Food–e-mail

No one sends me emails with the joke of the day or angel wishes that I am required to forward to 10 friends and then something good will happen in 10 minutes. Instead, my friends email me weekly Durango dining specials….  From me to you, here are my favorites for the month of January. If you find your own favorite, please let me know. Bon appétit.

Cyprus Café: Tapas menu on M-Th nights from 5pm -6pm.  It’s a great value.  $10 choose 3 tapas/wine from the menu.  Guests on the mailing list get 2-4-1 specials.

Oh Fudge!  Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory: Buy 1 lb Fudge and get a free Plain Caramel Apple

Edgewater Grille at the Doubletree Hotel

Family Night:  Every Sunday from 5p-10p; a 3 course meal for $15 and children 6 and under eat free.  Plat du jour: Monday through Saturday a featured 3-course meal ranging from $19-$25.

Friday Night Seafood Buffet at the Sky Ute Casino. Dine on crab legs, a variety of seafood dishes (chicken and beef too), side dishes, a fresh salad bar, homemade soups, I LOVE THIS: a kid’s only buffet, and desserts!

Moore’s A Gate at the Stairs

For some of us, there’s nothing quite like curling up with a really great read after a day of playing in the snow.  Long winter nights, or even chilly days by the fire, create just the right excuse for digging deep into a new book.  I recently read Lorrie Moore’s A Gate at the Stairs—listed in the New York Times as one of the 10 Best Books of 2009, * and loved, loved, loved it.  Moore, mostly known as a short-story writer, brings us twenty-year-old Tassie Keltjin, a college student on winter break in the Midwest, looking for work.  She finds it as a nanny for a quirky white couple who have adopted a black baby girl.  Beautifully written, A Gate at the Stairs tackles big issues—racism, family, love and war–with humor, grace and wisdom.  On my bedside table now?  The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow (due out February 16)**.  Flying through it, curled up under a warm blanket.   Stop by Maria’s Bookshop to ask me or any of my well-read colleagues for more recommendations of books we love!  We’re at 960 Main Avenue from 9:00 to 9:00 every day, or at www.mariasbookshop.com day or night, whatever the season.