Dine Out Challenge, Day 2: The Snow Flies in Aspen
September 22, 2009
The snow falling at the front entrance to Pinons in Aspen, CO.
Snow.
On September 21.
If there were any lingering hopes about summer hanging out for a while after it’s official ending, they were dashed by the early-season dusting that fell as we dined in Aspen last night. While the powder hounds were celebrating, we were more than a bit sad to wave goodbye to the longer days and warmer temps of summer. The snow did seem to offer an appropriate backdrop for our second day of adventure on our Great American Dine Out Challenge.
Admittedly, we were doing the equivalent of camping in our own backyard yesterday; Aspen lies just 45 miles south of our home base in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, so the road trip on this day was a short one! We were headed to Pinon’s, a casually-elegant restaurant located right in the heart of town at the corner of Mill St. and Main St, to dine on contemporary American cuisine.
Our host, Jim, was professional and personable, and was very accommodating to my last-minute changes to our reservation. We expected it to be quiet on a Monday evening during a shoulder season, however the place was bustling with locals. According to their website, this Aspen restaurant is embarking upon its 22nd season offering Aspenites a place to catch up with friends while sharing an enjoyable meal.
We were a bit disconcerted when we asked both our server and Jim about the restaurant’s participation in the Great American Dine Out, neither was familiar with the event or aware that Pinon’s had signed on to take part. Both were gracious in their attempts to find out more about our request and ultimately Jim found that the restaurant was donating a percentage of their total revenue generated this week.
They are offering a smokin’ deal right now: a three-course, prix fixe menu for $38, which includes starter, entree and dessert. Highly recommended are the pork tenderloin in mustard-apricot glaze (kick-ass!) and the roasted free-range chicken. Desserts were delicious as well, with the homemade fruit cobbler just barely winning out over the chocolate bread pudding for top honors at our table.
Pinons will be participating in the Great American Dine Out throughout the week; we encourage all of our friends in the Roaring Fork Valley to head on up to Aspen and partake in a memorable meal while helping to advance the No Kid Hungry campaign.
Up next: Day 3 – Grand Junction, CO
Road Trip Day 1 – Rainy Sunday in Crested Butte, Colorado
September 21, 2009
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kkraft/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
Sunday was a gray, dreary day in western Colorado. We’d hoped to fit in a hike up near Kebler Pass amongst our Dine Out tour duties, but the weather gods did not cooperate. Nevertheless, we had fun time getting back to Crested Butte and the dinner we had at Django’s was excellent. It’s hard to imagine that there’s a better Crested Butte restaurant out there; Django’s combines excellent food, a cool decor, and affordable prices right at the base of the ski area.
When we introduced ourselves to Chris, co-owner, and told him of our week-long Dine Out mission to benefit the Great American Dine Out, he told us that they weren’t planning on starting their donation week until Tuesday. We were bummed to be sure, however he came back 5 minutes later and said that because we were there, he would launch on Sunday, just for us! How awesome is that?
Matt and I had the Cider-Braised Wild Boar Belly, Roasted Mixed Baby Beet Salad, Crispy Brussels Sprouts and the “Cheekburgers.” The Wild Boar Belly was both of our favorites but I also have to give a shout out to the Crispy Brussels Sprouts. I am a devout brussels sprouts adversary but was duty-bound to give them a try as Django’s is donating all of the proceeds for the week from this dish to the No Kid Hungry campaign. I was surprised and a bit disappointed that I could no longer continue my grudge against this longtime food foe. They were very tasty and I highly recommend them to anyone, even fellow brussels sprouts haters.
If you are anywhere near Crested Butte this week, get down to Django’s and order the Sprouts for Sprouts; you won’t be sorry!
Next up: Today Matt and I head to Aspen for the second leg of our seven-day tour of Colorado to benefit the Great American Dine Out and Share Our Strength.
Hittin’ the Road for the Great American Dine Out
September 18, 2009
That’s right, we’ve cooked up a plan to join in on the fun for the Great American Dine Out.
To help raise awareness for the Dine Out and generate donations for Share Our Strength, Matt and I will be traveling all around our home state of Colorado, purchasing from each of the unique restaurant brands that have generously signed on to participate in the week-long event. We’ve also pledged to match any donations that are received at this page by September 26.
There are more than 60 businesses participating in Colorado and our whirlwind agenda includes eating at or purchasing food from nearly 30 of them, with the goal of patronizing at least one location from each of the participating franchised eateries in addition to each of the independent restaurants. Our travels will take us to Crested Butte, Aspen, Grand Junction and every corner of the Denver metro area.
Share Our Strength is an organization with the awesome mission of eradicating childhood hunger in the United States by 2015. They have created a 10-point plan which outlines exactly how we can achieve that lofty goal in the next 5 1/2 years. It’s hard to imagine a more worthy cause for TwoTables to support and we are very excited to have the opportunity to make a contribution to the effort. We’re encouraging everyone to eat at a participating restaurant some time between Sunday, September 20 and Saturday, September 26. We also are encouraging donations directly to Share Our Strength from our YourCause.com page. At the end of the Great American Dine Out, TwoTables Internet Marketing will make a donation to Share Our Strength equal to the total funds collected through our cause page.
For more information on our plan and links to participating restaurants, please see our Dine Out page. Remember to check our blog throughout the week where we’ll be chronicling all of our adventures from the road.