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Aix
Denver, CO |
Los Danzantes
Oaxaca, Mexico |
Asia de Cuba
West Hollywood, CA |
The Sanctuary
New York, NY |
Ghenet
New York, NY |
Moustache
New York, NY |
Lemongrass Grill
New York, NY |
Steak Frites
New York, NY |
Caffe Taci
New York, NY |
Sammy’s Noodle Shop & Grill
New York, NY |
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| Aix |
719 East 17th Avenue
Denver, CO
303.831.1296 |
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Why is chumwater in Colorado? Because he was dumped of course… free tip for you dumpsters (dumpstees?); running away to a distant national park and hiding from everyone you know is a practical (though possibly not healthy) way of dealing with the dumps.
 So I'm on my way to Rocky Mountain National Park and stop for dinner at Aix in downtown Denver, because it's there and it looks decent enough. Nice menu. I'm alone so I get seated at the bar, which isn't the worst place to sit. I find reassurance and comfort in staring at a wall of liquor bottles. And the bartender, Traver, is hot and personable.
For starters I have a Grey Goose and soda; a good menu-browsing drink – actually a good anything-doing drink. I order the Saffron Orzo Pasta ($17), which according to the menu includes herbs fin, roast tomato, chorizo, and parmesan reggiano. Traver recommends the Vin De Savoie ($8), a Boniface Apremont '03, and I order it because he makes a good case and sounds like he knows something about wine. The label on the bottle has a shield with a swiss flag on it – a white cross on a red field. I ask if it's French or Swiss and he corrects me by pointing out that a Swiss flag would be the reverse. I don't correct him back by pointing out that actually the reverse, a red cross on a white field would represent the Red Cross, and not Switzerland.
 The restaurant's small and crowded, like a New York restaurant. The décor is attractive and upscale, yet the crowd's laid back. Everyone hanging out at the bar is engaged in discussion with each other or Traver; seems to be mostly locals which isn't surprising in this residential neighborhood just out of the way of downtown's tourist scene.
My orzo comes and it's really good; an excellent and creative use of saffron in a peppery sauce accented by crumbled chorizo. The roast tomato is amazingly rich in flavor – as good roast tomatoes usually are – it's a shame there's only the one small piece of tomato as it's kind of a tease. The wine's great like a Sancerre in that it's flavorful yet dry. Even at room temperature it's perfect with the orzo.
"You're not going to find better food than in this place," says a voice behind me. A middle-aged white guy is hovering just over my shoulder looking to make conversation – fair enough, I'm seated in the community section after all. I agree the food's really good, and after some prompting reveal that I'm on my way north to the Park, and that I just got dumped.
 He tells me being dumped isn't so bad, that he just dumped a guy here at Aix last week. I hesitate, debating whether to tell him I'm actually kind of an expert on being dumped thanks very much, and most evidence seems to indicate the contrary. Instead I decide to have another drink and take notes on why Aix is a good place to dump someone. My visitor explains that it's a nice, comfortable atmosphere, kind of dark, with good food, and that all these things are important as you don't want your soon-to-be-ex to feel bad. I stop short of suggesting that his ex would feel a lot better if he weren't getting dumped in the first place. Whatever, hey if you're looking to dump someone in Denver, a guy who's name I don't know recommends Aix.
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| chumwater |
| October 14, 2005 |
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