The Hole

My friend Becca in Austin gave me a Restaurant.com gift certificate for Christmas.  I went through the list of restaurants for the Denver area and came across an interesting choice.  Beer and donuts!

I messaged my foodie friend Denise from Eat Play Love and asked her if she was in.  Without hesitation...she said Heck Yea! I may have had ulterior motives for inviting Denise to dine with me at The Hole.  She's a former vegetarian that lives in Boulder.  She's really into healthy eating and organic food.  And She's tall and skinny.

I had a secret weapon that I knew she wouldn't be able to resist. A donut sandwich.

 Just look how much she is enjoying her bacon, egg and cheese on a maple donut! She even tweeted that she's never known love like this before.  I think it was true love!

As a breakfast appetizer...we shared a Boston Cream Donut.  The filling to donut ratio was exactly how I like it.  The more filling the better! 

Boston Cream Donut

I'm a big coffee fanatic so I decided to try a cafe latte instead of just a plain ol' cup of joe.  Boy oh boy was I excited when this GIANT cup of creamy goodness arrived at our table.

Cafe Latte

I spent a good amount of time studying The Hole's menu before arriving and I'd decided on the Ham, Brie and Apricot Jam Donut Sandwich.  I was disappointed to find it was NOT on the menu when we arrived.  Our waitress made my day however, when she told us that it was on the lunch menu and they would happily make it for me.  JOY!

Ham, Brie & Apricot Jam..on a donut.

It was a delicious sandwich with a little bit of salty and a little bit of sweet!  Every bite was tasty and the flavors all melded together so well...like they were a match made in culinary heaven. I only ate half and brought the other home for my husband.  He he doesn't eat it today...I'm taking it back.

Look how cute this place is....and look at all of those donuts on the wall!

P.S. I created a foodspotting guide called Best Breakfasts in Denver!

The Hole

3877 Tennyson Street

Denver, CO 80212

720.379.6210

Facebook: The Hole

The Twitter: @theholedenver

Kid Friendly: YES!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post or given any free donuts. I just love eating and sharing good food with my friends.

Rheinlander, Steve's and Marczyk's OH MY!

We were so excited to be back in Denver for Christmas this year!  Not just because this place is home to us but because of all the great food choices.  We had a lot of help making our Christmas great and I can't wait to tell you about them.

But first....our Christmas Menu (recipes will be attached later)

2010 Christmas Menu

Cream Cheese Roll Ups

Blue Cheese Dip with Veggies

Pickled Herring (from Marczyks Fine Food)

Smoked Prime Rib (from Marczyk's)

Yorkshire Pudding

Dirty Rice with Elk Italian Sausage

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries and Bacon

Snowman Cake (from Rheinlander's German Bakery)

Yule Log (from Rheinlander's German Bakery)

We were really excited to visit a bakery that we'd found right before moving to Utah in 2006. It's located in Old Town Arvada and has the most delicious cookies and treats. They have something for everyone...sugar free, gluten free and coffee and cookies. Their service is amazing! We were walking around looking at everything and one of the employees asked if she could get me a cup of coffee while we looked. LOVED THAT! iKeith really wanted a Yule Log but the kids fell in love with a Frosty cake. So we got both!

 While we were in Old Town Arvada we discovered a little gem called Steve's Meat Market.  It's right next to the bakery and it has some really special items. This is not your average meat store....they specialize in processing wild game but they also have some items available to purchase that are made from Elk and Buffalo meat.  We selected Elk Italian Sausage and Summer Sausage (this went great with the cheese we picked up at Marczyk's).  We were incredibly impressed with both and can't wait to get our hands on more! They also sell Exotic Jerky, Steaks, hamburger and Buffalo meat.

Marczyk's Fine Food

Our last stop was Marczyk's Fine Foods in Denver.  My brother in law Robert insisted that we had to get our Prime Rib from there and he finally wore me down and I did as he asked.  I called them up to order it and there were many choices.  I told the nice man what I was going to do to it (smoke) and how many people were coming to my house and he helped me make a decision.  Awesome customer service!

When we went in to pick up our meat...we were blown away by the beautiful store!  Not only is it pretty...but they pack a lot of great stuff inside and many items for the home cook that wants the best ingredients. There was a really nice man giving cheese samples that were to die for!  I loved them all....but we really wanted something to go with the Elk Summer Sausage we'd bought and he helped us pick out 4 great choices. Manchego, L'Edel de Cleron, Stilton Colston and Prima Donna.  GREAT customer service! We also found Pickled Herring which made my husband's Christmas complete!  And it was really good.

Can you believe that I didn't get a picture of our beautiful Prime Rib?  We were so excited to eat it that we didn't snap a pic.  Next time....