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Fuck it, I’m writing about my dinner in Denver at El Five

I really like food. I like talking about food with other people. I’m not so good at making food (yet) but I definitely like eating great food.

Here’s a story about a dinner I had in LoHi in Denver at an okay restaurant with a pretty view, called El Five.

El Five was recommended to us by Will’s friend, which was awesome because it meant Will asked for a recommendation, which I thought was super sweet. Will’s friend was also 2 for 2 on food spots... maybe some other time I’ll write about the biscuits we ate for breakfast at Denver Biscuit Company (technically referred to me by my girl Emily) and the fresh af burgers we demolished at 10 Barrel Brewing Company.

Before we get to the food. Lemme set the stage. This place is way up high looking out over downtown Denver. Will and I had just spent way too many hours and way too much money in the most massive REI I’ve ever been in around the corner, so here’s me and Will, sitting on the same side of the table like psychopaths, looking out at the skyline and my new Patagonia duffle bag in it’s own seat across from us. 

Ok anyway so, this place is tapas but Mediterranean. They’ve got a couple mezze platters, various tapas (traditional and not-so-much) and a few types of paella.

I don’t like raw fish, unless it’s salmon (lox or sushi). Will wanted the seafood paella, but I shot him down kindly. We ended up ordering the Carne Paella (for two) instead. Begin 40-minute count down to paella readiness. 

To make up for the fish, we got the Mediterranean Sea Bass, which was a little off. The bass was delicious. Super crispy and not too dry. However, they covered the fish in what tasted like candied nuts, that didn’t add much of anything to the dish. We scrapped em off. There was an apple-apricot kernel gremolata, which was sweet and tangy and I lost track of it but Will really liked it. All in all, I give it a 3 out of 5.

Ok, next up, but actually it came first but that didn’t work with my fish story above... we got the Smoked Burrata! I’m obsessed with cheese. I considered naming this blog, Seeking Cheese. I still might. Anyway it was also kinda weird. They served it as a salad, which to me is offensive. Burrata is meant to be eaten on toasty bread, so I asked for some. The salad bits were way too sweet, particularly the raisins. However! There was a spiced honey vinaigrette in large dollops and for that, we were grateful. All in all, 2.5 out of 5.

Our third and final pre-paella dish was by far the best. We got the Crispy Cauliflower Yufka. I had no fucking clue what yufka was, but I fell in love the second they place the mini, fried cauliflower triangles on our table. Not only where these little triangles delicious on their own, they came with a cumin rouille that blew my damn mind. This was one of those, close-your-eyes-and-enjoy-the-moment sort of foods. I asked the waiter if there was tahini in it, he said no, Will clarified there was and for a moment, I felt like I knew a thing or two about what I was putting in my mouth. Sorry waiter person, you were a nice guy, but I was right! This cauliflower yufkas were a solid 4 out of 5.

Carne Paella! It was fine. I know, such a bummer, right? It was weird the way they layed the meat out on this dish.. there were basically pepperoni slices on the rice, along with chunks of lamb, smaller chunks of chorizo and a bunch of ham seemingly hidden in the center of the dish. The entire dish was topped with aioli and salsa verde, which added a lot of flavor to an otherwise boring dish. The lamb was bae though. I could’ve eaten pounds of that lamb. This paella was a 2.75 out of 5, on a good day.

That’s all for now. A good meal with a great view in a special city, for Will in particular. There’s a lot more to be said about Denver, but it’s 1AM and I haven’t slept in 2 days, so good bye for now.