Justin Cucci

The food at Root Down gets a thumbs-down

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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.

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

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

Jennifer Jasinski's shrimp sliders win by a shrimp at Hot Rocks Griller Challenge

Lori Midson All the rain in Spain couldn't have dampened the spirits at last night's Hot Rocks Griller Challenge at Elway's Cherry Creek (2500 East First Avenue), a benefit for the Denver Heath Foundation that brought together eleven Denver chefs, chaperoned by Denver Bronco cheerleaders, who coer ... 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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

Get happy at Denver's fifty best happy hours

​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 >>

Part two: Chef Brendon Doyle on live squid on a stick, spurting blood and beef tips

Lori MidsonBrendon Doyle, executive chef of Jonesy's EatBar​ Brendon Doyle Jonesy's EatBar 400 East 20th Avenue 303-863-7473 This is part two of my interview with Brendon Doyle, executive chef of Jonesy's EatBar. To read part one, click here. One food you detest: Tripe. It's awful -- like ... 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 >>

Just Cause

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

Round two with Trattoria Stella's Valentino Ujkic

Lori Midson​ Valentino Ujkic Trattoria Stella 3201 East Colfax Avenue 303-320-8635 http://trattoriastella.squarespace.com This is part two of my interview with Valentino Ujkic , executive chef of Trattroria Stella. Part one of that interview ran yesterday. Favorite restaurant in America: K ... 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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

Root Down is worth a second chance in your dinner rotation

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 >>

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 >>

Denver's five best rooftop patios

LingerThe rooftop at Linger.​We usually have long Indian summers here in Colorado, but yesterday's temperature plunge, while welcome, was still a warning shot that summer is on its way out. Translation: you've got a dwindling number of chances to drink on a deck. This weekend, though, the fo ... More >>

Round two with Brad Arguello, exec chef of the Uber Sausage

Lori Midson​This is part two of my interview with Brad Arguello, exec chef of the Uber Sausage. Part one of my chat with Arguello ran in this space yesterday. Brad Arguello The Uber Sausage 2730 East Colfax Avenue 303-862-7894 www.theubersausage.com What you'd like to see more of in Denver/B ... More >>

Crema Coffee House now serving breakfast and lunch

​Crema Coffee House has become more than its name implies. After building a kitchen and expanding the seating area, this spot is now offering breakfast and lunch in the heart of RiNo, a developing area just past the Ballpark neighborhood that's hungry for more dining options. "There was defin ... More >>

Denver's five best bars in restaurants

Lori Midson​To us, a bar seat in a restaurant isn't a consolation prize. In fact, more often than not, we'd prefer to land one of those more low-key seats instead of going all-in at a table, especially when there's an interesting cocktail list and an affable bartender to lead us through dinner ... 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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

Denver's ten best new restaurants of 2011

Lori MidsonThe digs at Trillium, one of the best restaurants to open this year.​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 o ... More >>

Part two: Denver chefs dish on what they wish would disappear in 2012

Lori MidsonJustin Cucci, chef/owner of Root Down and Linger, wants to see less pork belly, truffles, lamb, bisques, cream, offal, veal, French desserts, truffle oil, bacon, innards, butter, French influences and people jizzing in their pants over charcuterie.​As we've discovered in our weekly ... More >>

Denver's ten best new bars of 2011

Crash 45Crash 45 opened this year in Globeville.​This year was a banner year for new restaurants -- as we noted in this week's Year in Review, nearly 300 new places have opened since January 1. Dozens of them included bars, and many more new dives, cocktail lounges, pubs and piano bars gave us ... More >>

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

Lori MidsonJustin Cucci of Root Down and Linger.​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 ... More >>

Part two: Denver chefs reveal what they'd like to see more of in 2012

Lori MidsonJensen Cummings, executive chef of Row 14.​For last week's "Year in Review," we recapped what the subjects of the 2011 Chef and Tell interviews would like to see less of in Denver. This time, we're serving up their wish lists of what they'd hope to find on Denver's plate in the new ... More >>

Ryan Leinonen on "Mr. Wizard," Velveeta, pig's nipples and the raw vegan

Lori Midson​ Ryan Leinonen Trillium 2134 Larimer Street 303-379-9759 www.trilliumdenver.com This is part one of my interview with Ryan Leinonen, exec chef/owner of Trillium. Part two of our chat will run in this space tomorrow. Hey!" hollers Ryan Leinonen to one of his cooks. "How's that ca ... More >>

Five Denver/Boulder kitchen magicians who should audition for Top Chef Season 10

Lori Midson​"Every season the bar gets higher, every season it means more to be the one on top - do you have what it takes to be the next TOP CHEF?" So begins the verbiage on the Bravo website, taunting cookers from around the country to audition for season ten of Top Chef, which, if you belie ... More >>

Round two with J. Michael Melton, exec chef of Zydeco's

Lori Midson​ J. Michael Melton Zydeco's 1730 Wynkoop Street 303-293-2887 www.zydecosdenver.com This is part two of my chat with J. Michael Melton, exec chef of Zydeco's. Part one of our interview ran in this space yesterday. Favorite Denver/Boulder restaurant(s) other than your own: I eat a ... More >>

Denver's ten best dessert spots

someecards.comBecause you definitely shouldn't.​We might be able to sate our sweet tooth with a piece of fruit in the summer, but in the dead of winter, nothing but a dessert made with plenty of cream and sugar will do. And with Valentine's Day right around the corner. whether we're drowning o ... More >>