November Secret Supper @ Fired Up

Another month, another fantastic secret supper. Tiffany N is leaving some BIG shoes to fill. The staff and service performed admirably, but who’s kidding, we go to these things for food! And the food totally delivered. The chefs hit this one out of the park. Fired up is a relatively new place, but it feels like an established restaurant already. I loved the really cool copper bar, and all the local beer on tap. There was some fantastic artwork all over the restaurant, especially all the sketches on the wall to the right of the entrance. A great night of food, friends, and democracy!

What a gem! I’m so happy to have gotten to try Fired Up during our secret supper. It’s a wonderful new restaurant that I’ve visited a few times since. Although the entire menu is delicious (great apps, great salads!) I really love their pizza. Their artisan pies have fresh and delicious ingredients which can sound strange (German sausage & sauerkraut) but really work!
Thanks again Unilocal and Fired Up! We had a fabulous time and discovered a new spot that we’ll be frequenting often!

I love this place! Was first introduced to them when they hosted November’s Secret Supper. I was very impressed and suggested this place for lunch the other day and was so glad I did. I found the food to be wonderful, perfect, satisfying. My only wish is that they had more wines available by the glass. The menu is straightforward with not to many options. It is divided into «small plates,» salads, pizza, and burgers and such. We split the soup of the day which was cream of tomato and a pizza, the «croque madam.» The soup came out hot, flavors perfectly balanced with slice of buttered toasted baguette. We soon both wished we had ordered our own bowl (however after the pizza came we were both satisfied). The pizza was a creation made with a cream sauce, sliced potatoes, roasted onions, prosciutto, gruyère, and sunny side eggs on top. It is supposed to come with two eggs but I think they added a third since they saw we were sharing. I usually don’t like sunny side eggs but on this pizza, AMAZING. Once again the flavors were fresh, well balanced, and satisfying. The only criticism is that we wised they had S&P on the table as the eggs could have used a little on their own but once mixed with the pizza (salty prosciutto) the balance seemed to be perfect.
The ambiance is warma and inviting. I love all the wood touches and the art is interesting. It is clean, uncluttered, and simple. Perfect for my taste. I like that you can see into the kitchen and the wood fired oven is a centerpiece of not just the kitchen but the whole restaurant. Their food is fresh, sourced local when possible, and seasonal. But totally non-​pretentious about this fact and certainly not overpriced. They are currently offering a date night. 50 $ for a bottle of wine, two small plates, and a pizza. I think would be more then enough food for two and I am so looking forward to coming back for this.

I was kind of bummed when I saw the November Secret Supper was at Fired Up. I didn’t get deep into the reviews of the place since I wanted to be surprised, but from a quick glance it looked like your typical overpriced OK pizza joint. Some creative toppings but nothing to knock your socks off.
I could not have been more wrong! This place put on one heck of a dinner.
I came with my wife and we were able to order most of everything on that evenings menu. Since I am writing this a week after the event I can not remember the proper names everything that we had I won’t try to guess. I’ll stick with generalities but you will know what I am talking about. I got the polenta and my wife got the veggie Gratin. Turns out this «if it ain’t bleeding it ain’t worth eating» carnivore loves Fired Up’s Root Gratin. Plus my wife liked the Chorizo Polenta better, arn’t we a match made in heaven?
The second course was a Salad or Meatballs. Again I ordered the meat and Claire got the salad. This time, we both agreed that I had done right. But again my meat eating ways were thrown into question as the meatball I liked better HAD NO MEAT! Well played Fired Up. I will be back and getting some kind of meat ball from here again you can count on that!
For the entrée I got the Pizza and she got the rib. Both were delightful. A big pizza and a generous hunk of meat. I think the short rib had been cooked in a slow cooker and was just about the most delightful bit of comfort food I have had in quite sometime. Give me one of those and a mountain of mashed potatoes and I would be quite the happy man.
For dessert we split the Apple tart and chocolate peanut butter dealy was decedent and everything anyone with a love of sweet and savory could ever ask for. I mean its like they knew I had a weakness for pretzels. WOW loved it.
It was also very, very cool to hear from the owner and head cheif about the local sourced food that is used in the restaurant. It really makes me like this place even more. I will return.
Overall I enjoyed this secret supper even more than the one we had at the Corner Office. And that is saying something!
Unilocal PLEASE BRING THESE BACK!!!

Fired Up got me all fired up!
I’d like to start by saying thank you to all the staff at Fired Up for a great evening. Service was a little hit or miss at times, but they handled themselves very well considering all the Unilocalers they were taking care of. It can’t be an easy task for any restaurant to serve that many people at one time.
We arrived a bit early and our fearless leader, Tiffany N, greeted us with a lovely smile and hello as she always does. She then gave us an option: to see or not to see (the election). We opted out and picked a spot in the back room. This turned out to be an excellent choice.
We sat down at a long booth-​table and were greeted by a few long-​time Yeeps and started to look at the menu. I already had an idea of what I was going to order and that didn’t change after the final once-​over.
For starters, I had the cannape which was savory and delicious. I thought the chiroizo was very flavorful, but the mousse missed the shrimp flavor. I’m a fan of polenta and it’s pretty hard to mess up unless you burn it, but this was soft and fluffy.
My choice for the second course were the «Red and Green» meatballs. I thought they were great, very tender and flavorful. The green one was stuffed with some sort of cheese and vegetable mixture and came with a pesto sauce. The other seemed to be your standard meatball that came with a smokey red sauce. I liked them both very much.
For the main dish I chose the beef short ribs. They were served with a parsnip purée and arugula. The short rib was very tender and tasty, but lacked a little salt or seasoning, and the parsnip purée didn’t taste much like parsnips to me (a good thing). Arugula is arugula, so nothing to really add there, but every paired well together and I finished the plate. The only thing I noticed, was that while my wife and I enjoyed large portions of short ribs, our neighbors were not so lucky. Their dish was a the fraction of the size of ours and I felt a little guilty.
For dessert I chose the all American apple tart and it was pretty tasty. Not bad by any means, but not mind blowing. My wife had the peanut butter and chocolate terrine. I had few bites and thought it was good, but part of it was as solid as a rock and tough to cut into.
I had a great evening with great company and even got to meet some really awesome new LA Unilocalers that just moved to Denver. They were lovely people and my wife and I really enjoyed chatting with them throughout the meal. I’m easy to please and this secret supper was on par with all the others I’ve attended.

I’m preying for the Secret Supper Clubs to come back in 2013 — I’ll be so bummed if they don’t.
This was another great Secret Supper in 2012. Unilocal has it’s way of consistently taking me to places I’ve never been, so happy to venture to new places.
Arrived right on time and opted to sit in the front with my back to the TV and partake in stimulating conversation instead. The menu was very enticing, the Unilocal way is to find fellow companions that are willing to split so you can try as much as possible and that I did. I had the pleasure of trying the entire menu with the exception of the veggie amuse bouche.
The amuse on polenta was stimulating and wet the palate for the rest of the meal. The meatballs were ginormous and delicious. I surprisingly liked the non-​meat one with the pesto, very interesting indeed. The squash salad was fresh and dressed with the light vinaigrette that complimented the entire dish. Entrees were all very good, the pizza being my least favorite (not bad just not my favorite), the Short Ribs were cooked heavenly and fell right apart with the touch of your fork, melting on your tongue. The game changer for me was the ravioli, and I gave one of my dinner companions crap for ordering all the veggie options and I was completely jealous of his dish. The ravioli was decadent, light, and scrumptious with the butternut squash purée inside with the walnut cream sauce — talk about yummy! The desserts were very nice, I especially enjoyed the chocolate and peanut butter thingy with pretzels baked in. Salty sweet is the way to go in desserts if you ask me.
Had the pleasure of talking with the owner later that evening over some more wine and he is so excited and willing to take suggestions for the menu and even on beer and wine selections — a really great guy if you have a chance to chat with him.

I always love seeing and making new Unilocal friends. Who else can you talk about food with for hours on end and make plans to eat out together soon after meeting? That was a highlight the other night.
The meal was good, highlights were the sausage pizza and chocolate peanut butter dessert. Oh, I did love the meatballs. The veggie one was really unique.
The evening’s misstep was on the service. It was like they didn’t know 40 guests were walking in at the same time. I loved that I got a drink just after sitting, but then no one came by our table for 40 minutes to take our order. And they only took our 1^st course, someone came by 5 – 10 minutes later to get the balance. It was just all strange given the meal was prefixed with options.
I think I’ll give this place 1 more try and hope the service is better.

Awesome as always! I loved this spot, the food was very tasty, and I got to share a table with some folks I normally don’t eat with, so I made a few new friends! And I got to introduce my cousin to Unilocal Life, and he loves it now!
I had a chance to talk with the owner too, who was a great guy. This was a great dinner, and I am very excited to come back and try the regular menu. Not as excited as I am for the next Secret Supper, though. I’m pretty much living for these now!

This was a great event and introduced me to another great place in Denver.
From talking to others there seemed to be varying degrees of quality and service. I was in the front section and was able to watch some of the election.
I was able to sample almost everything on the menu for last nights dinner — not the veggie amuse — which looked yummy.
I found everything very tasty. The short ribs were tender and nicely prepared. My least favorite items was the Bavarian Pizza. I expected more of a punch but the sauerkraut seemed a little muted and it stated that it had mustard on it, I didn’t taste any of that.
My favorite items were the squash salad, the meatballs, and the peanut butter dessert.
If I found myself in the area i would definitely stop back in.

I am sad to see the Secret Suppers of 2012 winding down. I hope they will be continued in 2013. The Secret Supper at Fired Up was a very nice affair. The service seemed good, and I was happy that we were not too crowded (example: 5 chairs per side of table, versus 6). I thought the chorizo and shrimp amuse bouche on crispy polenta was a bit large to be a true amuse, but it was so tasty I was more than willing to forgive that I got 4 bites out of it, instead of 1. The flavors went together well, the textures were nicely contrasting. I could have eaten a platter of these little suckers.
The bipartisan meatballs were one of my favorite items of the night. I particularly enjoyed the traditional Italian one with all its tomatoey, garlicy, flavors. But, the smell of the pesto on the veggie ball was very intoxicating. The cheese inside it was very fun, but the texture was somewhat challenging.
I had the short rib as my main course. It was fork tender, moist, and delicious. Mine was a bit fattier than those of my dining companions and I left about ¼ of it uneaten. The parsnip purée under it was a little sweet, but tasted fine. I like the leafy vegetation obscuring the rib, as it gave me something to mow through with my mouth. I also tried a slice of the Bavarian pizza and it was nice, but a bit boring. I also did not really taste the mustard. The flavors seemed more muted than Germanic. Perhaps a stronger kraut and some caraway would have tied it together?
I split desserts with Cheryl. The apple tart was nice and had some tasty ice cream, but it seemed like something I have had many times in the past. The chocolate peanut butter terrine was heavenly. The peanut butter flavor was aggressive, and the texture was silky smooth until you hit the very crunchy and salty pretzel bits. This was an excellent dessert.
I also tried both signature cocktails and thought the cherry limeade the winner based on volume and flavor. Thank you Tiffany, for maki, ng this happen.

Thanks to the folks at Fired Up and the Unilocal crew for putting on a fun event! Service was OK — they were fairly good about keeping water glasses filled and drinks coming, but it took a long time for them to take our orders (we were in the back room) and for the food to start coming out. My favorite dish of the night was the squash salad, followed closely by the vegetarian meatball. Both were delicious and I would eat them again happily. The squash ravioli, however, was a big miss for me. The pasta was good, the salad and sauce were fine, but the plain squash filling (with no seasoning) was not good. Also, the dish wasn’t hot. That is not a dish I would ever want to eat again. The apple tart for dessert was fine — I would have liked more apples and more caramel sauce, but that’s just me!

this was my first Secret Supper and it was absolutely delightful! not only was the food great, but I met some really cool new folks, as well! so lets get to the food
polenta canapé with shrimp mousse and chorizo-​this was a nice size serving for amuse bouche (i got about 5 bites out of it!) the polenta was cooked perfectly and the mousse and chorizo made great compliments to it. yumo.
meatballs-​oh my, these were really good. one was a vegetarian «stuffed meatball», filled with soft potato and cheese and battered in a nice crispy crust with delicious pesto slathered on. the meat-​meatball was awesome! the flavor was just right and the tomato sauce that accompanied was soooo good-​i spooned up all of it after the meat was gone!
short ribs with parsnip purée-​this was my darn favorite!!! the meat was über-​tender and that sweet delicious parsnip purée was too die for!
i also sampled a little bit of everything else, the pizza was great, the veggie amuse wass delicious but had some tough slivers of some unidentifiable vegetable that was difficult to chew (i still chowed it down, though!) the salad was nice and light with a great flavorful dressing, the two desserts were real nice-​apple tart and peanut butter chocolate terrine. the special drink was delicious and i had more than just the complimentary one! cherry limeade with vodka, yay! the customer service was fantastic and the chef was awesome. another highlight was socializing with some new and interesting people. i would eat here again in a minute and i can’t wait for the december supper-​i really hope they continue them in 2013!

Yet another great Secret Supper event in 2012!
FIred Up has been in my list of bookmarks for quite some time so I was excited to find out that this was where we’d be dining. The menu and service at this one rank toward the top in the list of this years Secret Suppers.
I was at a table in the very front, and we were among the first served for all 4 courses. Our server was attentive, and while there were a few long waits, I sort of expect that with a group that large and only a couple of servers.
Shaun S. and I split up the menu, so we were able to try everything. I was pleasantly surprised by the veggie amuse-​bouche. It was really tasty and presented beautifully as well. I had expected to really covet his polenta, but overall was pleased with my veggie choice. I really enjoyed the salad though they could have gone a little lighter on the dressing. The veggie meatball was also an interesting take on a traditionally meaty dish — though truth be told, I liked the meaty meatball better. The ravioli was good — I really enjoyed the salty arugula that topped the dish — it was a nice contrast to the sweet filling. The pizza was also good, though as others have mentioned it was a bit more mild than expected. And I agree with the general consensus that the short rib needed some more seasoning — it was very nicely cooked however, and I loved the parsnip purée!
I thought both desserts were well executed too — how can you go wrong with lots of chocolate and pretzels? It was great to get a chance to talk with the chef as well and hear his take on the dishes — he’s obviously very passionate about what he does and it shows in the food.
I can’t wait to go back and try this place out again. Thanks Tiffany for pulling this together!

I love the concept of Secret Suppers because I’ve met so many great new friends and have been introduced to so many new restaurants. As an added bonus, on those occasions when the restaurant opens just for Unilocalers, I feel like a rock star. And I love feeling like a rock star. I think Fired Up is a little gem. Stuck in the midst of a concrete jungle that is Bannock St., Fired Up offers up a warm & cozy retreat. The servers & staff last night were fantastic! So kind and accommodating. On food, I think Fired Up had some clear hits and, for me, only a few misses. The star of the evening was the squash salad. It was dressed perfectly and the ribbons of squash, with the field green base, was delicious. I was missing some bread (& fresh ground pepper) to really make this star soar. My main course was delicious — a hearty short rib that was fall-​off-​the-​bone tender. But again, for me, lacked seasoning. I found myself searching the table for salt & pepper. Who knew that one of the surprises of the evening would be the Bavarian pizza? Sausage and saurkraut on a pizza? Thanks to our table-​mate who offered to share I got a little taste. An interesting concept, but again, too bland for my taste. Finally, dessert missed the mark for me. I had high hopes for the best-​know dcombination of peanut-​butter & chocolate. The mousse was rich and decadent, but I couldn’t, for the life of me, cut through the crust. It was too messy on the plate to eat with my hands (which I am apt to do — I’m no prima donna), so I had to just leave it.
All in all I enjoyed my meal and was tempted by the creativity of the kitchen to go back on another occasion. Thanks, Tiffany, for another great evening exploring a new restaurant in Denver!

I really liked the space at Fired Up, but sadly I found the food to be blah. I think they may have been too ambitious to be able to serve all of us for secret supper at the same time and could have selected menu options that might have lent themselves better to the situation.
I was starving when I arrived (early). Our server quickly brought us the free cocktail for the night, which was much appreciated. After that it was quite a while until we could flag him down again to get another drink. And, though secret supper started at 7, we didn’t order food until around 7:40. Our server also seemed confused by the menu. He told me I needed to choose what type of meatball, which then confused me when both types came out. Service did improve throughout the meal, and our server was very nice, I just think the staff was a bit overwhelmed.
The food did not impress me at all. Every course really needed additional seasoning or something to give it an oomph. I opted for the canapé to start with. It was alright, but I didn’t really get any shrimp flavor in the mousse and the chorizo had no kick to it at all. Next I had the meatballs. Given the server’s confusion, I thought I would be getting balls of meat (not one that was vegetarian), so imagine my surprise when I bit into the «green» one and it was cold and mushy. The «Italian» meatball had good flavor, but it too was cold. This could have been a much better course if served warm. For my entrée I opted for the Bavarian pizza. I LOVE sauerkraut on pizza, so thought this would be a slam dunk. Unfortunately the sauerkraut lacked flavor, the sausage was bland, and there was very little cheese (which in my opinion is one of the big reasons to get pizza). My friend’s pizza was half raw (crust barely cooked, very pink sausage), which speaks to the issues Fired Up was having with getting food out properly. Lastly I had the apple tart. Not much apple. Cold once again. The ice cream was the best part. My friend’s chocolate peanut butter dessert was tasty and I liked the addition of pretzels, but it was very rich and one bite was enough for me. Even the cocktails were lackluster. The cherry limeaid was ok, but not good enough to order again. Instead I went with a Moscow Mule and it had very little flavor.
I think where Fired Up really struggled was in consistency. My pizza was cooked well (though bland); my friend’s wasn’t. One end of the table got a good sized portion of the short rib, but the guy sitting next to us got a tiny portion that was maybe 3 or 4 bites.
I like the concept and I appreciate Fired Up being willing to welcome us in. I hope that on a regular day things would be better and might be willing to try them out again if I’m in the area, but will not be running back.