La Monja and Johnny C's -- gonna try to give a little help to my friends
The trying times continue. My workplace has reopened with a skeleton staff, thus leaving me still on the sidelines. People continue to disregard science, medicine, common sense, and courtesy to others. No job, no travel, no Golden Knights, and no end in sight. But I'll continue to help out the restaurants I can, preferably with take-out, but dine-in as needed. I did both in the past week.
I'd been wanting to go to Dan Krohmer's La Monja Cantina for a while. He's a friend and someone I want to support as much as possible. He's proven his skill with Japanese food at Other Mama and Hatsumi, but La Monja is his crack at Mexican fare, and it's crackin' good.
La Monja shares the same renovated motel as Hatsumi, so they share the same ordering service. When I went for take-out, the place was quiet, doing take-out only. A shame to have a cantina not serving margaritas or other drinks, but the kitchen remained open. The young lady taking care of business told me that the place had been dead since lunch, so I was happy to give them a little evening business.
La Monja's plates come with rice topped with cilantro, grilled yellow squash, and a couple tortillas. I used those along with the featured items to make tacos. The eggplant Milanese drops a little Italian into the menu, fried in panko bread crumbs for a Japanese touch, so it's a multi-ethnic dish. But the red salsa keeps it rooted in Mexico. Tasty stuff, vegetarian-friendly, and the panko remained crispy.
A more traditional dish was the pork verde carnitas. Same fixings, save for the salsa being green. The slow-roasted pork was most excellent, flavorful and tender.
The nice thing about Krohmer's duo is that it's a fairly quick bus ride up and down Fremont Street/Boulder Highway from where I live. John Church's new place is a longer ways away, not far from the Silverton, and between freshness and the heat, I thought dining in would be preferable.
I've seen Church, the former "Chopped" champion, bounce around from MTO Cafe to Artisanal Foods to Aureole to Golden Enterainment. Perhaps the best way to keep him rooted is to make him owner and operator of his own joint. He showed some audacity by going ahead and opening Johnny C's Diner in the middle of this mess.
For a man with his ability with carpaccio and foie gras, a diner seems perhaps a comedown for him. But the place is also an homage to those kinds of eateries -- brightly lit, photos of local diners past and present, the obligatory counter with round barstools, even a free jukebox. And the food certainly didn't disappoint.
The soup of the day was this tomato gazpacho. Perhaps a bit oily on top, but very refreshing on a hot July 1.
And I had the Cubano, which made me very happy. The pressed sandwich was overflowing with sliced ham and roast beef, making me wonder if I should ever bother with Subway again. Fries are something that would certainly lose something in transit, so getting them fresh from the fryer, seasoned with cayenne pepper, brought pleasure to this foodie who normally treats them as an afterthought.
So the struggle continues, but Dan and Johnny are fighting the good fight. And that's good news for us food fans.
I'd been wanting to go to Dan Krohmer's La Monja Cantina for a while. He's a friend and someone I want to support as much as possible. He's proven his skill with Japanese food at Other Mama and Hatsumi, but La Monja is his crack at Mexican fare, and it's crackin' good.
La Monja shares the same renovated motel as Hatsumi, so they share the same ordering service. When I went for take-out, the place was quiet, doing take-out only. A shame to have a cantina not serving margaritas or other drinks, but the kitchen remained open. The young lady taking care of business told me that the place had been dead since lunch, so I was happy to give them a little evening business.
La Monja's plates come with rice topped with cilantro, grilled yellow squash, and a couple tortillas. I used those along with the featured items to make tacos. The eggplant Milanese drops a little Italian into the menu, fried in panko bread crumbs for a Japanese touch, so it's a multi-ethnic dish. But the red salsa keeps it rooted in Mexico. Tasty stuff, vegetarian-friendly, and the panko remained crispy.
A more traditional dish was the pork verde carnitas. Same fixings, save for the salsa being green. The slow-roasted pork was most excellent, flavorful and tender.
The nice thing about Krohmer's duo is that it's a fairly quick bus ride up and down Fremont Street/Boulder Highway from where I live. John Church's new place is a longer ways away, not far from the Silverton, and between freshness and the heat, I thought dining in would be preferable.
I've seen Church, the former "Chopped" champion, bounce around from MTO Cafe to Artisanal Foods to Aureole to Golden Enterainment. Perhaps the best way to keep him rooted is to make him owner and operator of his own joint. He showed some audacity by going ahead and opening Johnny C's Diner in the middle of this mess.
For a man with his ability with carpaccio and foie gras, a diner seems perhaps a comedown for him. But the place is also an homage to those kinds of eateries -- brightly lit, photos of local diners past and present, the obligatory counter with round barstools, even a free jukebox. And the food certainly didn't disappoint.
The soup of the day was this tomato gazpacho. Perhaps a bit oily on top, but very refreshing on a hot July 1.
And I had the Cubano, which made me very happy. The pressed sandwich was overflowing with sliced ham and roast beef, making me wonder if I should ever bother with Subway again. Fries are something that would certainly lose something in transit, so getting them fresh from the fryer, seasoned with cayenne pepper, brought pleasure to this foodie who normally treats them as an afterthought.
So the struggle continues, but Dan and Johnny are fighting the good fight. And that's good news for us food fans.