Leftovers: Downtown denizens are in a state of reddiness over the new, improved Red Room at 320 East Colfax, which comes with a great marketing gimmick: 25 percent off any dinner-and-a-drink check for all redheads through August. The struggling bar/restaurant had been shuttered this summer so that the owners (a gang that includes Mayor Hick) could conduct a six-figure project that redecorated, revamped, remodeled and "re-redded" the place, according to marketing director Jamie Nicholson. August 7 is the official debut date for the Room, which has been both cooled out and warmed up with lunch, brunch and dinner menus from chef Robert Moser; a design scheme featuring more comfortable tables and booths for lounging; and a cabaret license that allows for live music and entertainment. The management already has three jazz bands booked for August and hopes that a new look, the new sounds and the mere promise of a room full of redheads (real or not) getting stuffed and sloshed on cheap drinks and grub will bring the crowds pouring in.
Speaking of crowds, since I reviewed Dario's last month ("Send in the Crowds," July 1), the Italian restaurant at 2011 East 17th Avenue that had been suffering from a marked lack of anything resembling a crowd, has had to hire on new staffers to handle a sudden spike in business. Thanks to all the faithful foodies who gave the place a shot. For its cioppino alone, Dario's deserves every table it gets.
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So does Go Fish Grille this Sunday, August 8, when chefs Steve and Ian Kleinman will cook up a one-time-only, prix fixe spread as a benefit for their third (and most likely final) trip to the James Beard House. Being asked to cook at the Beard House once is a big deal. Twice is huge. And three times in three years is something really worth bragging about. Of course, the Kleinmans (father and son) still have to pay their own way out to the Big Apple, as well as buy their own supplies and wine, then make sure all of it gets to Manhattan safely. That doesn't come cheap.
But the 6 p.m. dinner at Go Fish Grille, 250 Josephine Street, is a relative steal. Using the kitchen where Ian is chef, the Kleinmans will prepare the menu they'll be doing in New York two weeks later: portobello-mushroom baklava with balsamic lavender honey sauce, seafood sausage, watermelon ice with champagne foam, hoisin-braised Colorado lamb, and a dessert course of Valrhona chocolate seashells filled with tangerine mousse on a bed of sugar seaweed. This is the good stuff, folks, and all for fifty bucks a head, drinks included, which is a whole lot less than you'd pay to fly to New York and eat the same meal at the Beard House. You can call Go Fish Grille at 303-996-9966 for reservations and additional information, but do it quick, because space is limited.
Finally, a correction. In last week's Bite Me, I identified the new restaurant in the 699 West Littleton Boulevard space that had housed Sage Southwestern Grill as Sai Japanese Cuisine. While I got it mostly right, the real name of the place is Kai Japanese Cuisine. People keep telling me I have to stop writing these columns drunk; maybe they're on to something...
