Colorado Springs gets new swanky cocktail lounge, tapas kitchen and more | Table Talk

Jun. 14—The Manhattan Room Tapas Kitchen, 1895 Democracy Point, has opened. It's the first eatery that is part of FO4R North restaurant and bar complex by Five Times Hospitality Group. Chuck Schafer is a partner in the group and also owns Prime 25 steakhouse.

Schafer hired Phil Griffin as the executive chef for the restaurant and bar complex. Griffin, with more than 26 years of experience in fine dining, came to Colorado Springs in 2021. With his vast culinary talent, he has stepped into the spotlight with the inaugural opening menu for the Manhattan Room.

That menu is a small, tight selection of 16 small plates of shareable bites. Think marinated olives, ceviche, serrano jamón (ham) croquettes, beef tartare and roasted beets. Prices range from $8 to $19 a plate. There is an option for a build-your-own cheese and charcuterie board too. If you're looking for a bigger meal, there are five larger plates to select from including crispy pork shank ($28), cauliflower ravioli ($24), paella de marisco (seafood) ($38), 12-ounce New York strip ($48) and grilled whole fish ($42). The seafood paella was perfectly prepared with generous servings of buttery jumbo shrimp, clams and mussels. The waitress forewarned to allow 25 minutes to prepare the dish. It was worth the wait.

The swanky club experience made for a lovely, leisurely night out complete with mellow live jazz, interesting cocktails and gourmet nibbles.

Hours are 4-10 p.m. daily, happy hour 4-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Details: 719-884-2864, manhattantapas.com

Related: The remaining FO4R North restaurant and bar complex concepts to open within the next weeks include Cansano Italian Steakhouse, Longboard Tacos and Pause Ultra Lounge & Sushi.

Garden party

Colorful Colorado @ The Garden, 401 S. Nevada Ave., has popped up downtown for outdoor imbibing and nibbling through October. The space, introduced in May 2022 as The Garden, was started by Julie Nasser, who missed the beer gardens she loved when she lived in New Jersey.

Aaron Ewton, founder of Atlas Restaurant Group, bought the business and is picking up where Nasser left off with his version of the festive summer gathering spot for drinks and light snacks. You can't miss the colorful place while cruising down South Nevada Avenue. The lot is bursting with bright elements of hand-painted murals, primary-colored table and chairs with lots of greenery giving a welcoming atmosphere.

"Our summer pop-up series is inspired after our (Colorado) iconic state entry sign in both a serious and ironic way," Ewton said in a news release. "We wanted to poke fun at how drab and brown our state can be, but we also want to show our gratitude for the days when the sky explodes with color and we find ourselves day-drinking on a patio, swapping stories about the unexpected splashes of color you encountered throughout the week."

Lazlo Steele is the beverage director creating the cocktail menu and Andres Velez, chef owner of Piglatin and Anju Korean Eats, has designed the menu. The drinks have a Colorado theme like the Palisade (peaches and bubbles) and Mountain Manmosa (OJ and Colorado light lager). Food options include painted-street corn ($10), Glizzy Dawg Quad ($12), blue nacho pile ($13), loaded prosciutto bruschetta ($12) and summer lovin' watermelon ($11). Hours are 4 p.m.-midnight Mondays through Fridays, and 11 a.m.-midnight Saturdays and Sundays. Visit facebook.com/thegardencos.

Chef contests

The first week of June was a time for chefs to go whisk-to-whisk for bragging rights at two cook-offs.

— First up, on June 1 the Rocky Mountain Health Care Services Patrick Robinson's Chef Showcase took place at The Antlers, A Wyndham Hotel. Chefs and their teams were busy dishing up samples of their dishes as lines of guests used large charger plates to carry various dishes back to tables to savor. They voted for their favorites. At evening's end, the gold went to Fernando Trancoso, owner of Tepex food truck; silver was won by José Mota, owner of Mota's Best catering; and bronze was awarded to Jolhea Muhammad, owner of Lumpia Lhea's Filipino food truck.

— On June 3, The French Kitchen — Four-in-one Culinary Center, 4771 N. Academy Blvd. — celebrated its six-year anniversary with a day of specials and a chef elimination cooking contest. The five competing chefs were Andre Derrill, TFK chef instructor; Nate Potter, TFK chef pastry instructor; Eric Brenner, chef-owner of Red Gravy; Mario Vasquez, chef-owner of Colorado Craft; and Carolina Ascanio, private chef. After completing four rounds of cooking contests, the winning chef was Vasquez, who not only won bragging rights but a check for $1,000.

20 years and counting

Paravicini's Italian Bistro, 2802 W. Colorado Ave., celebrated its 20-year anniversary with Paravicini's Italian Festival, June 4, with tons of food, beer, wine and music.

June food specials

Here are a few reasons to eat out:

— Bingo Burger, 132 N. Tejon St., special Burger and Shake of the Month is the Cow-A-Bunga burger featuring the signature fire-roasted red chile-infused beef "Bingo" patty burgers, caramelized pineapple, spicy candied bacon, aged cheddar and spicy soy ginger sauce. The Shake of the Month is called the Rainbow Unicorn, which stars cotton candy ice cream, whipped cream and unicorn sprinkles. Make it boozy by adding a shot of cotton candy vodka.

— White Pie, 330 S. Nevada Ave., Pizza of the Month is the Hot Summer pie with a base of Calabrian chile and pesto and topped with mozzarella, red bell peppers, green olives, cherry tomatoes, house sausage, fresh ricotta and basil. For dessert, go for the Strawberries & Cream, which is a cannoli shell dipped in white chocolate with strawberry and poppyseed dust, filled with a whipped ricotta and strawberries.

— Dos Santos, 70 E. Moreno Ave., June's Taco of the Month is the Dos Burger Taco. It's ground beef and American cheese in a taco shell, topped with pickles, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, crispy bacon, caramelized onion, burger sauce and ketchup. There's also a special Aguachile (chile water) salsa with roasted tomatillos, white onion, roasted garlic, cilantro, roasted serrano, roasted jalapeño and red onion. Cap off the meal with the Dos Colada, with Arette Blanco (tequila), coconut cream, agave and Amaro Montenegro (Italian bitter liqueur). The cocktail is garnished with an orchid served in a sugar and coconut rim glass.

contact the writer: 636-0271.