December Secret Supper @ Twelve

I’ll keep it simple.
I’ll keep it short.
These Secret Suppers are all wonderful, well organized events.
This one was a great way to end the season.
The food was so delicious, I can’t wait to go back.
Also, seeing my old and new Unilocal friends is always a treat.
This was also a great event to introduce new friends to Unilocal

I wasn’t sure what to expect of Twelve, but I was excited to dine here.
Funnily enough I’ve passed by Twelve several times, as I’m frequently downtown (at my gym) and drive down on Larimer sometimes on my way home.
Twelve is a quiet, unassuming restaurant flanked by a pawn shop on one side, so without the sign outside, it’s easy to miss. Inside, is an intimate restaurant seating, but not too cozy with your neighbors.
The dinner started right on time and we were served a special Tanteo jalapeño tequila margarita. The jalapeño scent was strong, but surprisingly was spicy or bitter in the taste of the drink, but rather it left a slow burn on the back end of the after taste, which was nice for a non-​spicy food eater, such as myself. I really enjoyed it and had two. :-)
The first course was a delicious mixed greens salad with a banyuls vinaigrette (a French vinaigrette), with beautiful watermelon radishes (which still had a bitter radish flavor). I enjoy salad, but am not always that excited to eat one. But since I’d just come from the gym, the salad hit the spot as I devoured every single bite.
The next course was the hangar steak, which was, «a delicate sear», as described by Seth G. I have never had a steak quite so rare, just a sear for color on the outside, but quite pink/​red on the inside. I was very surprised, but the steak was flavored just perfectly and was ever so tender. I couldn’t stop eating it. I am not a huge fan of mashed potatoes, and these potatoes were so smooth and buttery in texture, I became a fan. The bleu cheese coleslaw was a-​okay, until I hit some bleu cheese chunks. Yuck, but it was still good.
The third and last course, the dessert, was absolutely divine. It was a butternut squash pain perdu. It was so delicious. I was so full, but yet I kept eating. It was the perfect texture, crispy on the outside, a bit firm and heavenly taste. We also sample a cocoa Tanteo tequila, which was quite strong, but perfect to sip while enjoying the dessert.
All of our meals were perfectly timed with little to no wait between each course. Our servers were friendly and attentive throughout the night. The entire meal was delicious and I definitely want to return for another 5-​star meal.
Thanks Unilocal Denver and Twelve Restaurant.

What a wonderful place to end the Unilocal Secret Suppers for 2012. I was fortunate enough to make it to 11 out of 12 of them! We missed the brunch edition, but I’m not really a brunch eater so I wasn’t too upset.
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this last supper would be at Twelve. I’m not sure how this place has missed my radar all this time, but I’m glad the final secret supper was my chance to try it.
In true Unilocaler fashion we arrived a bit early with a huge appetite. The wonderful Tiffany N was there to greet us as usual and asked if we would mind sitting at the bar. We didn’t mind one bit and as it turned out it was a great seat to have. We were the first to be served, had nice little view of the kitchen, and we had very nice bartenders taking care of us!
We were started off with a delicious cocktail that was kind of like a margarita. Thanks to infused jalapeño tequila from Tanteo it was spicy and sweet and a great start to the evening.
I loved absolutely everything about this meal. The salad to start was wonderfully crisp and had just the right amount of dressing. It was chilled nicely and had very thin slices of veggies that gave it a perfect crunch. I know you may say, «it’s just a salad,» but this was a damn good salad. It was served with a side of soft and slightly sweet bread and butter.
The next course was a hanger steak with pureed potatoes, blue cheese slaw, and sweetbreads on the side. The steak was cooked perfectly, the pureed potatoes were creamy and delicious, and the blue cheese slaw, which I was happy to hear was made with Maytag Blue, was a perfect accompaniment with the steak. And the sweetbreads. Holy thymus! I’ve had sweetbreads many times and these were no different. They were perfectly fried, delicate, soft, creamy, and delicious. They gave us an extra side to share and I ended up eating quite a lot of them! I devoured everything on my plate, and then some, and seriously considered licking it.
The dessert course was a very nice piece of dense cake with a nice scoop of cream cheese ice cream and honey. With the surprise addition of cocoa infused tequila, it was a perfect finish to a wonderful meal.
All of this couldn’t have been accomplished without a wonderful staff. The service was great and they were very accommodating to all of us and seemed to be having fun as well.
I’d like to thank our awesome CM Tiffany N for putting together such a wonderful year of Unilocal Secret Suppers. I hope the idea sticks around because I’d love to go to more of these.

What a finale to the Secret Suppers! I’m sad they’re coming to a close, as the concept was an absolutely awesome idea. Fortunately I was able to be a part of this fantastic evening.
First time to Twelve, and I have to say this is a really neat space. Well designed, warm, and cozy. Paired with great company and this event felt like a wedding reception — joyous and warm. I’m putting this place down as a future date place.
We were first served a tequila drink, very similar to a margarita but a bit more complex in flavors. The jalapeño infused tequila from Tanteo provided a little hint of spice on the back end, which was perfect. Our first food venture was a mixed vegetable salad that was nice and fresh. I liked how they shaved the veggies, which seemed to open up the flavors and give a crisper texture.
That was all fine and dandy, but holds no water to what came next. Our main course was hanger steak, which I’ve never had before (look it up… it has an interesting bio). This was one of the most flavorful and perfectly cooked pieces of meat that I’ve ever had in my life. Perfectly seasoned with salt and pepper on the outside, and cooked rare/​medium-​rare inside — this was art. Trying to put it into words does no justice… you just have to have it in order to appreciate it. As if that wasn’t enough, the steak was paired with sweetbread (don’t look it up… just eat it and enjoy) which was crispy on the outside, but dense and rich on the inside — I’m sure glad I tried it because it was delicious. Oh, and they also made a bleu cheese coleslaw. Quite frankly, all coleslaw should be made with bleu cheese crumbles, because then I’d eat it. Delicious!
More? Yes there’s more! Pain perdu with brown butter sauce and cream cheese ice cream more! Why have I never seen cream cheese ice cream before?! Society needs this. Society also needs the little shot of Tanteo Cocoa tequila we were surprised with, as everyone would be so much happier. Wow, this is one nice sipping tequila. The cocoa was a nice accent rather than the main show, which was perfect and not overwhelming. This was a hug in a shot glass.
My apologies for the novel, but magic cannot be described in short order. I’m sad the Secret Suppers have come to an end, but so lucky to have been involved. Hopefully they’ll come back one day. Thanks Tiffany, Twelve, and Tanteo for one heck of a dinner night.

If the steak would not have been one of the best cooked steaks of my entire life, this would have easily gotten 3 stars. But that steak! Cooked to perfection and only necessitating a butter knife to cut through. I also enjoyed the sweetbreads, salad, and dessert, which was a phenomenal pain perdue.
One of the main drawbacks to the event itself in my opinion was the seating, as the tables were really close to one another, not leaving too much room for people to get by. I ended up taking a vicious elbow to the back of the head from one of the waiters that was serving the table behind me. The service was attentive, but my wife’s vegetarian meal came fairly late, as I was almost done with my meal by the time she got hers (and we were not the first to get served).
The blue cheese slaw was also a huge miss, and I feel that serving such a polarizing thing like blue cheese probably effected half the people’s enjoyment of the meal. And placing it on top of the potatoes ended up overpowering that side dish for me as well. I also think that serving the steak (while good) was a bit of a cop out for the restaurant, as this month’s other offerings included things like duck, pork, and monkfish, which could have made for a more interesting dinner.
The cocktails were great if you like tequila, and it was nice to have someone from the company there to talk about the product.
I hope that these dinners continue in the future as we’ve just moved to Denver and have only been to the last 2!

this was my second «secret supper» and was a fantastic time all around, i am sad to see them coming to an end.(Yelp, please find a way to keep these up in 2013!!! PLEASE!) the menu was nice and solid, a nice drink from the makers of Tanteo Tequila, a delicious large salad, sweetbreads, a nice steak, delicious potato purée, and a super fun bleu cheese slaw that complimented the dish quite well. oh the desert (which is usually my least favorite part) was divine-​the Pain Perdu was no pain at all, it was lovely along with that decadent cream cheese ice cream. the staff was amazing and über-​accommodating, high five guys! the company at my table was so much fun, and we all had an awesome time. Thanks strongly go out to Tiffany and Kelly, great job on these suppers, they were so much fun! and for Twelve-​i shall return for that $ 38.00 prixe fixe menu you offer Tuesday through Thursday?!

This was yet again another fabulous Secret Supper! I’m super bummed to hear they will not be a monthly occurrence next year!
I enjoyed everything about the meal with the exception of the after dinner drink — it was very overpowering to me and would have been better if served with food. The bread was delicious and the salad was a good size and flavorful (I could have used a little more of the yummy dressing, but I like lots of dressing). The highlight of the meal for me was the main course. I really appreciate that the folks at Twelve presented a thoughtful and composed vegetarian entrée. It was a delicious plate of food! The pan purdue with cream cheese ice cream was also delicious and the perfect end to the meal. The service all night was also top-​notch and our dining companions were fabulous. I thoroughly enjoy these events and hope they will make a come back in 2013!

I was so happy to learn we would be dining at Twelve. It’s been on my to-​eat-​at list for a long while.
The cocktail served was so good and if dinner hadn’t been on a Monday and I wasn’t driving I would’ve ordered another one.
The salad was one of the best I’ve ever had. I loved the shaved veggies and dressing. It was a very generous size too.
The main course, hanger steak, was good, but mine was overcooked and I didn’t want to be the one to send it back. Others at my table had med-​rare steaks. The cole slaw with blue cheese was the best I’ve ever had. It puts anything from the super market to shame. I also tried the fried sweet breads– 1^st time I’ve ever had sweet breads. Wasn’t really my thing. Maybe it was a texture issue.
And lastly, the dessert was so good.
I left happily filled to the brim.

YES! If this has to be the final Secret Supper, than I shall forever cherish this experience through my bitter tears of yearning for the days of dinner past.
Twelve was great night all around. There was lots of space, so many of the great people I enjoy sharing a meal with, and I do not exaggerate when I say this is one the best meals I have ever had in my life. In fact, I didn’t want it to leave my body.
This was a perfect way to close out the Unilocal year, I will miss these dinners but I have no doubt that our favorite ladies will have plenty of new surprises for us in 2013. Cheers and thank you for fantastic evening!

In Mathematics, «Twelve is a sublime number, a number that has a perfect number of divisors, and the sum of its divisors is also a perfect number. Since there is a subset of 12’s proper divisors that add up to 12 (all of them but with 4 excluded), 12 is a semi-​perfect number.»
In many ways, this sums up my dining experience last night. The dinner was, indeed, sublime. It seemed to have the perfect number of components, and these components added up to a harmoniously semi-​perfect meal. We started with a tequila based cocktail with aggressive flavors and a slow burn. My esophageal tract was all aglow after imbibing this libidinous libation. I thought the salad was a nice way to start the meal (no surprise there). As someone who typically avoids radishes, I found the large slices of watermelon radish to be a bit imposing, but they certainly brought color and texture to the dish.
The main course truly was the main attraction. Let me start by talking about the sweetbreads. Yes, I know these are a part of critters that many of us might not normally eat. And, I have heard that these are probably historically referred to as sweet (since the thymus is sweet and rich-​tasting) as opposed to savory-​tasting muscle flesh (like steak). Furthermore, I could not help making a couple jokes about what we were about to eat when these arrived. However, my sweetbreads were piping hot, with a crispy breading, and a creamy interior. These truly were a perfect counterpoint to the rich, beefy, well-​marbled hanger steak that I could not seem to get enough of. My mash was like velvet and I regret I did not have a whole plate of it that I could rub my face into. The slaw provided great crunchy texture and acidity. Mine was a bit heavy on the blue cheese, but it did provide a nice, salty element.
I expected that I would somewhat like the Pain Perdu, but I really, really enjoyed it. The soft interior, surrounded by the exterior crust, with a nice, rich ice cream on the side, was a wonderful way to end the meal. Although I sampled (consumed) the «Choco-​Quila» at the end, I wish I had not, as it was a bit overwhelming to my palate at this point.
I am so sad to see the monthly secret suppers ending and I hope they continue (in some form) in 2013. Thanks, Tiffany and Kelly, for making this happen. I would also like to give a final shout out to our resident Unilocal photographer (Hunter) who has been at many events so far this year. He is always fun to be around, and was an excellent dining companion as well.

This was an absolutely fabulous event. However, it might have been more appropriate to have it at Bittersweet as this marks a milestone for 2012 — This would be the last Secret Supper.
[A moment of silence please]
This makes me a very sad panda. I have enjoyed the Secret Suppers this year. I was able to make it 11 of the 12 (missed the vegetarian one). All were wonderful and it was an honor to be part of this ground breaking and experiment called the Secret Supper. No other city does this kind of events. Why? Because we have Tiffany, That’s Why!!!
She puts her heart and soul into each and every event that she plans and I’m glad that she is being recognized for her efforts and moving to a higher power in Unilocal.We will be getting a new CM and hopefully once they get their footing this is one thing they will bring back to the Denver Community or at least a Quarterly SS.
Twelve is a place that has been on my must do list for awhile. I have had Chef Jeff’s food but not in his restaurant. I’m sure he could serve his food on a napkin in the back alley and it would still be amazing.
The staff was amazing and took really good care of us.
Twelve offers a three course tasting menu every week Tuesday through Thursday for $ 38 and the menu changes every month. I will definitely be back to try more of the phenomenal food that this restaurant has to offer.
And with that this comes to mind:
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne ?
CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

I should have figured it out sooner. Twelve was one of my hopes/​guesses for at least one of the Secret Suppers earlier in the year. I should have known that the twelfth Secret Supper could only happen at Twelve.
I have been wanting to try Twelve for a while now and I was so happy to do that with a bunch of Unilocalers at our own private affair. The restaurant is cozy and intimate and the kind of place I will visit again, especially since Twelve has so many different menu options throughout the year. Our service was excellent as well.
Our evening began on the right note with a sweet and slightly spicy tequila based cocktail courtesy of Tanteo Tequila. Our server said that it did not have a name. I sipped on mine as slowly as I could but it was something I definitely could have sucked down and ordered another (or two).
Chef Osaka chose three outstanding courses for us, all of which appear on the current menu. Our starter was a lovely salad of baby lettuces, watermelon radishes, herbs, parmesan, and banyuls vinaigrette (from France, ooh la la). The flavors were amazing and the portion was quite large.
I appreciated the fact that our entrée was the most expensive option on the current menu. The hanger steak was cooked perfectly, cut easily with a butter knife, and practically melted in your mouth. The yukon gold potato purée was absolute heaven. The blue cheese slaw was not my favorite because I don’t really like blue cheese, but I do like hot sauce and the purple cabbage was fresh and crispy. I tried the crispy sweetbread and… now I have tried sweetbread.
Our dessert was a decadent roasted butternut squash brioche pain perdu with brown butter and a side of cream cheese ice cream. Oh. My. Goodness. It was rich and creamy and simply delicious. We were also treated to Tanteo Tequila’s cocoa tequila as an digestif. It took me a while to work my way through the drink but the cocoa smell was wonderful and I got used to the jalapeño tequila flavor after a few sips.
Thanks so much to Chef Osaka and everyone at Twelve for such a delightful meal. Thanks also to Tanteo Tequila for the tasty libations. And last, but never least, thank you to Tiffany and Kelly for another fantastic evening. This has indeed been a fun year of secret dining!

An excellent last Secret Supper Club.
Twelve really put on an outstanding event. Great location nestled next to some great pre and post drink hot spots.
Service was impeccable! Salad, Steak, and Pan Purdue — could it get any better? Yes, why is could, sweet breads with creamy mashed potato and cream cheese ice cream for dessert. Better? Why yes it was, Chocolate tequila for dessert — heavenly. Jalapeño infused tequila for the meal — heat hitting the back of your throat offering a nice lingering taste.
Great Unilocal company, new and old friends alike. Way to end the Secret Supper Clubs with a bang. I really think Denver Unilocal needs to consider keeping these around. Tiffany and Kelly — as always a top notch event.