What a whirlwind of a day. I was hoping the weather reports would change, but they didn’t. Denver is supposed to get between 6-18 inches of snow tonight depending on the area. I’m glad you all found the racing tips from my last post useful. I’m getting more excited (and nervous) as Sunday scoots closer and closer.
I was supposed to fly out to Los Angeles tomorrow afternoon, but that’s supposed to be the peak of the storm, and the Denver International Airport area is one of the locations estimated to get between 10-18 inches of snow. Lucky for me, most (maybe all?) of the airlines were offering flight changes for no cost, so I moved up my departure to today before the storm is supposed to really hit…woohoo! An extra day in sunny California, absolutely no snow for me, and no work for 4 full days. Snowstorm planning ftw!
***Woot just landed. That is all.***
Thao’s Birthday Dinner
Thao’s birthday was last Friday, but a handful of us celebrated with dinner last night at ChoLon Bistro. The ambiance, and the restaurant itself, were perfect for the evening. The large group table was, indeed, large and didn’t make us feel cramped despite having a multitude of dishes on the table. The music was and chatter were loud enough to keep us from being the table of obnoxious girls, but quiet enough to not have to shout at each other.
Anyway, I’m not here to talk about setting the mood for a girl’s dinner: it’s all about the food. Oh, and Thao 
We each paired up with someone and ordered a few different dishes because their menu is designed to be shared.
To start: instead of the usual bread and butter, we got popped rice with black sesame seeds with a sort of chili sauce…it kind of reminded me of a spotted version of a Korean snack. Doesn’t it look like seashells? Or ants stuck in styrofoam… It was useful for scooping up food later.
Michelle and I decided to share, so first out were the curried duck spring rolls with cilantro yogurt. Absolutely delicious.
Soon after came the stir-fried brussels sprouts with ground pork and mint. It was a tad on the salty side, but it went well with the more mellow flavors of the evening. They’re hidden under the mint leaves and crunchy things.
Our main course was a pork tenderloin with butternut squash puree and some Chinese broccoli. Pork tenderloin is obviously supposed to be tender, but this porker was TENDER. Like I probably could have cut it with my fork, but I tried to act more refined and used the knife.
For dessert, we had nibbles of Thao’s exotic birthday sorbets along with our 5-Spice donuts with Vietnamese coffee ice cream and caramel sauce…yum!
The service here is excellent and the food is moderately priced. One of our dear friends got a piece of saran wrap from her bite of Thao’s sorbet (they use saran wrap to form the ice cream into shell looking things), and they immediately deducted the amount of almost all 4 of the desserts from the tab after the manager came and apologized. Not to mention, you get a straight view into the kitchen to see esteemed Chef Lon Symensma at work with his line. Another great night out with the girls!
Question of the Day: What was your last great eating experience? What made it so great?
I’m so jealous that you get to avoid the snow–it’s supposed to be really crazy! At least the winter hasn’t been bad so far.
The restaurant looks really good, I’ll have to check it out next time I’m around Denver. Spring rolls are always a favorite of mine to get at restaurants because every place has a different twist!
You should, and the prices are pretty decent during happy hour!
I think food is not the most important, for me it’s more about “who is in the restaurant with me” =)
So my greatest experience lately will be a lunch in an autralian bar with my ex-roommate =) so happy to see her !
Ahhh so glad you made it out before the snow hit! Good luck in your race – and most importantly, enjoy it and have fun!!
Definitely aiming to enjoy this run.
I am glad you were able to make it out! I am listening to the Today Show right now and they are talking about how much snow that area is supposed to get! Sheeshe
Good luck this weekend, I cannot wait to hear all about it
They cancelled my flight, so I’m SO happy I left yesterday! Thanks!!
Glad you made it out! I heard about all the cancelled flights and I can see why – it really is coming down. I hope it is cleared out for your flight home!
Those spring rolls sound like they combine so many great flavors! I love curry AND duck AND spring rolls!! My boss flew into Denver today. I hope they got in okay!
Yes, they were so good! I hope your boss got in okay, too.