Saturday, October 13, 2007

The Cherry Cricket and Capital Grille

This week I was able to head over to one of Denver's best bar/grills. In fact the Cherry Cricket (in Cherry Creek) continues to get awards for the best local hamburger. The "cricket" has been there forever... so it is a little older (maybe not the place for a fancy dinner). They have pool tables, video games, and I think a dart board. So I ordered a burger.... and of course.... what goes best of hamburgers... but ranch dressing. The Cherry Cricket had one hell of a hamburger as well as incredible ranch. The ranch was a little runny... but as long as it is made daily... it doesn't matter. In fact there are days I crave the runny stuff. I also tried their blue cheese and it was very good as well.

Cherry Cricket (Ranch) - 8
Cherry Cricket (Blue Cheese) - 7.5

The end of the week came and my co-workers and I were craving a sit down place. So we visited the Capital Grille. This is an upscale chain restaurant that servers great food --- perfect for fancy dinners or business meetings. They have an incredible steak and lobster bisque. So being such upscale restaurant... they make their own ranch. They use some additional ingredients... almost a peppercorn flavoring. Even though I enjoy a little peppercorn.... the taste consistency of the dressing was off. Overall it reminded me of a good peppercorn dressing with a hint of Kraft Ranch (which I hate). I've eaten here before and remembered something similar. Even though I do like the Capital Grille --- their ranch is a little flat.

The Capital Grille (Ranch) - 5.5

Saturday, October 6, 2007

My Brother's Bar

If you live in the Denver Metro area... you have probably heard of "My Brother's Bar". This is a great local hang out place with a fun atmosphere (especially the outside patio) and good bar food. Unfortunately, as much as I enjoy frequenting this establishment... their ranch falls short of their other pluses. 

My Brother's Bar - 2

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Bottled Dressing

What would your refrigerator be without "Hidden Valley's Ranch". This is one of the best bottled original ranch dressings. That being said... homemade and some restaurant ranches do taste better. But sometimes... there is no time. "Hidden Valley" has several variations -- but I will be focusing their original recipe. Let's hit on the top manufacturers':

Hidden Valley Original Ranch - 7
Wishbone Ranch - 3
Kraft Ranch - 2