After the plunge was over, the Coffin Races began.  In this event, teams of seven people race through an obstacle course as quickly as possible.  Two teams race at a time, with six of the participants carrying a homemade coffin through the course, while another person rides in the coffin.  It was an exciting event to watch.  From there we stopped for some pizza and headed back to the main (perhaps only) street in town.  Here we stumbled upon Ice Turkey Bowling.  For $5 a person, you could take three turns launching an originally frozen turkey toward six bowling pins.  As this even went on it became increasingly disgusting.

Many in our group also attended last years trip to the ski joring event in Leadville.  So for us, this was just another of those crazy events that happen in the various little mountain towns of Colorado.  More information on the Frozen Dead Guy and the festival is available on Wikipedia, for those interested in learning more.  Below are some pictures I took while enjoying the festivities.

Anyway, back to our dining out experience on Saturday night.  We decided late in the evening to go out for dinner and after tossing around some of the usual suspects, I suggested we try India’s Pearl.  I quickly made a reservation at OpenTable and we were on our way down to the restaurant.  It’s a very quick drive from our house, so we arrived just before our scheduled reservation time. The restaurant said that they hadn’t received my reservation, but we were seated right away. I only made the reservation 10 or 15 minutes earlier. We were seated at a table against one of the front windows.

Our server arrived soon enough to take our drink order and to drop off the complimentary appetizer. We also ordered a vegetarian sampler appetizer, as it was our first time there. The Samosa’s (fried dough filled with spicy potatoes and peas) were really good, as were the vegetable Pakora (seasoned vegetables dipped in gram batter, then fried to perfection). The Paneer Pakora was a little bland though, which is the same as the vegetable pakora but with homemade cheese instead of vegetables. For entrees we had the vegetable curry and chicken Tikka Masala. Both were very good, though the curry was a little different than expected, as we are used to Thai curries. Overall, I would definitely go back to taste more of Denver’s best Indian food.

Three of us split the largest pizza they had, while one of our friends decided he wanted some meat and ordered a meatball sandwich.  The wait for the food wasn’t long, and the pizza arrived hot and fresh from the oven.  Overall I would say that it’s a very good pizza.  It reminded me a little bit of LaRosa’s back in Cincinnati, but that may have just been because of the crust along with the way it was sliced.  Overall, it was a good experience despite our higher expectations.  I believe that they should stay open even later than they already are, as the restaurant could capitalize on all the hungry people emptying from the many neighboring bars.

DIERSING Lucille (nee Vetter), beloved wife of the late Elmer Diersing, dear mother of Jim (Susan) Diersing, John (Diane) Diersing, Mary (Chuck) Hais, Jerry Diersing, Carol (Joe) Ransick, Joe Diersing, Jay (Denice) Diersing, Betty (Mike) Tepe and Jeff (Sarah) Diersing, dear friend of Maury Drummey, grandmother of 27, great-grandmother of 7, sister of the late John Vetter and Betty Nolte. Died Saturday, March 06, 2010 age 84 years. Visitation will be held at Bayley Place Wednesday 12 noon until time for the Mass of Christian Burial at 1 PM. Burial St. Joseph Old Cemetery. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 4420 Carver Woods Drive (45242) or to Bayley Place, 990 Bayley Place (45233). Condolences may also be expressed to the family online at www.rebold.com.

• olive oil
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 6 cloves garlic, slivered (I used minced)
• 1 cup light cream (I used heavy whipping cream)
• 6 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
• 16 ounces frozen young peas, blanched
• 2 jars marinated artichoke hearts (I used 1 regular size can)
• lemon juice to taste (I didn’t use any)
• salt and pepper to taste
• cayenne to taste
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 1 pound fettuccine, cooked and strained

In a deep saute pan, heat three tablespoons of olive oil and add chicken.  Sear until golden; remove from pan.  Once you are able to handle the chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces.  Lower heat and add more olive oil if necessary.  Add garlic and cook until lightly golden.

Add chicken, cream, and goat cheese to the pan and simmer until chicken is cooked through.  Add peas, artichoke hearts, lemon juice to taste, sale, pepper, and cayenne.  Add Parmesan to desired consistency.  Add cooked pasta to the pot and combine all ingredients.  Serve additional cheese on top.

When they arrived, I immediately noticed that the one that had the Hearty Marinara Sauce actually said Original Sauce on the box.  I was thinking that both sauces would be new, and was therefore disappointed.  But I decided to turn the situation into my own taste test.  I started on the pizza with the New Robust Tomato Sauce and immediately thought that it tasted just as I had remembered Domino’s to taste, rather bland.  After a slice from the new I moved to the Original Sauce and immediately was struck by how awful it was.  So they have managed to improve their pizza, though I still don’t think it’s as good as the other chains.  The one thing that I did like was the new garlic butter that is brushed on the crust edges.  It helps enhance the flavor of the rather boring crust, though it can be a little messy.