Mayor's cup
Mayor's cup
Wild Goose launches new menu, Goat Patch turns six, the Springs' first Indian Food Festival + more food & drink news
Just because I wrote a clever headline above, let’s go ahead and clarify out of the gate that yes, Mayor Yemi Mobolade remains a co-owner in Wild Goose Meeting House, but he’s completely removed from day-to-day operations to focus on running the city. (Big job.)
That leaves co-owner Schaeffer Ware and other longtime, experienced employees like GM Heather Moake at the helm. (And, yes, one more clarification: Ware’s name should be familiar; he moved into an ownership stake after his dad stepped out of the business in mid 2022.)
The Goose will turn 10 later this year, in November (actually on Black Friday, randomly). But it hasn’t aged without refreshes to overall programming along the way. The staff has just done some redecorating on the front dining room and converted the rear Nest space into a comfortable lounge (free to use for meetings, by reservation).
Schaeffer tells me he spent roughly a month designing the new menu; the last refresh was in October, 2022. He says about 60-percent of the items are new, or in some cases returned from an old menu with new iterations.
He’s candid that they’re limited in what they can do with their tiny kitchen area — which also supplies Brooklyn’s on Boulder — so smart curation of commercially-procured items is key. Still, they take time to make what they can in-house and also buy from a number of area businesses, including Black Girl Salsa (who uses the Goose as her commissary), Raquelitas, Lockhart Honey Farms, Charcutnuvo and Sourdough Boulangerie.
“Our focus is on bringing in good ingredients to come up with fun menu items,” he says. “It’s rounding out what we offer. But our biggest focus remains on drinks.”
To that end, I enjoy an oat milk latte and taste a couple of the Goose’s popular mocktails, partly because I’m not craving a true boozy sipper at the moment. Heather pours me through a quick tasting of neat sips of their Ritual Zero Proof spirit selection — wow the tequila alternative nails the flavor, in particular. They make a sweet Margarita with it, Triple Sec syrup, lime and simple. We also try an Old Fashioned (with the Ritual whiskey and local Dram bitters) which finishes with a slight but not unpleasant apple cider vinegar edge.
For bites, the team serves us samples of several new-to-the-menu items. They make a nice, fresh hummus in-house and plate it with crisp fixings and pita wedges on a thin charcuterie board. The Almost A BLT Wrap (a riff on an old menu item) gets bacon, lettuce and tomato of course, joined by chicken, arugula and honey mustard on a flour tortilla. A float of house-made scallion oil and almond slivers garnish the hearty roasted red pepper and Gouda soup that’s ideal for a sandwich dip. They do offer a soup and half sandwich option for just this reason.
Next up, pulled pork nachos (available in single or shareable portions) with queso, black beans, jalapeños, green onions and a house chipotle mayo (actually vegan on its own) with a side of Black Girl Salsa. These beg for a beer pairing. And while leaning Mexican, we’re then treated to the Tijuana panini. It’s composed with roasted bell peppers, Provolone, jalapeños, chipotle mayo and gooseberry relish on Sourdough Boulangerie’s levain. It delivers a respectable spice bite balanced with the touch of sweetness. Schaeffer says this sandwich has been with the business since opening in one form or another, but this latest update smacks closest to the original rendition.
For our outro dessert, we’re served the chia pudding with granola, made in-house with simple ingredients: coconut milk, chia seeds and maple syrup. Granola and berries go atop and so does a drizzle of Lockhart honey plus toasted pepitas.
Related: Wild Goose sister outfit Good Neighbors Meeting House continues to host Food Truck Fridays from 5-8 p.m. with guest mobile businesses. That started in February and they’re tentatively planning on keeping it going year-round.
Paella still on patio
Tapateria’s popular Paella on the Patio series is back in action this summer.
It’s totally a thing worth doing. If you’ve never been to one, you have my vote for remedying that situation. The next one’s August 20, and the link above will direct you to more dates ahead.
Here’s what I had to say about my last experience in 2022, when I attended the Basque-style event.
Final teaser: blood orange sangria. Yup.
Related: Chef/Owner Jay Gust’s Sister outfit Pizzeria Rustica does Wine Wednesdays, where guests can get half-priced wine bottles + “our open bottle special” (half price on all open bottles, by the glass, until the bottle’s kicked).
Goat Patch turns six
Catch an insightful and inspiring Q&A with Goat Patch Brewing this week at Side Dish partner Focus on the Beer.
One of my favorite questions/answers in the exchange:
Ryan Hannigan (Focus): So when you say unintended flagship, which one's the unintended flagship?
Darren: The hazy IPA. That was the first beer I brewed—it was just to test the equipment. I made it and we sold it all, and then everybody got real mad.
Cate: When it was gone. That was our first crisis.
Darren: Now, we're brewing a batch every week and some weeks, two batches, we're pumping out like 150 barrels a month.
Celebrating Indian cuisine
Polka Dots and Curry and its owner Monika Celly are hosting Colorado Springs’ first Indian Food Festival from 11:30 a.m. to 2p.m., Saturday, Aug. 5 at Academy International Elementary School. Admission is free but advanced ticket reservation is requested.
What to expect:
“A platform for culinary innovation… an exceptional lineup of culinary experts and vendors…
Plus: “Menhdi (Henna temporary tattoos), Bollywood Dance sessions every hour, Indian photo booth, free blood pressure checks and stress quiz and raffle prizes.”
Casa Bonita’s opening woes
Ya’ll following the fiasco in the news between Casa Bonita’s workers and management since the spot recently opened for limited hours?
Axios reported earlier that “50 employees hand-delivered a list of demands to managers at a staff meeting July 12, insisting the restaurant return to higher pay promised when employees were hired and provide access to health benefits.”
See my May preview of Casa Bonita before it opened, here.
CBS Colorado has some recent followup reporting with a response from the leadership.
Mexico at home
My full review of Sonora's Prime Carniceria & Taco Shop is now available to free subscribers. Click here or on the image below to give it a read. I mean, surely you want to know why I’m making that stupid face, what’s up with the piñatas and butcher counter behind me, and if indeed that’s a whole Oreo encased in the popsicle. (Spoiler: It is!) Read on and find out why I say that Sonora’s is more than just a carniceria and restaurant, but also a cultural ambassador.
What I’m drinking while writing this
Last week, I received a free sample case in the mail of BioLift, a product that claims to improve focus. The company says there’s a lot of science behind that assertion — six clinical studies over 12 years — and that their mix of gingko biloba, elderberry guarana and carob improves cognitive performance. I mean, they use big words like “chronobiology” so who am I to call bullshit? Still, I brought a healthy skepticism to my sipping.
One can has 10 mg of caffeine (from the guarana) and 11g of sugar (from the carob and added apple extract), which is a little more than I generally prefer in a drink. It’s sweet but not synthetic and cloying, but I’m less concerned with the taste and more interested in the advertised focus. Transparently, I’ve had lots of struggles with concentration lately and feel like I’m often working through a brain fog and mental fatigue. The writing’s taking longer than I feel it should and I don’t think I ever fully recovered from a recent, prolonged burnout period.
Anyway, I drank a can two days in a row before some computer sessions and do feel like it helped me stay in the zone longer than usual. Sure, that could be a placebo effect, but I don’t feel like I had to reach too hard to say that I felt better zoomed in on my work for at least a couple/few hours. And I didn’t get jittery or anxious like I sometimes do on later-day caffeine from coffee or green tea. So, do what you will with this info. It’s not a paid endorsement or anything. Like I said: free samples.
Parting shot
Last Friday evening I co-taught a “Cooking with the Critic” class with Side Dish partner Gather Food Studio.
We examined everything from flavor balance and composition to textures, plate presentations and how to create a “wow factor.” We did so by using four courses as demonstrations for certain principles.
We made:
• Hot smoked salmon with toast points and herbed mascarpone
• Salmorejo (chilled Spanish soup)
• Grilled lamb lollipops with mint-pistachio gremolata and parsnip purée
• Pueblo green chile panna cotta with macerated Palisade peaches
I shared with the students what I look for and my central considerations when I’m out reviewing restaurants, including atmosphere, service and taste (obviously). I also emphasized the importance of finding a story — hopefully picking up on one that the food’s telling.
I also reminded them of two key things:
1) Tastes are subjective. & 2) Everyone’s a critic.
Great edition, I want to hit up the Indian festival but man my week is almost sold out!!