Justin Cucci

Photos: Linger serves up international street food and $3 cocktails for Sunday brunch

With ingredients like sambar curry, lacinato kale and pickled jalapeños, Linger's new brunch menu allows you to travel the globe without dusting off your passport. No strangers to traditional eggs and bacon, chef/owner Justin Cucci and his team also incorporate Japanese, Indian, New Orleans and Me ... More >>

Denver's five best patios to celebrate the arrival of spring (despite the snow)

The crew at Crimson & Gold, a bar near the University of Denver, apparently didn't venture outside yesterday, because while Denver's finest meteorologists had it all wrong when they predicted that the city would be snowballed by Snowzilla-Snowmageddon-Snowpocalypse, it was definitely not "patio weat ... More >>

Root Down and Linger now hiring

Brush up that resume: Linger and Root Down -- including the Root Down that will be opening at Denver International Airport as early as May -- are hiring, and will be interviewing next week. "We are a local restaurant group that is growing and looking for the right individuals to grow with us and bec ... More >>

Dia De Los Muertos, Halloween and more beer on the calendar this week

Despite its ongoing fight with the city, El Diablo will be hosting its annual Dia de los Muertos Celebration on Tuesday, October 30. And that's not the only spooky event on the culinary calendar -- there are plenty of Halloween parties that should be a real treat. Here's a taste of what's on the m ... More >>

Win two tickets to Linger's Necro Noche fundraiser for the GrowHaus

Update: We have a winner of our Necro Noche contest, in which we asked: "How many fish are in the demonstration aquaponics system at the GrowHaus?" Congrats to Elizabeth389, who came the closest without going over with her guess of 38. The actual number is 40. With Halloween approaching, there a ... More >>

Justin Cucci opening Chain Lightning, a bar, restaurant and live music venue

There's been buzz circulating for months that Justin Cucci, the owner/chef of Linger and Root Down (and, at some point, a second Root Down at DIA), had his clever hands in another project, and now we can confirm exactly what that is: Cucci will open a bar, restaurant and live music venue, currently ... More >>

Reader: Celebrity Chef Tour has jumped the shark -- where's Henry Winkler?

Celebrity chefs are winging into Colorado for this weekend's Aspen Food & Wine festival, and one lands in Denver today: Amanda Cohen, chef-owner of Dirt Candy, a renowned vegetarian restaurant in New York, will be at Linger tonight as part of the Celebrity Chef Tour, a moveable feast that crosses A ... 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 >>

Biker Jim on where he'd eat if had only 24 hours in Denver

This is part two of our interview with Biker Jim, chef-owner of Biker Jim's Gourmet Dogs. Read part one of the Biker Jim interview. Jim Pittenger Biker Jim's Gourmet Dogs 2148 Larimer Street 303-550-8231 www.bikerjimsdogs.com What you'd like to see more of in Denver/Boulder from a culinary stand ... More >>

Jeremy Kittelson, former chef of Ambria, sprouts at Root Down...with a chance to grow

In early March, after Jeremy Kittelson, the opening exec chef of Ambia, was canned during a to-the-point meeting at the Cheesecake Factory, he made it clear that he wanted to stay in Denver: "I really want to find another restaurant, where we can do the same caliber of great cuisine that we did at A ... More >>

Denver's ten best new restaurants

At the end of last year, we published our list of the ten best restaurants that had opened in 2011 -- as we saw them at the time. Over the next few months, though, as we prepared for the Best of Denver 2012, we had a chance to really digest what the 300 new restaurants had brought to the city, and o ... More >>

Rumor has it Root Down will open a location at DIA

Not long ago, searching for a decent meal at Denver International Airport was like trying to discern the literary value of the Twilight saga: it just didn't exist. But over the past few years, the concourses have picked up a few decent options, including the Chophouse on Concourse A and the wine bar ... More >>

Reader: I'd like to see fewer chefs who are pricks in 2012

For our Year in Review issue, we rounded up all the answers that Chef and Tell subjects had given when asked what they'd like to see less of in Denver/Boulder from a culinary standpoint:? The recap inspired this from Dave: I wish for less chefs to come off as total pricks in these interviews. Spec ... More >>

Denver's ten best new restaurants of 2011

By our count, nearly 300 restaurants have opened in the metro area since January 1 -- a big increase over 2010, when just over 200 concepts (many of them food trucks) joined the scene. This past year, we saw many of those food-truck entrepreneurs also pick up leases to brick-and-mortar spaces, putti ... 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 >>

Raw vegan dinner at Root Down

A Flickr photo.​There are many reasons to love Root Down, Justin Cucci's restaurant at 1600 West 33rd Avenue, including chef Daniel Asher's five-course, raw vegan dinner offered from 6 to 10 p.m. every Tuesday. The menu changes, but the price is always $42. To make a reservation, call 303-993- ... More >>

New York Times pours on the love for Colorado distilleries

​Colorado's distilleries will get their due in the New York Times travel magazine on Sunday. And the piece, in "Blithe Spirits," has already been posted on the web. The article celebrates this state's burgeoning spirits scene, describing distilleries ranging from the Boulder Distillery to Pe ... More >>

Reader: Justin Cucci is a true groundbreaker, pardon the pun

Root Down​For the last few weeks, Laura Shunk has been writing about local restaurant gardens and what the chefs are doing with the fruit of their labors. And while the snow may have put those plots -- and the series itself -- in the deep freeze, the story on Justin Cucci, owner of Root Down ... More >>

Justin Cucci's Root Down garden is about to expand -- big time

Root DownA sampling of produce from the Root Down garden.​Justin Cucci, owner of Root Down and Linger, has been gardening near Root Down since it opened three years ago. But he'll be the first to deny credit for what grows there. "I'm a city person," he says. "I have no green thumb in me. We ... More >>

Linger and Root Down hosting a yard sale this weekend for a good cause

​ There are few restaurants in Denver that stack up to Root Down and Linger, at least in terms of style and design, and we imagine that the staff of both restaurants have scads of pretty cool stuff lying around their abodes, too, some of which they're selling for a good cause this weekend at ... More >>

Root Down is worth a second chance in your dinner rotation

With delicious food, Linger gives new life to a former mortuary space

Photos: Back of the House at Linger

Photos: Linger

Mark MangerThe popper breakdown includes shishito peppers and tempura cheese curds.​Justin Cucci's menu at Linger, his second Highland restaurant that opened this summer in the former Olinger Mortuary, is an eclectic list of global street food -- a concept that could only work if the chef and ... More >>

Linger is the newest player in lower Highland, Denver's best restaurant neighborhood

Mark MangerThe raw samosas at Linger are part of a global street-food menu.​We named lower Highland (which some developers insist on calling LoHi -- a name we fear is catching on) the Best Restaurant Neighborhood in the Best of Denver 2011 because of the wide range of excellent edible experien ... More >>

Linger? Why, yes, we'd love to!

​Happy Place: Linger, 2030 West 30th Avenue, 303-993-3120 The Hours: Tuesday through Friday from 4 to 6:30 p.m. (Food service begins at 4:30 p.m.) The Deals: $3.50-$7 small plates; $3 select draft beer; $4-$5 specialty cocktails; $5 glasses of house red and white wines. Were we happy? Flip ... More >>

Round two with Noah Stephens, executive chef of Vert kitchen

Lori Midson​ Noah Stephens Vert Kitchen 704 South Pearl Street 303-997-5941 www.vertkitchen.com This is part two of my interview with Noah Stephens, exec chef/owner of Vert Kitchen. Part one of my chat with Stephens ran in this space yesterday. Favorite restaurant in America: I love French ... More >>

The four Denver restaurants with the hottest clientele over the 4th

Lori MidsonLinger's dining room features one of the hottest crowds in town.​In the Best of Denver 2011, we named Common Grounds the Best Coffeehouse for Finding a Date, thanks to the constant crowd of young professionals who mingle there over cappuccinos. And because we're big proponents of di ... More >>

A photo-centric preview of the new Linger

Lori Midson​We've seen a succession of restaurant openings over the last several months, but Linger, the second restaurant from Justin Cucci, the owner/chef of Root Down, may very well be the most anticipated new arrival of the year. And after a remarkably good dinner there last week, at whic ... More >>

Reader: Justin Cucci interview is the best Chef and Tell ever

Lori Midson​Lori Midson's new Chef and Tell interview with Justin Cucci, chef/owner of Root Down, has people talking. From booyah: this man gets it From Lipster: It's interesting that he uses "pussies" as a derogatory term and then, in nearly the same breath, refers to all of the women who w ... More >>

Round two with Root Down's Justin Cucci: Linger, muthafuckas!!!!

Lori Midson​ Justin Cucci Root Down 1600 West 33rd Avenue 303-993-4200 www.rootdowndenver.com This is part two of my interview with Justin Cucci, owner and executive chef of Root Down and Linger. Part one of my interview with Cucci ran in this space yesterday. Favorite restaurant in Amer ... More >>

Root Down's Justin Cucci dishes on pot, pussy and soup talk

Lori Midson​ Justin Cucci Root Down 1600 West 33rd Avenue 303-993-4200 www.rootdowndenver.com This is part one of my interview with Justin Cucci, owner and executive chef of Root Down and Linger. Part two of my interview will run in this space tomorrow. Justin Cucci has spent the majority ... More >>

Just Cause

Tonight: Cook for the Cause fights against breast cancer

​Since this is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October is overflowing with events to support breast-cancer causes. The most delicious event, though, will definitely be Cook for the Case, tonight at Kimball Distributing, 1400 West Third Avenue, and billed as "a delicious way to help fight the ba ... More >>

Four Denver restaurants get major shout-outs from the New York Times

Lori Midson​Time and time again, in our weekly Chef and Tell interviews, we read about local kitchen commanders lamenting the dearth of Denver restaurant exposure on a national level. In fact, Jeff Bolton, exec chef of Second Home Kitchen & Bar, and the subject of this week's Chef and Tell Q&A ... More >>

Justin Cucci to open Linger in LoHi Marketplace

​Linger has a date with the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses on May 26. Justin Cucci, chef/owner of Root Down, has signed on for a second space a few blocks away from his restaurant at 1600 West 33nd Avenue. This one is in the old Olinger's building that's been redubbed the LoHi Market ... More >>

Falling for autumn dishes in Denver

A Flickr photo​As someone who hails from the Midwest and has never lived in a place that didn't have seasons, I take seasonal food very seriously. Last year a friend visiting from southern California stared at me in bewilderment as I savored the first batch of strawberries from the farmers' ma ... More >>

Chefs for the Cause canceled

Sergio Romero will not be cooking dinner at Chefs for the Cause -- and neither will anyone else.​Chefs for the Cause sounded like a philanthropic foodie's delight -- six of Denver's top chefs creating delicious food to help raise money for the Denver affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. J ... More >>

Top Denver chefs play with fire for charity tonight at Elway's Cherry Creek

Real food. Sharp utensils. Big fire. A good cause. And Denver's top chefs. That's what's on tap tonight, from 6 to 9 p.m., at Elway's Cherry Creek, 2500 East First Avenue, when eleven of the town's top cookers - Tyler Wiard (Elway's, Cherry Creek); Sean Yontz (Mezcal, Tambien and Sketch); Justin ... More >>

Former Root Down chef finds new piece of turf

As reported here last month, Ryan Leinonen, the starting chef at Root Down, 1600 West 33rd Avenue, was uprooted on April 24, when owner Justin Cucci snipped his stem. But chefs are survivors and Leinonen is no exception. He's landed the sous position at Colt & Gray, the farm-to-plate gastropub g ... More >>

Cafe Society: Week in review

What you might have missed on this week's Cafe Society...The much anticipated Pho on 6th opened, along with Olivea and Otto's Grill.We got to the root of owner Justin Cucci's dismissal of Root Down's executive chef, Ryan Leinonen.Jason Sheehan geeked out with the Geeks Who Drink and fought a pack of ... More >>

Getting to the root of the boot at Root Down

It hasn't exactly been all spring flowers for Justin Cucci, the owner of Root Down. Despite snatching a Best of Denver award for its unassailable contemporary cocktail roster (served by a cadre of the town's coolest bartenders), Jason Sheehan skewered the joint in a review published in early April, ... More >>

The food at Root Down gets a thumbs-down

IACP Conference Report: What do several hundred wet food writers smell like?

For those of you not yet hipped to the big foodie news in Denver this week, the International Association of Culinary Professionals is in town -- a kind of traveling circus show of food writers, food editors, food pimps, chefs, authors, wine gurus and associated tradesmen. And, of course, Jason Shee ... More >>

Best of Denver: They coulda been contenders

A sneak peek at Root Down

Root Down, Justin Cucci's stylish new restaurant at 1600 West 33rd Avenue, officially opens for dinner tonight, To whet your appetite, we're serving up a sneak peek at the menu.

We're rooting for Root Down

Root Down, Justin Cucci's spanking-new restaurant, isn't slated to officially open until Friday afternoon -- but we have it on good authority that if you stop by 1600 West 33rd Avenue this evening, Root Down will have its doors open. And what doors they are. We stopped by for a preview last nig ... More >>

An official opening date for Root Down

Word just came down that Root Down, the new field-to-fork, small plates restaurant that's recycled an old service station at1600 West 33rd Avenue, has an official opening set for Friday, December 19. And owner Justin Cucci should have no problem making that date, because the restaurant had ... More >>

Root Down still putting down roots in northwest Denver

    There's been lots of talk about Root Down, the restaurant that Justin Cucci, former co-owner of Ye Waverly Inn in New York City, plans to open in an old service station at 1600 West 33rd Avenue, at the corner of Osage Street. One such conversation -- recorded by Drink of the Week colu ... More >>