When meeting Caroline Glover you wouldn’t guess the reserved chef and her restaurants have won numerous awards. Yet since opening Annette in February, 2017, she was named one of the 10 best new chefs in America by Food & Wine magazine and Annette gained clout as one of the 50 best new restaurants in the country by Bon Appétit Magazine. In 2022 Glover took home a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Mountain. As for Michelin Guide recognition? Well that’s not available to the city of Aurora, but if it was, we are confident she would be up there.
Despite all this, Glover has remained humble and eager to serve her customers the best seasonal fare possible at Annette, located in the Stanley Marketplace. The same can be said for Traveling Mercies, the small and sleek cocktail bar a mere floor above Annette, which opened in late 2023.
For Glover, Annette and Traveling Mercies are like night and day. For starters, the restaurant is around 1,500-square-feet and the bar runs about 400.
“It’s a drastic change in space and the way they both feel,” said Glover. “You can tell they are both part of Annette in some capacity, but I think that stems more from the flavor profiles in the food.”
Annette
Annette has a neighborhood brasserie feel, where you know you will get a beautiful and fulfilling meal with seasonal tweaks and substance staples. Dishes such as mussels with fries remain a constant, though right now you may find green fennel flavoring the broth. The steak frites also stays on the menu, but one day the salad may be a charred raddichio with miso-braised sunchokes and cashew sauce on the side.
Everything gets made in house, and Glover is known to frequent nearby farmers’ markets to pick out the best produce for the week. Right now you’ll find radish, rhubarb, golden chard, snap peas, and spring greens dotting the menu. Currently fresh strawberries also make an appearance in the desserts via ice cream, sorbet, and Strawberries Romanoff with cinnamon and Cognac.
Stop by for happy hour to try the famous Annette Burger, a 7X Ranch wagyu patty served on a housemade English muffin with a side of fries and chow chow sauce. The $20 burger is only available 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. every day the restaurant is open.
This is also a good time to get half-off select glasses of red and white wine, $10 classic cocktails, and a few other drink specials. Even if you aren’t there for happy hour, the beverage menu stands on its own, with a curated wine list and a whole line up of craft cocktails including the addictive Annette Martini, made with Leopold’s navy gin, Dolin dry vermouth, Salers, olive, and lemon oil.
Traveling Mercies
Where Annette brings in the dinner crowd, Traveling Mercies is more for a drink and a snack. Though there’s nothing wrong with making a night of it. The specialty is oysters and wine, two things we very much appreciate. Oysters, by the way, are good year round, despite antidotes stating you should only have the bivalves during months with a “ber.”
“That’s an old wives tale,” said Glover. “What is true is that there are certain areas where you want to get oysters in the summer months. The Atlantic Ocean is still chilly, so the East Coast oysters are good. There are some good West Coast oysters too, you just have to be picky what waters they come from. If you really know where your stuff comes from they are incredible.”
You can bet the chef serves the best, along with a limited menu of small plates and shareable items. Think shrimp cocktail, anchovies on a baguette with butter, and one of our favorites, the Slab Salad.
The wine and cocktail lists are another big draw. Just like at Annette, Traveling Mercies has its own martini that’s made with dry gin or vodka, oyster shell vermouth, tomato water, and house brine. Have an oyster shooter, glass of Haykin Family Cider, or one of the many spirit-free drinks. Happy hour is until 5 p.m. every day it’s open, and all day on Tuesdays, complete with $3 oysters and $12 espresso martinis.
The Takeover
Start the day out the way Glover does, at home with her family. Next, watch as the chef manages her restaurants throughout the day, running up and down the stairs between the two. Throughout the day she will be prepping for Aspen Food & Wine, where she is co-hosting a large party there on behalf of Traveling Mercies this coming weekend.
Glover helps her team start off happy hour and dinner service, and then calls it an early night. That way, she added, she can get home to tuck her toddler Franny into bed, something the chef does as often as possible.
Follow along and enter to win a $100 gift card to Annette. All you have to do is like our static Instagram post, comment, and share with friends who may not follow DiningOut Denver. Make sure you’re following our account @diningoutdnvr, and Glover’s restaurants, @annette_scratchtotable and @travelingmerciesbar.
Visit Traveling Merciest Tuesday through Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m.; Friday 4 to 10 p.m.; Saturday 3 to 10 p.m., and Sunday 3 to 9 p.m. Annette is open Tuesday through Sunday from 4:30 to 9 p.m. Both are closed on Mondays. 2501 Dallas St., Aurora, travelingmerciesbar.com and annettescratchtotable.com
