Brian Melton

Exclusive first look: Old Major, Justin Brunson's "elevated farmhouse cuisine" restaurant, is now open in Highland

On Saturday night, as I studied the menu at Old Major, I nearly burst into tears. At one point, some time later, I did exactly that, right after my first taste of foie gras; there would be more liberal shavings of that exquisite foie on the cassoulet, which hinted at a "foie surprise." And more sapp ... More >>

Trends without end: Dining insiders offer predictions for 2013

Start spreading the news: The Denver FIVE bring their Mile High culinary magic to the James Beard House in New York

"New York City is the culinary mecca of our country, if not the world," declares Hosea Rosenberg. "It's a place like no other, where ingredients and techniques of every conceivable style congregate. It's where the best chefs on the planet come to shine." See also: - The Denver FIVE culinary stars w ... More >>

The Denver FIVE culinary stars will cook at the James Beard House on September 19

Last September, I spent a whopping 24 hours in New York City, mostly in the kitchen of the James Beard House, where the FIVE, a coterie of local chefs and cocktail kings, strutted their talents to a sold-old cognoscenti of foodniks -- one of whom claimed that it was the most fun she'd ever had at a ... More >>

Contest: Win seats to the FIVE dinner with Samir Mohammad at the Village Cork

Ever since Samir Mohammad was tapped as the executive chef of the Village Cork, a lovely Washington Park wine bar, oenophiles and foodophiles alike have been clamoring for a taste, and while Mohammad's open kitchen, which squats squarely in a sea of bodies, isn't equipped with a hood or a multi-burn ... More >>

Photos: Chef Jenna Johansen's sprout up dinner at Studio F

It's been a whirlwind week for Jenna Johansen. The former executive chef of Dish, in Edwards, which she still co-owns, made her smashing debut on Around the World in 80 Plates, a new chef-driven reality show on Bravo that premiered on Wednesday night (Johansen, by the way, made it through to the nex ... More >>

FIVE kicks off its fifth season tonight -- and tickets are still available

Earlier this year, Leigh Sullivan Enterprises -- a hospitality-industry marketing, brand-management and public-relations consulting firm helmed by Leigh Sullivan -- announced its fifth crop of chefs to fill out the ranks of the Denver FIVE, an organization that's "a culinary group whose main goal is ... More >>

The Colorado Bartenders Guild announces its newly elected board

To give the Colorado Bartenders Guild all the credit for Denver's flourishing cocktail culture would be wrong, says Sean Kenyon, owner of Williams & Graham and one of the founding members of this state's chapter. But it certainly helped. "We were officially chartered in February of 2008," he says, " ... More >>

Ken Kodys' Campari Peppari takes top honors in last night's Campari-United States Bartenders' Guild competition

Ken Kodys is no stranger to victory. In 2009, the Boston native, who was then tending bar at Bacaro, in Boulder, created a memorable cocktail ironically called Amnesia that took the whole kit and caboodle in the DeKuyper Mix Master Bartender contest at the Denver Food & Wine Festival. Earlier this ... More >>

Hosea Rosenberg will kick off the fifth season of FIVE with a soiree at Balistreri Vineyards

Five years ago, Leigh Sullivan was hellbent on showcasing Denver's dining landscape -- and the chefs who define it -- to a national audience. Her determination paid off in spades when she handpicked a ring of five local chefs who would eventually become the first incarnation of FIVE, a quintet of to ... More >>

The 2012 crop of FIVE chefs and bar stars includes a powerhouse of big names

If you've been wondering how Leigh Sullivan, the ex-wife of Troy Guard, who owns TAG and TAG|RAW BAR, is doing since the couple split last year, the answer is "better than ever."

Reader: Sydney Spies photo shouldn't appear in yearbook's paid section if editors reject it

Durango High's Sydney Spies appeared on the Today show yesterday to protest the decision to ban her sexy photo from the school's yearbook. Our post sharing her take inspired plenty of readers to weigh in as well, with one seeing a contradiction in the policy that would allow the shot's publication i ... More >>

Beer cocktail enthusiasts launch Beermixology.com

We've seen a lot of beer cocktails make best-beverage lists over the past year, and they range in complexity from a glorified michelada -- a classic Mexican blend of lime juice and lager -- to the Naughty Girl Scout, a drink on the list at Euclid Hall that uses a variety of spirits plus Left Hand mi ... More >>

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

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 Lon Symensma, the owner-chef of ChoLon, were in Symensma's kit ... More >>

Jake Norris's departure from Stranahan's has distillers and bartenders talking

Eric HesslerLadies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails at Stranahan's.​Jake Norris was there from the start of Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey, so when he left last month -- eight months after the Colorado-based company was sold to Proximo Spirits -- it got a lot of people in the ... More >>

Reader: TAG's game of musical chairs -- and chefs -- continues

Brian Melton will soon be mixing it up at ChoLon.​TAG, you're it. The fallout from TAG continues to radiate across the restaurant scene, with the news yesterday that James Lee and Michael Pacovsky are going to Le Grand Bistro & Oyster Bar, Robert Thompson's spot slated to open in the former ... More >>

Denver's most notable restaurant couple, Leigh Sullivan and Troy Guard, split -- and a mass exodus from TAG ensues

It's splitsville for Denver restaurant couple Leigh Sullivan and Troy Guard.​It was a Las Vegas, tunnel-of-love, drive-thru wedding. Leigh Sullivan and Troy Guard, the chef/owner of TAG and TAG| RAW BAR, met just three months before they took off for Las Vegas and tied the knot in 2004 in the ... More >>

Lola's Don Julio bartending competition serves up "luxury drops"

Jenny AnBrian Melton's drink included coconut powder, maple agave, sea salt and toasted coconut.​Fourteen bartenders. Twenty minutes. One winner of an iPad. That was roughly the formula for the bartending competition Sunday night at Lola, sponsored by Don Julio. Using either Don Julio's Reposa ... More >>

The Colorado Cocktail Project will fill the MCA with drinks and discussion Sunday -- and here's your chance to win a free ticket

​ The Colorado Cocktail Project, with its mission to create the official Colorado Cocktail, will celebrate this state's most liquid assets at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 1485 Delgany Street. on Sunday and Monday, June 26-27. Dozens of bartenders submitted entries in the Colorado Cocktail C ... More >>

Colorado Cocktail Project: Last call for libations and lectures

​ The Colorado Cocktail Project, with its mission to create the official Colorado Cocktail, will celebrate this state's most liquid assets at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 1485 Delgany Street, on Sunday and Monday, June 26-27. Dozens of bartenders submitted entries in the Colorado Cocktail C ... More >>

Food lust, punch bowls and eye candy: Share Our Stength's Taste of the Nation

Lori Midson​At last night's Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation gastronomic romp, thirty restaurants fed hundreds of bellies at Mile High Station as part of the non-profit's effort to end childhood hunger in Colorado. Along with sensational foodstuffs, the soiree also pimped some of th ... More >>

Kitchen Help

TAG's Brian Melton is it: Read his insider's view of Denver Restaurant Week

​Last week, we gave two EatDenver decks to the diners who had the best/worst Denver Restaurant Week stoies. Now, as thanks to all the hard-working restaurant employees who had to slog through two weeks of the promotion, we're giving an EatDenver deck to one of their own: Brian Melton of TAG, ... More >>

Reader: Six bucks is too much for a Samurai, even during Denver Restaurant Week

​Today is the last day for servers to serve up their Denver Restaurant Week survival stories and win an EatDenver deck (earlier this week, we gave decks to diners with the two best/worst DRW stories). The deadline is 5 p.m., but we already have a contender: Brian Melton of TAG, who has to be ... More >>

FIVE will announce its new crop of chefs tonight

​ Tonight, at 6 p.m., Leigh Sullivan-Guard, the force behind FIVE, an über-talented crop of five Denver chefs who put on showstopping dinners throughout the year at their respective restaurants, represent the local fray at the ritzy Aspen Food & Wine Classic and commune at the James Beard H ... More >>

TAG's Brian Melton loves the restaurant industry. Here's why

You can find Brian Melton behind the bar at TAG.​All the talk about "In the Weeds" inspired Brian Melton to send in this missive about the restaurant industry. It's our New Year's Eve gift for everyone in the business --and anyone out on the town tonight who benefits from exemplary workers in ... More >>

Taste Of The Nation: Cocktails for the Kids Competition results

Brian Melton of TAG, the winning bartender in Sunday night's Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation drink competition.​As part of Denver's Taste of the Nation/Share Our Strength benefit last night at Mile High Station, eight generous drink slingers from some of the city's hottest bars partic ... More >>

TAG introduces its new bar staff and summer cocktails

​Mike Henderson may have jumped ship for other projects, but the cocktail show at TAG must go on. TAG tender Brian Melton will take over lead mixology duties, while floor manager Travis Plakke will take care of the behind-the-scenes details. And in TAG's dark basement lounge on Tuesday night, ... More >>

Editor/publisher Michael Ledwitz about changes at Denver Magazine

Michael Ledwitz, the editor and publisher of Denver Magazine, is excited about the recent hiring of Jeff Kass, the former Rocky Mountain News reporter who's currently promoting a book entitled Columbine: A True Crime Story. (Kass recently spoke to Westword about the distinctions between his tome a ... More >>