...had an interesting brunch yesterday.  F and I went to the Squeaky Bean.  I have heard really great things about their food, we had some friends that went a few months back and raved.  It's an interesting place.  And before I come off being too critical, you go to their website and you would get the vibe that they have a full kitchen able to make the gamut of cooking styles from boiled to grilled.  Nope.  They make it sound like they live for the food, certainly that is what I was hoping for. 

It was gorgeous inside.  Warm. Friendly.  European certainly. When we walked up there were people sitting on the patio (yes, that is the joy of living in Colorado, you can actually sit on the patio of a restaurant in November-!!!-! the weekend after a miserable snow storm that shut parts of the school systems down less than 14 days before) and their dogs had bowls of water set out for them.  Not just some ramshackle steel bowl from the kitchen. Actual pottery bowls. Nice Touch Squeaky Bean. 

The bar is gorgeous, the wood work is gorgeous.  The chair covers are gorgeous.  The place is lovely. 

I ordered the biscuits and gravy with duck confit and F ordered the benedict.  Now I was excited because I like a good biscuit and gravy and I do really like duck.  I did ask if they could scramble my eggs though as poached eggs kinda give me the wilies.  Nope.  Can't do it.  They were very nice about offering to poach the egg hard though. What I don't understand if you can make a custard for french toast and you have a skillet you can scramble an egg.  But maybe I make my scrambled eggs in a non food appreciation way, one bowl, crack egg, scramble with a fork, pour into pan, cook and serve... maybe they would do it another way.. I don't know, seemed really weird to me that they wouldn't even check.... But I am not really thinking I wanted a hard boiled egg with my breakfast which is what a hard poached egg basically is... but agreed to not seem crabby.  I also said to F what kind of self proclaimed foodie am I if I can't accept that they won't scramble some eggs on the grill or in a pan for me.  Whatever.  I watch the food come out of the kitchen to the tables surrounding us.  It looks beautiful, but what food doesn't normally coming out on white bistro plates?

Our food comes out. I wanted to like it. I really really wanted to like it.  I liked the slightly cured duck confit but it just tasted of a little salt and oil, the duck was flavorless.  Duck shouldn't be flavorless right?  That is where my disappointment comes in, I stil had high hopes, it was a beautiful plate of food.  But the gravy was thin, runny and had no taste.  Not even a sliver of anything from the salt and oils of the duck confit and it was supposed to be "duck gravy".  It just tasted "white".  A little flour could really have obviously built up the gravy to be gravy and not 'sauce'. The "herbed" bisuit was tasteless as well.  And dense and hard.  It was more like a very thick flour cracker than biscuit.  Now don't think I am being overly critical here.  Even F had trouble with is muffin on the benedict. It too was very dense and he struggled to cut through it with the knife.  Sad, because there was such promise in our order.  We got a side of grits style polenta with proscuitto.  The problem here being that they weren't grits style the polenta was integrated into a cheese sauce it seemed. But the small diced proscuitto bits were a really nice smokie and salty touch. 

Not my best brunch ever.  I would definitely go back for a European style afternoon coffee or cocktail, but due to the limitations of the menu (I ate one of the poached eggs by the way as to NOT look like a chump, but the other one sat like decoration on the plate) and their inability to make substitutions or alternatives (a lady next to us asked for her sandwhich without the ailoi and the waiter laughed and very friendly like said "no... we can't do that") is a disappointment.

Sorry Squeeky Bean. I tried, I really did.  But for the record their coffee was really really HOT. I really wanted to like you I really did.  I will go back for a drink and maybe a salad but brunch? Notsomuch. 

Had a terrific weekend also.

Went to both the Hearts of Palm farewell shows.  Friday night we were there for the whole show and the openers... I was blown away by their energy, their joy and it was hard to believe that this was the end of the road for the band basically.  Here is a link to the final show Saturday night (recorded by Denver's Friend in recording and mine too...Lance).  It was great and dare I say... even better than the night before, which I didn't think was possible.  We got there 2nd song into the set  on Saturday night and missed our beloved Bad Luck City which was a shame but went to a wine party at a friends and then out to walk down memory lane and see the work of Denver's Finest in their finest hour (more on that later).  My pictures totally suck from both nights. Just very blurry.  Not good. But I tried.  And my excuse could totally be that it was very crowded... or just couldn't stand still.  Thanks for the shirts and the CD Hearts of Palm. 

Last night saw Grant Hart also.  Seeing him standing there on the stage of the HiDive, just a man a guitar and an amp was really so very cool and completely unexpected.  I actually thought he would be there with a band but it was just him.  Sad though because it was sparsely attended which just didn't make sense.... but I was lucky to have been there.  It was just him so there wasn't anyone to watch a merch table so there wasn't anything to get, but there is a new cd and some news.  He stood outside and talked with some people from the crowd after his set, which is always incredibly cool to see an artist do.  He did play a couple Husker Du songs, and Green Eyes has always been a favorite, but broke my heart with some of the other songs.  I am glad F texted me and reminded me because I got so sidetracked with my evening I would have totally forgotten and really missed out. 

Hopefully everything is good with you and here's to hoping for a great week all around!