Denver: In Memoriam ... Au Revoir Le Central

Le Central French Restaurant

112 E. 8th Avenue
Denver, CO 80203
Southwest, Capitol Hill
Phone number: (303) 863-8094
Website lecentral.com
CLOSED

Le Central was one of my favorite restaurants … anywhere … and I have eaten at some of the best restaurants in the 41 countries I have visited so far in nearly 60 years on this planet. A short story of my last visit ...

I was in India studying Buddhist philosophy with the Dalai Lama, but found out that my mom was hospitalized and dying, so I made my way over a 72 hour period to be by her side in Colorado Springs. She died four days later. Long story short, I was taking my wife to the Denver airport so she could return to work and we decided to stop at Le Central for their Happy Hour menu.

We had been gone for seven years, but the place had not changed except for the being open in the afternoon with a limited, but exceptional menu. They offer a $3 glass of wine, escargots, crepes, their fabulous mussels and French fries (moules frites). 

I had a glass of pinot noir ($3), which was excellent, the escargots in brioche ($7), and the moules Portuguese ($12.95).  The pinot noir was dry, a deep red, and robust. The escargots were superb as usual and I mopped-up every last drop with the wonderful French baguette.  The Portuguese mussels were excellent with slices of chorizo and chunks of fresh tomato in the white wine based broth infused with garlic although the broth was not as plentiful as I would have liked as was the case in years past. The frites were delicious, perfectly salted and hot, but by the time I de-shelled all of my mussels, they were not as hot as I would have liked … DRAT!

The prices had gone up a bit since we were there last, but Le Central was still an outstanding value.  The service always excellent, the food sublime and very reasonable, the wine list extensive, and the ambience country French.  If you did not have a chance to try Le Central, you do not know what you missed!

CombatCritic Gave Le Central the Coveted 10 Out of 10 Bombs In Their Last Review … Plus de Bombes Sont Mieux! (More Bombs Are Better)

End Note: I just found out that Le Central closed in September 2016 after 34 years in business and it honestly felt like a lost an old friend. There are few restaurants as good or as good a value as Le Central was and she will be missed ... au revoir Monsieur Tournier, au revoir Le Central ... c'est la vie!

Ten Bombs Equates To:

"Phonetic spelling of the acronym HUA, which stands for 'Heard Understood Acknowledged.' Originally used by the British in the late 1800's in Afghanistan. More recently adopted by the United States Army to indicate an affirmative or a pleased response." - Urban Dictionary

"The Department of Military Science and Leadership, University of Tennessee claim HOOAH 'refers to or means anything except no' ... Regardless of its meaning ... the term is an expression of high morale, confidence, motivation and spirit." - WarChronicle.com

"The U.S. Air Force stole 'HOOAH' from the Army because we were part of the Army until 1947 and rather than waste a bunch of time coming up with something new and unique, we said 'fuck it, let's go with HOOAH' ... thanks Army ... HOOAH! - CombatCritic

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Title: Denver CO: In Memoriam ... Au Revoir Le Central

Key Words: Denver, Colorado, Memoriam, Au Revoir, Le Central, le, central, French, France,Tournier, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Tabelog

Dillon: A Little Sunshine Goes A Long Way ... There a Are Better Options In The Area

Sunshine Cafe

250 Summit Place

Silverthorne, CO 80498

Phone: (970) 468-6663

Website: sunshine-cafe.com

Prices: $$$$

My son, a Dillon local, recommended this place because we always go to another popular breakfast joint in Silverthorne. They just expanded, taking the space next door, so it is large enough that you will not have much of a wait. 

Standard breakfast fare, they do not have skillets and make it a bit painful if you like biscuits and gravy with your breakfast, My recommendation is to skip the order of biscuits and gravy ($8.25, including two eggs) and get a biscuit with your breakfast and a side of sausage gravy ($1.75).

My son had the Classic Eggs Benedict ($9.25) and it was just that, English muffin halves topped with poached eggs, ham and hollandaise sauce. The benedict was good, but the hash browns were the star of the show. Best hashbrowns I have had in a long time ... plentiful, brown, and crispy on top and hot, moist, and tender underneath. Too bad they do not do skillets because these hash browns would be the star of the show.

I built my own omelette ($10.50), a 3-egger with cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses, bacon, chorizo, and sauteed onions and mushrooms. It was excellent and the hash browns were the coup de grâce. I got a biscuit and a side of sausage gravy, bringing the total to $12.25, a bit pricey for a breakfast plate.

Words of wisdom: Offer skillets and 1/2 orders of biscuits and gravy minus the eggs in the $3 to $3.50 range or, better yet, include a side of sausage gravy with a biscuit if desired and charge a max of 50¢ ... make your customers happy rather than milking us dry for every last red cent.

Next time I am in Dillon, we will be going back to our regular joint in Silverthorne where biscuits and gravy and skillets are standard fare.

CombatCritic Gives Sunshine Cafe 6 Bombs Out Of 10 With Deductions For Priciness/Lack Of "Value" And Little Menu Creativity ... More Bombs Are Better!

Six Bombs Equates To:

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Title: Dillon, CO: A Little Sunshine Goes A Long Way ... There a Are Better Options In The Area

Key Words: Sunshine Cafe, sunshine, cafe, breakfast, Dillon, Silverthorne, CO, Colorado, Summit, county, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Tabelog

Castle Rock, CO: "El Korita" Stands For Good Food And Reasonable Prices ... "From The Heart"

El Korita

106 S. Wilcox Street

Castle Rock, CO 80104

Phone: (303) 814-0622

Website: Facebook Page

Prices: $$$$

Good, authentic Mexican food ... reasonable prices. This strip mall restaurant used to be a Mexican food market, transforming a year ago into a restaurant with a small grocery area in the front.

I had the crispy tacos with machaca ($8.99) and rice and beans. The tortillas were handmade and fried on site, not store-bought and heated in the oven. A side of guacamole cost only $1 although we did have to pay for the chips and salsa which were also fresh and made in house. My son had the beef enchiladas with homemade green tomatillo sauce ($9.99) which were were delicious and filling.

At under $25 for dinner for two, El Korita is a CombatCritic BEST VALUE and should not be missed if craving Mexican food and in or passing through the Castle Rock area.

CombatCritic Gives El Korita 8 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Eight Bombs Equates To:

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Read Chris S.'s review of El Korita on Yelp

Title: Castle Rock, CO: "El Korita" Stands For Good Food And Reasonable Prices ... "From The Heart"

Key Words: El Korita, el, korita, Castle Rock, castle, rock, Colorado, CO, Mexican, authentic, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Tabelog, 

Translation for Civilians: WTFO! ="What-The-Fuck ... Over!"

Dillon, CO: Dam It ... Small Burgers And Hidden Upcharges Tainted This Special Occasion

Dillon Dam Brewery

100 Little Dam Street
Dillon, CO 80435
Phone: (970) 262-7777
Website: dambrewery.com

Not bad, not great. I went with my two sons who I had not seen for 6 months and, although it was a Friday night, we were seated rather quickly. Peter, our server, promptly arrived for our drink orders. We had three of their house drafts, me a Here's Your Dam IPA and my boys a McLuhr's Irish Stout and Sweet George's Brown respectively ($5 each). The beers were good, but all a bit too "smoky" for my taste, smokiness must be a Dam Brewery thing - Dam it!

For dinner we went with sandwiches, me a "Rodeo" ($11.95) with a beef patty, cheddar, bacon, caramelized onions and Bar-B-Q sauce on the side with French fries. The burger was very basic, small and uninteresting, likely a frozen patty of 5-6 ounces max. My youngest (soon to be 29) had the Munich Schnitzel Sammy ($10.95), a breaded pork cutlet and smoked gouda on a pretzel bun, accompanied by apple slaw, beer mustard, and fries. I tasted it and it was also nothing special. A "schnitzel cordon bleu" sandwich would have been much better, but my son seemed to like it.  My oldest (30) also ordered a Rodeo but with a bison patty ($4 Extra - $15.95), with cheddar, bacon, caramelized onions and Bar-B-Q sauce, opting to swap Mexican Beer Cheese Soup for the fries. The server asked if he wanted a bowl of soup instead of a cup and my son concurred, only to find out that the price had ballooned from $15.95 to $21.20 when the check arrived. It would have been nice to have been informed of the $5.25 up-charge when placing the order, but so you have it.

The sandwiches were decent, not great, the burger patties being a tad on the small side (± 5-6 ounces). My burger arrived with what I perceived to be no caramelized onions, so I sent it back. The server brought the dish back a few minutes later telling me that they were under the cheese while my son's had been on top of his Rodeo's cheddar cheese. Odd I thought, until the check arrived and I found out that I had not been charged for what I ordered (a Rodeo), but for a build your own burger ($9.25) with cheddar ($1.35), bacon ($1.35), caramelized onions ($1.00) for a total of $12.95, a dollar more than what I had ordered and what Peter had agreed to when I ordered it.

Rather than make a fuss about the unannounced upcharges, I simply deducted the amount we were overcharged from the 20% tip Peter would have received for the decent, not great, service he provided, leaving him with a respectable 16.5%. 

Server Lesson Learned: Give the customer what they order and, if you do not, inform them of any upcharges PRIOR to submitting their order, do not surprise us with unexpected charges when the bill arrives.

CombatCritic Gives Dillon Dam Brewery 6 Bombs Out Of 10 With Deductions For Unannounced Upcharges And Mediocre Food At Above Average Prices ... More Bombs Are Better!

Six Bombs Equates To:

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Tabelog - Official Judge (Bronze)

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Title: Dillon, CO: Dam It ... Small Burgers And Hidden Upcharges Tainted This Special Occasion

Key Words: Dillon Dam Brewery, Dillon, dam, brewery, CO, Colorado, beer, hamburger, pub, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Tabelog

Translation for Civilians: G2G = "Good To Go"

Went Twice, Closed Both Times - Stop Wasting My Time!

Duca’s Neapolitan Pizza

12229 Voyager Pkwy

Colorado Springs, CO 80921

Phone: (719) 487-3200

Website: ducaspizza.com

Prices: $$$$

My son and I tried to eat here twice during my recent visit to Colorado, but on the night I got into town (Wednesday), they were closed when we arrived shortly after 8pm. We returned the following Sunday at around 5pm hungry for a Neapolitan pizza, but they were again closed so we gave up on Duca's.

How is the pizza? No idea and I guess I will never know because they will not be open long if paying customers arrive to find the doors locked. 

I checked their prices online and they are not unfair, but I cannot tell you if this is a good value because I COULD NOT TASTE THE PIZZA. For example, a Margherita pizza in Naples (hence their name, Neapolitan: "someone or something from Naples, Italy") runs around €5 to €6 which equates to around $5.50 to $6.50 (today), so $6.95 is not unreasonable. 

American "Neapolitan" pizzas tend to average 12" in diameter, but if you order a pizza in Naples, you will never get a 12" pizza unless it was a mistake. True Neapolitan pizzas are at least 13" to 14" in diameter and you would never find chicken on a pizza in Naples, particularly the "BBQ" or "Buffalo" or variety as is the case at Duca's.

A pizza place that closes at 8pm? Give me a break and stop wasting my time!

CombatCritic Gives Duca's Neapolitan Pizza 1 Bomb Out Of 10 ... You Know The Rest

One Bomb Equates To:

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Title: Colorado Springs: Went Twice, Closed Both Times - Stop Wasting My Time!

Key Words: Duca's Neapolitan Pizza, Duca's, Duca, Neapolitan, pizza, Naples, Colorado Springs, Colorado, springs, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: FUBAR = "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"

Monument: Oh Brothers, $19 For A $10 Pizza Special?

Borriello Brothers

15910 Jackson Creek Pkwy

Monument, CO 80132

Phone: (719) 884-2020

Website: borriellobrothers.com

Prices: $$$$

Beware when ordering "specials" and adding extra ingredients. Our $10 18" one-topping pizza specials skyrocketed to $19 because the $1 extra toppings we were quoted turned out to be $3 each on an 18" pizza.

The pizza is average and the Genoa salami I paid extra for as a "specialty topping" was used very sparingly. I may as well have ordered a cheese pizza because there was hardly any of the up-charged salami anywhere to be found.

My son is vegan and ordered his pizza without cheese, but having added red pepper, roasted tomato and fresh basil, the "$10 special" ballooned to $19. I can buy an entire basil plant for a little more than $3, so charging that much for a few measly leaves is unconscionable. His pizza was also burnt on the bottom, so we had to wait an additional 20 minutes to get an edible pizza while mine grew cold to the touch.

It is difficult to find good pizza anywhere but on the right and left coasts and I was left unimpressed after this experience. My son also told me that the last time he went there he asked if he could substitute an additional topping seeing that he cannot eat cheese and asked that the mozzarella be excluded, but he was told, "no you cannot" ... UNSAT. 

CombatCritic Gives Borriello Brothers 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Four Bombs Equates To:

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Title: Oh Brothers, $19 For A $10 Pizza Special?

Key Words: Borriello Brothers, Borriello, brothers, brother, pizza, pasta, Colorado Springs, Colorado, springs, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: BOHICA = "Bend Over, Here It Comes Again"