Old Blinking Light

Restaurant week continues in Denver with a Friday night visit to Old Blinking Light.

When the menu for Restaurant Week was first released, I probably spent two hours scouring the menus for places that looked unique and delicious that we had never been to. One of the places at the top of the list was Old Blinking Light (OBL) Kitchen. The menu looked fantastic, so we made our reservation. The week before we actually went, a friend of mine stopped by my work and we started talking about restaurant week. As soon as I said we were going to the OBL, she asked if I knew the story. She said it's family-owned and that the family moved here from Taos, NM. Taos is a fairly small town and there is only one 'old blinking (traffic) light' in town, hence the name for this really unique restaurant. Tons of New Mexican art, quartz crystal, straw bale benches, and custom-made fire pits greeted us as we walked in the door. We knew this was going to be special! 

Here's what we had;

Sweet and Spicy Shrimp - You probably can't see from the picture, but this was served on bed of baby field greens in a martini glass.  The shrimp were firm and fresh and the mix of sweet and spicy was just right.

Fried Avacado - when looking at menus for Restaurant Week, I like to find things that are unique and look delicious. The Fried Avocado definitely caught my attention! I love avocados, and I love anything fried, so why not put them together? The presentation was stunning! A corn tostada with practically a whole flash friend avocado topped with pico de gallo and creme fraiche. The avocado was rich and creamy with a crisp outer crust and warm gooey goodness inside. The creme fraiche and pico de gallo made it like a homemade warm guacamole served atop a crispy tostada. Spectacular!

Butternut Squash Bisque - I thought this tasted like Thanksgiving in a bowl. Pureed butternut squash, cream, white wine, garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg, and garnished with parsley and pumpkin seeds.  I was sad when I got to the bottom of the bowl.  Delicious!

OBL Salad -  three of the four of us got the Butternut Squash Bisque so I had to go rogue and get their signature OBL Salad. Many of the ingredients you'd come to expect on a great dinner salad: spring mix, croutons, tomatoes, red onion, but they took a great base and spruced it up with avocado, walnuts, cotija cheese and a lemon thyme vinaigrette. The most amazing part of the salad and what really made the dish for me, was the additional of dates. If you've never had dates on your salad, I highly recommend it! They added a soft but chewy sweetness that really turned an above average salad into an exceptional one. 

King Ranch Casserole - The "King Ranch Casserole" was a combination of cheesy enchiladas and chili rellenos all stacked together with extra green chili, white cheddar cheese, guacamole, creme fraiche, pico de gallo, cilantro green rice and more! It was like all the best New Mexican flavors in one delicious, cheesy, gooey casserole! It was absolutely delicious! 

Achiote Marinated Pork Loin - Achiote is a Mexican blend of spices, I've never had it before, but it was rich, robust, and had a unique roasted red chili taste to it.  I thought it added an amazing depth to the perfectly cooked and moist pork loin. The chimichurri sauce was a nice addition that didn't over power anything and underneath all of this southwest deliciousness was a giant dollop of creamy mashed potatoes.

Old Blinking Light Mud Pie - The OBL Mudpie was a fairly traditional mudpie but on steroids! Oreo cookie crust topped with about a pint of delicious coffee ice cream and even more Oreo cookie crumbles, toasted walnuts, chocolate sauce, whipped cream and of course a cherry! It was so divine and the coffee\chocolate combo just melted in your mouth. It was such a treat and really top quality!

The Works - Here's the description from the website; homemade banana bread flash fried and topped with bruleed bananas, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, homemade peanut butter, walnuts, banana chips, whip cream and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I love trying things like this, and by that I mean things that I would never think of making at home.  The flavors of the banana bread, peanut butter, ice cream and everything else mixed together sent my taste buds to heaven!

Overall OBL was one of the finest dining experiences we have had in the Denver area! This place is not to be missed!