Alex Seidel

Fruition Comes to Fruition

Full on Fruition

Full on Fruition

Fruition Comes to Fruition

The food trends--or lack thereof-- in 2009

"Value." "The economy." "No new concepts." "Staying open." I talked to four of the top chefs in the state (and possibly the western United States) and asked each of them about the top Colorado food trends of 2009. I wanted to share their bold predictions, like "the new hottest ... More >>

Frank Bonanno up for James Beard Award as Outstanding Restaurateur

The James Beard Foundation has just released the semifinalists list for its 2009 restaurant and chef awards. And Frank Bonanno -- of Mizuna, Luca D'Italia and Osteria Marco (and now Bones, which opened at the very end of December) fame -- is one of twenty people up for Outstanding Restaurateur.No Co ... More >>

Beard House Blues: One Colorado finalist

It was a rough year for Colorado chefs (and writers) in this year's James Beard awards.  The finalists were announced this morning -- and our white jackets just got spanked. A handful of Coloradans had made the semi-finalists list. Frank Bonanno (above) got tapped for Best Restaurateur. Yasmin ... More >>

TV or Not TV

Another star turn for Ian Kleinman.

À La Minute

The kitchen magicians of Fruition.

Fruition

Denver’s best new restaurant just gets better.

Room Service

Limón grows with its reputation.

Change of Plans

Say so long to Rollie Wesen and Somethin' Else.

Tomorrow: Pig out to benefit Fruition Farms

Lori Midson​As you already know from spending every second of your spare time immersed in the Cafe Society blog, Alex Seidel, exec chef-owner of Fruition (1313 East Sixth Avenue), recently bought a ten-acre farm in Larkspur, where he's producing vegetables and fruits, raising goats and chickens an ... More >>

Cafe Society: Week in review

Lori MidsonLobby American Grille opened to big crowds on Friday, September 25.​ What you might have missed this week on Cafe Society while getting your free jolt of instant java at Starbucks: A second outpost of Toast, the kick-ass pancake palace, took up residence in the former Village Inn ... More >>

Down on the farm with Fruition's Alex Seidel

Lori MidsonFruition Farms​ Talk about green energy! For a slide show of Fruition Farms, Alex Seidel's ten-acre parcel of land in Larkspur, click here. Seidel is also the chef-owner of Fruition, at 1313 East Sixth Avenue, and the subject of this week's Chef and Tell interview.

Cooking Light does Denver

Look for Denver in the January Cooking Light.​The January issue of Cooking Light features Denver, "once left off the culinary map for its admittedly tired take on cowboy cuisine," the magazine advises, but "catching up to food trends fast." For proof, it name-checks chef Alex Seidel of Fruiti ... More >>

Happy National Bean Day! How to celebrate, Colorado-style

​Yes, you heard right: This is National Bean Day, an unofficial but dedicated span of 24 hours to all things bean. While an odd website that celebrates these hallmarks of food does not specify what type of bean, we suggest the following culinary regimen to celebrate the bean here in Denver, ... More >>

Local restaurants step up to help out Haiti

Left to right: Max Mackissock, Jennifer Jasinski, Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, John Broening, Alex Seidel, Blake Edmunds and Travis Vaughn​Two very different restaurant fundraisers this week bought a literal boatload of help for Haiti. First up: The $125-a-head, six-course meal at Rioja on Monday n ... More >>

Wynkoop Brewing Co. celebrates beer and cheese with Kegs & Curds

​Tomorrow from 1 to 4 p.m., Wynkoop Brewing Company, 1634 18th Street, presents Kegs & Curds, a tribute to beer-and-cheese pairings which seem to have suddenly become rather popular. There will be samples of 25 Colorado, U.S. and Belgian beers thoughtfully paired (by the brewers) with twenty g ... More >>

Fruition's Alex Seidel named a Food & Wine magazine Best New Chef

Lori Midson​Just minutes ago, Food & Wine magazine released the names of the country's Best New Chefs for 2010, and Alex Seidel, executive chef/owner of Fruition, earned one of the ten coveted spots. Bryan Moscatello, the former exec of the long defunct Adega Restaurant and Wine Bar, was the ... More >>

Oak Tavern's Jeremy Roosa plays with sharp knives, ballyhoos the virtues of acidity, boohoos iceberg lettuce and sings the praises of the spatula

Lori Midson Jeremy Roosa, exec chef of the Oak Tavern ​Jeremy Roosa Oak Tavern 1414 Market Street 303-888-0655 www.oaktaverndenver.com "I dress like a clown, I play with food, fire and sharp knives, and they pay me. Does it get any more fun than that?" asks Jeremy Roosa. The executive chef o ... More >>

Part two: Ya Ya's Aaron Whitcomb on temper control, the phenomenon that's Alex Seidel and becoming the food critic for Westword

Lori Midson Aaron Whitcomb​ Aaron Whitcomb YaYa's Euro Bistro 8310 East Belleview Avenue, Greenwood Village 303-741-1110 www.yayasbistro.com This is part two of my interview with Aaron Whitcomb. To read part one of that interview, click here. Six words to describe your food: Playful, class ... More >>

Part two: Cafe Options chef Craig Dixon extols butter, pounds the chicken breast and makes a surprising declaration about Denver

Lori Midson Craig Dixon, executive chef of Cafe Options​ This is part two of Lori Midson's interview with Cafe Options executive chef Craig Dixon. To read part one of that interview, click here. Favorite ingredient: Butter. Animal fat is where it's at. You can't fake butter. Humans have sur ... More >>

Win free tickets to Sunday's summer seafood supper with chefs Jeff Osaka, Alex Seidel, Scott Parker and Justin Brunson and wine geek Ben Parsons

Lori MidsonJeff Osaka, chef/owner of twelve​This Sunday, August 22, chefs Jeff Osaka (twelve), Alex Seidel (Fruition and Fruition Farms), Scott and Deanna Parker (Table 6) and Justin Brunson (Masterpiece Deli and Lechon) will host a summer seafood feast at Infinite Monkey Theorem, the urban ... More >>

Round two: Win free tickets to Sunday's summer seafood supper with chefs Jeff Osaka, Alex Seidel, Scott Parker and Justin Brunson and wine geek Ben Parsons

Lori Midson Jeff Osaka and Alex Seidel​This Sunday, August 22, chefs Jeff Osaka (twelve), Alex Seidel (Fruition and Fruition Farms), Scott and Deanna Parker (Table 6) and Justin Brunson (Masterpiece Deli and Lechon) will host a summer seafood feast at Infinite Monkey Theorem, the urban winery ... More >>

Announcing one winner and one last chance to win tickets to Sunday's seafood supper with Jeff Osaka, Alex Seidel, Scott Parker, Justin Brunson and Ben Parsons

Lori Midson​If you've been following this here blog, then you already know that chefs Jeff Osaka (twelve), Alex Seidel (Fruition and Fruition Farms), Scott and Deanna Parker (Table 6) and Justin Brunson (Masterpiece Deli) are hosting a seafood supper this Sunday at the Infinite Monkey Theorem ... More >>

And the winner of two seats to Sunday's seafood supper is...

​Behold the final winning entry in our Sunday summer supper contest. Just in case you missed all this, here's the short version: We asked readers to suggest a name for the coalition of chefs -- Alex Seidel (Fruition and Fruition Farms), Jeff Osaka (twelve), Justin Brunson (Masterpiece Deli an ... More >>

Four Denver restaurants get major shout-outs from the New York Times

Lori Midson​Time and time again, in our weekly Chef and Tell interviews, we read about local kitchen commanders lamenting the dearth of Denver restaurant exposure on a national level. In fact, Jeff Bolton, exec chef of Second Home Kitchen & Bar, and the subject of this week's Chef and Tell Q&A ... More >>

Tonight: An Evening of Decadent Delights at Lola

A Flickr photo​Some of Denver's top chefs are participating in tonight's aptly named Evening of Decadent Delights at Lola, 1575 Boulder Street. Alex Seidel (Fruition) will create the passed hors d'ouevre; Sean Yontz (El Diablo) is tapped for the appetizer course; Goose Sorensen (Solera) will w ... More >>

Restaurateurs name gardens, not food trucks, number one trend of 2010

Pizzeria Basta's patio garden​The patch of earth in the alley planted with herbs and produce may not be as flashy as the mobile vendor cruising down the street hawking banh mi and pork belly, but according to 2,000 restaurateurs across the country, that plot of land is trendier. One third of t ... More >>

Tickets go on sale today for the Denver Celebrity Chef Tour -- and the lineup is stellar

Lori Midson​Tickets go on sale today for the Denver Celebrity Chef Tour, a star-studded squad of kitchen sorcerers, including Matt Selby (Vesta Dipping Grill and Steuben's); Alex Seidel (Fruition and Fruition Farms); Eric Skokan (Black Cat, Boulder); and Michael Ginor, the co-founder and chef ... More >>

Guess where I'm eating?

Lori Midson​Fruition executive chef/owner Alex Seidel is making ricotta cheese from his farm just outside of Larkspur, and several Denver restaurants are pimping dishes, including the one in the above snap, that feature the magnificent cheese, which frankly, deserves a plate of its own. Can ... More >>

Alex Seidel brings his new artisan ricotta cheese to fruition

​Early in 2009, Alex Seidel, chef/owner of Fruition, 1313 East Sixth Avenue, bought a ten-acre parcel of earth that sits off a dirt road, just outside Larkspur, and named it Fruition Farms. From the beginning, Seidel, along with Verde Farms founder Josh Halder, cultivated herbs, greens and v ... More >>

The week in Cafe Society bloggery: James Rugile joins Frank Bonanno, octopus lovers unite and Alex Seidel cuts the cheese (and comes out smelling like roses in Zagat's America's Top Restaurants guide)

​Our favorite table scraps of the week from the Cafe Society blog:

Tonight: Celebrity Chef Tour at Osteria Marco

​Tonight Osteria Marco, 1453 Larimer Street, will host the Celebrity Chef Tour, a benefit for the James Beard Foundation that features a dinner prepared by Michael Ginor from Hudson Valley Foie Gras and Denver heavyweight chefs Frank Bonanno, Matt Selby, Alex Seidel and Eric Skokan (read Eric ... More >>

Tickets now on sale for the culinary red carpet ride that's the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen

​Tickets to the 2011 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, the culinary breeding ground for the country's most extolled food personalities, chefs, grape gurus and their groupies, just went on sale yesterday, and you can snap up a ticket to the gustatory soiree, held June 17, 18 and 19, for $1,085 befo ... More >>

Cochon 555 names the five Colorado chefs battling for swine supremacy in Denver in April

Lori MidsonWhich little piggy will take home the top prize at Cochon 555?​ In exactly 37 days, the third US Tour of Cochon 555, a nationwide traveling pork orgy that spotlights five local chefs, five heritage breed piggies and five winemakers, will hoof it to Denver, taking over a yet-to-be-de ... More >>

Frasca's Bobby Stuckey at the center of Denver Cochon 555 pig fight

You be the judge. ​Cochon 555, the porkeriffic national competition that trots into Denver on Sunday, April 3, recently announced the five Colorado chefs combating for the Prince of Porc title: Jennifer Jasinski (Rioja, Euclid Hall and Bisto Vendome); Kelly Liken (Restaurant Kelly Liken); Alex ... More >>

Jimmy "the butcher" Cross vs. Chris Fuller in the Cochon 555 butchery battle

Cochon 555​When Cochon 555, the nationwide, heritage breed pig-off, trots into town on Sunday, April 3, it won't be just five Colorado chefs battling it out for the "Prince or Princess of Porc" title. In addition to Jennifer Jasinski (Rioja, Euclid Hall and Bisto Vendome); Kelly Liken (Restaur ... More >>

Pig porn from Cochon 555, aka the Super Bowl of Swine

Lori MidsonCochon 555 chefs Lachlan MacKinnon-Patterson, Kelly Liken, Alex Seidel, Frank Bonanno and Jennifer Jasinski ​ Lard, have mercy on my soul. To say that I pigged out this weekend is the understatement of the year, and if I was porky before, you should see me now. In fact, I'm fairly ... More >>

Now open: Satchel's on 6th

Lori Midson​On Saturday night, the new incarnation of Satchel's on 6th unlocked its doors, uncorked the wines and unearthed a small, tidy menu that trumpets the talents of exec chef Jared Brant, who's done time in the kitchens of Bones and Mizuna. The fifty-seat space, kitted out with exposed ... More >>

Denver Burger Battle: The meat of the matter in photos

Lori MidsonThe crew from Crave compete in the Denver Burger Battle​Aside from the vegetarian burgers from Root Down, which, ironically, were the first to sell out, last night's porny Denver Burger Battle was a carnivorous animal-style nirvana of bloody meat candy, bacon and foie gras. The sol ... More >>

Three Colorado cheesemakers, including Fruition Farms Dairy and Creamery, win American Cheese Society Awards

Lori MidsonAlex Seidel's sheep's milk ricotta​Colorado creameries Fruition Farms Dairy and Creamery, Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy and Avalanche Cheese Company took home prizes from the American Cheese Society's annual competition held last weekend in, of all places, Montreal, Canada. With 1, ... More >>

Sean McGaughey, exec chef of Opus, on his infatuation with Jubes Nata De Coco and his disdain for spaghetti

Lori Midson​ Sean McGaughey Opus 2575 West Main Street, Littleton 303-703-6787 This is part one of my interview with Sean McGaughey, exec chef of Opus. Part two of that interview will be posted here tomorrow. Sean McGaughey grew up in Rye, a town of 2,000 on the plains where Colorado, Nebras ... More >>

Round two with Sean McGaughey, exec chef of Opus

Lori Midson​ Sean McGaughey Opus 2575 West Main Street, Littleton 303-703-6787 This is part two of my interview with Sean McGaughey, exec chef of Opus. You can read part one of that interview here. Favorite restaurant in America: Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a restaurant directly on a farm in ... More >>

Win two seats to ChoLon's craft beer dinner with Top Chef Stephanie Izard and Alex Seidel

Girl and the GoatSeason 4 Top Chef Stephanie Izard ​It's been a good year for Lon Symensma, the chef/owner of ChoLon Modern Asian Bistro, the leading-edge Asian restaurant that he opened downtown last October.

Announcement! We have a winner of our ChoLon craft beer dinner with Top Chef Stephanie Izard and Alex Seidel

Lori Midson​On Thursday, September 29, Top Chef champion Stephanie Izard, who's just about ready to embark on a book tour, along with Alex Seidel, chef/owner of Fruition, will share the kitchen with Lon Symensma at ChoLon Modern Asian Bistro, when all three kitchen magicians commune to host a ... More >>

Foodography: Stephanie Izard, Alex Seidel and Lon Symensma hosted one of the best dinners of the year last night at ChoLon

Lori MidsonLon Symensma, Stephanie Izard and Alex Seidel​Last night, while tottering drunkards, some strapped with clinking beer can necklaces, stumbled by the floor-to-ceiling windows of ChoLon, Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard, who resides in Chicago, Fruition exec chef-owner Alex Seidel and ... More >>

Fruition Farms ricotta gnocchi pairs beautifully with Tropic King from Funkwerks

​I was catching up with a very close friend the other day and we got to talking about cheese. I should mention that he happens to be a former maker of it at Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy, and is currently managing St. James Cheese Co. in New Orleans, one of the most impressive cheese shops I've ... More >>