Green Russell

Photos: Bonanno Brothers Pizzeria opening in Park Meadows Saturday

Bonanno Concepts will open its tenth restaurant this weekend -- and the first one outside of Denver: Bonanno Brothers Pizzeria in the Vistas at Park Meadows. With this new spot, chef/owner Frank Bonanno is paying homage to his New Jersey upbringing of slinging pies and folding pizza boxes, as well 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 >>

Local restaurants plan fundraiser for former Denver chef Drew Inman, who's battling cancer

On Tuesday, February 19, several Denver restaurants -- Mizuna, Luca d'Italia, Bones, Osteria Marco, Russell's Smokehouse, Green Russell, Lou's Food Bar, Vesper Lounge, Barolo Grill and Potager -- will contribute a portion of their sales to Drew Inman, a former Denver chef, now in New York, who's bat ... More >>

Guess where you're eating? At an EatDenver restaurant if you're Graham

Cafe Society served up four Guess Where? contests last week, ranging from a flaky house-baked biscuit topped with bacon and egg from Hi-Rise, to a pomp-and-circumstance breakfast burrito from Fooducopia's Corner Store and Cafe, to a perfect whiskey cocktail.

Undead Presidents

Exclusive: Frank Bonanno will open Vesper Lounge in the former Lancer Lounge space

When longtime owner Becky Conda was evicted from the Lancer Lounge, the dive bar that resides between Bones and Mizuna, earlier this month, it seemed only natural that Frank and Jacqueline Bonanno, who own those restaurants, along with Luca d'Italia, Osteria Marco, Lou's Food Bar, Wednesday's Pie, G ... More >>

Reader: Squeaky Bean shows that Denver is not on the cutting edge of the food scene

Is the food at Squeaky Bean overrated? Gretchen Kurtz loved almost everything she tried there while dining out for this week's review (not the fried chicken ballontine, however), but other diners have a few bones to pick with her. See also: - Review: Squeaky Bean could write the book on innovative ... More >>

Are stairs a stumbling block to a successful restaurant?

In my next review, I explore a restaurant that's above grade. Despite how that sounds, the term has nothing to do with caliber. "Above grade" is architectural speak for spaces that are above ground. "At grade" is the term for street level and "below grade" is, well, you get it. All of which got me ... 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 >>

Announcement: We have a winner of our Celebrity Chef Tour contest

Amanda Cohen, the chef-owner of Dirty Candy, a vegetarian restaurant in New York that's generated national accolades, will be in Denver Wednesday night as part of the Celebrity Chef Tour, a moveable feast that traverses to venues all over America to pay homage to the late James Beard, the "father of ... More >>

Contest: Win two seats to the Celebrity Chef Tour at Linger

Next Wednesday night at Linger, local chefs Frank Bonanno (Mizuna, Luca d'Italia, Osteria Marco, Bones, Green Russell, Lou's Food Bar and Russell's Smokehouse), Eric Skokan (Black Cat Bistro and Bramble and Hare), Ann Cooper (the Renegade Lunch Lady), Daniel Asher, Samm Sherman and Justin Cucci (Roo ... More >>

Civic Center Eats, Colorado Wine Week and more on this week's calendar

Summer is in full swing -- as evidenced by the blossoming of the local street-food scene -- and its culinary fruits are bountiful. Here's a taste of what's on the calendar for the first week of June) and if you know of one we missed, feel free to share it in the comments section below):

Larimer Associates inks a deal with Smashburger to lease the Samba Room space

It's been nearly two years since the Samba Room, a Cuban restaurant chain based in Dallas, closed in Larimer Square, following a major water leak that dripped...and dripped into the Comedy Space Works space below. The chain's parent company, E-Brands Restaurants, eventually filed for bankruptcy last ... More >>

Reader: Randy Layman pours out some love for the cocktail scene

Do you want a shot of attitude with that beer? Laura Shunk's interview with Adam Hodak, the Green Russell bartender who doesn't think bartenders should be pretentious, hit a few people in their funny bones, not to mention wallets lightened by the cost of craft cocktails. The comments keep flowing o ... More >>

Reader: Green Russell pours on the pretentious

To be pretentious or not? About the only than that people could agree on after reading the interview with Adam Hodak of the Green Russell was that a margarita needs real lime.

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 >>

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 >>

Colorado bartenders face off in a Campari aperitivo competition tonight

A serious bartending scene in Denver has culminated in dozens of cocktail contests, many of which propel our local bar men and women to a national spotligh, where they go up against the country's best. And tonight, one of the biggest contests of 2012 is going down at Green Russell: twelve bartender ... More >>

Alex Seidel, Jennifer Jasinski, Frank Bonanno, Mark Fischer, Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, Frasca Food and Wine and Peak Spirits all James Beard semi-finalists

Jennifer Jasinski, chef/owner of Rioja, Bistro Vendome and Euclid Hall, is among the chosen few vying for a James Beard Foundation award.​The James Beard Foundation has just announced its crop of restaurant and chef semi-finalists vying for a coveted 2012 James Beard award, and several Denver ... More >>

Procrastinators, take heart: Prime time Valentine's Day reservations are still available

Tomorrow is a really special day of the year, when you will no doubt attempt to show how much you care about your significant other by showering him or her with gifts, Hallmark cards, roses, confections and maybe even some red and pink confetti. And if everyone plays their cards right, the most roma ... More >>

Kevin Burke: Mentorship is the hallmark of a mature bartending scene

In this week's behind the bar interview, Colt & Gray's Kevin Burke weighs in on how he started bartending, his favorite spot to blind taste spirits and the Mustache Series.

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 >>

Behind the bar with Joshua Smith at TAG and Williams & Graham

courtesy of Joshua Smith​Joshua Smith, who divides his bartending time between TAG and Williams & Graham, has been slinging drinks for all of his adult life, but his first foray into the profession was a bit of a fluke. "My dad used to be a chef, so I'd been in the kitchen for a long time, an ... More >>

Tequila or rum drinker? Mix it up with rhum agricole

​A few hundred years ago, while sugar traders from Britain and the American colonies were distilling their molasses into fiery rum, a very different tradition was unfolding on the French islands in the Caribbean. The French produced their own sugar in Europe, and so had no need to refine it an ... More >>

Reader: Larimer Square could soon be Bonanno Square

​Frank and Jacqueline Bonanno opened Russell's Smokehouse on Friday in a subterranean space in Larimer Square; the barbecue joint shares an entry (Wednesday's Pie) with Green Russell, as well the speakeasy's emphasis on contemporary cocktails. But the meaty menu -- including lamb's neck and tr ... 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 >>

Ask the bartender: What's up with Colorado winning so many contests?

I just returned from a week in Manhattan (New York, not Kansas), where I worked at the BAR 5-day program. The BAR 5-day is a masters'-level spirits and mixology course taught by six men -- F. Paul Pacult, Steve Olson, Andy Seymour, David Wondrich, Doug Frost and Dale Degroff -- who are icons in our ... 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 >>

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 >>

Pelee Tamarind and French Revival at Lou's Food Bar

​I'm the first one to bitch and moan about how all the great dives in Denver are disappearing -- but then when someone like Frank Bonanno (Mizuna, Luca D'Italia, Osteria Marco, Bones and Green Russell) comes in and gentrifies the hell out of one of those dives, I can't wait to see what he's d ... More >>

Under Larimer Square: why TAG | RAW BAR works and Green Russell doesn't

Mark MangerTAG | RAW BAR thrives in a basement spot under Larimer Square.​The basement is a hot place to be right now. Last year, two of Denver's top restaurateurs picked up underground spots in Larimer Square, opening unique concepts right at the edge of LoDo. The first was Green Russell, a ... More >>

Ask the Bartender: Meet Alexandra Parks, Colorado Cocktail contestant

​Sean Kenyon knows how to pour out both drinks and advice. A third-generation bar man with almost 25 years behind the bar, he is a student of cocktail history, a United States Bartenders Guild-certified Spirits Professional and a BAR Ready graduate of the prestigious Beverage Alcohol Resource ... More >>

Letters: "Just about every Denver mayor in recent memory has been a sock puppet for crooks"

Contest: Win tickets to EatDenver's sold out The Big Eat!

​EatDenver, a kick-ass squadron of more than fifty independent Denver food temples, puts out several awesome events and deals throughout the year, including Harvest Week and the EatDenver Dining Decks, a collection of 52 cards, each pimping $10 off any $25 food purchase at participating restau ... 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 >>

Green Russell makes Travel Leisure's list of America's best cocktail bars

Green Russell​What are the best cocktail bars in America? Well, according to Travel Leisure, Brooklyn's Clover Club, New Orleans's Cure ... and Denver's Green Russell, among a handful of others. In celebration of the "golden age of cocktails" currently upon us, the magazine rounded up ten s ... More >>

Guess where you're eating? At an EatDenver restaurant, if you're Dany

Last week Cafe Society served up five Guess Where contests last week, featuring everything from a big buffalo burger at Walk-In Burgers, to the refashioned green chile from Squeaky Bean that one reader compared to a Willy Wonka birthday party plate, to a delicious piece of pie. For correctly identi ... More >>

Restaurant roll call for 2010

Lori MidsonChoLon Modern Asian Bistro was one of the big restaurants to open in 2010.​While many restaurants closed in 2010, many more restaurants opened -- including such hot spots as ChoLon, Euclid Hall, Green Russell, Lou's Food Bar and, on the very last day of the year, Bittersweet. Here' ... More >>

Drink of the Week: Orange Spiced Fizz at Green Russell

Guess where you're eating? At an EatDenver restaurant, if you're Nic

Lori MidsonGreen Russell's fried chicken really flies.​Cafe Society served up five Guess Where contests last week, with dishes ranging from the pork al pastor at El Taco Velez to lobster at JJ Chinese Seafood to the fried chicken above, which you can find at Green Russell. For correctly ide ... More >>

Restaurant roll call for November

Ototo Food and Wine started pouring November 26.​There were many changes in the Denver dining scene last month, with two homegrown chains adding outlets, a couple of national chains entering the market -- and some definite one-of-a-kind restaurants opening. Read on for our Restaurant roll ca ... More >>

Wednesday's Pie, Frank Bonanno's front for Green Russell, opens today

Lori Midson​Last Friday, Green Russell, 1422 Larimer Street, the sexy new subterranean addition to Frank Bonanno's expanding group of restaurants, opened to the public. And on the first night of business, a constant stream of people flowed through the pie shop kitchen door, filling the bar and ... 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.

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 >>

The Green Russell's staff will allegedly include some big-name moonlighting bartenders from around town

Adam Hodak engages Denver bartenders to make guest appearances​Frank Bonanno and Adam Hodak are still ironing out the details of the Green Russell, the subterranean bar they're opening behind a pie shop front called Wednesday's Pie in Larimer Square -- and that includes staff. But while the p ... 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 >>