Cafe Star

We had a babysitter last night, so we went out for a pre-Valentine's Day dinner. We find that it is harder and harder to go out for special days like Valentine's Day, etc. We had planned to meet for a really nice lunch on Valentine's Day itself but then a conflict arose for me when a thoughtful client scheduled a meeting from 11:30-1:30 that day. We had a babysitter planned for last night, so we just decided to make it be Valentine's Day. Ever since Somethin' Else closed and Adega before that, we've been hard pressed to come up with a favorite, more upscale restaurant. It seems we always want to give someplace new a try. After much back and forth about where to go, we finally decided on Cafe Star. We'd been there a few times before and liked it. Maybe it is the closest thing we've got to a new favorite. We first found out about the place when the chef was written up as the best new chef in Denver a few years back.


Cafe Star is a cool looking place, with a very hip vibe. The walls are a mixture of red and lime green. There is one wall that is upholstered in red vinyl. The centerpiece of the place is a large curved divider between the dining area and the bar. It is covered in rectangles of brightly colored glass. Very cool. My memory of Cafe Star was that it was a good place to get and share small plates. When we got our menus, I was a little disoriented, because at first glance it looked more like your typical salad, apps, pizza, pasta, entree type menu. I guess small plates have fallen out of vogue, but I have to say that I really like this approach to eating a nice meal. I know some would say that it leaves the pairings of foods up to the diner instead of the chef and suggest that it should be the chef's job to put the whole experience together for you. I can see that, but I guess I view the small plates approach to eating dinner as more like wine tasting. You get to try a lot of different foods, which you share with your companions, and then you can discuss what you liked/didn't like about them. I think it is more fun. I guess I like trying a little bit of a lot of different good things. The chef can put together things that go well on each small plate.


After considering the entrees, we decided to go the small plate route as much as possible. We shared a salad, two appetizers and a pizzeta. We started with the arugula salad, which also had fennel, goat cheese, oranges, and walnuts. The dressing had a nice flavor that went well with the ingredients. My husband commented that the fennel was not terribly flavorful. I commented that it is February, fennel is surely not in season now. The oranges were prepared as supremes and, although also not in season, were juicy and flavorful.


Next we were served the two appetizers we ordered. We each ate half of our respective plates and then traded. One was a pair of risotto cakes that were served in a puddle of roasted red pepper coulis. The other was a ramekin of baked goat cheese served with french bread and sliced apples. Both were quite good.

We finished off our meal with our pizzeta, which was topped with sausage and rapini. This was plenty of food for the two of us and a great meal.