Chris Cina

Cory Treadway, exec chef of Wynkoop Brewery, on smartphones, fried squirrel and heaven

Cory Treadway Wynkoop Brewing Company 1634 18th Street 303-297-2700 wynkoop.com This is part one of my interview with Cory Treadway, exec chef of the Wynkoop; part two of our conversation will run in this space tomorrow. "I was the first white kid -- the first gringo -- to ever roll egg rolls," ... More >>

Photos: Randy Layman, bartender at ACE, wins Patrón's Muddled XO Cafe Shakedown

Nine local bartenders -- Justin Lloyd (Star Bar); Joe Hines (Williams & Graham); Adam Hodak (Bonanno Concepts); Pat Ruberto (Gaetano's); Brandon Meyer (Crave Dessert Bar); Melissa Durant (Old Major); Anika Zappe (Punch Bowl - Social Food & Drink); Les Baker (Tom's Urban 24) and Randy Layman from Ace ... More >>

Say happy second birthday to Hideaway Steakhouse today

The Hideaway Steakhouse, 2345 West 112th Avenue in Westminster, is turning two. It's seen some challenges since it opened, including losing opening chef Chris Cina and gaining Steve Prograr, who recently left Abrusci's to sign on at Hideaway. See also: - Hideaway Steakhouse opens today with chef C ... More >>

Round two with TJ Hobbs, chef of Ghost Plate & Tap

TJ Hobbs Ghost Plate & Tap 800 18th Street 303-297-1738 www.ghostdenver.com This is part two of my interview with TJ Hobbs, chef of Ghost Plate & Tap; part one of our interview ran yesterday. Favorite Denver/Boulder restaurant(s) other than your own: I'm a fan of Bittersweet. Chef Olaf has such i ... More >>

TJ Hobbs, chef of Ghost Plate & Tap, on portion size, pastry and Pepsi

TJ Hobbs Ghost Plate & Tap 800 18th Street 303-297-1738 www.ghostdenver.com This is part one of my interview with TJ Hobbs, chef of Ghost Plate & Tap; part two of our interview will run tomorrow. TJ Hobbs remembers rushing through dinner to watch The Simpsons. It's not that his parents couldn't c ... More >>

Steve Progar leaves Abrusci's, lands at Hideaway Steakhouse

Steve Progar posted this note on Facebook earlier today: "After a successful 12 years in partnership at Abrusci's, I've taken on a new challenge at the Hideaway Steakhouse. Great place, great food, great people! Hope to see you all come in! Thanks for all the memories at Abrusci's!" But if you're g ... More >>

Breckenridge-Wynkoop have a concept for South Pearl -- but the name's still a secret

As we reported last week, Izakaya Den plans to move into its new home at 1477 South Pearl, right next to Sushi Den, by the end of May. That will finally free up the current home of Izakaya Den, at 1518 South Pearl, which the Breckenridge-Wynkoop group acquired last year in a complicated trade that g ... More >>

Trends without end: Dining insiders offer predictions for 2013

Trends without end: chef predictions for 2013 include simplicity, more local greens and pot (maybe)

What will be the big culinary trends in 2013? As we prepare for a new year in gastronomy, we posed that question to dozens of people in the local food business, everyone from chefs and pastry magicians to restaurant brokers and PR consultants, from brewers and grape gurus to realtors and pig farmers ... More >>

Daniel Ramirez, exec chef of Gaetano's, on chicken, checks and culinary schools

Daniel Ramirez Gaetano's 3760 Tejon Street 303-455-9852 www.gaetanositalian.com/ This is part one of my interview with Daniel Ramirez, exec chef of Gaetano's; part two of our chat will run tomorrow. Daniel Ramirez was just shy of twenty when he left Acapulco for Los Angeles to pursue a career i ... More >>

Is a meal at the revamped Gaetano's an offer you can't refuse?

Photos: Behind the Scenes at Gaetano's

Plenty of beer and wine will be flowing this evening

The Rocky Mountain French American Chamber of Commerce will host the fourteenth annual Beaujolais and Beyond Food & Wine Festival at Infinity Park Event Center, 4400 East Kentucky Avenue, tonight from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. The fundraiser features more than twenty local restaurants, and participating che ... More >>

Contest alert: Win two tickets to the Chef and Brew Festival on Thursday night

Craft brews were the big draw at last month's Great American Beer Festival, but a portion of the beer bonanza was also devoted to beer-and-food pairings, which, in the last few years, have become more and more frequent, and while there are a fair share of cynic oenophiles who will insist that wine - ... More >>

Uncle and Hogshead Brewery among the duos cooking up pairings for Chef & Brew

Some cuisines are easier to pair with beers than others. Mom's brisket, for instance, works really well with a big stout, while a platter of garlicky mussels is going to play nicely off a Belgian saison. IPAs work with fried pub fare, like onion rings and fish 'n' chips, while spicy Mexican food is ... More >>

Exclusive first look: The new Gaetano's reopens on Saturday

For the past several weeks, whenever I've driven down 38th Avenue, passing my beloved Gaetano's on my way to somewhere else, I've experienced that pit in my stomach, the pit that comes with the fear of the unknown -- the dread that something you've come to know so well won't ever be the same. See ... More >>

Demolition begins on the iconic Gaetano's

I grew up on the far west side of town, a culinary black hole -- at least in the 70s and 80s -- that forced me and my family to drive what I believed were impossibly long distances to dinner. We went out to eat -- a lot -- and from as far back as I can remember, we graced Gaetano's at least once a w ... More >>

Reader: The Hillstone Group should just buy Cherry Creek North and be done with it

"Not a fan of what Cherry Creek has become." That's how chef Chris Cina greeted the news that Bisque had closed. Originally known as Cafe Bisque when it opened in Lakewood a decade ago, Bisque left that 'burb and moved to Cherry Creek last November. And now it's in the soup. Cherry Creek has swall ... More >>

Reader: About time the Wynkoop hired a female brewer -- but Shikes deserves a quick kick from a pink boot

The Wynkoop Brewing Company was founded in 1988, just three years after Bess Dougherty was born. And this week, Dougherty became the brewpub's first female brewer. "It's intimidating for a lady to try to go into this because it's a boys' club, a super boys' club," says Dougherty. "It's a very physic ... More >>

Reader: Fast-food chain coverage doesn't belong on Cafe Society

Yesterday Jenn Wohletz offered her assessment of the new Chick-Fil-A desserts in the latest installment of Jenn in Chains, her semi-regular look at developments on the fast-food scene. She loved the brownie, lusted for the waffle fries (and the cute little ketchup packets)...but isn't a fan of Chick ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes: Rail Yard cheddar soup from Ghost Plate & Tap

No. 40: Rail Yard cheddar soup from Ghost Plate & Tap

Part two: Denver chefs reveal what they'd like to see more of in 2012

For last week's "Year in Review," we recapped what the subjects of the 2011 Chef and Tell interviews would like to see less of in Denver. This time, we're serving up their wish lists of what they'd hope to find on Denver's plate in the new year - everything from year-round farmers' markets to whole ... More >>

Part two: Denver chefs dish on what they wish would disappear in 2012

As we've discovered in our weekly Chef and Tell interviews, Denver's kitchen commanders are, if nothing else, unapologetically opinionated. We pepper them with dozens of questions, and sometimes their answers are salty -- especially their responses to what they'd like to see less of in Denver from a ... More >>

Chef Christopher Cina lands in the kitchen of Ghost Plate & Tap

Lori Midson​Once a self-described risk taker, Chris Cina, a veteran Denver chef who's slung sauté pans behind the line of numerous local restaurants -- most recently, Hideaway Steakhouse, where he was pushed out -- now admits that taking too many chances can often lead to unsavory consequenc ... More >>

Reader: Hideaway Steakhouse can't hide from its challenges

​Opening chef Chris Cina is out at Hideaway Steakhouse, and the new chef will introduce a new menu on Monday. But that may not be enough to save this spot, suggests Egotastic: The sad part is that without Chef Cina that place would have never even made it this far. Hideaway is on its way out ... More >>

Chef Chris Cina ousted from Hideaway Steakhouse

Lori MidsonAfter six months helming the kitchen of Hideaway Steakhouse, Chris Cina is gone.​"Hideaway Steakhouse brings on new Executive Chef, Todd Adkins, who has cooked for President Clinton and J Lo and has studied in Paris!" exclaimed the press release that landed in my inbox last week fr ... More >>

In the kitchen with chef Chris Cina: Asparagus and blood orange salad

Chris Cina​In this week's Chef and Tell interview with Chris Cina, executive chef of Hideaway Steakhouse, the self-described "goof" talks about his biggest cooking disaster (he made a bride spill tears -- but not on purpose); the culinary wizardry of Troy Guard; his addiction to acid; and the ... More >>

Round two with Hideaway Steakhouse chef Chris Cina

Lori Midson​ Chris Cina Hideaway Steakhouse 2345 West 112th Avenue, Westminster 303-404-9939 www.hideawaysteakhouse.com This is part two of my interview with Chris Cina, executive chef of Hideaway Steakhouse. Part one of that interview ran in this space yesterday. Favorite restaurant in Am ... More >>

Chris Cina, exec chef of Hideaway Steakhouse, on being a goof in the kitchen, the day he made a bride cry and the ups and downs of opening a new restaurant

Lori Midson​ Chris Cina Hideaway Steakhouse 2345 West 112th Avenue, Westminster 303-404-9939 www.hideawaysteakhouse.com This is part one of my interview with Chris Cina, executive chef of Hideaway Steakhouse. Part two of that interview will run in this space tomorrow. Chris Cina wasn't bor ... More >>

Table Mountain Inn's Luke Mewbourn harps on foie gras and Lady Gaga and hails the righteousness of Jim's Burger Haven

Lori Midson​ Luke Mewbourn Table Mountain Inn Grill & Cantina 1310 Washington Avenue, Golden 303-216-8040 www.tablemountaininn.com This is part one of my interview with Luke Mewbourn, executive chef of Table Mountain Inn Grill & Cantina. Part two of this interview will run tomorrow. Denver ... More >>

Restaurant roll call for March

Lori MidsonBiker Jim's brick-and-mortar location opened in March.​Five restaurants opened in one week this past month -- was that a record? Here's our roster of all the restaurant openings and closings in March:

Reader: Hideaway Steakhouse stakes a claim in the northern suburbs

Lori MidsonHideaway Steakhouse is a suburban hideout.​Five restaurants debuted in as many days this week (and is that a record?): Russo's Kitchen Tavern, TAG|Raw Bar, Row 14, Biker Jim's Gourmet Dog's and Hideaway Steakhouse. And while all of them are welcome additions to the Denver dining ... More >>

Hideaway Steakhouse opens today with chef Chris Cina at the helm

Lori Midson​"Where should I start?" responds Chris Cina, when I ask him about his new restaurant, Hideaway Steakhouse, that opens today in Westminster. Cina, whose name is synonymous with the Fourth Story, a long-gone restaurant that resided on the top floor of the former Tattered Cover in C ... More >>

Christopher Cina jumps ship at Jax to spearhead a new charcoal steakhouse

​Two months ago, Chris Cina exited his gig at Timberline Grill, a steak house at the Ameristar Casino in Black Hawk, to set sail for Jax-Denver, where he was tapped as the seafooder's new chef de cuisine. His first day on the Jax line was June 16; his last day was yesterday.

Chris Cina seen in Black Hawk

The Timberline Grill at Ameristar Chris Cina's had some bad luck lately, with his last gig at Twig's Wine Bar and Pickles Deli in Tipsy's, a gigantic liquor store in Littleton, drying up fast last fall. And that was after an absolutely disastrous attempt to open T. Kelly's at 1361 Court Place. Stil ... More >>

The Westword.com blog shortcut, July 6 edition

"And they call him 'Sandy Claws'!" Feeling crabby? Today in Cafe Society: • Out of the sea and into the claws of Jax Fish House. • Guess where I'm eating? • Chris Cina seen in Black Hawk. • Milking It: Cinna-Graham Honey-Comb. • The Rackhouse Pub to open in former Heavenly Daze. • Il P ... More >>

Hotel restaurants are at your service

Ho, ho, ho: Twigs has closed -- for now

Above is the season's greeting that Nancy Levine, our intrepid Drink of the Week columnist, found when she was out last night judging the 2008 Holiday Cocktail Competition. Seventeen restaurants -- all members of the Denver Independent Network of Restaurants -- had signed up to create sp ... More >>

Back Again

Chris Cina disappeared from the dining scene two years ago. Now he’s back, and in a most unlikely place.

Duck!

The Bite

Reaching the next level at Dazzle

The Bite

On the Phoenix food front.

The Bite

Change is good at several Denver restaurants.

Still on Top

Chef Brian Sack begins a new chapter at the Fourth Story.

The Bite

John Hickenlooper's lastest, and other news on the food front.