A New Favorite In Denver

I wanted to mention a new favorite restaurant of mine in the Denver area. Sheri and I ate at Via Italian Eatery & Bar for my 30th birthday in December.

It was a great night. We started with an antipasti including some amazing italian cured meats. They were sliced pretty much right in front of us and came out on a rustic cutting board. My favorites were the prosciutto, mortadella and the fresh mozzarella.

Our next course was salad. I chose a very simple arugula salad with parmigiano, lemon and olive oil. It was very tasty. Sheri had a spinach and pancetta salad that was equally tasty.

For the main course I was a little boring with a New York Strip steak, but it was very delicious. Sheri had a rigatoni pasta dish with a bolognese sauce with mushrooms. She let me steal a few bites and I can say it was very good. For dessert, we split a cannoli and tiramisu.

The best part of the night was one of the owners, Venanzio Momo, came into the main dining area singing Christmas carols. He had the majority(if not all) the patronssinging and laughing. It is neat to see that type of attitude about a restaurant in Denver. Fun place, and excellent food at a reasonable price.

I believe that some of you knew that some friends and I wanted to start a restaurant a few years ago. That night I felt myself thinking, "This is what I would want my place to be."

A group dinner or happy hour would work well there. They have a room near the back that is somewhat closed off from the main dining area. Sheri and I really enjoyed the decor. The entire south wall is chopped wood that is behind a plexiglass type cover and stacked with the cut side facing out.

Keep up the good work, Via! Chad was our waiter that night. If he's there ask for him; he'll take good care of you.

Hey, Venanzio, I vaguely remember you mentioning that you may need some website design help. In the very minor chance that you find this post, I'd be happy to help out if you still need it. Email me at kwhirsch -at- gmail.com. (Wow, I have no shame).

Anyway, I'm hoping to get down there again this coming weekend, and Sheri is planning a girl's dinner there in the next couple weeks. If you are in the area check it out. You won't regret it.