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Denver: Osteria Marco

Cathy and I spent a very enjoyable dinner at Osteria Marco. It's located in Larmier Square, a hopping location even on a Monday evening. The restaurant has an entrance and a few tables at street level, but the main room is downstairs. It's a huge room with a big ceiling that manages to be both very inviting and not overly loud. The menu features a wide variety of Italian items: antipasti, salads, pizzas, and main courses.

We started with a cheese and meat plate that was wonderful. It's hard to pinpoint which item I enjoyed most, but the speck was very intruging and quite subtle. The plate gave us a good chance to try several items without filling us up before dinner arrived.

Cathy ordered the short rib, a truly outstanding dish. It was extremely tender and superbly flavorful. It came in a canellini bean preparation that was a great complement both in flavor and texture.

I ordered the vegetable risotto. I am always tempted when risotto is on the menu. Cathy and I agreed that this is one of the best risotto dishes we have ever tried. The vegetables were superb, with very distinct flavors and soft texture. They complemented the risotto perfectly but didn't disappear into the rice. The risotto was also the perfect combination of creaminess and toothiness.

For dessert, we tried the chocolate hazelnut cake and peach cobbler. Both were great but we agreed that the peach cobbler was the big hit. Of course, this is peach season so the peach itself was wonderful, with everything else working together very well.

Osteria Marco

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