Film, Food and Flowers: The Sustainable Food Film Series at the Denver Botanic Garden

In spite of my general lack of posting over the past year, I just recently passed the milestone in the food-blogging world of having a blog in pretty much continuous publication for a period of five years. What this means is that I am an old man now not only in my real people age but in blog age as well, which is measured in weeks and months.  What this also means is that people have surely moved on. Surely they care less than ever before-- if that were even possible-- about what the hell an aging man and his aging blog have to say about the food in their city. Yet people still contact senile old me to participate in, or promote their events. Surprising? Yes. Frightening? Also yes. I can't even get my new mobile telephone to make calls anymore, much less string together coherent thoughts on the internet (though that was never a pre-requisite for having a blog). Plus these new phones are so big and heavy.

It is rare that I take people up on their offers for publicity in exchange for something free. In part because I don't want to feel obliged to write about it, or worse, meet some sort of deadline. But mostly I'm just a nice guy and don't want to hurt the attendance at a given event or restaurant. 

Yet here I am writing about an event that I was recently asked to attend: The Chipotle Sustainable Food Film Series at the Denver Botanic Gardens--sponsored by that locally bred burrito monopoly we all love (just admit it-- you like it too). If you have read my past posts on film and food, you would know that I love to sneak in food to the movies, and the foil-wrapped burrito is my number one choice. Furthermore, the Film Series costs five U.S. dollars, which seems like a fair market value of advertising space on my blog these days. Lastly, I am a card-carrying Friends and Family member of the Botanic Gardens.  So even if the association with me actually might hurt their image in the long run, I couldn't resist the invitation.

The night went pretty much like I expected. I got a burrito and sat down to watch an interesting film. Pretty much like every other movie I watch in the theater but this time I didn't have to sneak my burrito in and I got to eat it with the lights on.

The film series is fun weekday distraction and a wild deal for $5 a ticket that includes your burrito with all the fixings. Plus anytime you have an excuse to spend some time at the Botanic Gardens I think you ought to go. It really is a unique urban oasis. And as for the films? There is still one date left in November. Get on over if you haven't.

http://www.botanicgardens.org/chipotle-sustainable-food-film-series

A Walk up the Hill and Down to a Basement: Boulder's Thai Avenue

The Boulder International Film Festival found me in its namesake bubble-like town for only the second time in as many years. I have extolled all the virtues of this paradisiacal niche of forward-thinking uber-athletes and intellectuals in a prior post, so I won't tarry too much longer on that theme except to say that if you were unaware, there are entire sections of Boulder devoted to the development of the next generation of molecular biophysicists, EPA lawyers, aerospace engineers and the like. I am, of course, speaking of the University of Colorado.

The "Hill" if you are not aware, is an area near the Univeristy of Colorado campus where thousands of undergrads live, eat, drink and depending on the time of night, pee then pass out in the street. You might not guess it, and alternatively, it might send chills down your spine, but here lies a representative sample of people who will one day be running the proverbial show.

Luckily, we were there at 2pm on a Saturday afternoon, and most of the Hill's residents were still sleeping. And it was here, in this hub of fraternizing (and sororitizing) that we came upon a small, basement-level food court with an interesting array of multicultural food options.

In a basement food court, one would typically expect to find any number of combinations of national pizza and submarine sandwich chains, yet here, wedged between a Canadaian poutine-slinging operation and a Nepalese joint was Thai Avenue, an independently Thai-owned and operated rice, noodle and curry food counter. We are talking Boulder after all. I think the guy behind the Bubba Chino's counter had a PhD.

Thai Avenue, as it were, is nothing more than a counter to place and pay for your order, and behind that a simple and well-used (though clean) kitchen. We ordered from the friendly woman, and after paying she turned her back to us and set to work on our meal. After a few flashes of the pan my wife's pad Thai was placed on a tray and we were beckoned forward. She ordered medium spicy and though not spicy at all, it was a tasty, well-seasoned large portion of this Thai standby.

My drunken noodles, on the other hand were boldly spiced (though not tremendously spicy) and packed with large chunks of beef amongst the wide noodles and fresh veggies including loads of bright lemongrass. It was an impressively good version of this Thai classic.

Thai Avenue didn't have a large menu, but my drunken noodles were so good I would readily come back and sample any number of dishes from this underground eatery. It's probably not worth the drive from Denver if it is your sole destination, but if you frequent our Front Range (step) sister city, check them out. And if you're a Thai Avenue regular, please chime in below on the rest of the menu.

Thai Avenue is open Monday to Saturday. Check them out on the World Wide Web or stumble on over to the hill and downstairs for some tasty Thai. 

And The Food and Film Contest Winner Is...

A couple of weeks ago I posted a contest with the incredible opportunity to win a Dual Membership to the Denver Film Society. If you have ever watched a movie that had food in it at some point you had a very good chance at winning. The entries ranged from a vague reference to the convenience-store-kayaking/ extreme-cheddar-Doritos-eating scene in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, to several wonderfully detailed accounts of how much a film can mean to us as individuals, and how food played a role in that. And while I have to admit that I have a special place on my DVD shelf for the original Harold and Kumar (for being the first and only great Asian-American slapstick comedy), the latter is more what I was looking for.

What it came down to was choosing between three entries that I thought were all worthy. The first was from Andrea of the local blog Fork Fingers Chopsticks. Her blog if you haven't read it before is full of amazing and unique recipes, beautiful photography and good writing. It is a rare combination in a recipe blog, and I feel lucky to have her blogging away right here in our own town. She wrote eloquently about the Singaporean film Be With Me and inspired me to pick it up from my favorite movie store, the Denver Public Library.

The second was a description of Jack Nicholson's classic diner scene from Five Easy Pieces. If you haven't seen it, I embedded the clip below because it is so damn hilarious. Thanks to Stacia, and I agree that we all have wanted to let our inner-Nicholson out at a restaurant before.

The third and winning entry was from a husband and wife pair and came via email. It was an exhaustive list of food-related films and why each was either so funny, inspirational, classic, erotic, nostalgic or personal. One of my favorites from the list was remembering Paul Sorvino in Goodfellas slicing garlic paper-thin (so it would liquefy in the oil, of course) for a made-from-scratch, mouth-watering Mafioso prison meal.

It was a very good system.

Congratulations to John and his wife who clearly have a love of film and an amazing capacity to recall the food-related moments. And of course thanks for all the entries and for taking the time to check in and read this blog from time to time. Happy New Year.

Film and Food Contest: Win a Denver Film Society Dual Membership

I am a simple man who's life's pleasures include family, food, friends and another "f-word" reserved for dimly lit nights on the couch with my wife or snuggled in the back row of some dark theater. You can probably guess what that word is without me having to come right out and say it, but just so we are all on the same page, I am of course talking about "film".

Recently I spent two weeks enjoying all my favorite "f-words" at the hugely successful 2010 Starz Denver Film Festival. Just before that I was in the Southwest corner of our state for a long weekend of the same. Now that my year of film festivals is over, I am looking forward to enjoying more great features at the new home of the Denver Film Society on East Colfax next to wonderful Encore, who I dearly hope will open a second home in the empty kitchen of the revived theater complex.

What will help me enjoy this cultural sprawl on East Colfax is of course the fact that my wife and I are members of the Denver Film Society. This allows us discounts at the box office in addition to first dibs at festival showings with priority seating. We also get a bunch of free ticket vouchers and are in on one-time special screenings. There are many more perks (see here), my favorite being free popcorn at every movie.

Now at this point you might be thinking, "Why are you telling me about how good your film-going life is?" It may seem envious and luxurious, and if you love watching movies as my wife and I do, it is. But I am not here just to wax proud about my good fortune, no I am here to share a piece of the proverbial pie in what is my biggest and best giveaway contest yet.

Tell me your favorite movie or scene from a movie that features food in some way or another-- and also why it was so memorable/ funny/ sad/ life-changing/ or whatever-- and I will pick a winner who will be awarded a FREE dual membership to the Denver Film Society!

"A FREE DFS Dual Membership!"

All of the benefits I touted above (and more,-- see here for all the perks) can be yours for you and a significant other, friend, family member, roommate, co-worker or anyone that you choose. Email me at denveronaspit at gmail dot com or leave a comment with a way to get in touch with you and when I pick the winner I will get all the other details they will need to sign you up.

In the meantime I will likely be taking a holiday respite, but when I come back it will be with the biggest winner yet!

Films, Books, Music and Encore

If you read my post on the Starz Denver Film Festival then you will know that I am quite pleased that the Denver Film Society is moving its operations to East Colfax next to the green carpets of Tattered Cover and the endless aisles of CDs and vinyl at Twist and Shout. This despite the fact that both these stores have been responsible for garnering a substantial portion of my wages for close to a decade now. You would also learn by reading that post that I save money by sneaking my food into the movies-- so now in this cultural complex  I find a harmonious Yin-and-Yang-like balance of personal economic output and inflow. The fact is that these two stores along with a trip to the movies provides my wife and I so much entertainment in our otherwise thrilling life that I am happy to throw my hard-earned money around here and support these local businesses. What would make the whole experience complete would be of course a restaurant tailored to our liking, and that is why we found ourselves at the appropriately named Encore.

Our first trip was for brunch during the final farmer's market at East High. I was tempted to cross the street for some delicious arepas, but with two Encore DINR coupons burning a hole in my pocket, we stuck to the plan. I can't believe I had yet to set foot inside Encore, what with the lovely musical din and kitchen emanations wafting through the always ajar glass doors that loosely separate it from Tattered Cover's magazine area (here too I save money on magazine subscriptions). It was a chilly fall day and we huddled down in a booth under old Lowenstein Theater lettering from the building's historic past.

We scanned the menu and granted that it might have been one of those mornings where hunger clouds judgment (it usually is for me), everything looked good. I settled on the breakfast burrito and my wife a scramble with a side of fries. The scramble was classic omelet flavors: Swiss, tomato, spinach, mushroom-- the ingredients fresh and the eggs not overcooked. Pretty basic, and nothing too exciting, but the famous fries that came on the side were indeed good. To live up to their reputation as one of Denver's best plates of fries, however, you must love mustard and mayo. They come drenched in house-made blend of spicy mustard and mayonnaise, and while I did think the fries were excellent, my wife didn't love all that mustard-like-substance smothered all over, preferring it on the side.

Great fries-to-egg ratio

What we both did love smothered was the green chile all over my plate . For a place with cloth napkins and table service, Enocre puts together a respectable green chile. The tomatillo-based chile was classic and simple, the only drawback being that it was entirely without spice.

The burrito itself was filled with thick bacon, scrambled eggs, fresh avocado and big chunks of skin-on potatoes. The shredded lettuce looked nice, but just got it the way. All in all it was a worthy breakfast burrito that I would order again.

Impressed enough with our brunch visit, we returned one night in between films at the Denver Film Fest. This time around we were ready to try the much-hyped Encore burger. The Encore burger is often touted as one of Denver's better burgers (see here, and here) by burger lovers, and even if it were to disappoint, at least we got to order more of those fries.

My wife somehow tricked me into ordering the lamb burger, while she ordered the traditional Encore burger. The ground Colorado lamb was tender and packed with flavor. It was sandwiched between two pieces of flatbread, lathered in an excellent tzatziki sauce and padded with crisp lettuce and cool cucumbers. It was delicious.

As you can see in the picture above, my plate is noticeably without fries. My wife was feeling particularly devious that evening, and also hoodwinked me into getting the apple slaw instead of the fries, promising me she would hardly eat her fries so I could have "most" of them. Against my better judgment I consented, and while the apple slaw is decidedly not fried, it was quite refreshing against the strong, heavy flavors of my lamb burger.

I did get my hand on some fries after all, and also enjoyed two enormous bites of her Encore burger. This indeed is a very good burger. It was slightly charred but moist and well-cooked. The burger sauce is the hook-- an upscale bacon and bleu-cheese topping. An aside: trying to improve a classic burger topping like bacon and bleu cheese makes me skeptical at best. I am not a fan of fancy wording for simple dishes, and putting the words "compote" and "burger" together sounds like a slippery slope into a lifetime of pretension. But Encore has done well to improve upon the classic, and the creamy, rich compote, mixed with little chunks of bacon is delicious. Like the fries, no other condiments are offered. And none are needed.

Over 50 years ago, as you probably know, the Lowenstein Theater was one of Denver's hubs for theater and arts. It is nice to see it now fully revived and full of cultural-y things like books, music, film-- and well-crafted food. The execution on everything we sampled at Encore was spot-on, the service friendly and the atmosphere inviting. It is a shame that I waited so long to eat at Encore, and with the little I sampled earlier this year at a Harvest Week event, I shouldn't have been surprised at how good the whole package was. It won't be long until I return. Next on my list is that flatbread pizza with figs and prosciutto.

Food for Films: Sneak Peek of the 33rd Starz Denver Film Festival

If you follow this blog with some regularity then you may remember that I went to this year's Telluride Film Festival (TFF). I had a great time, ate some decent spit-roasted meat and saw some films. Although the films I saw were generally quite good, and were often world-premieres, it made me realize that film-for-film we have a special film festival of our own right here in Denver.

I am, of course, referring to the Starz Denver Film Festival (DFF). It doesn't compare to Telluride in star power, budget or world premieres-- but it isn't trying. It is a workingman's film festival that every year brings an impressive number of incredible and important films to Denver; and spread out over almost two weeks, with the ability to buy individual tickets to every movie, it is easy to manage and afford.

This year the line-up is impressive again. There are at least six films that I saw or could have seen at the TFF and overall there are a couple-hundred choices from dozens of countries, including a focus on Iranian Cinema and a special group of Mexican cinema that has become another new tradition within the festival itself. (For some real movie insight, visit Denveater's site here and here.)

I should disclose that I am a Denver Film Society member, something that will get me the inside track in buying tickets to this year's showtimes. Member tickets go on sale Wednesday and the rest of you can start buying on Friday. There is still time to join and reap the member benefits which include discounted tickets and discounted concessions, the latter which should deter you from having to sneak food into the theater.

That being said I know economic times are tough. I also know that even when times aren't tough there are those of us that are still either too damn cheap or snobby (or somehow both) to buy food from the popcorn counter, so we sneak it in ourselves. That, ladies and gentlemen, brings me to the topic of this post:
My Favorite Foods To Sneak Into the Movies.

1) Burrito
My number one favorite food to sneak into the movies is a burrito. A burrito that is well-wrapped in foil might be the ultimate movie meal. It is here that I admit that when I do indulge in my movie burrito is more often than not from that place you all think of now when you imagine a foil-wrapped burrito. Call it non-traditional. Call it corporate food for the masses. Call it convenience. But whatever the case, it is especially good slouched down in a seat under the big screen.

2) Torta
Like the burrito, a torta is usually tightly wrapped in foil when ordered "to go". It is also usually sliced down the middle making for easy in-theater eating. Compared to the standard burrito, however, they can reek of fried meat, oil and butter. That is usually a good thing, but in a tightly-packed or small theater it is a little much, so save it for those big theater showings of second runs when you can isolate yourself from the rest of us. This photo is from the infamous Tortugas:

3) Popcorn
This might seem obvious. Or stupid. Or cheap. It's not just that movie popcorn is outrageously expensive, it's that I don't love the artificial butter taste or the excess salt. I know that might be sacrilegious to some, but it is just a little too much for me sometimes. I like to stove-pop popcorn at home and toss it with a healthy dose of cayenne pepper and a little salt. In the summer, when I have fresh-pesto coming out of my ears, I like to drizzle that over my popcorn and shake it up in a bag.

4) Booze
There is nothing more embarrassing then opening a can of beer in a movie theater while trying to cover it up with a cough. I'm not above that scenario, but in my more mature years (everything is relative) I can often be seen (hopefully I am never seen) sipping from a thermos filled with a mixture of Bailey's Irish cream and either hot cocoa or coffee. Plus, have too many beers and you'll be in the can when Matt Damon saves the world.

5) Chocolate Bar
I'm a little bit of a dark chocolate fiend, and not so much of a candy-type (except for an occasional box of Mike and Ike's), so I like to supply my own sweets for movie time. Lately I have been hooked on two different bars from Boulder's own Chocolove: one with sea salt and almonds, the other with crushed ancho chiles and cherries.

6) A Big Bag
None of this would be possible without the big-ass purse I bought my wife for Christmas a few years ago. Actually, to call it just a purse would be like calling Muhammad Ali just another good boxer. This is the hands-down king (or queen) of purses. My wife is rather petite, but she could easily lay down in it and take a nap. If I was strong enough I could carry her in and only have to buy one ticket. Suffice to say it is more than up to the task of even our most gluttonous of movie contraband experiences.

Now I don't know the Denver Film Society's stance on contraband food in its theaters, but I imagine it might be along the lines of "We will confiscate that." I also realize that I have quite possibly incriminated myself-- or at least all women carrying a big black purse. On the other hand, I have information from a credible source that the "theme" of this year's festival is along the lines of "Festival-Going Tips", so I'm really just doing my part.

The reality is that I save my food-smuggling for international travel and for theaters other than the DFS's lovely and intimate Tivoli showrooms. Seriously. Because there is something special in these intimate mini-theaters, and the film festival they play host to is my absolute favorite annual Denver event, so I would hate it to go away because they lost all that concession money. Plus, they do sell beer. And they should also have beer at their new location in the movie theaters on East Colfax next to Tattered Cover and Twist and Shout-- former home of Neighborhood Flix (RIP). I think I also get a free bag of popcorn (being a member). So at this year's film festival, if you hear someone coughing while obviously opening a beer, or awkwardly unwrapping the foil on a giant burrito, it probably won't be me. Probably.

Tacos al Pastor, At the Llama In Teullride?!

A couple of weekends ago I traveled to lovely Telluride, CO for the 37th annual Telluride Film Festival (TFF). I am, according to my four-day festival pass, a bit of a "cinephile", which is pretentious-talk for "I like films a lot". It also is code for "not rich or famous film fest-goers", as it is the cheapest pass that one can buy and still hope to see any respectable amount of films. (We saw ten for the record, and were in town for a total of 70 hours.) But I will spare you from my film tastes or the dirty details of the TFF and stick to what I know best: Tacos al Pastor.

Now if you are like I was a couple weeks ago, you would think the following: "What the hell does Telluride have to do with tacos al pastor?" Well it seems that once again my food fate has brought me full circle to be face-to-face with another spit of roasted meat, and like most things in my life, I never saw it coming.

There is a lesson to be learned here about destiny, I think, and it goes like this: It acts, and you just go about your life as impulsively and carelessly as possible. This night, our first of the film fest, unfolded more or less like that. My wife and I found ourselves in a situation that we would become our standard operating procedure for most of the rest of the fest: 30 minutes until film time and hungry. This night we happened upon the Llama.

We buzzed in without really knowing the name of the place and for the opposite reason one would normally pick a restaurant--it was empty. We glanced down at the menus, film passes dangling from our necks importantly and our whole aura was that of obsessed movie-goers in a hurry. Immediately I saw it on the menu and paused, awestruck by those three magic words with spine-tingling resonance: tacos al pastor. On a rotisserie, or if you prefer, a spit.

Despite the rush I did a double-take. If I had a beer in my hand and was being filmed, it would have been a first-cut worthy spit take. Even after reading the words I was in a state of disbelief, and flagged down the host to make him show me the spit itself. He kindly obliged by escorting me to the back of the restaurant; where just as advertised there was a spit of marinated pork.

It was absolutely the smallest and saddest spit of pastor I'd ever seen, and it almost made me laugh, but we know from previous posts that spit-size truly doesn't matter. Unfortunately there were also spits of chicken and beef, and while that in itself is not a crime, those meats don't belong next to the word "pastor" as they were on the Llama menu. That's like chicken gyros or even soy bacon-- just wrong. I'll forgive them that violation as being isolated in a box canyon all year distorts reality in ways you and I can only imagine. And to make up for their transgressions they had a pineapple on top of the spit of pork, something many taquerias in Denver don't even bother to include.

Something else Denver taquerias don't offer is a chef in his whites slicing up your pastor straight from the spit. That being said, he did slice a big hunk of meat from the spit and then proceeded to cut it in small square-like pieces as opposed to thin slices--but it was still satisfying to watch him operate (and no disrespect intended, but he could pick up a think or two from this guy).

The Llama obviously hasn't got the finer points of pastor down, nor do they probably much care. Allow me, dear reader, to take a moment to write from a top my high horse, as they say. Authentic pastor is comprised of small, individually marinated loins that are stacked and shaped on the spit. As the outside cooks, thin slices are cut off so that the meat is at once perfectly charred and wonderfully tender. In this case, a big chunk of meat was stuck on the spit and cooked through--this results in dry meat with less flavor.

The flavor of the taco as a whole was actually pretty good. I think it was the fresh pineapple that helped to give it some moisture and authenticity. The catch is that I paid $14 for three small tacos. I kept reminding myself that this was Telluride, and if these tacos cost $1.50 each I would have been worried that they were made from roadkill squirrel. I also got some plain rice and beans, so I should probably shut up and be happy about it. And how did the Llama do? Certainly they get an A for effort, and points for the pineapple and experience. Pricing aside (when you spend what I did to see 10 movies, $14 tacos are just a drop in the bucket that is my growing debt), it was an OK taco al pastor.

We made our movie and spent the rest of the long weekend watching some amazing films, soaking in the views of what may be my favorite mountain town and eating overpriced but mostly good food. If I have some time on my hands--something that has been rare this month--I will put fingers to keyboard and write about a couple more. Until then, stay tuned as I get back to eating in Denver.