Eric Ripert

Round two with Nate Bychinski, exec chef of Mateo

Nate Bychinski Mateo 1837 Pearl Street, Boulder 303-443-7766 mateorestaurant.com This is part two of my interview with Nate Bychinski, exec chef of Mateo; part one of my interview with Bychinski ran yesterday. Most memorable meal you've ever had in Denver: Although it wasn't a traditional meal, l ... More >>

Nate Bychinski, exec chef of Mateo, on cow tongue, TV drama and the McDouble

Nate Bychinski Mateo 1837 Pearl Street, Boulder 303-443-7766 mateorestaurant.com This is part one of my interview with Nate Bychinski, exec chef of Mateo; part two of my interview with Bychinski will run tomorrow. "I didn't play with knives, but I definitely did my fair share of cooking," says Na ... More >>

Round two with Tommy Lee, exec chef of Uncle

Tommy Lee Uncle 2215 West 32nd Avenue 303-433-3263 uncledenver.tumblr.com This is part two of my interview with Tommy Lee, exec chef of Uncle; part one of our chat ran yesterday. What do you enjoy most about your craft? Like most cooks, I enjoy the creativity of coming up with new dishes, but the ... More >>

Eric Ripert and Anthony Bourdain skewer each other, vegetarians and Paula Deen in Boulder

Last night's "Good vs. Evil" throw down of jabs between Eric Ripert and Tony Bourdain solidified three things that most of us already know: Bourdain's favorite noun is "motherfucker," his adjective of choice is "motherfucking" and Paula Deen, according to Bourdain, is a motherfucking motherfucker wh ... More >>

Round two with Bentley Folse, exec chef of Finley's Pub

Bentley Folse Finley's Pub 375 South Pearl Street 303-282-4790 www.finleysdenver.com Part one of my interview with Bentley Folse, exec chef of Finley's Pub, ran yesterday; this is part two. Favorite restaurant in America: Both Clancy's and Commander's Palace in New Orleans. Clancy's is a quaint ... More >>

Round two with Thomas Salamunovich, exec chef of Larkspur and Larkburger

Thomas Salamunovich Larkspur 478 Vail Valley Drive, Vail 970-754-8050 www.larkspurvail.com Larkburger www.larkburger.com Part one of my interview with Thomas Salamunovich, exec chef of Larkspur and Larkburger, ran yesterday; this is part two of our chat. Rules of conduct in your kitchen: Respect e ... More >>

Fruition named one of the top ten restaurants in the country by TripAdvisor

"Delicious - divine - delectable." It's comments that like that just landed Fruition, Alex Seidel's tiny temple of gastronomy, in a listacle of ten restaurants that begins with New York City's Le Bernardin, includes Alinea in Chicago and ends with Screen Door in Portland.

Round two with Patrik Landberg, exec chef of Charcoal

Patrik Landberg Charcoal 43 West Ninth Avenue 303-454-0000 www.charcoaldining.com This is part two of my interview with Patrik Landberg, exec chef of Charcoal. Part one of our conversation ran in this space yesterday. Best thing about cooking in Denver: We're on the cusp of being a bona fide foo ... More >>

Ryan Leinonen, exec chef/owner of Trillium, wants to stage at Le Bernardin

Ryan Leinonen Trillium 2134 Larimer Street 303-379-9759 www.trilliumdenver.com This is part two of my interview with Ryan Leinonen, exec chef/owner of Trillium. Part one of that interview ran in this space yesterday. Favorite restaurant in America: Gotham Bar and Grill in New York. I really like ... More >>

Round two with Eric Uffelmann, exec chef of Marlowe's

Lori Midson​ Eric Uffelmann Marlowe's 501 16th Street 303-595-3700 www.marlowesdenver.com This is part two of my interview. Part one of my interview with Eric Uffelmann, exec chef of Marlowe's, ran yesterday. How do you handle customer complaints -- and what should customers do when they're ... More >>

Round two with Mike Sullivan, exec chef of Devil's Food Bakery and Cookery

Lori Midson​ Mike Sullivan Devil's Food Bakery and Cookery 1020 South Gaylord Street 303-733-7448 www.devilsfoodbakery.com This is part two of my interview with Mike Sullivan, executive chef of Devil's Food Bakery and Cookery. Part one of my chat with Sullivan ran in this space yesterday. F ... More >>

Round two with Row 14 exec chef Arik Markus

Lori Midson​ Arik Markus Row 14 891 14th Street 303-825-0100 www.row14denver.com This is part two of my interview with Arik Markus, executive chef of Row 14. In part one of that interview, Markus dishes on crashing kitchens, the day he was fired by Eric Ripert and the echo of Daniel Boulud. ... More >>

Row 14's Arik Markus on crashing kitchens, the day he was fired by Eric Ripert and the echo of Daniel Boulud

Lori Midson​ Arik Markus Row 14 891 14th Street 303-825-0100 www.row14denver.com This is part one of my interview with Arik Markus, executive chef of Row 14. Part two of my chat with Markus will run in this space tomorrow. Arik Markus is the chef equivalent of Iron Man on steroids. He races ... More >>

Will Cisa, kitchen magician of the Corner Office, on monumental cooking disasters, Euclid Hall's boudin noir and the impossible thirty-minute meal

Lori Midson​ Will Cisa The Corner Office 1401 Curtis Street 303-825-6500 www.thecornerofficedenver.com/food/dinner This is part one of my interview with Will Cisa, executive chef of the Corner Office Restaurant Martini Bar. Part two of that interview will run in this space tomorrow. It's ... More >>

Chef and Tell, part two: Snooze's Spencer Lomax dishes on lard-ridden pastries, Eric Ripert, Bourdain and Besh

Lori Midson​ Spencer Lomax Snooze, an A.M. Eatery Four locations in Colorado www.snoozeeatery.com This is part two of Lori Midson's Chef and Tell interview with Spencer Lomax, the culinary director of Snooze. In part one of that Q&A, Lomax dishes on swine, green chile and cheek meat. Favor ... More >>

Zengo's Clint Wangsnes on black garlic, his last meal and Denver's really bad Mexican food

Lori Midson​ Clint Wangsnes Zengo 1610 Little Raven Street 720-904-0965 www.richardsandoval.com/zengodenver This is part one of Lori Midson's Chef and Tell interview with Clint Wangsnes, chef of Zengo. To read part two of that Q&A, check back here on Friday. "I truly love food, and the high ... More >>

Kelly Liken didn't win Top Chef DC, but she's at the top of her game

​ This is part one of Juliet Wittman's interview with Kelly Liken of Restaurant Kelly Liken. Part two will run tomorrow. Kelly Liken Restaurant Kelly Liken 12 Vail Road, Vail 970-479-0175 One of Kelly Liken's finest moments on Top Chef D.C. came when the contestants were challenged to make ... More >>

Top Chef DC, round 14: Kevin wins!

Kevin Sbraga (center) won the seventh round of Top Chef .​"Kevin, you are Top Chef," Padma announced, and a stunned Kevin responded, "I am?" I was happy with the outcome of this seventh season of Top Chef -- but I would have been equally pleased had Angelo won. He irritates a lot of viewe ... More >>

Top Chef, D.C., round twelve: Out of this world!

Tiffany got jettisoned.​Tiffany got sent home from Top Chef this week. I was a little distressed when Arnold was told to pack his knives a few episodes back, because his problems were the fault of mean-spirited Lynne, and also I expected him to come up with some interestingly piquant dishes ov ... More >>

Top Chef D.C, round ten: From spy to bye-bye

Alex bottoms out on Top Chef.​Alex finally got sent home on this week's Top Chef D.C., which should appease his legion of detractors. In addition to his usual disjointed kitchen antics and incoherent decisions, he tried using sous vide -- which he'd never done before -- for the Elimination Cha ... More >>

Top Chef D.C., round seven: peas and thank you

Salmon in the disputed pea puree.​The challenges on Top Chef this week had a little more to do with food, and less with gimmickry. For the Quickfire, the chefs were to create a scrumptious morsel on a toothpick because, as guest judge Aaron Schock, a very young Republican Congressman from Illi ... More >>

Top Chef DC, round four: Oh, baby

Lynne and Arnold are out.​Last night's Top Chef DC, episode 4, felt like self-parody -- too many chefs; too many flying shots of hands chopping, sauteeing, stirring; too many judgments and too many judges using truncated phrases that communicated only the most basic facts about what they were ... More >>

Part two: Big Game's Leo Harvey dishes on trashy cheese dip, his biggest embarrassment and Gordon Ramsay

Lori Midson ​This is part two of my interview with Leo Harvey, executive chef of Big Game Restaurant & Lounge. To read part one of that interview, click here. Favorite dish to cook at home: Braised chicken thighs and Yukon Gold mashed potatoes. It's a very comforting dish that's hearty, easy ... More >>

Top Chef contestant and Coloradan Kenny Gilbert could go all the way

Kenny Gilbert has gone from Telluride to D.C. ​The first episode of Top Chef D.C. aired last night, and like every other food obsessive I know, I was glued to the set. Now in its seventh season, at this point the show is pretty much pure formula -- Quickfire Challenge, chefs' race through Whol ... More >>

New season of Top Chef includes two Colorado mountain cookers, Kelly Liken and Kenny Gilbert, but no Denver or Boulder chefs

​Top Chef, the often unrealistic reality show that made Hosea Rosenberg, exec chef of Jax-Boulder, a hometown hero when he emerged the conquistador two seasons ago, just released its listage of contestants for season 7, which will be filmed in Washington DC and premier on June 16 on Bravo. ... More >>

Part two: Chef and Tell with Jennifer Jasinski from Rioja and Bistro Vendome

Lori Midson ​This is part two of Lori Midson's interview with Jennifer Jasinksi; to read part one of that interview, click here. Best food city in America: San Francisco Bay. I love the growing capabilities of the area and how you're so closely tied to the land. Restaurants there have the opp ... More >>

On ice cream, Eric Ripert and Christmas trees

This has got to work...​The restaurant world is full of one-trick ponies. It is, in a way, designed for them -- built up like a machine made for repetitive specialization. Grill men are grill men. Chefs who do Italian are (generally) not capable of being pulled out of their element and told ... More >>

Chef and Tell part two: James Rugile of Venue

Lori MidsonJames Rugile, executive chef of Venue​Culinary inspirations: Thomas Keller of the French Laundry for his pursuit of perfection and emphasis on technique, and Dan Barber of Blue Hill at Stone Barns for his emphasis on sustainability. He sources most of what's on his menu directly from hi ... More >>

Ask The Critic: What's on your bookshelf?

​ I tore through Jonathan Safran Foer's book, Eating Animals, and then sat back and watched the weak-willed and easily influenced suddenly declare their vegetarian sovereignty with a blood-streaked smile on my face and a bloody rare cheeseburger in my hand. Novella Carpenter's Farm City was ... More >>

Mysteries of Sheehan's Desk: Day 6

Two years of history in one box​ While cleaning my desk last week, I discovered that one single packing box could hold a couple hundred menus. Mostly take-out menus and dozens of single sheets stolen from fine dining joints, but also a few sleeved menus still in their fancy folders as well ... More >>

A food-centric trip to NYC, cash and dinner with Flay: All yours with the winning recipe in Cook Street School of Fine Cooking's recipe contest

This summer, Cook Street School of Fine Cooking, 1937 Market Street, celebrates ten years of teaching idiots, pretenders, professionals, iconoclasts and everyone in between the tricks and tools of the cooking trade. To mark the anniversary, it's holding a series of events, including a recipe contest ... More >>

A cornucopia of good food at The Q Worldly Barbeque

The List: Six neighborhood places to get your multicultural fix

Peking Tokyo, which I reviewed this week, was a weird little joint, no doubt. The name was strange, the space bizarre.  And yet, it was an excellent neighborhood player and the kind of place one might well thank the food gods for should one find one's self in the area and hard up for spring r ... More >>

The List: Jason Sheehan's favorite meals in 2008

Last week, I digested a year's worth of eating. To recap, here are my six best meals of 2008, in no particular order, and one in memorium addition: 1) Le Bernardin, Manhattan. Eight or nine or ten courses, with the menu personally chosen and assembled by Eric Ripert and wines paired by Aldo Sohm, ... More >>

King Aldo

A Fine Bromance

One Good Thing

Chef/owner Wayne Conwell is on a roll at Sushi Sasa.

Dinner at Le Bernardin

Letters to the Editor

Letters from the week of January 24, 2008

Letters to the Editor

Letters from the week of 1/10/2008

Criticizing the Critic

Criticizing the Critic

Simmer Time

Bite Me

Rice Checks

Bite Me

Know Way

Bite Me

New York State of Mind

Bite Me

Cook's Tour