You ever have one of those meals that just sticks in your memory?
Before we left for our vacation, a colleague of Leah’s clued her in to a restaurant in Winter Park where his brother used to dine when he lived there. We were looking for a place to eat one evening, and Deno’s Mountain Bistro got the nod.
The front facade of Deno’s is totally unassuming; there was a floor fan stuck in an open window providing fresh air to the overcrowded bar area when we pulled up at the curb. But Ava was ready to eat (and so were we), so there was no turning back.
The front section of the building is a bar/pub area that was indeed packed with spring breakers fresh off the slopes and assorted locals. There was a more formal dining area toward the back, and that’s where we sat.
Kevin and I ordered a couple Fat Tire Ales (on tap!) and a plate of the steamed island mussels appetizer. They were fantastic. We managed to get Rachel to try one, but Leah wouldn’t go near them for fear of fighting the garlic that was so prominent in the sauce. The Fat Tire was probably close to the perfect accompaniment to the mussels. I mentioned to Kevin at the time that it reminded me of a trip I took to San Francisco and Seattle one spring with my brother. After spending an entire day covering San Francisco on foot, we stopped at a little bar that was having a special on a plate of 12 oysters on the half shell with a pint of Anchor Steam; as I recall, we went through at least three plates of oysters and God knows how many pints of that delicious brew. I could’ve had a perfectly awesome meal at Deno’s had I just ordered another plate of the mussels, but the specialties section of the menu was calling out to me.
In particular, the JÄgerschnitzel a la Cortina sounded like a fantastic option, particularly after what we’d seen the chef do with the sauce on the mussels. It didn’t disappoint. The breading on the scallopini had obviously gotten more attention than I might’ve expected it to on such a busy evening, and the marsala mushroom sauce was earthy and flavorful. I was torn between trying to make it last as long as possible and getting it into my mouth as quickly as I could. The latter impulse won out in the end, of course, but thankfully the memory of that meal lingers still.
If you ever have cause to get out Winter Park way, do stop in and have a meal. Get there early unless you’re going in the summer.