Highland Pacific (3934 W 32nd Avenue Denver, Co)

Highland Pacific is one of my favorite Denver restaurants & quite possibly my favorite seafood restaurant (which still amazes me as Colorado is landlocked). Every time I'm in town (particularly after Man Camp), I make sure to stop by for great seafood & even better service & atmosphere. My sister & I (& whoever we drag along) make sure we get a seat at the bar, which I think is the best seat in the house.

Luckily her husband doesn't eat oysters, so we were able to share a dozen oysters this year. We got Island Creek from MA & Hammersby Oysters from WA, both excellent. (a small note, Island Creeks are now available in 100 count bags, via FedEx next day! Click Here). We really enjoyed the oysters, but these were merely some small nibbles to keep us busy till the next course.

We got a pound of Dungeness crab legs next. Not quite my favorite, but we enjoyed them. In early 2008 I had come to Denver with NY friends & had eaten at Highland Pacific 2 nights in a row. They had Opilio crabs on those nights (made famous by the Deadliest Catch TV show) & honestly we must have gone through about 10lbs!

I ordered 2 appetizers, fried calamari (which Audrey helped herself to) & the Mac & Cheese which was really good. Audrey had the Ahi Poke (Big Eye Tuna with seaweed salad & avocado) & the Besos Calientes (Grilled shrimp over jalapenos with pancetta & pepper jack cheese). Josh opted for the Crawfish Po-Boy.



We ended the night with an insanely delicious dessert, the Foster a la mode. This humongous beast is basically bread pudding with bananas foster & ice ream on top! This (and all the Stella we had drank) put us well over the top. A great meal...

The Shrimp Butler

I love to cook shrimp. I really don't mind peeling them, but it's the de-veining & butterflying that drives me insane. Repetitive, tedious & downright annoying. Luckily, some clever bugger has invented the Shrimp Butler. This ingenious machine does all the work for you & is reasonable priced at $35.

Although you need to be making shrimp by the bucketload for this thing to be worth the money, I think it's a pretty cool little gadget. They have a demo video on their website, check it out.

Recipe: Steamed Mussels w/Shallots & Chorizo

For some reason I really wanted to eat some mussels & I hate cooking/eating alone so I had invited a few friends over for an impromptu dinner party. In a bit of a rush, I braved the rain with a buddy & headed to Whole Foods on Houston where I picked up some chorizo & 7lbs of mussels (3 bags).

I washed & debearded the mussels as best I could as we chopped the chorizo, shallots (4), parsley & garlic (a full bulb). The chorizo went into the pans with a bit of butter & olive oil, leaving a delicious, red/yellow color in the pan. The parsley, shallots & garlic were added next, along with more butter. Once cooked through, I deglazed with a white wine that has been sitting on my wine rack for ages (I used the entire bottle).

Salt & pepper was put into the pots, the mixture was brought up to a boil & the mussels were added. I covered the pots & lowered to a simmer to let our delicious little bivalves steam away happily. Once they had fully opened, I served with warm bread & butter. Simple yet effective & really really good to eat. I particularly enjoying dunking my bread in the broth. One of these days I'll give making French Fries a shot.

I'm surprised that I don't cook mussels more often. They're dead easy to make & pretty darn inexpensive. I spent $30 on a meal for 6 (plus the bottle of plonk) & everyone left full. There were enough leftovers for me to make my Fried Beer Battered Mussels. I could have spent even less if I had gone to Chinatown for the mussels ($6 a bag at Wholefoods) & the chorizo was a bit overpriced, but I was pushed for time (read: Lazy). All in All, a good meal, I really enjoyed it.

Butcher Bay (511 E. 5th St.)

I've been doing a lot of substandard home cooking & eating out at my usual haunts recently, so I was very excited to check out Butcher Bay on 5th Street between Avenues A & B with my Dad & buddy Dan. Located in the space that used to be Seymour Burton, they aim to be a local Fish Shack.

We arrived shortly after opening & got decent seats. They are cash only (as per the huge sign in the door) & have no draft beers (seriously!?!). The decor is pretty nice though, I'll give them that. We ordered some bottled (bleh) beer & decided to start with the oyster platter while we looked through the menu.

I was somewhat disappointed in the fact that they only had East Coast Oysters, but in the grand scheme of things, I guess that is the 'look' they're going for. I'm much more of a West Coast guy myself, so I found these to be really without merit. Plus the shells were very flaky (bad shucking?) & I kept on getting bits in my mouth.

We moved on to 2 apps we ordered to share; the absolutely delicious Fried Clam Strips & Remoulade and then the hideously greasy Shrimp Hush Puppies that tasted like cardboard.

As you can imagine, this was not the start that I wanted for this meal.






The main courses were as follows:

Dan got the Scallop Pan Roast which he enjoyed. I tried some as well & I'll admit that I actually enjoyed this dish, pretty darn good.

Fish & Chips were ordered by my Dad. All 3 of us have spent a lot of time in England during our lives & we can tell bad F&C from good. I thought this was a decent attempt. Not quite what I'd expect from the UK, but good nonetheless.


I got the Maryland Fried Chicken w/Cornbread. I know what you're thinking... At a seafood joint? I only did this because the choices of mains were so damn limited & this was the only one that caught my eye. The chicken was seasoned well, but slightly greasy. The cornbread with honey, however was great.

There were no desserts on the menu, so we trudged off, dejected. I'm really disappointed by Butcher's Bay & if I ever go back, it'll only be for the scallops - In & Out quick-style.

Smoked Salmon Rillettes

A nice little recipe for entertaining friends....or entertain yourself into a nice little food coma. You will need:

8 oz. Fresh Salmon
3 cups Water
8 oz. Smoked Salmon
4 Chopped Shallots
3 tbsp. Dijon Mustard
2 tbsp. Vodka
2 tbsp Lemon Zest
3 tbsp. Lemon Juice (fresh is preferred)
4 tbsp. Cubed Unsalted Butter (room temp)
1/3 cup Chopped Parsley
Ground Black Pepper to Taste

Bring the water to a boil in a pan, lower to a simmer and add fresh salmon. Cook 3-4 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.



Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, add the other ingredients and mix. Don't worry too much about uniformity of the pieces of smoked salmon, butter and shallots because all of this going to be blended.

Once the cooked salmon is cooled, flake into pieces and add to the bowl. Toss all of this into the food processor and pulse until blended. Try not to over blend, as you'll want a bit of texture. Too smooth and you will have yourself a salmon mousse....which wouldn't be terrible, but it's not what we set out for. Make certain the butter is fully incorporated, as you don't want huge chunks of butter in some bites. When finished, taste to make sure everything is balanced, cover and refrigerate. Let it set for at least 3-4 hours before serving, but it would be fine to make the day before.



Serve with dark bread (pumpernickel or the like) and enjoy!

Fishtail (135 E. 62nd St btwn Park & Lex)

I had a chance to have a restaurant week lunch with my mother at David Burke's restaurant, Fishtail. He'd split with his partner, Donatella Arpaia, last August & rebranded their popular eatery as David Burke Townhouse. Fishtail is his newest offering to the UES dining scene. I was a bit late, so by the time I arrived my Mom was already perched on the long bar on the first floor drinking some Campari. We were whisked upstairs to our table. The decor is really nice & the place gives the impression of an old townhouse (which it most likely was), very inviting.

I started with the deep fried oysters & calamari which was accompanied by a spicy yet sweet dipping sauce. I though that they were good, particularly the tentacles (which are my favorite). My only real complaint was that they were slightly on the greasy side & served in a small faux-deep fryer basket which I thought was a tad over the top.

Mom got the tacos, one of which was crab & the other was tuna tartare. She seemed to enjoy the dish.





Next up for me was the roasted chicken with roasted veg & a red wine reduction. I really, really enjoyed this dish. The seasoning was perfect & the skin was delicious. The sauce was also really flavorful.

Mom had the grilled swordfish steak with fries. I had a chance to try this dish & I thought it was pretty good, but it could have used more sauce. For a seafood restaurant, this dish really didn't blow me away, but for $24.07 for 3 courses, I really wasn't going to complain.

Next up come the desserts (unfortunately both of these pictures came out too blurry to post). I had the pineapple tart, which was good, but nothing extraordinary. I thought that they did a great job on the crust though. The other dessert that we ordered was the chocolate mousse which I think is probably the best mousse I've ever had.

In all, I had a good time & enjoyed the food & attentive service, but I'd like to go back & sample the full menu. One thing that I did notice was that there were a whole lot of waitstaff, which meant good service, but it did make traffic a bit congested around your table.

Blue Ribbon Brasserie (250 5th Ave., Brooklyn)

Continuing my food-filled weekend, I ventured out to Park Slope last week to test out the seafood mecca Blue Ribbon Brasserie. It was a busy Saturday night, so we knew we were in for a wait. Luckily, we know the bartender & managed to snag some primo seats at the bar pretty quickly. There were 5 of us, so we decided to just order a bunch of stuff & share.

We started with 18 oysters & half a chilled lobster. Having already begun to stuff our collective faces before I remembered my camera, this picture really doesn't do the plate justice. I preferred the East coast oysters (the name escapes me) & I'm not much of a lobster man, but I did manage to beat the rush & get to the delicious claw meat before the vultures descended.

Next up was the Escargot; they did not last very long. Extremely tasty & slathered in garlic, oil & parsley, we eagerly mopped up every last bit with the country bread that accompanied the dish.


We moved onto some Steak Tartare which was good, but nothing to write home about. I'm a bit biased here as I'm not a big fan of egg yolk (raw, cooked, whatever) & the yolk was already mixed into the tartare. The cross-cut chips were very good as well.

Pierogies were next on the menu. Half were steamed, the others were fried, I couldn't decide which of the two I preferred, but they were good, nothing special.

Which happily brings me to the final entrée that we ordered, a massive 40 oz. Black Angus steak:

Served with Mash & sautéed spinach, I had to do a double take... We basically picked the thing clean to the bone, it was that good. Blue Ribbon is best known for it's seafood, but this steak was to die for! Bravo!

Just when I thought I possible couldn't eat more, out came dessert, Chocolate Bruno. This rich, flourless cake was served with 3 flavors of ice cream & drizzled with chocolate syrup. Heaven on a plate!




We finished this excellent meal with shots (probably not a good idea considering how much we had to drink already). Dining at Blue Ribbon was an amazing experience, check it out for yourself!

Grant fires up the fryer!

It was Grant's (Big Mac to you guys) turn to throw down this week & trust me, the boy did not disappoint! We were treated to a meal with a decidedly Asian flair & fueled by boiling hot oil! Unfortunately, Mike was preparing for his pending wedding, so it was just myself, Adam, Grant, Teddy & newcomer Chris (he's still getting settled into NYC, but rest assured that he'll be spinning up some grub soon).

Upon arriving @ Grant's with enough booze to sink a ship (8+ at last count), we could all see that Grant had been a busy boy. Like a poster boy for mise en place, Big Mac had everything set up & ready to roll.

- Chilled King Prawns with Salmon Caviar on Bed of Avocado Salsa with Lime & Chili Dressing.
- Thai Pumpkin Soup with Crab Meat & Bread Dumplings.
- Gingered Salmon Spring Rolls with Orange Dip.
- Sweet Chili Soft-Shelled Crab (Kepiting Bumbu Roedjak).
- Ying & Yang Orange & White Chocolate Mouse Cake.


Yeah, I know what you're thinking - Christ on a bike! We knew we were in for a treat! The first course was assembled & we sat down to eat; Pure Heaven. The lime & chili dressing really brought out all of the flavours, but the Salmon Roe was my favorite.


Next up was the Thai Pumpkin soup which I was really looking forward too as I've never cooked with pumpkin. Grant fried up his own seasoned bread dumplings set them atop this excellent soup. Rich, flavorful & bursting with crab, this really hit the spot!


After a bit more frying, we were ready for the Spring rolls. Grant had meticulously seasoned & wrapped these himself, but unfortunately the Orange dip didn't come out as planned. Crunchy & mighty tasty, I was beginning to get full.


Now onto the main course. I haven't had soft shelled crab since my trip to Asia earlier this year, so I was very excited. Grant sauteed up an extremely dangerous-looking mixture of chili peppers & spices which would serve as the sauce when coconut milk was added.

Then it was time to introduce our little crustacean friends to the hot oil. After a short, fierce fry, they were ready. I almost cried when I was served. I'm not sure if it was tears of joy or the near-toxic, spicy fumes assaulting my eyes. Either way, I was a happy man. Insanely spicy (as it should be) & tastier than I could ever describe, we all devoured this dish!




With next to no room in our stomachs, we tackled the final course; Orange & White Chocolate Mouse. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but this was an excellent final course. Topped with raspberries, it really helped to take the heat off of the previous course.

All in all, an excellent night!

Recipe: Lobster Bisque

Welcome to another exciting episode of Cooking with Uncle Boogie. This week, we're making Lobster Bisque. I haven't killed anything in a while, so I'll admit that I was excited about dispatching 2 helpless crustaceans (whom I lovingly named Bert & Ernie).

Here's what you'll need:

2 (1 1/2-pound) lobsters
1 cup tomato paste
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 cup coarsely chopped celery, including leaves
1 cup coarsely chopped carrot
1 sprig thyme
3 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, plus extra, for garnish
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup cornstarch (try Wondra)

Fill large stockpot with water and bring to a boil. There should be enough water to cover lobsters completely when immersed. Place live lobsters in boiling water head first to minimize splashing. When water re-boils, turn down the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not overcook lobsters. Remove lobsters from the pot using tongs; save all the water in stockpot as this is now a flavorful stock to be re-used.

Place stock in a clean stockpot and put on low heat. Clean claws and tails of lobsters and reserve meat. After lobsters are cleaned, place shells in stockpot with 10 cups of stock.

Cut bodies in quarters and place in stockpot, making sure to include all roe and tomalley in pot. Add 1 cup tomato paste and simmer on low heat for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Be careful not to have heat so high as to burn stock.

Pour entire contents of pot through sieve into clean stockpot; this should now be 8 cups of glorious red stock.

Place onions, celery, carrots, thyme, parsley and tumeric in a large saute pan, add 4 cups stock from original stock pot and put on high heat for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup tomato paste and black pepper.

Turn down heat and simmer 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Press entire contents of saute pan through sieve into stockpot of 8 cups previously made stock.
To finish Bisque, put pot on medium heat. Add heavy cream slowly, using whisk to blend. Add sherry. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes; bisque will thicken slightly. Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup water and slowly add to bisque with whisk. Simmer on low heat for another 20 minutes.

If you prefer your bisque to be thicker, you may add more cornstarch, or perhaps, flour, but have found the bisque thickens nicely over low heat, and additional cornstarch or flour takes away from the wonderful flavor.

Place pieces of previous cleaned lobster meat in bowl and add 1 cup of bisque. Garnish with Creme Fraiche & chives.