I won’t mince words. My absolute favorite new restaurant this year is Old Major at 3316 Tejon St. I even chose to celebrate my recent milestone birthday for dinner there with On The Town Junior and Mr. On The Town.
I had been to Old Major, a proud nose-to-tail eatery where they butcher 2.5 pigs a week (not sure what happens with the other half of the last pig), a handful of times, but I took a risk (and it was my birthday, after all) and booked a table for three to include the hub and my foodie son who works for much-lauded restaurateur Danny Meyer at Maialino in the Gramercy Park Hotel at 2 Lexington Ave. in NYC.
My son surprised me with his arrival in Denver to celebrate my special day. Both of my “he-men” went nuts for the place and over the food. We ordered an arsenal of appetizers and an entrée each, which included the nose-to-tail dish, roasted duck breast and orcchiette pasta with roasted pork.
My only disappointment was the pretzel bread service which previously included an unlimited basket with mustard butter, but has for some reason morphed to an individual roll service with no offer of additional rolls. I hope they return to the original policy, but meanwhile, Old Major recently received a national nod via www.thrillistnation.com as being one of the 33 Best New Restaurants in America.
Here’s what Thrillist had to say about culling the top 33 list: “Over the past year, our editors have gloriously eaten their way across America, meticulously consuming all the best burgers, and pizzas, and BBQ they could. Then we turned our sights to figuring out which of the tens of thousands of new restaurants that have opened across the country in the past year deserve to be called the best. And now that the work is done – and the weight is gained – here they are (with a neat checklist), in all their gastronomical glory.”
And here’s what Thrillist said about Old Major: “Denver’s LoHi neighborhood is bursting at the seams with new, popular bars and restaurants, but Old Major’s ‘elevated farmhouse cuisine’ stands out among the pack with exceptional cocktails and decadent, inventive cuisine (think Colorado rib eye with bleu cheese, foie gras butter, and pork fat fries). If you’re smart and/or just understand weekly calendars, swing by on a Wednesday, where you can watch the chef/owner butcher two pigs in-house, you saucy, food-based voyeur! Then you’ll eat the fruits of his labor on the Nose to Tail Plate, which features cuts like braised belly, confit rib, schnitzel, ham, and ears, all accompanied by mustard spaetzle, sauerkraut, and a demi-glace.”
Check out the other 32 best new restaurants at http://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/the-best-restaurant-openings-of-2013-america-s-best-new-restaurants-thrillist-nation.
For Old Major reservations, go to www.oldmajordenver.com or call 720-420-0622.
(OldMajordenver.com photos)
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