Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

LEHNDORFF: Dieting without deprivation

Published August 31, 2007 at midnight

Text size  

More Entertainment Columns & Blogs

More stories »

Please don't pass the butter. Hold the crème brûlée and, while you're at it, the foie gras, too. You won't find me ordering the ribeye steak, the cheddar mashers or the peach pie with whipped cream.

As noted in the Aug. 17 Nibbles, I'm taking a hiatus from restaurant reviewing while I lose enough weight to get my achy right hip replaced.

I'm not going to stay home and chew on celery. I love eating at restaurants too much to give them up. I like the food and wine but the big buzz is communing with friends and family.

However, my dining paradigm had to radically change when I ventured out for my first serious dinner at Radda Trattoria, 1275 Alpine St., a block from Boulder Community Hospital where I did my rehab stint.

As I sipped a half-glass of red wine, I was dismayed initially by all the things on chef Don Gragg's menu that didn't fit my diet parameters.

Looking deeper among the antipasti, contorni and insalate, I spied a wealth of "safe" items. I sighed as I tucked into perfectly grilled asparagus, and nibbled on roasted eggplant caponatá dressed in extra virgin olive oil. I had just a bite of one of the excellent artisan rolls.

I felt no deprivation as we marveled at sweetly caramelized roasted cauliflower florets tossed in a warm vinaigrette. This may well be the best cauliflower dish I've ever eaten outside of my mom's au gratin version.

Likewise, the grilled rapini with garlic and red chile flakes was a fresh, verdant epiphany. For an intermezzo and palate refresher, nothing could beat Gragg's sprightly arugula salad with lemon (zest and juice) and olive oil, and the insalata Radda with lightly bitter Belgium endive, toasted hazelnuts and Reggiano Parmesan.

For the main event, we chose some dishes I was happy to taste without gobbling down half a plate. I calmed my beef craving with tagliata di Manzo, sliced steak with arugula and pecorino cheese. My inner Sicilian was calmed with spaghetti pomodoro spiked with garlic and basil.

Finally, I savored one small crusty slice of Margherita pizza with house-made mozzarella.

Lingering over a skinny latte and a spoonful of raspberry sorbet and strawberry Balsamic gelato, I knew I'd managed to eat the right stuff.

Yea verily, I was tempted by gnocchi alla Bolognese. My pulse raced at the sight of spaghetti alla carbonara.

But I did not take that familiar road, and that made all the difference.Culinary calendar

Le Central's special through Sunday includes garlic- drenched escargot, boar ribs roasted with garlic cloves and served with honey garlic jus and garlic croutons, and wine-poached pear in garlic-infused clafoutis. Cost: $25; 303-863-8094. . . . Frank Bonanno teaches classes in making soft cheeses at Luca D'Italia: fresh mozzarella (Sept. 15), ricotta (Sept. 22) and burrata (Sept. 29). Attendees nibble cheese and house-made salumi with Italian wines. Cost: $45/class; 303-832-6600. . . . Colorado Fest, Sept. 7 to 9 in Gunnison and Crested Butte, features the state's food, wine, beer and spirits in tastings, dinners and classes. Wineries include Alfred Eames Cellars; ColoradoFest.com. . . . Plan ahead: Colorado Cooks for James Beard, Sept. 28 at Panzano, with Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, Thomas Salamunovich and Alex Seidel. Cost: $125; 303-395-2677.On the menu

At Solera, 5410 E. Colfax Ave., achiote pork tenderloin with pequillo pepper and manchego cheese gratin ($28); at The Black Bear, 10375 Ute Pass Ave., Green Mountain Falls, pork chop "Foyot" crusted with breadcrumbs, herbs, cheese and white truffle-infused extra virgin olive oil ($22); at Rioja, 1433 Larimer St., for Sunday brunch, raspberry mascarpone-filled house-made doughnuts ($6); at Budapest Bistro, 1585 S. Pearl St., Hungarian palacsinta - crepes filled with lemon cream cheese and raisins with warm vanilla sauce ($6.25); at Akiyama Sushi Bar, 6525 Gunpark Drive, Boulder, Fire on the Mountain Roll - tuna, salmon, white fish and cucumber wrapped in soy paper with flying fish roe ($15)Eatery update

Rick Stein, who recently closed Boulder's well-regarded Full Moon Grill, has moved into more spacious quarters in the same shopping center and opened Alba Ristorante at 2480 Canyon Blvd. The cuisine retains the focus on Northern Italian fare . . . The Original SoupMan is open in the Denver Pavilions. The chain is operated by Al Yeganeh, the cranky virtuoso on whom Seinfeld's Soup Nazi was based. . . . Happy 10th anniversary to Cherry Creek North's Gelato D'Italia. . . . There are plenty of noontime Indian, Nepalese and Chinese buffets, but we think Ras Kassa's Ethiopian Restaurant, 2111 30th St., Boulder, offers the only Ethiopian lunch buffet (complete with spongy injera bread). . . . Coming soon: A new Italian eatery, Locanda Del Borgo, in the former Hillcrest Grill space at 5575 E. Third Ave.; Encore, in the Lowenstein Theatre, 2550 E. Colfax Ave.; The Cheeky Monk Belgian Beer Cafe, 534 E. Colfax Ave., just east of the State Capitol; and Matt Franklin's Wine Experience Cafe & World Cellar, 5240 S. Main St., Aurora.Dining news

The hottest new international flavors, as touted at the recent New York Fancy Food Show, include: black nigella seeds from India; curry-spiked upscale chocolate bars; South American fruits such as mangosteen, carica and lucuma; melegueta pepper from Ghana, also called "grains of paradise"; Malaysian fare; raz el hanout, a Moroccan spice blend; and black lentils.Eat my words

"I think it's the best restaurant in the world. . . . McDonald's is all we need and we're never ill, in fact I'd say we're fighting fit."

- Mary Humphrey, 84, of East Sussex, England. She and her 84-year-old husband, Lee, have eaten a double hamburger each with a shared large fries at McDonald's every day for the past 17 years. That's more than 6,000 meals costing more than $50,000.