Audio By Carbonatix
Fly trap: Sunday brunch at the Firefly Cafe, 5410 East Colfax, left me baffled as to why the place always looks so jammed–as indeed it was during our Mother’s Day visit. I expect crowds on that day, but a place that’s been in business for over a decade should be better prepared. All of the servers had that “I don’t believe how busy I am” expression on their faces, and our waiter seemed particularly harried. It took almost a half-hour for him to deliver our overpriced “smoothie” shakes of fruit and yogurt; at $2.75 each, they should have been at least twice the size. The rest of the food arrived after we’d been seated for fifty minutes; it was not worth the wait. The awful eggs Benedict ($5.50) featured chopped, grilled deli ham, untoasted English muffins and from-a-mix hollandaise spiked with cayenne. (The kitchen did manage to leave out the dill, as requested: When ordering, I always explain that I am seriously allergic to dill, although I still end up getting it 90 percent of the time. This server cut off my explanatory warning with a brusque “No problem”–and indeed, it wasn’t.) The sliced, fried potatoes on the side were greasy but at least had a good ratio of crispy to mushy parts. The breakfast burrito with chorizo ($4.95) was no better than the eggs Benedict. Green chile was supposed to smother the dry tortilla roll of barely spiced chorizo, scrambled eggs and red and green pepper bits; instead, I found a smattering of diced tomatoes and onions and a little melted cheddar cheese.
Fortunately, a co-worker had made her incredible pork-filled egg rolls that day, so we left our meals half-eaten and fled to her house.
Head for the hills: Native Americans, mountain men, mountain women, mountain children, mountain dogs, mountain cats and mountain crafts will be on hand May 22 at The Fort’s 1994 Spring Rendezvous. This is the third time owners Sam and Carrie Arnold have staged a re-enactment of an 1830s frontier gathering at their Morrison restaurant (itself a replica of Bent’s Fort). Admission is free; period food and drink (and other interesting items) will be available for sale. Because I get paid to put really strange things in my gut, I’ll be trying to keep down the raw buffalo liver Arnold offers this time of year to a select (read: stupid) group. Assuming I survive, you’ll read all about this authentic Native American delicacy right here. Yum.
Fire it up: LoDo has a new hotspot, the Firehouse Bar and Grill, located at 1525 Blake in what was Hog Heaven and before that, Berardi’s. This latest occupant is running with the current pepper craze and, from the looks of the menu, heats up everything but the milk (even the margaritas contain T.Q. Hot). You might want to let the place get its legs before you visit–early reports have put some kitchen delays at between an hour and an hour and a half. But, hey, it’s only been open two weeks, so give the joint a break.
