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Colorado Springs Best Waitstaff...........Gazette 2006

Colorado Springs Best Fine Dining ...Gazette 2005

Colorado Springs Best Chocolate Desserts ...Gazette 2005, 2006

Best Waitstaff/Fine Dining ... Gazette, Go! Choice, 2002

Colorado Springs Independent

"The digs are beautiful: two rooms oozing class, with stylish colors, tasteful linens and artistic flower arrangements. All of this sets the stage for the kind of fine dining experience Iser wants to offer. Our first foray into the menu didn't disappoint. One glimpse of chef Greg Champagne's scallop appetizer makes it clear why the good people of the James Beard Foundation decided to honor him as one of America's great regional chefs. Three immaculately fresh and perfectly seared jumbo sea scallops sat side by side on top of three accompaniments spread across a long, glass rectangle. One rested atop a subtle butternut squash risotto, and another astride an unusual eggplant caponata, The third scallop, and the showstopper here, reclined atop a luscious lobster salad. Chilled and a bit tangy, the salad combined with the scallop in a symphony of contrasting and complementary flavors, textures and temperatures. Without reservation, we agreed it was the finest bite of scallop we'd ever had the privilege of eating. Without doubt, Walter's is one of the finest restaurants in Colorado Springs"

December 28, 2004
Walter's Wonders
By Tom Karpel, The Gazette

At great risk of being accused of bandwagoning, let me get this out of the way quickly: Walter's Bistro is as fine a restaurant as you're going to find anywhere.

If you think it's the job of critics to nitpick even greatness, forget it - it can't be done. The only complaint I could have had was rendered moot when Walter's moved from that awful Eighth Street location to the digs in the Country Club Corners plaza.

That new building is charming inside, with walls and ceilings painted in a warm faux-finished beige. A gas log fireplace silently blazes on one wall, knocking the chill out of crisp win- ter evenings.

The menu does its share of warming you up as well. Besides the standard appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts, there's a tempting list of tastings (also called tapas at some places), which allow you to experience chef Greg Champagne's creativity on the cheap. In fact, you could come here and have a glass of wine and a couple of tastings for about $15.

If you're in a dense pasta mood, try the Potato Gnocchi Tasting ($4). In Italy, these diminutive potato and flour dumplings have descriptive regional names such as “priest strangler,” “little mice,” and “knucklehead,” but at Walter's you'll probably eat them so fast you'll forget to name them.

Perusing the list of entrees is an exercise in frustration because you feel the undeniable certainty that they're all going to be fantastic, but you can only eat (and afford) one. My advice is simple: Order plates everyone in your party likes and share, share, share.

I hope one of your companions will like fish, because the Citrus and Pepper Crusted Red Snapper ($24) is not to be missed. It's a big, juicy block of a fillet that's not washed overboard by any heavy sauce or salty spice rub. Equally tasty but on the other end of the finned spectrum is the Pineapple Glazed Blue Marlin ($24), which, with its drier, stiffer texture, is decidedly more steaklike than the snapper.

Even more steaklike is the Grilled 10-ounce Bone-In Filet Mignon ($32). One of my companions ordered this mediumwell, and it still was superbly tender and flavorful. The wild mushroom and bleu cheese bread pudding that accompanies the filet is reason enough to order the dish, a fact that proves the kitchen staff does not overlook details.

Fine dining such as this should be accompanied by capable wines. Walter's wine list is fairly populated, in price and region, so don't be afraid to look it over. A good low-price choice would be the Valley of the Moon Syrah for $28. It's a fruit-forward, rich red that is less astringent than a cabernet or a pinot noir but is not oak-y like a merlot.

By the way, the wait staff here was exemplary. We were furnished several times with extra utensils so we didn't have to sully our entrees with our appetizer and salad forks, our wine glasses were refilled in a timely manner, and the staff had an overall level of professionalism you don't see every day. I eat out a lot - trust me on this one.

Also trust me when I say chocolate was created solely for our hedonistic pleasure. Forget all that media madness about antioxidants, hydrogenated oils, saturated fats, blah, blah, and go to this restaurant and order the Dark Chocolate Trio ($9). This dessert is the earthly manifestation of a Higher Power. Also, it's small enough to actually finish after the first three courses, which is a real plus.

This is a family newspaper, so I won't eroticize these pages with the tawdry details, such as the little soufflé cake with the dark chocolate sauce spilling out of it, the chocolatemint liqueur in the edible chocolate shot glass, or the . . . oh, so sorry. This dessert, like Walter's experience overall, will carry you away. Enjoy.

WALTER'S BISTRO

Tom's Take: From the extensive selection of starters to the meaty and exquisite mains to the comprehensive wine list to the beautiful array of desserts to the fine service . . . just go already!

Silly martinis put to shame by new drink at Walter's
By Teresa Farney, The Gazette

To serious gin and vodka drinkers nothing seems more ridiculous than sillytinis. You know, lemon drop this or sour apple that.

For a real eye-opener and conversation starter, check out the Black Martin ($8) being served at Walter's Bistro, 146 E. Cheyenne Mountain Blvd. It has nothing to do with chocolate. It's vodka that is a stunning jet black in the bottle and when shaken (never stirred) with ice, gets an exotic, deep olive green shade. It still looks black in the tall stemmed martini glass, but when the light catches the edges of the beverage you pick up a hint of green. The fun doesn't stop with the color. The texture is smooth as velvet with a flavorful floral finish. The bartender garnishes this remarkable drink with two colossal olives jam-packed with excellent blue cheese. Walter Iser, the owner, orders the Blavod Black Vodka, distilled in the United Kingdom, online and has it sent overnight to keep it in stock.

After warming up your evening with a black-tini, move into a cozy booth in the dining room where Chef Greg Champagne will wow your taste buds. He is in the process of revamping his menu, but we hope he keeps the Coriander Rubbed Halibut ($23) for a while longer. He modestly calls this dish a Southwestern seafood stew. It's a big fat piece of halibut perfectly sauteed, perched atop a mixture of shrimp, lobster claw meat and a few mussels in a kicked-up spicy cream sauce. The combination of flavors is one of the best we've tasted in a long time.

With dishes such as this seafood creation it's no wonder Walter's Chef has been tapped to cook at the James Beard House in New York on June 22. He's been working on that menu, too. He's thinking of offering a collection of passed hors d'oeuvres including: tempura petite lobster tails with spicy peanut dipping sauce (one of our favorites on his current menu, $13); duck breast with papaya and pink peppercorn sauce; citrus and peppered shrimp on a crispy wonton; and seared foie gras sushi-style.

Next up will be Ahi Tuna Menage A Trois (tuna done three ways - sesame seared, sashimi style and poke with cucumber slaw). The salad will be Roasted Squab Breast on bib lettuce with chanterelles, crispy prosciutto, grape tomatoes and sherry vinaigrette. The third course will be Pan Roasted Chilean Sea Bass with truffled potato gnocchi and Maine lobster. For the entree he will feature Roasted Colorado Lamb Rack with wild mushroom and blue cheese bread pudding. Dessert will be Dark Chocolate Espresso Roulade with malted milk chocolate wafers and cappuccino mousse.

Lunch items are less expensive and less expansive. Dinner items like the lemon sole, rib-eye steak and pork tenderloin appear at lunchtime but in simpler preparations. There are lots of salads (I recommend the Salmon Nicoise) and a small variety of sandwiches.