Saturday, July 26, 2014

Tocabe (Osage for Blue)

Tocabe (Osage for Blue)

So guess what? We went to Tocabe!!!

Well, it was actually a couple weeks ago now (July 19) on a random Sunday afternoon. It is in the sweet little neighborhood in the north highlands area.

Getting There

The parking was good for an urban street front. They have a nice lot off the the side of the building, so for those not in the area it made the visit very accessible. Speaking of accessible, one of has a disabled parent and it would be really easy to have them join us. No steps, complicated ramps or anything. They also had a darling patio so you can choose to enjoy your feast in indoors or out.

The Atmosphere

Tocabe definitely has an industrial look. When the place was full, it was a little noisy but nothing horrible. Take a look around though. One of the cool things about the decor is that everything has a meanning, the sliver on the ceiling and wallpaper and so on. Bottom line it has a great feel. Now for a little indelicate topic… you can tell a lot about a restaurant by its bathroom and we were pleased to find that even those out of the way places were clean and tidy.

The Eats

They offer a great menu including everything from salads, nachos, indian tacos, dessert and a kid’s menu. From what we could tell,  with the exception of the Buffalo Ribs, everything was under the ten dollar mark. We shared an Indian Fry Bread Taco with chicken and chili beans. We had it topped with the Hominy Cranberry and the Jicama Cucumber salsas, which we both agree are great! Slightly sweet, a little spicy and perfectly complimented the other ingredients. We would also recommend getting the Ancho Chipotle sauce. We ordered it on the side but after one taste we wished we got extra. In fact in one of our future trips we’re planning to try just the fry bread with the sauce.  It was that good.


We also ordered the Buffalo Ribs and the now famous Blueberry BBQ Sauce. We found the ribs to be tender and fall off the bone yummy. They were juicier than either of us expected since our common experience with Buffalo falls a little on the dry side. The side dish we chose was the wild rice. The key to this side's amazing flavor was the grilled corn.  Grilling the corn makes it sweeter and gives it a fabulous crunch.  This along with the addition of cranberries and chilies made it an amazing dish. In addition, we also got an extra side of beans and cheese.  We actually found them to be a little bland which was a bummer but wasn't a deal breaker.

To wash it all down, we chose two sodas from Rocky Mountain Sodas. Ellen picked the Pike’s Peak Root Beer and Tracy picked the Prickly Pear. Both were very tasty without being super sweet or sugary. The Prickly Pear was the winner. Don’t get us wrong, the Root Beer was really good but that Prickly Pear… still thinking about that one.

Last but certainly not least… dessert! Even though our tummies were super full we had to go for it. We chose the fry bread dusted with cinnamon and sugar and served with a side of Wojapi sauce. Let us take a moment to pay homage to the Wojapi sauce. It is similar to a strawberry rhubarb jam but not. Anyway, it is this kind of total berry yumminess.  We gobbled it up just as quickly as the taco and ribs.

The People

The service there was wonderful. They explained the options, provided their input and also let us try samples (ground bison with sage)! We’re wishing we did a better job of taking down names because those folks were great!


Summing Up

Obviously, we really enjoyed Tocabe and would recommend it to anyone looking for a casual dining option. Great for families or just a couple random crazy ladies looking for some good eats. Be sure to check out their website for more details.  We give Tocabe the coveted golden SPOON!



The Officially Unofficial Voting Legend
Take it with a grain of salt, we're not professionals.
Awesome place, we’ll shovel more food in our face!
It was okay. Not our favorite, but we’ll take another stab at it.
Didn’t make the cut.

TOCABE - An American Indian Eatery on Urbanspoon

Next Month!!!

Dinner is Coming

We are the Eaters on the Wall...


Earlier today we were driving around town talking about random stuff.   As we passed a restaurant, Tracy mentioned she had eaten there recently.   She said it was fabulous and that we should go some time. This got us talking about all the OTHER places in the city that are "must try" restaurants.  Boom.  Ideas...Inspiration...Imagination...um, other words that start with "I".   We shall make a bucket list, a list of restaurants we want to try.  Once a month, we will draw a name from our bucket, and then....we feast.  And then...we blog.

We will research the restaurant, the neighborhood, talk to the managers or owners, and of course describe the grub.

Who are we?

Well let's start first with who we aren't. We are not chefs, professional cooks, food critics, nor do we work in any way shape or form in the food/dining industry. We are two gals that have everyday, regular jobs with adventurous spirit for trying out great food. To pay the bills and fund these prospective culinary outings Ellen works as a software developer and Tracy works in the veterinary field and enjoys competitive break dancing in her spare time.  OK.  So, that last part may not be completely accurate.

Anyhoo,

Now for the first Restaurant!!!

JULY 2014

The winner is... Tocabe: An American Indian Eatery a great looking restaurant featuring Native American cuisine. We heard about Tocabe from Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and once we saw those Bison Ribs with Blueberry Barbeque Sauce we knew we had to check it out.

More to come this weekend....