Page 8 - April 2015 Dining Guide

Each month, The Connection features a restaurant that the editorial staff feels good about recommending to our readers in our “Spotlight on Food” section. Sometimes the places are fancy, other times they’re strictly jeans and flip-flops kind of places. Sometimes they’re independently owned and other times they’re part of a chain. Usually they’re close to home, but we might recommend a bit longer drive if we think it’s worth the time it takes to get there. The unifying factor is that they’re always places that we enjoy and hope you will too.Choosing a restaurant is a serendipitous process. Sometimes a member of the staff has enjoyed a place and suggests we write about it. Other times, a reader will mention a place to us and we’ll give it a try. Occasionally, something pops upin a Facebook feed or other social media, and that piques our interest enough to give it a shot. Or, a resident in the community may own the restaurant and we want to support our own.Once a location has been selected, our food editor goes to the restaurant, unannounced, to dine. If the food or the experience is not a pleasant experience, that’s the end of it; you won’tread about it here. If everything goes well, however, we take copious notes and sometimes even photos of the meal. As a follow up later, we contact the restaurant and speak with the owner or executive chef to get their take on what makes their establishment a good place to eat.And while a write-up in our restaurant spotlight is often really good publicity for a restaurant, it’s not advertising. A restaurant cannot pay to be featured, and there is no charge to the restaurant once they’ve been selected. (Restaurants do sometimes elect to advertise with us after seeing the response they get from our readers based on being included here, so thanks for being such a responsive audience!)We hope you enjoy the restaurants we have featured. Please e-mail Editor@castlepinesconnection.com if you have feedback or suggestions for future spotlights!8 The Connection Food & Dining advertise@castlepinesconnection.comFoods that are fresh and tasty naturally change with the seasons and there’s a restaurant in town that follows the same trend. Every 90 days, a new menu is unveiled at Seasons 52 in Lone Tree, with selections that feature the best of what’s available and showcase innovative, seasonal tastes. This month, for instance, the chef switched from a maple-chili glaze on the roasted half chicken and will now offer a roasted half chicken with a honey- herb glaze, just right for spring.“A lot of our favorite selections stay the same from season to season,” said Carolyn Petersen, sales manager for Seasons 52 in Lone Tree. “We take those favorites and tweak them though, changing the seasoning and the side dishes to reflect what’s fresh and available.”That focus on new and inviting flavors is evident throughout the menu, with choices ranging from caramelized sea scallops to oak-grilled filet mignon. And although the choices seem indulgent, not a single selection on the menu exceeds 475 calories. By employing healthful cooking techniques including brining, oak grilling and brick oven cooking, chefs amplify great flavor without adding unneeded fat and calories.“We focus on seasoning and spices,” said Petersen. “We don’t even have a fryer on the premises.”Celebrate the seas By Lisa Crockett; photos by Cindy Cranstone and courtesy of Seasonso 5