I hit the road with filmmaker Noah Segan in November to host screenings of his film BLOOD RELATIVES at various Alamo Drafthouse locations across the country. This allowed me to visit several theaters I hadn’t visited since before COVID and promote both Fantastic Fest and Noah’s film. But the trip also gave me the chance to eat beautiful things with Noah at a handful of top-tier restaurants. In Denver, we headed to Beckon for the first time, a compact chef’s counter tasting-menu experience with an open kitchen. Their seasonal winter menu featured some of my favorite things: caviar, white truffles, and scallops. Perhaps not quite up to the epic experience we had at Lazy Bear in San Francisco, but all in all a lovely experience. I’d happily return!
The night started with a plate of snacks: a pomegranate, green tea and ginger spritzer, a delicious bite of Futsu squash and honey, a canape with chickpeas and garden herbs, and a small delicate pastry cup with wagyu, horseradish and Pea tendrils.Next up were thin slices of yellowtail in tomato water with New Zealand spinach.Thin slices of turnip, bronze fennel, and caviar.Turbot, dill, and chive.An extraordinary course was next, perfectly seared diver scallop, winter radish, and farro.Quail breast and leg with kale and sunflower seeds.I tried to distract the server to maximize my portion of white truffles sliced over the top of the rich polenta. This was an add-on to the standard tasting experience. Apparently, particularly flavorful truffles had arrived that morning.Venison with a crispy, buttery square of Yukon Gold potatoes and razor-thin slices of Matsutake Mushrooms.I broke my low-carb lifestyle to devour delicate rolls with house-made whipped butter and sop up every drop of the sauces of the three savory mains and the bonus polenta.After the the final savory venison, they brought out a perfect palette cleanser, not-too-sweet white chocolate ice cream with a refreshing apple granita.Pear mouse with a buckwheat wafer crumble and celeriac ice cream. Again, not too sweet, this was a perfect dessert with beautiful, unique flavors and a nice mix of textures.The final dessert was a trio of baby cream puffs, house-made gummy candies and a decadent dark chocolate covered honeycomb. I paired it with an amaro/coffee cocktail and we bundled up and briskly walked the 3/4 milie back to the Hotel Catbird.
Rotten Apples and Other Delights 