5280 Restaurant Week in Denver, Colorado

Every year around this time in February, Denver has the 5280 Restaurant week. You and a dining mate can choose from over 200 restaurants that offer a multi-course meal for the low price of $52.80. My husband and I love this annual event. We can dine out at restaurants that we love at an inexpensive price. If you plan to come to Denver for a winter retreat and some skiing, the 5280 Restaurant week is a fantastic time to be in Colorado.

I can't possibly list all the restaurants involved in the 5280 week and their menus, but here are a few to wet your appetite over. One of the favorite eateries that my husband and I frequent is Dixon's at 1610 16^th Street, Denver, CO. It's downtown and conveniently located near the Rockies stadium, the Pepsi Center, the 16^th Street Mall and many dance clubs. The best thing about Dixon's 5280 menu is you can get a bottle of wine with your meal. This alone makes the meal very economical and delicious.

For your first course, Dixon's has four choices of a dinner salad, Caesar salad, a cup of soup or grilled artichoke. The main dishes are Ahi Veracruz, which is a yellow fin tuna with Mexican spices served with wasabi mashed potatoes, and pickled peach and cucumber salad. We have never tried this dish, but it sounds very tasty. Another main dish is the Aztec Chicken seasoned with Pico di gallo. Again, we have never had this dish, but Dixon's has fantastic food. The last main dish is a grilled rib-eye served with cheddar mashed potatoes and fire roasted vegetables. I, usually, order the Dixon's steak dinner and I am always pleased with it. It's a hearty portion of quality meat and the price is always inexpensive at $13.99.

You even get dessert with a 5280 meal. We, usually, skip dessert to keep the dining out event cheaper. It's a treat to have the dessert included in the meal. Dixon's for this year's 5280 restaurant week is a banana split for two. I recall them having more than one choice for dessert, but luckily I really like banana splits so I would enjoy this sweet ending to a fabulous dining experience.

For seafood lovers, Landry's Seafood House is apart of the 5280 Restaurant week. My husband and I have been to Landry's and the seafood is scrumptious, but very pricey. I think we spent over $100 during our night out at Landry's, so going to this restaurant during the 5280 week would be an inexpensive way to sample their coastal delicacies. You can start your meal off with the Perfect Pair, which is crab, spinach and artichoke dip and shrimp and crab fondue, which you eat with tortilla chips and seasoned bread sticks.

The main course choices are sesame crusted tuna in teriyaki butter sauce with jasmine rice, a vegetable and Landry's salad bowl or a seafood stuffed top sirloin with Landry's potatoes, a vegetable and Landry's salad bowl or a pesto salmon with sun-dried tomato cream sauce with vegetable risotto and Landry's salad bowl. The dessert is vanilla fudge glace with raspberry sauce. Everything sounds delicious, but I think my pick would be the pesto salmon. This dish sounds very yummy due to the sun-dried tomato cream sauce.

One restaurant we have never been to, but are Bronco fans is a dining place named after John Elway. He has two locations one is at the Cherry Creek Mall and the other location is downtown at 1881 Curtis Street. Oh, in case, anyone reading this does not know who John Elway is he was the quarterback for the Denver Broncos. He took the Broncos to the Super Bowl twice and they won both times. Anyway, if you go to Elway's for the 5280 Restaurant week. The first course choices are red pepper soup or a small Caesar salad or a house salad.

The main courses at Elway's are a 10 oz. prime top center cut sirloin, a farm raised salmon, a 10 oz. prime rib or roasted chicken. Your choice of sides is Yukon gold mashed potatoes, creamed corn or steamed broccoli. All the beef at Elway's is 100% USDA prime beef. You end your tasty meal with either a brownie lollipop or a Meyer lemon crème caramel. Since I have never been to Elway's I can't give you my opinion on any of these dishes or desserts. However, Elway's has been around for a number of years and I'm sure it's wonderful food since the Ritz-Carlton is the owner of Elway's.

Set your calendars for 2010 and be apart of the 5280 Restaurant week in Denver, Colorado. If you happen to be in Denver, the 5280 Restaurant week has been extended to March 6^th. Here is a listing of all the restaurants that participant in the 5280 week and their menus.