also enjoy Mexican and Southwestern dishes, served at dozens of local neighborhood pubs and taverns. Beer Brewing Capital: Colorado produces more beer than any other state. Besides the huge breweries of Coors and Anheuser-Busch, the Denver area is filled with micro-breweries and brew pubs, all within walking distance of each other in downtown Denver. A brew pub is a restaurant that brews the beer right on the premises and serves beer that is generally not found anywhere else. On any given day, there are fifty beers available in Denver at small brew pubs that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Each brew pub offers tours and four ounce samplers that let you taste the variety of ales, porters, stouts and lagers that they produce. While some of the brew pubs produce what is commonly thought of as "American" style lagers, most of the beers made are more traditional European and British style ales. Il Fornaio 1631 Wazee Street, Denver, CO 80202 Telephone: 303-573-5050 Open: MON-FRI 11:30 am-10 pm. SAT-SUN 11:30 am-10:30 pm. Fresh imported pastas, wood-fired pizzas, rotisserie chicken, mesquite grilled meats and fish plus seasonal saladas are featured in this award winning authentic Italian restaurant   Bravo! Ristorante Hours Mon-Fri 11:30am-2pm; Sun-Thurs 5:30-10:30pm, Fri-Sat 5:30-11pm Address Plaza Building of Adam's Mark Denver, 1550 Court Place Phone 303/626-2581, or ext. 3164 fromwithin the hotel Prices Main courses $4.50-$12.50 lunch, $12.50-$26 dinner You'll feel like you're sitting on a piazza in Italy if you choose to dine here--the room is open and airy, with a high ceiling, windows overlooking the 16th Street Mall, potted trees, and quartet groupings of booths with etched-glass dividers. Glass chandeliers increase the sparkle, and the mood is enhanced by the music served with your meal: The wait staff are also fine singers of both Broadway tunes and opera. The sauces here are lighter than you might expect, sometimes with unusual flavors enhancing the generous portions of al dente pasta. Also on the menu are several unique pizzas, such as prawn, shrimp, and prosciutto; and goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and wild mushrooms. Several delightful pasta dishes are offered at both lunch and dinner. These include lasagna with fennel sausage, eggplant, and sweet peppers; fettuccine with diced tomatoes, roasted garlic, and red chiles; and shrimp, mussel, clams, and calamari tossed with angel hair. Other dinner selections include the specialty, filet Bravo! (tenderloin of beef with roasted cipollini onions, Gorgonzola cheese, balsamic-dressed arugula, and chianti), veal chop with wild mushroom sauce on soft polenta, rack of Colorado lamb in a mustard herb crust, char-grilled lemon basil tuna, and oak-roasted Atlantic salmon. Cuisine Northern Italian Reservations Reservations recommended   The Palm Hours: Mon-Fri 11am-11pm, Sat-Sun 5-11pm Address: In the Westin at Tabor Center, 1672 Lawrence St Phone 303/825-7256 Prices Main courses $8.50-$17 lunch, $14-$30 dinner www.thepalm.com Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi opened the first Palm restaurant in New York City in 1926. It originally specialized in cuisine from their hometown of Parma, Italy, but whenever a customer requested steak, Ganzi ran to a nearby butcher shop, bought a steak, and cooked it to order! This eventually led to The Palm having its own meat wholesale company to ensure the quality of its steaks. Seafood was introduced to the menu by the current third-generation owners, who also expanded the business by opening a dozen more restaurants across the country. Most famous for its prime cuts of beef and huge lobsters, tradition holds firm at The Palm, with some of Ganzi's original Italian dishes still popular menu items. The dining room is decorated with fun on-the-wall drawings of celebrities; customers are seated at either booths or tables. Cuisine Italian, Steak, Seafood Reservations Reservations recommended   Palace Arms Hours Mon-Fri 11:30am-2pm; daily 6-10pm Address: 321 17th St Location: In the Brown Palace Hotel, Around Town Phone 303/297-3111 Prices Main courses $10-$19 lunch, $27-$40 dinner Credit Cards AE, CB, DC, DISC, MC, V Despite a dramatic Napoleonic decor--antiques dating from 1670 include a dispatch case and a pair of dueling pistols that may have belonged to Napoleon--the cuisine is a combination of traditional American, new American, classical French, and Southwestern. To begin, the lobster bisque is a special treat, or maybe you'd rather have the superb Caesar salad, prepared tableside for two. For an excellent main course, try the seasonally available cider-poached salmon with julienned vegetables and caviar potatoes, pan-seared venison with foie gras, or roast breast of guinea hen stuffed with wild rice and yams. There are a number of tasty "heart healthy" items on the menu, and the wine list has received Wine Spectator's award of excellence. Cuisine International Reservations Reservations recommended Dress Code Jacket and tie required at dinner     Tuscany Restaurant Hours: Mon-Sat 6:30-10:30am and 11am-2pm, Sunday 7-10am and 11am-2pm (brunch); daily 6-10:30pm Address: 4150 E. Mississippi Ave  Phone: 303/782-9300 Prices Main courses $8-$17 lunch, $14-$32 dinner Credit Cards AE, CB, DC, DISC, MC, V Location In Loews Giorgio Hotel, Around Town Under the creative eye of Tim Fields (one of Colorado's top chefs, now the Loews Giorgio's food and beverage director), the Tuscany has become one of Denver's premier restaurants. Had a $250,000 renovation in 2000, the elegant, contemporary and comfortable dining room reflects the hotel's Italian theme; it is decorated with a polished marble fireplace, fresh-cut flowers, and fine art. The food, which has tremendous visual and taste appeal, is Italian (or Italian style), and the service is excellent. Breakfast includes a variety of egg dishes, pancakes, and waffles. On the lunch menu, you'll find innovative sandwiches like spicy chicken with grilled eggplant, entrees such as grilled salmon, and several pizzas. Dinner selections might include seafood linguine, garlic-crusted lamb chops with grilled zucchini, or skillet-roasted Sonoma County chicken breast with garlic potatoes and braised asparagus. Cuisine Italian Reservations Reservations recommended     The Fort Hours: Mon-Fri 5-10pm, Sat 5:30-11pm, Sun 5-8pm. Call for special holiday hours Address: 19192 Colo. 8, Morrison Location: Off W. Hampden Ave./U.S. 285, Around Town Phone 303/697-4771 Prices Main courses $18-$40 Credit Cards AE, CB, DC, DISC, MC, V    There are several reasons to drive the 18 miles southwest from downtown Denver to visit The Fort. First is the atmosphere: The building was hand-built of adobe bricks in 1962 as a full-scale reproduction of Bent's Fort, Colorado's first fur-trading post. The interior is equally authentic, and the staff dress as 19th-century Cheyenne. A second reason is the owner Sam Arnold, a broadcast personality and master chef who has been known to open champagne bottles with a tomahawk. He's had the menu translated into French, German, Spanish, Japanese, and Russian. The third (and best) reason to go is the food. The Fort built its reputation on high-quality, low-cholesterol buffalo, of which it claims to serve the largest variety and greatest quantity of any restaurant in the world. There's buffalo steak, buffalo tongue, broiled buffalo marrow bones, and even "buffalo eggs"--hard-boiled quail eggs wrapped in buffalo sausage. Other house specialties include Taos trout broiled with fresh mint and orange marmalade; "rattlesnake cakes," Texas diamondback meat prepared like a crab cake; and elk medaillons with wild huckleberry sauce. Diehards can get beefsteak.Cuisine Rocky Mountain Reservations Reservations recommended   Cliff Young's Hours Mon-Sat 5-10pm Address: 700 E. 17th Ave Phone 303/831-8900 Prices Main courses $20-$33 Credit Cards AE, CB, DC, DISC, MC, V    Sophisticated but not pretentious, Cliff Young's is an upscale bistro with a spacious dining room, elegant and dimly lit. The menu, which changes seasonally, includes seafood, game, and regional specialties. Typical dishes include rack of lamb with apricot mustard, filet mignon, applewood-and-rosemary-smoked chicken breast, and Atlantic salmon. The wine cellar holds nearly 300 wines, and there are numerous selections of single-malt, port, and cognac; cigar service is available in the bar. Cuisine New American Reservations Reservations recommended     Broker Restaurant Two additional locations of Broker restaurants in Denver are: the Airport Broker (near DIA), 12100 E. 39th Ave., at Peoria just south of I-70 (tel. 303/371-6420), and DTC Broker, 5111 DTC Parkway, east of I-25 in Greenwood Village(tel. 303/770-5111). In Boulder, there's the Broker Inn Restaurant, 555 30th St., between the turnpike and Baseline Road (tel. 303/444-3330). Hours: Mon-Fri 11am-2:30pm; daily 5-11pm Address: 821 17th St Location: Near Champa St, Around Town Phone 303/292-5065 Prices Main courses $9-$16 lunch, $18-$35 dinner Credit Cards AE, CB, DC, DISC, MC, V    The historic Denver National Bank building, with its circular 23-ton door still in place, is the site of the Broker. Patrons sit in cherry-wood booths once used by bank customers to inspect safe-deposit boxes, and historic photos of Denver line the walls. Famous for its generous portions, the Broker's house favorites include New York and porterhouse steaks, beef Wellington, prime rib, Rocky Mountain trout, rack of lamb, roast duck, Alaskan king-crab legs, and blackened catfish. Vegetarians can try the vegetarian pasta medley. The Broker's trademark is a complimentary large bowl of steamed gulf shrimp with a tasty and tangy sauce. Cuisine STEAK, SEAFOOD Reservations Reservations recommended     Buckhorn Exchange Hours Mon-Fri 11am-2pm; Sun-Thurs 5:30-10:30pm, Fri-Sat 5:30-11pm Address: 1000 Osage St Location: At W. 10th Ave, Around Town Phone: 303/534-9505 Prices Main courses $6.75-$14 lunch, $18-$44 dinner Credit Cards AE, CB, DC, DISC, MC, V  Thanks to Denver's new light-rail system, this restaurant is just minutes from the 16th Street Mall, the Convention Center, and all downtown hotels. Still occupying the same premises since it was founded in 1893, the restaurant displays its Colorado Liquor License No. 1 over the 140-year-old hand-carved oak bar in the upstairs Victorian parlor and saloon. The dining room is definitively Western, packed with western art and an impressive taxidermy menagerie. Try the Buckhorn's Rocky Mountain oysters, fried alligator tail, or smoked buffalo sausage for starters, then choose from slow-roasted buffalo prime rib, lean and served medium rare, or elk or beef steaks for your main course. There are even large-portion steaks to serve two to five persons. And for those who just can't make up their minds, several combination plates are offered. For dessert, try the chocolate "moose." Cuisine Rocky Mountain Reservations Reservations recommended     Imperial Chinese Restaurant Hours: Mon-Thurs 11am-10pm, Fri 11am-10:30pm, Sat noon-10:30pm, Sun 4-10pm Address: 431 S. Broadway Phone: 303/698-2800 Prices Individual dishes $8-$28. Complete multi-course dinners $15-$25 Credit Cards AE, CB, DC, MC, V  Considered by many local residents to be the best Chinese restaurant in Denver, the Imperial offers classic and innovative Szechuan, Hunan, Mandarin, and Cantonese dishes. A laughing Buddha greets diners at the entrance, while two rather large tropical fish tanks, an exquisite hand-carved panel, and Chinese ceramics provide the right atmosphere for a family-style Chinese meal. Specialties include Nanking pork loin, seafood bird's nest, and sesame chicken. Cuisine Chinese Reservations Reservations recommended         Enjoy Your Dining  &  Safe Travels                          Photographic & Printing Equipment by     Copyright © 2006 NatureWurks Information: e-mail Info@NatureWurks.com P.O. Box 15486 Asheville, NC  USA  28813-0486 Another Cocciadiferro Photo provided solution WebSite Policy