Frank Bonanno

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 >>

Frank Bonanno's 47 points of good service

Service has been a big topic on Cafe Society this week, what with Jonathan Greschler getting the boot from Old Major for his apparent inability to connect with his former staff, despite the fact that guests adore him. "Jonathan is amazing with customers, but I just don't think he applied that same ... More >>

Check, please! Keeping tabs on Denver's restaurant-inspection policy

Some celebrity chefs are stars...and others, like Daniel Cofrades, cook for them

The term "celebrity chef" is as ubiquitous as pork belly, but I bet that if I asked ten people for a definition, I'd get ten different answers. To some, it means a nationally known chef with a mug you'd recognize from appearances on TV. Denver has a few of these, such as Keegan Gerhard of D Bar Dess ... More >>

Vesper Lounge hosts Operation Sandy Rescue tonight

Denver has been very, very good to some New Jersey transplants -- and now they want to give back to the state where they got their start. From 5 to 11 p.m. tonight, they'll gather at Vesper Lounge, which Frank and Jacqueline Bonanno opened this past Saturday, to "raise a glass and help those in nee ... More >>

Lancer Lounge gets evicted and will close tomorrow at 2 p.m.

I don't remember the first time I went to the Lancer Lounge -- it was more than a decade ago -- but I do remember the last time I was there. It was a typical Friday night at the venerable watering hole, where the drinks are as stiff as a starched shirt. Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" was blasting ... More >>

Matt Lewis, exec chef of Bones, on pop-ups, burgers and women

Matt Lewis Bones 701 Grant Street 303-860-2929 www.bonesdenver.com This is part one of my interview with Matt Lewis, exec chef of Bones. Part two of our conversation will run tomorrow. "Every time I walked through the door of my Italian grandmother's house, even if it was after dinner, the first ... More >>

Osteria Marco's pizza-making class has us rolling in dough

"All right, everybody ready to get their hands dirty?" asked Burton Koelliker, executive chef at Osteria Marco, as he and his crew rolled a few dozen balls of dough so that we could attempt to make pizza crusts. After much spilled laughter and flour, the students at Saturday's "The Art of Pizza Mak ... More >>

Adam Hodak: Don't be pretentious

In this interview, Adam Hodak -- the beverage manager for Frank Bonanno's restaurants who's frequently behind the stick at Green Russell, Osteria Marco and Russell's Smokehouse -- weighs in on how he got to where he is, the night he pepper-sprayed himself and the irony of lime usage at Mexican resta ... More >>

Round two with Brett Shaheen, exec chef of the Wooden Table

Brett Shaheen Wooden Table 2500 East Orchard Road, Greenwood Village 303-730-2152 www.thewoodentablerestaurant.com This is part two of my interview with Brett Shaheen, exec chef of the Wooden Table. Part one of our chat ran yesterday. Favorite restaurant in America: Grizzly Bar in Roscoe, Montana. ... More >>

National food critics dish out tweets on their Denver meals

​Some of the biggest and boldest national names in food criticism descended on Denver over the weekend to check our city's culinary scene. Why, you ask? Let's just say that they were doing research for the James Beard Foundation Awards. Several of those critics tweeted about their experiences ... More >>

Frank Bonanno asks: "Is it my fault somebody stunk up the bathroom?"

Frank Bonanno is one of the most successful chefs and restaurateurs in Denver, presiding over a commonwealth of food temples (and one speakeasy) that, for the most part, generate positive reviews and comments from professional restaurant critics and amateur key strokers alike. But even the best rest ... More >>

Round two with Hunter Pritchett, exec chef of Luca d'Italia

Hunter Pritchett Luca d'Italia 711 Grant Street 303-832-6600 www.lucadenver.com This is part two of my interview with Hunter Pritchett, exec chef of Luca d'Italia. Part one of my chat with Pritchett ran in this space yesterday. Favorite restaurant in America: I just had an amazing meal at Red Med ... More >>

Mike Peshek, exec chef of Lou's Food Bar, muses on social-review sites, roadkill and customers who toss out skewering threats

Mike Peshek Lou's Food Bar 1851 West 38th Avenue 303-458-0336 www.lousfoodbar "See the spaghetti and meatballs?" asks Mike Peshek, pointing to a vat of fat orbs glossed with an herby tomato sauce. "That's one of our favorite dishes -- and one of our most popular staff meals." A dishwasher, who's ju ... More >>

Reader: Will Frank Bonanno's BBQ beat "mediocre at best on a drunk night"?

Lori MidsonBusiness could be smokin' at Frank Bonanno's Russell's Smokehouse.​Frank Bonanno is about to expand his empire, adding Russell's Smokehouse to the vast underground area in Larimer Square where Green Russell is already located. "I'm not doing traditional barbecue, or Texas barbecue, ... More >>

Denver Restaurant Week: Should it really be one week? Two weeks? Or two one-week events?

​The first thing you need to know about Denver Restaurant Week is that it's the largest event of its type in the country, with the most restaurants participating and the most meals served. The second thing you need to know is that it's not an actual week. When the economy took a nosedive, the ... More >>

Green Russell's prices don't match its drinks or food

Sean Kelly is now in the Green Russell kitchen

Who's behid the door of Wednesday's Pie? Sean Kelly.​When Laura Shunk recently visited Green Russell, our Best Contemporary Cocktail Bar in the Best of Denver 2011, she discovered that the subterreanean speakeasy not only has a new menu, but someone new in the kitchen, too: legendary local che ... 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 >>

Reader: Frank Bonanno is right about Denver Restaurant Week

​Denver Restaurant Week, which starts February 26, runs longer than a week -- and that's just one of people's quibbles with the event. It's an undenial "screaming deal," according to restaurateur Frank Bonanno, who has five restaurants -- Bones, Lou's Food Bar, Luca d'Italia, Osteria Marco and ... More >>

Frank Bonanno weighs in on Denver Restaurant Week

Lori Midson​Five of the half dozen enterprises commanded by prolific restaurateur/chef Frank Bonanno are participating in Denver Restaurant Week, which gets underway on February 26 and continues through March 11, offering two weeks of multi-course dinners, priced at $52.80 per couple or $26.4 ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes: Pork osso buco from Osteria Marco

Lori Midson​ No. 84: Pork osso buco from Osteria Marco Osteria Marco is Frank Bonanno's homage to the hog, a ward of house-crafted charcuterie, pizzas tarped with prosciutto, puddings laced with pork fat, and Sunday night pig roasts. The subterranean enterprise -- a sound system of ruckus a ... More >>

The Green Russell, Frank Bonanno's newest venture, opens tonight

Lori Midson​ Word came yesterday that inspections are finished and the bar is stocked -- the Green Russell, a subterranean spot at 1422 Larimer Street, will open to the public tonight at 6 p.m.

James Rugile is leaving his exec-chef post at Venue to work with Frank Bonanno

Lori Midson​James Rugile, executive chef at Venue, which opened in 2008 at 3609 West 32nd Avenue, is vacating that kitchen at the end of the month to join Frank Bonanno's kingdom of restaurants -- specifically, the kitchens of Luca D'Italia and Mizuna, the two Bonanno restaurants, along with B ... More >>

No Reservations: Anthony Bourdain, Biker Jim's hot dogs and Frank Bonanno's blood sausage

​Anthony Bourdain shared hot dogs with Biker Jim, noshed with Frank Bonanno and ate his words on last night's episode of No Reservations, in which the lanky ex-chef toured America's heartland -- Austin, Texas; Des Moines, Iowa; Stanhope, Indiana; Livonia, Michigan; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minne ... More >>

Serious Eats chimes in on Denver's "unique food trends"

​Denver got a shout out last week on the eminent food blog Serious Eats, where they listed what they believe to be four unique food trends in our fair city. Our fast casual chains, micro breweries, green chili, and Beau Jo's all get mentions. While we appreciate that they resisted mentioning Rocky ... More >>

Top ten Italian restaurants in Denver

Denver has many great Italian restaurants. As I wrote this week, Mark & Isabella's is not one of them. Here are ten of my favorites: ​Il Posto (2011 East 17th Avenue, 303-394-0100). Il Posto has an excellent location, crammed between other bars and restaurants, their patios shoulder to should ... More >>

Chef and Tell with Frank Bonanno of Luca, Mizuna, Osteria Marco and Bones

Lori MidsonFrank Bonanno in the kitchen of Luca d'Italia​ "Look, I see a lot of things in restaurants that I think are really unacceptable, and it pisses me off, because I think that Denver diners deserve a lot better than what a lot of places are doing, and if that view makes me seem too ou ... More >>

Birthday beat: Luca D'Italia and Jonesy's EatBar both have reasons to jubilate

Six89 and Phat Thai executive chef Mark Fischer Luca D'Italia, Frank Bonanno's Italian restaurant at 711 Grant Street, celebrates six years in the Capitol Hill 'hood this month with a parade of visiting Colorado chefs, including Mark Fischer, exec at Carbondale's Six89 and Phat Thai, who joins Bonan ... More >>

Luca D'Italia kicks off its sixth anniversary chef dinner series tonight with Wayne Conwell

Luca D'Italia, 711 Grant Street, marks its six-year anniversary throughout the month with a march of visiting Denver chefs, including Wayne Conwell, exec at Sushi Sasa, 2401 15th Street, who will team up with Luca (and Mizuna, Osteria Marco and Bones) chef-owner Frank Bonanno tonight, June 3, for a ... More >>

A cornucopia of good food at The Q Worldly Barbeque

Cucumber Caipiroski at LaLa's

Osteria Marco

Make a pig of yourself at Frank Bonanno’s new place.

Star Light

Rebecca Weitzman heads for the Big Apple.

An Affair to Remember

Foodies celebrate at this taste sensation.

Jar Head

Red-pepper jelly gets canned at Frasca.

Lost in Translation

Milagro Taco Bar is far from the talk of the town.

Drink of the Week

Coin Style Silver Milagro Margarita

Bite Me

Comforting Thoughts

Bite Me

Travelin' Man

Best Italian Restaurant

Luca d'Italia

Best Second Act

Frank Bonanno

Way to Go

Luca D'Italia may kill me, but I'll go out smiling.

Best New Use of an Old Chinese Restaurant

Luca D'Italia

Bite Me

Booze News

Bite Me

Signs of the Times

Best Service

Mizuna

Best California-Mediterranean Restaurant

Mizuna

Life's Butter Here

Like cream, Mizuna rises to the top.

The Bite

Sean Kelly says goodbye--and takes Aubergine and the Biscuit with him.