As mentioned in the welcome post, to kick off this blog, Sonia and I are picking our favorite restaurants/meals from our travels so far this year. For me, it was a tough choice. We came across some unexpected finds as well as had amazing meals at highly recommended places; so with no criteria other that what would be the one place I would want to write about now, I had no clue how to narrow all of these contenders into a top choice.
In the end, Euclid Hall in Denver, Colorado won out. The main reasons for this are the culinary creativity of the menu items, the friendly staff and of course the food itself.
I would love to say that Euclid Hall was a surprise find for us, but it had been recommended to me long ago by friends from the area. It was recommended more as a good place to grab a drink late at night though, so the food was a pleasant surprise.
When we arrived at the restaurant, it was after brunch and still too early for dinner, so the place wasn’t too packed. It looked like there was a second level, but they weren’t seating people up there at this time. We chose to sit at the counter by the kitchen so that we could watch as meals were being cooked and plated.
What We Ordered
- Sausage Tasting (Beef Short Rib Kielbasa, Mortadella, Boudin Noir, Hardwood Smoked Chorizo)
- Simple Salad
- Carbonara
- Brat Burger
Because we wanted to try a little of everything, we opted to share 2 starters and 2 entrees. For our starters, we went with the Sausage Tasting and a Simple Salad.
The Sausage Tasting is a sampler of the 4 sausages they have on the menu. It comes with one of each as well as a plate of 4 different mustards. For me, I was underwhelmed by the Chorizo, which was still good, but it didn’t wow me. The surprise for me though was the Mortadella. In my opinion it was the most flavorful of the 4.
As for the salad, it was as simple of a salad as a Simple Salad could be. It was a variety of greens with a dressing and nothing else. The joy of simplicity though is when done right, that’s all you need. The greens in the salad were fresh and the dressing was the perfect complement. I know it’s hard to screw up a salad, but it’s nice when people take the time to enhance it so that it is actually a dish on its own in your meal and not just a side.
Next up for us was the Carbonara and the Brat Burger.
If there is ever a dish that defines a restaurant, the Carbonara is it for Euclid Hall. I won’t ruin the surprise of what the pork noodles are, but if you really want to know, ask your server. Our server was so knowledgeable from how the noodles are made to the rationale as to why this dish in on the menu. Other than the uniqueness of the pork noodles, the rest of the dish is exactly what you want from a carbonara. The sauce was incredible and once we finished the noodles, we just had to ask for some bread so that we could get the rest of the sauce left on the plate. It’s that good, that you do not want to let it go to waste.
As for the Brat Burger, when we first got the burger, Sonia noticed it was under cooked. The kitchen and our server originally thought that it was ok, because the hint of pink was to be expected based on the preparation; however, once the burger was returned to the kitchen, the chef agreed that it was not fully cooked. Once we got the burger back, it was in line with the rest of the meal. The bun, slaw, meat, and cheese all are perfectly paired leading to a wonderful burger. Sonia and I halved the burger, but in the end, I was wanting the other half for myself.
Based on that unexpected meal, I definitely plan on going back to Euclid Hall whenever I find myself in the Denver area. I know I’ll be torn though on ordering some of the same items or ordering some of the other items I watched come out of the kitchen wanting to try. Anytime you are in the area, I highly recommend going here and just keeping an open mind. Your taste buds will thank you.
Euclid Hall is located at 1317 14th Street, which is right in Larimer Square, in Denver, CO.
