Benjamin Henion

Here is tonight's amuse- bouche . It is a margarita shrimp, on diced avocado, red corn chip and margarita sauce. It is garnished with a touch of Hawaiian pink sea salt and a cilantro puree. I marinated the shrimp in a lime and tequila oil. The margarita sauce has a very potent, yet refreshing flavor. It is roses lime, mae ploy Thai chili, corn syrup, tequila , key lime juice and it is thickened slightly with a slurry. Very nice start to a dinner.

Many people are looking for a deal when dining in this economy. Here is our answer. It is our "Colorado Fusion Tasting" entree. It is a great chance to try the best of the best when it comes to our new menu. Starting on the left you see our Stuffed Poblano dish, which is our vegetarian option. It is packed tight with roasted corn and potato hash, smoked cheddar cheese and mild spices and herbs. The right side has our Pork Adobo , which is a pork wing (the Achilles tendon and surrounding meat). Its garnished with a fresh pomegranate and Mandarin orange relish and a charred scallion. The center of this incredible dish is our Ancho -Coffee Braised Buffalo Short Ribs. It is a hearty, very flavorful dish that we braise for about 5 hours. It literally falls off the bone. We top this off with a roasted forest mushroom salsa. All three dishes have a touch of adobo sauce and grilled glazed yams to complete the dish. We have only run this menu 2 days now, but this dish has been a h

So, here is our first, somewhat successful, attempt at molecular gastronomy. We used sodium alginate and calcium chloride to make this olive caviar. Our plan is to make a hand passed app that will look like caviar, yet will resemble a tapanade . Although not perfected, the fact that you can see the chemical reaction in making this interesting tapanade excites the hell out of me. Rest assured, more of this will be popping up on this blog.

Here we have a pomegranate brownie, a peppercorn pomegranate soup, and a white chocolate pomegranate parfait. This is a delicate, fresh dessert that makes people feel like they are getting more for their money. 

We stuck with the southwest-Colorado Fusion theme when we decided on fresh churros . As simple as they come, we fry them to order, roll them in sugar and Cinnamon , and sauce them with a spicy chocolate and a mango sauce. Smores also seem to be a great comforting dessert here in the Rockies. We took that idea and made a smore cake. It has a graham cracker crust, chocolate ganache , toasted coconut and a torched coconut meringue.

Huitlacoche . Known to many farmers as corn smutt , huitlacoche has long been used in Mexican cooking. The Aztecs used this Mexican truffle in many meals too. Huitlacoche , also spelled cuitlacoche , has a smoky corn flavor. It is a fungus that grows inside kernals of corn when weather conditions are just right. We have coated the seared salmon with this interesting ingredient and serve it with a buerre blanc . Its a great spring dish.

Another entree looking to make its official place on the new menu is our Achiote Marinated Chicken. We are serving it with a cilantro cream sauce, manchego filled raviolis made in house. The menu states that there is charred corn on this dish, but the corn is also mixed in with edamame , black bean, baby heirloom tomatoes and lime. Another simple plate, fresh ingredients. bright colors and a lot of flavor.

Here is a great example of our spring/fall menu in the Mountain View. This is cumin dusted scallops with shaved prosciutto , spicy cilantro puree, plantain chips and mango pico de gallo . We have been promoting our new menu with a simpler version of this appetizer at functions such as Taste of Colorado Springs. So far, feedback has been unbelievable . For an appetizer such as this, we brought together a perfect combination of flavors and textures to make a wonderful start to a dinner.

With aggressive pricing on the new menu, our Buffalo short ribs are not only delicious, but very reasonably priced. This dish, simple and flavorful is only going to cost the guest $18. I braised the short ribs for 5 or 6 hours, and the meat just falls off the bones. Its served with a roasted mushroom salsa and chipotle yams. What a steal! As we approach the launch of our new menu, the upcoming items are making a quiet debut as our dinner specials. This not only helps with feedback, but also provides our employees with exposure to the menu before it comes out.

Appetizers Honey Fig Bread with Salt Cured Ham $8 Fresh Melons, Mint, and Manchego Cheese Chorizo Tamale $8 Aged Cheddar and Mango Pico De Gallo Beef Skewers $9 Fresh Mango Salsa and Jalapeno BBQ Glaze Fried Herb Raviolis $7 Charred Corn and Cilantro Crème Cumin Dusted Sea Scallops $9 Salt Cured Ham, Plantain Chips, and Avocado Vinaigrette Appetizer Platter $15 Cumin Dusted Scallops, Fried Herb Ravioli, and Chorizo Tamale Salads Sunset Caesar $5 Fresh Romaine, Charred Corn, Ancho Caesar Dressing, and Shaved Parmesan Watermelon Salad $6 Shaved Jicama, Spinach Leaves, and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds Rocky Mountain Cobb

Here is a look at some of our starters on the new menu dropping one week from today. Watermelon salad, Pterodactyl Wings, Jalapeno -bacon and cheddar potato poppers, Manitou shrimp spring rolls, front range oysters, herb fried raviolis, fig bread with melon salad, aged cheddar and chorizo tamale, chicken and manchego taquitos , Appetizer sampler platter , and our beef skewers. As part of our preparation for the new menu, we did a small showing of some new menu items with our leadership team. Judging by the empty plates, I think it went over fairly well. I am truly excited about our upcoming menu for many reasons. First and foremost, we are developing direction for the Ala Carte that I feel lacked in the past. The Colorado fusion concept has been a collaboration between myself and the resorts Executive Chef and Executive Sous Chef. Together we are bringing life to this restaurant . With spring and summer creeping up on us, the menu we will be rolling out is bright colors, local pr