Main Dish Recipes

The Cherry Cricket's Antonio Gorjoux on the day he nearly got fired, eating cow-eye tacos, and the secrets behind the Cricket burger

Lori Midson​ Antonio Gorjoux Cherry Cricket 2641 East Second Avenue 303-322-7666 www.cherrycricket.com This is part one of my Chef and Tell interview with Antonio Gorjoux, kitchen manager of the Cherry Cricket. Part two of that interview will run in this space tomorrow. "Chef is a big wor ... More >>

ChoLon presents Southeast Asian market cuisine with an upscale twist

See photos of the menu options at ChoLon.

The Palm's Marco Ramirez on new food strategies, his boner and how to cook the perfect steak

Lori Midson​ Marco Ramirez The Palm 1672 Lawrence Street 303-825-7256 www.thepalm.com This is part two of my interview with Marco Ramirez, executive chef of The Palm. In part one of that interview, Ramirez talks about life in a crazy-busy kitchen, the flood that almost drowned it, and how ha ... More >>

Five things we wish we saw on menus more often

We could use more kaffir lime leaves in our lives.​Yesterday, in honor of Groundhog Day, we brought you five foods we wish would stop repeating themselves on menus. Now, to get the rest of the year off to a nice, fresh start, we offer suggested replacements. In no particular order, here are f ... More >>

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: Cheese curds with fries and brown gravy

​Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. The Super Bowl is just ... More >>

Chef and Tell, part two: Euclid Hall's Jorel Pierce on body parts and being a trigger-puller

Lori Midson​ Jorel Pierce Euclid Hall 1317 14th Street 303-595-4255 www.euclidhall.com This is part two of Lori Midson's interview with Jorel Pierce, executive chef of Euclid Hall. Part one of that interview ran in this space yesterday. Favorite restaurant in America: Blue Ribbon in Manhat ... More >>

Denver street food: The best meals-on-wheels of 2010

Lori MidsonPanang curry from Liang's Thai Food​The first mobile food vendor on wheels was launched nearly 150 years ago, in 1872, when a Rhode Island native called Walter Scott trotted his horse-drawn freight wagon, stocked with sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs, coffee and pies around the town of ... 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 >>

The best meal I ate all year: M&D's Café

J. WohletzSmall ends plate from M&D's Cafe​ This year M&D's Café provided me with two of my favorite things in a meal: geographic convenience and a glut of roasted meat. Five Points is my 'hood, and having a place to get plump, mealy fried catfish; a mess of dark, steaming greens; and warm, ... More >>

In the kitchen with Snooze's Spencer Lomax: Corned beef hash

Lori Midson​The corned beef hash at Snooze is one of my favorite breakfast dishes in Denver, and Spencer Lomax, Snooze's culinary king and the subject of this week's Chef and Tell interview, was happy to share it here. "It's inspired by the diner classic, but we use custom corned beef and giv ... More >>

"Scrumptious Holiday Appetizers" class at the Denver Botanic Gardens

J. WohletzBaked Brie with figs and toasted almonds​ After being rescheduled thanks to yet another Jackson Street substation outage, the "Scrumptious Holiday Appetizers" workshop finally took place last night at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Instructor Susan Evans of Chrysalis Herbs taught stude ... More >>

Warming trends: The bare-bones Pho Duy provides warm comfort food just in time for winter

Three cheers for happy hour at Steuben's

​ Happy Place: Steuben's, 523 East Seventeenth Avenue, 303-830-1001 The Hours: Monday through Friday from 2 to 6 p.m. The Deals: $5 specialty cocktails; $12-$20 shareable cocktails; $1 sliders; $3 gravy fries; $0.50 deviled eggs Were we happy? Flip the page.

Snooze's Spencer Lomax on swine, his favorite green chile joints and cheek meat

Lori Midson​ Spencer Lomax Snooze, an A.M. Eatery Four locations in Colorado www.snoozeeatery.com This is part one of Lori Midson's interview with Spencer Lomax, culinary director of Snooze. Part two of this interview will run tomorrow. I spent pretty much every summer break through high sch ... More >>

Cantina Laredo hosts a preview of tomorrow's tequila dinner

​Cantina Laredo hosted a dinner and cooking class at the Centennial restaurant, 6851 South Gaylord Street, on November 8, to present new menu offerings and offer a preview of the first Jose Cuervo Tequila Dinner on Thursday, November 11. General manager Joann Harwell and executive chef Ed Le ... More >>

Chef and Tell, part two: Table 6 exec chef Scott Parker on girl-on-girl topless bacon cookery

Lori Midson​ Scott Parker Table 6 601 Corona Street 303-831-8800 www.table6denver.com This is part two of Lori Midson's interview with Table 6 exec chef Scott Parker. In case you missed it, part one of Parker's interview ran yesterday. Favorite restaurant in America: I have two kids, so w ... More >>

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: Paella

​ Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. We're coming into the ... More >>

Chef and Tell with the Lobby's Charley Sinden: corn sprouts, his favorite pizza and that offal thing

Lori Midson ​ Charley Sinden The Lobby 2121 Arapahoe Street 303-997-9911 www.thelobbydenver.com This is part two of Lori Midson's interview with Charley Sinden, exec chef of the Lobby. See what Sinden has to say about roach coaches, liver and the Domino's cheese pizza delivery in the first s ... More >>

In the kitchen with Z Cuisine's Charles MacDonald: Fisherman's stew

​Charles MacDonald, the mouthpiece of this week's Chef and Tell interview and the chef de cuisine of Z Cuisine, which serves some of the state's best French food, makes la marmitte du pecheur -- or fisherman's stew -- at the bistro, the recipe of which he's sharing with Cafe Society readers. " ... More >>

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: Roasted chicken with root vegetables

​Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. David Bekkin, the new p ... More >>

Big Bill's New York Pizza does NY-style pies exactly right

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: Porchetta!

​Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. It all started, says Ba ... More >>

Kelly Liken's pork carnitas tacos are designed for kids -- but wowed adult judges

Kelly Liken's New York strip steak​Kelly Liken, chef/owner of Restaurant Kelly Liken and one of the top-four contenders in this year's Top Chef DC, likes shallots. "I put them in almost everything," she says in this week's Chef and Tell (read the complete Kelly Liken interview here). They de ... More >>

Steuben's chef Brandon Biederman on that whole local, sustainable, green movement and the woman who weighed her food

Lori Midson​ Brandon Biederman Steuben's 523 East 17th Avenue 303-830-1001 www.steubens.com This is part one of Lori Midson's interview with Brandon Biederman, exec chef of Steuben's. Part two of that Q&A will run in this space tomorrow. Brandon Biederman is having a difficult time coming ... More >>

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: Salmon cakes

​Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. "We all know we should ... More >>

In the kitchen with Il Mondo Vecchio's Mark DeNittis: Yucatan-style beef, chèvre, rice and black bean burritos

​ Il Mondo Vecchio salumi emperor Mark DeNittis, and the subject of last week's Chef and Tell interview, spends the majority of his time pimping dry-cured meats, but the chef has other passions, too, including four-wheeling and camp cooking. His cookbook, My Jeep Grille Adventures, which he r ... More >>

In the kitchen with Deluxe chef Dylan Moore: tomato soup with fresh basil

​Dylan Moore, chef of Deluxe, Delite, Deluxe Burger and the proud owner of the Little Orange Rocket, the new Deluxe streetmobile, sat down with us last week to discuss his growing empire of restaurants, his fetish for fish sauce and tacos and how he managed to fuck up fish for Josh and Jen Wol ... More >>

Big Game's Leo Harvey on pork belly (it's just bacon!), Denver's obsession with green chile and his own obsession with chicken stock

Lori Midson ​ Leo Harvey Big Game Restaurant & Lounge 1631 Wazee Street 303-623-1630 This is part one of Lori Midson's interview with Leo Harvey, exec chef of Big Game Restaurant & Lounge. To read part two of that interview, check back here tomorrow. Leo Harvey is shaking his head, bewilde ... More >>

In the kitchen with Project Angel Heart's Jon Emanuel: Herb-roasted pork loin with pan jus

Lori Midson Project Angel Heart chef Jon Emanuel shoulders the pork​Project Angel Heart executive chef, Jon Emanuel, the subject of this week's Chef and Tell interview, serves nearly 800 dishes a day to people with life threatening illnesses, including an herb-roasted pork with pan juices, a b ... More >>

Little Nell's Ryan Hardy pimps pork on the Today Show

Little Nell executive chef Ryan Hardy ​Earlier this afternoon, Ryan Hardy, chef of the glitzy Little Nell Hotel and Residences in Aspen, braved the drivel of Today Show hosts Kathy Lee Gifford and, to a lesser extent, Hoda Kotb to wax poetic about pork shoulder and chimichurri sauce. Gifford ... More >>

Part two: Avenue Grill's Andrew Lubatty on hip-hop, kitchen doohickeys and Matty Selby

Lori MidsonAvenue Grill executive chef Andrew Lubatty​ Andrew Lubatty The Avenue Grill 630 East 17th Avenue 303-861-2820 www.avenuegrill.com This is part two of Andrew Lubatty's Chef and Tell interview. To read part one of that interview, click here. Culinary inspirations: When I was fourte ... More >>

In the kitchen with Ya Ya's Aaron Whitcomb: Duck confit with frisee and sherry vinaigrette

Lori Midson aaron Whitcomb's duck confit​Ya Ya's Aaron Whitcomb, the mouthpiece in this week's Chef and Tell interview, promises that his recipe for duck confit, despite the numerous ingredients and steps, isn't difficult. "Just make sure," advises Whitcomb, "that you pack the duck tight with ... More >>

Oak Tavern's Jeremy Roosa plays with sharp knives, ballyhoos the virtues of acidity, boohoos iceberg lettuce and sings the praises of the spatula

Lori Midson Jeremy Roosa, exec chef of the Oak Tavern ​Jeremy Roosa Oak Tavern 1414 Market Street 303-888-0655 www.oaktaverndenver.com "I dress like a clown, I play with food, fire and sharp knives, and they pay me. Does it get any more fun than that?" asks Jeremy Roosa. The executive chef o ... More >>

Gettig piggy with Marczyk Fine Foods and Ellis Scharfenaker: Pork belly!

photo courtesy of www.them-apples.co.uk.​Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them, and c ... More >>

Chef and Tell with Jennifer Jasinski from Rioja and Bistro Vendome

​Jennifer Jasinski Executive chef/owner: Rioja and Bistro Vendome Unless you've been in self-imposed isolation or mandatory lockdown, you've no doubt heard the news: Jennifer Jasinski, executive chef/co-owner of Rioja and Bistro Vendôme, is just months away from opening Euclid Hall Bar and ... More >>

Cooking with Pete: Split pea soup

Barb Macfarlane​Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. "Eternity is ... More >>

Bug out! Chef David Gordon hosts a creepy cooking class at the Butterfly Pavilion

​Ever eat a bug? On purpose? The Butterfly Pavilion, located at 6252 West 104th Avenue in Westminster, will welcome a truly freaky act to help open its new, sideshow-inspired exhibit, Dr. Entomo's Palace of Exotic Wonders, this weekend. Renowned Seattle entomophagist chef David Gordon, who ha ... More >>

What's Cooking? Pete Marczyk and David Bumgardner do choucroute

​Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. "This is really peasa ... More >>

How the chili cook-off was won (by Westword)

The Tasting Cafe could be the recipe for healthy, inexpensive eating

What's Cooking: Pete Marczyk cuts loose with lox

​Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. "Spend the dough and bu ... More >>

Medical marijuana patients enjoy pot luck at 8 Rivers

Cooking with Pete: Braised Spanish chicken

Barb Macfarlane​Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. Paul, P ... More >>

Cooking with Pete: Winter solstice truffled pork loin with winter vegetables and red cabbage slaw

Barb Macfarlane​Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. For this ... More >>

What's Cooking: Slow Food Rocky Mountain region guv Matt Jones takes us tailgating with ceviche

​ Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. Pete and Barb are taki ... More >>

What's Cooking: Slow Food Rocky Mountain region guv Matt Jones takes us tailgating with fish soup

Barb Macfarlane​Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. Pete an ... More >>

What's Cooking: Slow Food Rocky Mountain region guv Matt Jones takes us tailgating

​Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. This month, Pete and Ba ... More >>

What's cooking: Pete Marczyk gets stuffed

​Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. Last month, Pete and Ba ... More >>

Lobster in lobster sauce

So angry, so delicious...​ I have sworn for a long time that I would never include recipes in this blog. I have raised a (completely ineffectual) stink over the notion of other people including recipes. I have my reasons -- the biggest of which being that I neither like nor trust recipes no ... More >>