Washington Park Grill

Washington Park Grille

1096 S. Gaylord St.

Denver, CO 80209

303-777-0707

http://washparkgrille.com/

It is Restaurant Week in Denver. It is a slow time for them, so they have created a week where they offer multi-course meals for a fixed price. Some places create special dishes for the event, while others offer a combination of items off their regular menu. Washington Park offers items off their menu.

Washington Park Grill describes itself as an "Italian Restraint with a Twist". When I look at the menu, I see many items with Italian influences, but there are some items where that influence is not obvious.

The first courses that we tried were Baked Brie, Spinach, and Artichoke Dip and BLT Slider. The baked Brie is a creamy mixer of cheese, and veg tables; it has a savory earthy mixture. (It is one of their signature snacks.) However, the BLT slider was more enjoyable; it was made with pork belly meat (not cured like bacon would be), tomato, lettuce, and a plum ginger sauce. The sauce added a bright spicy flavor to the sandwich. I would love 3 of them for a nice lunch.

The second course was a pork chop (we both chose the same item) with a Peach Chutney, smoked Gouda potatoes, and carrots and beans. The vegtables were tender and flavorful. The potatoes were a little heavy (I like my mash potatoes light. I think it would have been nice if they were shaped into patties and lightly browned.)

The pork chops with the peach chutney was very tasty. The chops in themselves were nice, but the chutney added a very complex sweet/sour/spicy flavor to them. I can not remember eating a chutney before; I was aware of the relishes , who have their origins in India, but I am more aware of the mid-west US canning concoctions that are used to pickle excess fruit and vegetables and in the end add a little flavor to some bland cooking. The peach chutney here added a wonderful spicy/sweet flavor of the pork chops.

The final course was a a shared Raspberry Creme Brulee. it was a wonderful combination of sweet smooth custard with sour raspberry puree, and caramelized sugar crust. It was a nice finish to a very good meal.