February 10, 2022. Breakfast - Timberline Steaks and Grille at Stapleton Airport Dinner - Midlothian Chef’s Kitchen, Richmond, Va.

February 10, 2022. Breakfast - Timberline Steaks and Grille at Stapleton Airport   Dinner - Midlothian Chef’s Kitchen,  Richmond, Va.

We left home at 4:00 and took a 5:20 flight to Denver Stapleton Airport.

We had not eaten breakfast, so we looked for a sit down restaurant.  We soon found Timberline Steaks and Grille that had a full menu, full bar, and full table service.  I was not hungry because I had eaten an enormous amount of Chinese Stir Fried Pork and Vegetables last night.  But Suzette was starving because she had only eaten a banana.

She ordered Steak and Eggs with Country Fries.  The steak was good sized but thin and overcooked beyond the medium rare that we requested.

The eggs were fine but the Country fries were fabulous, 1/2 inch cubes sautéed to golden brown.  There was enough for us to share and I took several forkfuls with a bit of fried egg, a potato cube and a bit of steak.

Suzette ordered a Bloody Mary and I drank water.

There were several TV’s around the restaurant all tuned to the U.S. v. China hockey game.  There was no real competition.  The U.S. won 8 to 0, but it was a confidence builder for the U.S. team I am sure. 

We took a 10:30 flight to Richmond, Va. that arrived at 4:15. On the plane we ate one of the salami sandwiches I made last night with Coca Cola.

We picked up our rental car, a small Honda SUV, and drove to Midlothian Chef’s Kitchen, arriving at 5:30 in time to take advantage of its Happy Hour menu.  Suzette quickly ordered Burrata with Clementine Marmalade and Roasted Chestnut soup with bacon foam and sour dough croutons. I ordered a glass of Sangiovese Rose and Suzette ordered a Manhattan.

The appetizers were fabulous.  The creamy burrata was really creamy and perfectly complemented by the Clementine marmalade and a drizzle of olive oil.  I was served with three sautéed sourdough toast points and when we needed more bread to spread the remaining burrata on, our waitress, Ann, brought us a basket of slices of country style baguette still warm from the oven.

The Roasted Chestnut Soup was truly creative.  It was a chestnut cream based soup poured into a bowl containing a mound of bacon foam and a small pile of sour dough croutons.  I have never tasted anything remotely like it.  I can only guess that the chestnuts are local because they seemed fresh and silky smooth in the creamy soup.

We decided to split a daily special of Autumn Olive Farms Pork Schnitzel with creamy mashed potatoes and for tonight’s special served with a salad of slices of red Belgium Endive, pickled red onion, and thin julienned slices of Granny Smith apple.  The pork was pounded to a thickness of about 1/8 of an inch and battered and fried to extra crispy and served on a mound of creamy mashed potatoes.  It was a fabulous dish and a large enough portion to share.

I suggested that we drink beer with the schnitzel because there was a Vienna Lager on the Happy hour menu that was very appealing and only $4.00. So at 5:55 we ordered two pints of the lager.  It helped wash down the schnitzel that was deep fried.

The pork was white as snow and very tender.  I enjoyed bites of schnitzel with mashed potatoes and a dab of the soft creamed butter with honey served with the basket of bread.

This was the best meal we have had at a restaurant in a long time.

Chef Dunlap is a superb chef.  Here is his bio.

After dinner we drove to our hotel in downtown Richmond and rested and watched a few minutes of TV, including the Men’s Half Pipe that was won with the best by a Japanese, Ayumu Hirano, with the best score ever recorded, a 96.

Shaun White retired at the age of 35 and fifth Olympics after his fourth place finish run.  Every one congratulated him as the GOAT of half pipe, and honored the new generation of contestants.

Bon Appetit