Hey Y'all,

Lance here, been a while since I updated but there are several new happenings at Strings. We are beginning to do wine Dinners regularly throughout the season, we kick off tomorrow with our first of the year, and have a few seats still available, the Dinner will feature wines from Baurassa Vineyards in Napa Valley, California. We will begin with a seminar on wine blending, and then move into a four course dinner, see our homepage for menu details. The second Dinner is April 8th featuring the wines of Montinore Estate Vineyards out of Willamette Valley, OR, and will feature four courses with pairings. The last dinner on the schedule thus far is scheduled for May 19th, featuring Van Duzer, also out of Oregon. Another dinner to keep your eyes out for is the HOPE ball, benefiting our very own Noel and Tammy Cunningham's Foundation. The restaurant will be closed for regular service and there will be a total of 5 chefs, each cooking a course for the dinner.

What I'm MOST excited about is our new Spring Menu, which rolls out on March 30th, next tuesday. Spring always brings a bounty of new ingredients, particularly vegetables; Ramps, Morels, Fava Beans, English Peas, Spring Onions, Spring Garlic, Baby Artichokes, Flowering Chives, I could go on and on. SO EXCITED! Keep your eyes open on the blog in the next few days for some previews. We will also be utilizing some of the new dishes for our Sunday 52.80 menu, so that'll be a great opportunity for you to come in and check out some of the new stuff!

Anyways, that's the update for the time being, thanks for reading!

Lance

'Tis the time of the season at Strings.. we've got the decorations up, and we're all in the spirit! Keep your eyes open for the next few days for a menu update. Some items being implemented: 

Good Afternoon All! This Sunday at Strings, for Sunday's 52.80 Menu we will be previewing some of our new menu items, and it's a great opportunity to come and check them out!

Starters

Haricot Verts, Soft Boiled Egg, Celery leaves, Mustard Vinaigrette, Poached Potatoes

OR

Black Bean Soup, Crema, Avocado Mousse

Pasta

Braised Beef Cheek Ravioli, Celeriac Puree, Braising Jus, Celery Root Gremolata, Hazelnuts

Entrees

Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Acorn Squash Puree, Haricot Verts, Port-Cherry Reduction

OR

Steamed Mussels, Saffron, Tomato, Tarragon Aioli, Grilled Foccacia 

Dessert

Strings' Creme Brulee

Also tonight (Thursday) We are having a release party for the "Knitting is Sexy" Calendar, come and join us and pick up your copy.

L

Hey all,

Lance checking in here, it's been a good week here at Strings and we are all looking forward to our events next week! Don't forget to check out the Grillin N' Grapes Wine Dinner, there is a little room still left but we are filling up, so the sooner the better!

On another note here is the upcoming menu for sunday.

Starters

Chilled Summer Squash Soup, 17th Ave. Chives, Creme Fraiche

OR

Arugula Salad with a trio of bell peppers, Radish and Cucumbers

Pasta

Ginger Poached Corzetti, Apple Chips, Red Cabbage, Pork Tenderloin

Entree

Seared Salmon, English Pea Puree, Pea and Radish Salad, Smoked Salmon Cake, Orange Gastrique

OR

Southwest marinated Flank Steak, Black Bean Corn Ragout, Fried Plantains, Roasted Pablano Pepper Sauce

Dessert

A tasting of Cherries

Thanks for checking in.

Lance

Hello All,

It's been a while since I've had a post with some content, and for that I apologize. We've been keeping busy here at Strings, we have recently rolled out or early summer menu and have been developing some events for the near future. The first event is Father's day; for that sunday we will still be doing a $52.80 menu but it will be a menu specially developed for a celebration of grilling. The menu will be mostly grilled items, and we're even considering getting a grill and executing the menu out on the patio, it should be a fun event for everybody's father.

 The new summer menu has also been rolled out, we are starting to use a lot of tomatoes, and other summer ingredients. A few highlights are the smoked pork chop, a simple dish that celebrates grilling season. Also a Pesto Linguine with Shrimp, and heirloom tomatoes is an excellent lighter meal to enjoy out on the patio.

I'm afraid that's all the time I have for now, but check back soon for more updates.

Here's Brian's menu for Sunday:

 Starters

 Heirloom Cherry Tomato Salad, Goat Cheese, Extra Virgin Olive Oil

OR

String's Vichyssoise

Pasta

 Tagliatelle con Calamaretti; Tomato, Calamari, Dry White WIne, Herbs

Mains

Pan-Seared Ruby Red Trout, Jasmine Rice, Asparagus-Lemon Sauce, Red Pepper and Radish Salad

OR

Brian's Kansas City Style Baby Back Ribs, Traditional Barbecue accompaniments

Dessert

String's Creme Brulee

L

Hello all,

     It's official, Aaron has moved on to new opportunities and I have been given the honor of leading the kitchen at Strings. First off, I wish Aaron all the luck and happiness in his new ventures, and also know that he will still be around. He's been a great teacher to me and I appreciate everything he's done for me. This opportunity is one that has been both exciting and frightening at the same time, but I have gotten nothing but support from my coworkers at Strings, and those I know in the service industry around Denver. Noel has also been an excellent resource to me, and I know he has my back to get the job done, and well. Some of the changes around Strings will be small but valuable, there are a few new faces in the kitchen, and we are taking a turn towards the local, organic, and sustainable.

     On the note of locality of food, I am greatly looking forward to April fourth. The first day the Boulder farmer's market opens. The market not only serves as inspiration in the kitchen, but also provides the great opportunity to forage great local produce and proteins for the restaurant, at prices that are lower than most typical food purveyors. These savings will both be passed on to the customer, as will the improved quality of product (not to mention it'll keep the money here in our Colorado community).

      I am honored and humbled for this opportunity and look forward to providing the community with another outlet for local, fresh, and inspiring food. Another change we will be making at Strings is that we will be changing the menu more often, but not as much of it at a time. This provides me with the opportunity to make sure the food is always evolving, as well as the chance to highlight some of the ingredients that are only available a few weeks a year.

Here's to the future! I look forward to the opportunity of cooking for you all!

L

Hello,

This post will be short, as I (and the rest of the staff at the restaurant) am exhausted. Restaurant week is over, well, kind of. We are joining the large group of restaurants extending the deal another week, though it seems it will be much less busy than the first. Restaurant week is such a bittersweet thing, great to have the business in what would be one of our worst months out of the year is great, though difficult to pull off. Averaging over 200 covers a night (we did three hundred some Friday), each eating four courses, that's upwards of a thousand plates a night, maxing out at about 1300.

With that kind of volume comes a lot of difficulty, trying to maintain ordering pars to cover what you need, while not keeping too much of any product on one hand, finding not only motivation for yourself but also to inspire your staff after cooking hundreds of the same dishes over and over and over, maintaining sanity while spending your time with the same people (none of whom have any days off, and usually end up spending time together after work) in the same building night after night, trying to maintain the standards of the regular menu for the few who do choose to order off of it, creating a menu that is cost effective, able to be executed in high volumes and above all still delicious. It's not easily done, to say the least, and the week offers a unique challenge as a chef, but those challenges (and meeting them) are what make a chef. I suppose the point is that I'm exhausted, as most restaurant employees in Denver are, but it's good to be busy. Really Good to be busy. I'm glad I've survived (though I managed a pretty good burn on my left forearm) this years Restaurant Week (knock on wood for part two), and look forward to next years being even better.

Here's to the future.

L

I apologize it's been a while since I've last posted on the blog. It's been nothing but busy times at Strings. The Valentines day menu was a huge success, one of the busiest ever at Strings. The night went smoothly and all of the guests enjoyed their experience. After a few days of recovery we are now gearing up for restaurant week, expecting to be filled up every night of the week!

In the Kitchen we have also been making strides to make the kitchen more 'green'. Some of the changes that will be made first are going to be using sustainable and compostable to-go containers, and to-go bags.One of the smaller things we'll be doing is energy management, simply making sure that we're not leaving equipment turned on while it's not being used, or sharing ovens during slow periods in business. It may not be saving the world, but we're at least trying to do our part.

As far as food is concerned look for Strings to begin using more and more sustainable, local, and organic products. Some of the products we're using now are Red Bird Farms Chickens, that are free of hormones, steroids, antibiotics, or saline solutions in packing (they are packed here in Englewood, CO), Colorado Raised Lamb, Morning Fresh Farm Eggs (Platteville, CO), Haystack Mountain Goat Cheese (Boulder, CO), and 'Ranch' Steaks from Niman Ranch. This is only a start and look for the list to grow soon, probably starting with Colorado Clover Honey from Douglas County, and then moving to either free-range Colorado or Niman Ranch Pork.

All this talk about local food has me excited for the opening of Colorado's biggest farmer's market in Boulder, April 4th can't come soon enough!

Lance

Every Sunday at Strings I have the opportunity to run a tasting menu of four courses. This is one of the things I look forward to every week, as a lot of my Sunday before service is spent playing with my food. Sometimes this is me (and our cooks) trying out whacky (See: Dessert) ideas, playing with a new technique of Molecular Gastronomy, or developing a recipe/technique for an upcoming menu. Here's a rundown of last weeks Menu. Oh yeah, one more kicker, the menu's only $26.40 per person (plus tax and service of course).




The Salad Choice on the first course was inspired by the salad of Haricot Verts By Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. Roasted Tomato Tartare, Creamy-Dressed Haricot Verts, Grilled Frisee, Chives, 20 Yr. Old Balsamic Vinegar, and some Haystack Mountain Goat Cheese we smoked with Canadian Oak, Froze and grated finely into 'Snow'.




The other choice for the first course was simple, yet delicious. Felipe's Clam Chowder with Bacon. A Crouton made from our house-made Focaccia and Chives finished the dish.



The pasta course was a dish that will be altered and end up on the winter menu. Butternut Squash and caramelized Fennel stuffed Cascionelli, Honey Candied Pancetta, Beurre Noisette, and Micro Sage. I'd bet it ends up with Walnuts, maybe even plumped craisins.



The first of the two entree choices was a Sous-vide Pork Loin. Underneath the Pork is a Pistachio Puree, and Spaghetti Squash. On top of the Pork is a Riesling Demi-Glace, Crispy Arugula, and Smoked Salt.



The second choice for an entree was a salad featuring some beautiful Yellowfin Tuna. Behind the Tuna is a salad of Arugula, Red Onion, Red Pepper, Carrot, and Radicchio dressed in a Green Curry Vinaigrette, on the side is a crispy cigar of those same vegetables, minus the Arugula. The Sauce is a reduction of Soy, Mirin, Lime, and Hoisin. Dolloped on the Tuna is an Edamame and Wasabi Puree.



Lewis and I had a brainchild for the Dessert this week,and with permission from the Pastry Chef we were allowed to dabble on the sweet side for a night. The idea: Deep-fried Cookies. After some basic research we figured that cookie dough wouldn't hold up in the fryer alone, so the answer was obvious, let's batter it! Upon realization that the batter worked, we weren't satsfied, we wanted Ice Cream too. We rolled the cookie dough thin, and deposited little scoops of Butterfinger Ice Cream made by the wonderful DBar, into the cookie dough. We then wrapped the dough around the ice cream, formed it into a ball and refroze the whole thing. The frozen Ice Cream/Cookie Dough balls were battered, fried, tossed in powdered sugar and served atop Salted Caramel Sauce, Raspberry Coulis, and Vanilla Creme Anglais. Aside the Dessert is some Ice cold milk. Labor-intensive? Yes. Less than Elegant? Yes. Delicious? More than you could imagine.

So, I have to thank all the Cooks, and Chef for the help with the menu ideas, and development.

Hello! My name is Lance Barto, I am the Sous Chef at Strings and have recently become a new contributor to the Strings Blog!
I will be blogging about the creative process that Aaron and I go through to develop menus and help explain how the food at Strings comes to be. There should also be plenty of photographs, videos, upcoming menus and the occasional recipe on the way!

Chef Aaron and I had a good chance to sit down today and discuss some ideas for the new Winter Menu (which will hopefully be out next week). I thought I'd give you all a little insight to some of the ideas we're tossing around.

The first two dishes that are relatively solidified are both Entrees for the dinner menu. A dish featuring Duck Breast inspired by Southern Cuisine, and a Seafood (Scallops, or White Fish) dish inspired by some of our favorite Thai flavors.

The Duck will be a seared Muscovy Duck Breast, resting on top of Black Eyed Peas, and wilted Mustard Greens. The Black Eyed Peas will be cooked in a broth of Ham Hocks and Mirepoix (Carrot, Celery, and Onion), the leftover broth will be emulsified with Foie Gras, and act as the sauce of the dish. There will certainly be some fresh herbs and garnishes with the dish though they are yet to be specifically determined. One garnish in particular we have yet to work out the details for will be cornbread or corn in some form. This is a dish meant to warm your bones through the cold of winter, and remind you of some good old Southern hospitality.

The Thai inspired Seafood dish will revolve around either a piece of pan-seared white fish (Haddock, Alaskan Cod, or True North Atlantic Cod) or Scallops Brochette (Sea Scallops Skewered and Grilled). Underneath the Seafood will be a Gingered Carrot Puree, and a broth of Lemongrass and Coriander. The Broth will also probably be used to emulate 'Sea Foam' on top of the Seafood. Once again some of the smaller details are yet to be worked out, but I'd say you can bet on seeing some Micro Cilantro, some form of citrus, and something crunchy.

Keep your eyes open in the next few days to look for a few more of our ideas and experiments!