Frank Bonanno

Frank Bonnano helps kick off DU's Vin Festival tonight

The University of Denver is hosting its fourth annual Vin Festival this week, with food, wine, music and arts courtesy of the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality. Chef/restauranteur Frank Bonanno will join the festivities tonight, cooking up a five-course wine dinner. See also: - Frank Bonanno adm ... More >>

Taylor Drew, exec chef of Russell's Smokehouse, on side towel flag football

Taylor Drew Russell's Smokehouse 1422 Larimer Street 720-524-8050 russellssmokehouse.com This is part one of my interview with Taylor Drew, exec chef of Russell's Smokehouse; part two of our chat will run tomorrow. No salt, no butter: That's a far cry from the kind of cooking associated with Frank ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes: Lobster macaroni and cheese from Mizuna

Suffice it to say that I eat out more than the general population, unless, of course, the general population can catalogue more than 450 restaurant meals in a year -- which is about the number of breakfasts, lunches and dinners that I stomached in 2012. Pathetic, isn't it? But all those food dates a ... More >>

Bonanno Brothers Pizzeria will open soon in Park Meadows -- and is hiring now

The dining scene at Park Meadows has taken a few hits lately, with Grand Lux Cafe the most recent to leave the area. But it's about to get a heck of a consolation prize: Frank and Jacqueline Bonanno will be opening Bonanno Brothers Pizzeria, named in honor of their two sons, inside The Vistas at Par ... More >>

Reader: Restaurants should be required to provide sick leave and health benefits

The Denver Department of Environmental Health is responsible for inspecting over 3,500 brick-and-mortar food establishments -- as well as mobile food trucks and events. Some restaurateurs think that the department went too far in recent years, when the fines assessed eateries soared. And after a yea ... More >>

Jon Robbins, chef de cuisine at Mizuna, is leaving to open Gypsy Kitchen, a pop-up supper club

Jon Robbins, the chef de cuisine at Mizuna, who shares the line with chef/owner Frank Bonanno, is departing that kitchen after four years to open his own. Robbins, whose last day cooking with Bonanno is March 9, is leaving to pursue a pop-up supper club called Gypsy Kitchen. See also: - Ten most r ... More >>

Jorel Pierce a semi-finalist for James Beard Rising Star; four more Denver chefs make the cut

The James Beard Foundation has just released its list -- its long list -- of semi-finalists, and several Denver area restaurants and chefs have made the cut. Jorel Pierce may have gotten bumped from Top Chef early, but the exec chef at Euclid Hall made the cut for Rising Star Chef of the Year. And ... More >>

Exclusive first look: Frank Bonanno's Vesper Lounge opens tonight

Those of you who insisted that Frank Bonanno would turn the former Lancer Lounge into an "over-hyped concept" -- which is what at least one person claimed when we broke the news that Bonanno would be taking over the evicted bar wedged between two of his restaurants -- will likely eat your words. I ... More >>

Reader: City attacks local businesses, rather than help them

Two prominent restaurateurs are involved in very public spats with the city. Frank Bonanno, owner of Osteria Marco, among other restaurants, admits he can be a "dick." Especially when fighting the Denver Department of Environmental Health: posting missives on his blog aimed at Danica Lee, the depart ... More >>

Frank Bonanno admits he's a "dick" when it comes to court battles with the health department

Opinionated. Tenacious. Temperamental. And, at times, a "dick," especially when he's in a courtroom arguing his case on front of a judge, who's presiding over the latest infraction levied against him by the Denver Department of Environmental Health, with whom Frank Bonanno, who owns Luca d'Italia, M ... More >>

Frank Bonanno wants to know: How much would you pay for a caviar tasting?

​Here's some food for thought on this fine Friday afternoon. Frank Bonanno, exec chef and owner of Mizuna, just posted a Tweet asking fellow Tweetsters if they'd dish out major dough for a caviar tasting at his fine-dining restaurant. How much? Between $400 and $600 per person. That's a l ... More >>

Russell's Smoke House, Frank Bonanno's newest restaurant, opens tonight in Larimer Square

Lori Midson​"Is the food good?" That's what the guy who was hanging the signage for Russell's Smoke House, Frank Bonanno's new restaurant in Larimer Square, wanted to know earlier today. He, along with everyone else who's been anticipating the opening of the smoke house, can find out tonigh ... More >>

Bones was the first of the hip noodle bars -- and the last one still stirring

In late 2008, there was a race to see which restaurateur would open the first hip noodle bar in the area. Dave Query's Big Red F group was planning to open Happy at 835 Walnut Street in Boulder, and the folks behind the Jet Hotel were going to put XO in an addition built on the back of the hotel. Bu ... More >>

Frank Bonanno continues to heat up Larimer Square with the addition of Russell's Smokehouse

Lori Midson​Close to a year ago, chef and restaurateur Frank Bonanno, whose colony of collections already included Mizuna, Osteria Marco, Luca D'Italia and Bones, inked a lease on a mammoth, 6,000-square-foot down-reaching space in Larimer Square that soon became the dwelling pads to Wednesda ... More >>

For a Bonanno restaurant, Lou's just isn't good enough

Second Helping: Bones

The pork udon at Bones.​I haven't totally fallen for Lou's Food Bar, which I review this week, and my initial lust for Green Russell has ebbed, at least temporarily. But from my initial meal at Bones, which Frank Bonanno opened in December 2008, it was love at first bite, and my fondness for t ... More >>

Review Preview: Lou's Food Bar

Mark Manger​Frank Bonanno has built a formidable empire in Denver over the last decade, expanding out from his original spot, Mizuna, into Luca d'Italia, Osteria Marco and Bones. Last year, the restaurateur gave the city two new concepts: Green Russell, a speakeasy in Larimer Square, and Lou's ... More >>

Frank Bonanno opens Lou's Food Bar -- and we've got the first look

Lori Midson​"Yeah, it's been stressful, and there was a point where I felt like I was going to throw up," confesses Frank Bonanno, who's clinging to a glass of red wine while sitting at the bar of Lou's Food Bar, his newest restaurant that opened last night at 1851 West 38th Avenue. "But now - ... More >>

Green Russell, ready to open on November 11, divulges menu and mixologist details

​The opening is coming right up for Green Russell, Frank Bonanno's underground cocktail joint that will be hidden behind the swinging door of a pie counter, dubbed Wednesday's Pie, in Larimer Square. Bonanno and Adam Hodak, beverage director at Bonanno's restaurant group and partner in the n ... More >>

Frank Bonanno and partner/bartender Adam Hodak to open the Green Russell in Larimer Square

Adam Hodak will partner with Frank Bonanno to open the Green Russell​A few weeks ago, we reported that Frank Bonanno, whose expanding group of restaurants includes Mizuna, Bones, Osteria Marco, Luca d'Italia and, in December, Lou's Food Bar, had signed a lease on a sizable subterranean space ... More >>

Frank Bonanno will open Lou's Food Bar in December

​See that photo up top? That's the former home of Ron & Dan's Keg, and the future address of Lou's Food Bar, Frank Bonanno's new restaurant, which was gutted yesterday after Bonanno, who also owns Bones, Luca d'Italia, Mizuna , Osteria Marco (and soon, Wednesday's Pies), sealed the deal on th ... More >>

Frank Bonanno's new Larimer Square space will peddle pie... and something else

Frank Bonanno at Bones​A couple of months back, we saw a tweet from Frank Bonanno asking his Twitter followers whether Denver would rather see doughnuts or pie. Denver must have said pie. The chef, whose expanding restaurant group includes Mizuna, Bones, Osteria Marco and Luca d'Italia, acqui ... More >>

The week in Cafe Society bloggery: pork slogans, lactating camels, sex toys, bratwurst, blood sausage and spoo

​Maybe it's the ridiculous, intolerable heat that made this week so weird and wacky, and the Cafe Society trolls -- specifically "Recession" and "Poutiner" and all your other bogus aliases (we've got your IP address, schmuck) -- so moronic and volatile. Whatever the cause, the last five days o ... More >>

Frank Bonanno, aka the lobster slayer, shows us how it's done

​Last we heard, Frank Bonanno was none too pleased with a Cafe Society post detailing a potential new restaurant in the Bonanno empire, the information of which came from his own PR consultant. But in the video after the jump, Bonanno cuts out the middle man, showing us firsthand how to slay ... More >>

Frank Bonanno blames a Westword post for his now-dead restaurant deal

Lori Midson ​What, so it's our fault? Last week, I broke the news that Frank Bonanno was adding a fifth restaurant to his culinary kingdom, a French-American comfort-food joint that would be taking up residence later this summer in a "biker bar" that required "a huge transformation" -- words ... More >>

Frank Bonanno will open a French-American comfort food restaurant

Lori MidsonFrank Bonanno will open his fifth Denver restaurant this summer​Back in late March, we reported that Frank Bonanno was in the market for a new restaurant. The chef/restaurateur, who already operates four Denver restaurants -- Bones, Osteria Marco, Mizuna and Luca D'Italia -- said ... More >>

No Bones about it: Frank Bonanno is looking for another restaurant

Frank Bonanno is hands-on at the award-winning Bones.​Frank Bonanno, who was named a semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurateur in this year's James Beard Foundation Awards, didn't make the cut when the finalists were announced Monday. But he's already won a string of honors, including Best N ... More >>

Lobster ramen at Bones: Things I'm gonna miss...

​Every day that passes reminds me of another thing I'm going to miss about this town when I finally take my leave in just a few short weeks. Today, while running through a list of every restaurant I'd reviewed in 2009, I found my March 18 love letter to Bones--Frank Bonanno's noodle house a ... More >>

Favorite 100 dishes: Burrata from Osteria Marco

Lori MidsonFrank Bonanno's burrata​As a countdown to the Best of Denver 2010, coming April 1, Cafe Society is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in Denver. Send your own nominations to cafe@westword.com. Number 91: Burrata from Osteria Marco Frank Bonanno's burrata is my favorite di ... More >>

Egg-ceptional egg dishes in Denver

​ "With an egg on top." Ooh. You just stepped up your food game. You uttered those five words to the server, and suddenly everyone at your table perks up. It's not just a sign that you're starving. It shows you're a risk-taker. Someone who has had enough of diets and eating healthy. Someone ... More >>

Cocktailing with Frank Bonanno at Luca

​ When I interviewed Frank Bonanno for this week's Chef and Tell Q & A, we hung out in his kitchen at Luca d'Italia, where he totally seduced me by making housemade burrata, arguably the crack cocaine of cheese. One portion was plenty for two (three if you have a skinny butt), but I'm a burrat ... More >>

Part two: Chef and Tell with Frank Bonanno

Frank Bonanno​This is part two of Lori Midson's interview with Frank Bonanno, executive chef-owner of Osteria Marco, Mizuna, Luca d'Italia and Bones. You can read the first part of Midson's interview with Bonanno here. Culinary inspirations: My mother and my sister. When I was six, seven, may ... More >>

Happy Hour: Five for five at five at Bones

​Bones, Frank Bonanno's fantastic ramen noodle bar at 701 Grant Street, has just rolled out a daily happy hour, which the crew is calling "Five for Five at Five." That's because the five happy-hour dishes -- shishito peppers, crab wontons, a duo of egg rolls, escargot pot stickers and black cod te ... More >>

How a big dump can wreak havoc, or how to get more bang for your buck

First, the bad news: As Jason Sheehan just reported, a call to Frank Bonanno's Bones revealed that, you guessed it, it's closed due to inclement weather. Not only is Bones black until at least tomorrow, but Bonanno's three other restaurants -- Luca D'Italia, Mizuna and Osteria Marco -- are also dark ... More >>

The List: Team Bonanno

My review of Bones -- Frank Bonanno's new restaurant at 701 Grant Street -- was a love letter, a total crush note from one shameless omnivore to another, to the kind of guy who would put bone marrow, ice cream, escargot and udon all on the same menu, from the kind of guy who would gladly ... More >>

Up Close: Bones

Mark Manger In this week's Westword, Jason Sheehan reviews Bones, Frank Bonanno's popular Capitol Hill noodle bar. See photos of the restaurant at westword.com/slideshow.

Frank Bonanno's new restaurant will bowl you over

Chewing the Bones with Frank Bonanno

Noodling around at Bones

I'd already been out for a working lunch, out for drinks, then out for more drinks. Stopping in at the office, I got word that the James Beard Foundation had announced its semifinalists for the restaurant and chef awards, and that Bonanno was on the list. The announcement had just been made that aft ... More >>

Spies like us: South Pearl Street edition

Good eyes from S.R., my new favorite deep-cover operative in the South Pearl 'hood, who came back strong from the holidays with this little tidbit: "Just an FYI . . . there is a notice for application for a liquor license at The Chocolate Berry (1890 South Pearl Street, Denver) with the applicant ... More >>

No bones about it, Bones looks like it will open soon

Bones looks like it will win the battle to be the first of the town's new noodle houses to open. Frank Bonanno's place at 301 East Seventh Avenue already has its name -- the restaurateur's childhood nickname -- etched on the windows, and the renovation of the space inside (the old Sparrow Marke ... More >>

Oodles of noodles coming to town

In Bite Me this week, I talk about a couple of noodle joints coming to town -- Bones and Happy Noodle House -- and a New Yorker piece that helped fuel the fad. But Frank Bonanno and Dave Query aren't the only local restaurant empire-builders getting in on this act. The Jet Entertainment Gr ... More >>

Noodling around

Bones: Frank Bonanno's bold new plan for Seventh and Grant

Underground

Things are looking up at Larimer Square.

A Noble Bird

Raising up the lowly chicken.

Mizuna

Frank Bonanno's star retains its brilliance.

Best Last Supper

Luca d'Italia

Best Chef

Frank Bonanno