I'm back in Denver after a v. fun weekend in San Francisco. Last night's dinner was truly incredible - while I wasn't drunk when I wrote my post last night, I was way too tired (and trying to type on my phone) to do it justice. Lazy Bear has two Michelin stars, which is kind of a big deal, and they seem v. much deserved.
The detail that shocked me the most was how they handled my gluten issues. When Subz, Nathan, Terry and I got there, we checked in so they knew who we were - and joined the other ~30 attendees whom Lauren and Nathan had invited, since they booked out the first seating that night for our party. There was a cocktail hour with passed hors d'oeuvres and champagne (and cocktails, if you so desired, which I definitely did). And somehow, in the midst of those people, wait staff kept coming up to me, greeting me by name, and giving me a gluten-free version of whatever appetizers were being passed. It was so surprising and wonderful, and just the start of pretty impeccable service.
The appetizers were all amazing - my favorite was this whipped egg with bacon fat that was served in a perfectly decapitated eggshell, but my other favorite may have been the lamb tartare (I don't even like lamb, and yet this was amazing). And I somehow even liked the duck liver with cherry reduction, which sounds disgusting and yet was somehow good?
After the appetizers, and after Nathan gave a toast, and after Lauren's brother and sister toasted her, we went downstairs for dinner. Terry was the only person I knew well (other than Lauren and Nathan, of course), but luckily I was seated across from her and next to two women whom I'd met at previous Lauren functions (both of whom I liked). So we had a pretty grand time at that end of the table. Every course was delicious - there was a melon dish that was great, some excellent tomatoes, a salmon with roe on top that was to die for, and a baked oyster that was even better. And the wine pairings through all of this were incredible. They had a 1992 bottle of a Ridge wine that I really love, but I've only ever had the bottles that are available in store and came out in the last few years (and are therefore reasonably priced) - I've never had one that has aged for that long, and it was perfect.
So, my night at Lazy Bear was pretty wonderful. I didn't get to hang out with Lauren as much as I would have liked, but I spent an hour with her and Terry while Lauren was getting ready, and we shared a car over, and then a smaller group of us went to a concert at Swedish American Hall and hung out for a bit longer. But I had to bail by elevenish, since I was falling asleep on my feet.
This morning I was rather leisurely getting up, and then met Terry for breakfast - she graciously came back to my hotel so that we could grab something before I had to leave for the airport. The hotel breakfast was nice (smoked salmon and poached eggs on top of an avocado), but nothing can top Lazy Bear for awhile. It was great to see Terry and catch up more substantively this morning, and she went back up to my room to watch me pack so we didn't have to say our goodbyes until the very end.
Then I retrieved my rental car, drove to the airport, grabbed some iced coffee, and spent the plane ride mostly napping / trying not to nap / not accomplishing anything. I was too tired today to be useful. When I got home, I ordered a pizza, called my parents while waiting for it, ate my pizza, watched some Property Brothers, took a nap, and then opened my work laptop and spent 60-90mins writing a rec for someone for business school (which is not what I wanted to do tonight, but I also don't want to be responsible for crushing their dreams - or, at least, I don't want to be responsible for crushing this particular dream).
And now I need to go to bed so I can wake up and seize the day - goodnight!
The detail that shocked me the most was how they handled my gluten issues. When Subz, Nathan, Terry and I got there, we checked in so they knew who we were - and joined the other ~30 attendees whom Lauren and Nathan had invited, since they booked out the first seating that night for our party. There was a cocktail hour with passed hors d'oeuvres and champagne (and cocktails, if you so desired, which I definitely did). And somehow, in the midst of those people, wait staff kept coming up to me, greeting me by name, and giving me a gluten-free version of whatever appetizers were being passed. It was so surprising and wonderful, and just the start of pretty impeccable service.
The appetizers were all amazing - my favorite was this whipped egg with bacon fat that was served in a perfectly decapitated eggshell, but my other favorite may have been the lamb tartare (I don't even like lamb, and yet this was amazing). And I somehow even liked the duck liver with cherry reduction, which sounds disgusting and yet was somehow good?
After the appetizers, and after Nathan gave a toast, and after Lauren's brother and sister toasted her, we went downstairs for dinner. Terry was the only person I knew well (other than Lauren and Nathan, of course), but luckily I was seated across from her and next to two women whom I'd met at previous Lauren functions (both of whom I liked). So we had a pretty grand time at that end of the table. Every course was delicious - there was a melon dish that was great, some excellent tomatoes, a salmon with roe on top that was to die for, and a baked oyster that was even better. And the wine pairings through all of this were incredible. They had a 1992 bottle of a Ridge wine that I really love, but I've only ever had the bottles that are available in store and came out in the last few years (and are therefore reasonably priced) - I've never had one that has aged for that long, and it was perfect.
So, my night at Lazy Bear was pretty wonderful. I didn't get to hang out with Lauren as much as I would have liked, but I spent an hour with her and Terry while Lauren was getting ready, and we shared a car over, and then a smaller group of us went to a concert at Swedish American Hall and hung out for a bit longer. But I had to bail by elevenish, since I was falling asleep on my feet.
This morning I was rather leisurely getting up, and then met Terry for breakfast - she graciously came back to my hotel so that we could grab something before I had to leave for the airport. The hotel breakfast was nice (smoked salmon and poached eggs on top of an avocado), but nothing can top Lazy Bear for awhile. It was great to see Terry and catch up more substantively this morning, and she went back up to my room to watch me pack so we didn't have to say our goodbyes until the very end.
Then I retrieved my rental car, drove to the airport, grabbed some iced coffee, and spent the plane ride mostly napping / trying not to nap / not accomplishing anything. I was too tired today to be useful. When I got home, I ordered a pizza, called my parents while waiting for it, ate my pizza, watched some Property Brothers, took a nap, and then opened my work laptop and spent 60-90mins writing a rec for someone for business school (which is not what I wanted to do tonight, but I also don't want to be responsible for crushing their dreams - or, at least, I don't want to be responsible for crushing this particular dream).
And now I need to go to bed so I can wake up and seize the day - goodnight!
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