Subject: Osteria Marco

• Up From the Depths

  January 2, 2008

• Up From the Depths

  January 2, 2008

• For the Boys

  May 21, 2008

• Bones: Frank Bonanno's bold new plan for Seventh and Grant

  October 17, 2008

• Veggie Girl: Osteria Marco

  October 30, 2008

• TV or not TV? That's no question for these chefs

  November 12, 2008

• Ho, ho, ho: Twigs has closed -- for now

  Above is the season's greeting that Nancy Levine, our intrepid Drink of the Week columnist, found when she was out last night judging the 2008 Holiday Cocktail Competition. Seventeen restaurants -- all members of the Denver Independent Network of Restaurants -- had signed up to create special holiday drinks for this contest. But only sixteen of them are actually serving the drinks. Because as Nancy discovered when she made the trek down south to Tipsy's, the giant liquor s

  December 4, 2008

• Bad health reports, good pancakes at Children's Hospital

  The 24/7 cafeteria at Children's Hospital has long been known for its pancakes, which survived the trip from the old facility in central Denver out to the new Children's campus in Aurora. Years ago, Westword columnist Marty Jones flipped over the flapjacks in his Consumed column; just this fall, renowned restaurateur Frank Bonanno (of Mizuna, Luca D'Italia and Osteria Marco) touted them as "bar none, the best pancakes in the city." But there may not be a run on the panc

  December 11, 2008

• A saucy toy drive at Steuben's

  Steuben's will host a toy drive to benefit the Denver Rescue Mission tonight, beginning at 9 p.m. and running until about 2 a.m. And if you donate a toy, not only does God give you a pat on the back, but you receive a free cocktail or Great Divide beer! The cocktails are creations by eight of Denver's brightest Denver mixologists, who are teaming up with Sean Kenyon, Steuben's bar manager, to make a variety of signature cocktails. Drinks are coming from Osteria Marco's Adam Hodak, Vesta

  December 15, 2008

• The food trends--or lack thereof-- in 2009

  "Value." "The economy." "No new concepts." "Staying open." I talked to four of the top chefs in the state (and possibly the western United States) and asked each of them about the top Colorado food trends of 2009. I wanted to share their bold predictions, like "the new hottest dish will be anything with an egg on top" or "Peruvian is the new Thai." I wanted to be edgy and shock you with some random herb or vegetable that you don't know about.   I didn't get what I wa

  December 17, 2008

• Cheers! The winner of the 2008 Holiday Cocktail Competition

  'Tis a pleasure to drink in Colorado. On Saturday morning, I awoke with visions of sugerplums -- and whipped cream, and gingerbread, and chocolate sprinkles -- still dancing in my head. Just a few hours earlier, I'd sampled the last of sixteen entrees in the 2008 Holiday Cocktail Competition. I was a judge -- a very sweet gig -- and had spent the better part of the previous week careening around town with fellow judges, stopping at bar after bar, restaurant after restaurant, testing this t

  December 19, 2008

• Video: Chef Frank Bonanno makes his Bones as a TV star

  Here's a video of 2008 Best Chef award-winner Frank Bonanno -- of Mizuna, Luca D'Italia, Osteria Marco and the newly opened noodle bar Bones at 701 Grant Street -- giving a tutorial on how to make Lobster and Edamame Ramen. The video-production quality ain't exactly Rachel Ray yell-a-vision, but it makes you hungry nonetheless.-- Jared Jacang Maher

  January 6, 2009

• Another Irish rising

  It seems as though I'm not the only fella out there sick of the dearth of good Irish bars in this town. Though my piece about the Celtic Tavern and the following column about how to open a proper Irish bar have only been out in the world for a day, the responses have started to roll in. And apparently, I touched a nerve because the general consensus has been that, yeah -- Denver is miserably short on decent boozers catering to the geographically misplaced Mick. I did get one letter in defense o

  January 9, 2009

• A Colorado culinary connection

  Denver's food scene may not be as big as San Francisco's or New York's, but it isn't bad. In fact, it's the perfect match between intimacy and variety. And its size provides plenty of opportunities to get close not just to our restaurants, but to the specialty food shops around town.  Culinary Connections of Colorado is a new company set up to help you do just that. Started by Cristino Griego of Della Radice Gourmand Services (pictured here ©2009 Alan Hill)  and 'foodie' Becky Creighton, Cu

  January 9, 2009

• Frank Bonanno up for James Beard Award as Outstanding Restaurateur

  The James Beard Foundation has just released the semifinalists list for its 2009 restaurant and chef awards. And Frank Bonanno -- of Mizuna, Luca D'Italia and Osteria Marco (and now Bones, which opened at the very end of December) fame -- is one of twenty people up for Outstanding Restaurateur.No Coloradan made the Outstanding Chef semifinalist list, and there's no Colorado place included on the Outstanding Restaurant list, or for Best New Restaurant.But Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, of Duo (and Aix's s

  February 13, 2009

• 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 five-course wine pairing dinner priced at $90 per person. A 6:30 p.m. reception kicks off the night, followed by dinner at 7 p.m. To secure your spot, call 303-832-6600.If you can't make tonight's din

  June 3, 2009

• Today's featured event: Ante up for SAME Café at charity poker tournament tonight

  You can bet on SAME Café tonight. Ever since the Westword cover story on the SAME Café hit the stands last week, the non-profit restaurant reports that larger crowds of customers have been coming through the doors to pay what they want for food. So now is a great time to support Libby and Brad Birky's feed-the-masses mission by signing up for the SAME Café Ante-Up Charity Poker Tournament tonight at the Cap City Tavern -- an event that's guaranteed not to land participants on the front pag

  March 6, 2009

• Star Light

  September 13, 2007

• The List: Team Bonanno

  My review of Bones -- Frank Bonanno's new restaurant at 701 Grant Street -- was a love letter, a total crush note from one shameless omnivore to another, to the kind of guy who would put bone marrow, ice cream, escargot and udon all on the same menu, from the kind of guy who would gladly eat all of that in a single sitting.After I finished the review, I got to thinking about Bonanno's other restaurants in town -- both those still operating and those that failed, and it occured to me t

  March 23, 2009

• South Pearl awaits Park Burger

  Jean Phillippe Failyau, Frank Bonanno's right-hand man (and my former chef at Osteria Marco), is busy tying up the loose ends at Park Burger, which he says is about a month away from opening.As Jason Sheehan reported in December, although Failyau is working with Bonanno on this burger joint at 1890 South Pearl Street, Failyau will be in charge. While Bonanno's fingerprints will be on Park Burger, he won't t exert a lot of hands-on influence. Still, Bonanno has the magic touch these days, witness

  March 24, 2009

• How a big dump can wreak havoc, or how to get more bang for your buck

  First, the bad news: As Jason Sheehan just reported, a call to Frank Bonanno's Bones revealed that, you guessed it, it's closed due to inclement weather. Not only is Bones black until at least tomorrow, but Bonanno's three other restaurants -- Luca D'Italia, Mizuna and Osteria Marco -- are also dark. And that's just the short list of joints that have sent their troops home (or didn't open at all today), thanks to Mother Nature's wrath. Others that have succumbed to the white stuff? Fuel Cafe, Ro

  March 26, 2009

• Underground

  Things are looking up at Larimer Square.

  November 1, 2007

• The Westword.com blog shortcut, May 18 edition

  Photo by Soren McCartyThe Conchords in flight. Did they play "Albi the Racist Dragon?" Today in Backbeat Online: • Over the weekend: Flight of the Conchords at Red Rocks. • Moving Pictures: the Sexy Convicts, Lyin' Bitch, the Get Down, Vitamins, the Swayback, Ian Cooke, Young Coyotes. • Over the weekend: Gregory Alan Isakov at the Fox Theatre. • Green Day top seller at Independent Records. • DJ Quote/Yung Berg fued reaches new level. Today in Cafe Society: • Wine dinners tonight a

  May 18, 2009

• Digesting a year's worth of my best meals in the Mile High City

  January 1, 2009

• Alps in Rosso at Osteria Marco

  December 25, 2008

• Local eateries sum up the DNC action -- or lack thereof

  September 4, 2008

• Dems and don'ts for the DNC

  August 21, 2008

• On Broadway

  June restaurants are busting out all over.

  May 29, 2008

• The Rest of Denver

  An embarrassment of riches – and bitches.

  April 3, 2008

• Osteria Marco

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

  January 3, 2008

• Denver Sandwich Bag

  Man does not live by bread alone – but he can try.

  January 24, 2008

• Mix it up at Trios Enoteca on Sunday

  The state's best mixologists will be pouring it on -- and pouring out the drinks -- Sunday, April 26, at the first Colorado Cocktail Classic competition, sponsored by the Colorado Bartenders Guild. Go to Trios Enoteca,1730 Wynkoop Street, at 6 p.m. to cheer on your favorite bartenders and enjoy some great cocktails. Trios Enoteca will be featuring happy-hour prices all night, with $4 Absolut cocktails and free appetizers. The bartenders competing to go (all expenses paid) to the National USBG C

  April 22, 2009

• Wine dinners tonight at Frasca, Osteria Marco

  Tonight at Frasca, 1738 Pearl Street in Boulder, winemaker Etienne Hugel will present the wines of Hugel & Fils at a Monday Night Wine Dinner devoted to the flavors of Alsace. Dinner is $45 per person, with optional wine pairings extra; for reservations, call 303-442-6966. Osteria Marco, 1453 Larimer Street, will hold its monthly wine dinner tonight; four courses run $50 per person and include wine. For more info, call 303-534-5855.

  May 18, 2009

• Get ready for Park Burger's Friday debut

  Lori MidsonFor the past several weeks, I've been poking around Park Burger, the new burger barn at 1890 South Pearl Street that's the brain kid of Jean-Philippe Failyau, Frank Bonanno's go-to guy at Osteria Marco in Larimer Square. Last month, Tyler Nemkov reported that Park Burger's opening had been delayed, which was the same story I got from Failyau yesterday when I dropped by to survey the progress. Failyah was there with the electrician, who, by his own admission, was responsible for the la

  May 13, 2009

• The List: Big Operators

  Rough week for Big Red F. I wasn't all tht happy with Happy Noodle House; wasn't cuckoo for the Cocoa Puffs at Centro. But that doesn't mean I don't like some of Dave Query's other restaurants. Matter of fact, he runs two other joints that are among my favorites in the city.Which leads me to this week's List: the best single locations in town run by multi-unit operators. I'm not counting the chains in this list. Or any of the really big restaurant groups (save one, arguably). These are just guys

  June 5, 2009

• The List: Living it up on Larimer

  So now that I've squared things with Rioja in this week's re-review and detailed about a decade's worth of history on Larimer Square, what else is there to do?So glad you asked... Below, find this week's list of all the best places on Larimer Square -- and why. Now, if you find yourself craving a Rioja picnic or maybe a nice bowl of Jen Jasinski's pork belly but get turned away at the door because the wait is, like, twelve hours for a table, you'll have this handy guide of other worthy places to

  June 12, 2009

• Barbecue this weekend in Frisco, at Randolph's

  Head to the hills of Frisco this weekend for the mountain town's annual two-day Barbecue Challenge, a heated event that brings together competitive grillers from across the country. The riotous pig races are always a big draw, as is the pancake breakfast, live music and parade of barbecue grills, barrels and smokers that take over Main Street. For more info, go to www.townoffrisco.com/bbq. Back in Denver, Randolph's Restaurant and Bar, 1776 Grant Street, is also heating up the grill with its

  June 19, 2009

• The List: Nothin' but meat

  Smoked duck breast at Olivea.This past week I reviewed Sketch--a restaurant that serves almost nothing but meat.  And a little cheese.  And a few scattered, random plates of olives, cherries, bits of this, pieces of that. I liked the place for its simplicity, for the plain way that it offers some of the best stuff on earth.  I have long said that when the day comes that I am no longer doing this job and am free to eat the way I want to, whenever I want to, entire years will go by

  July 5, 2009

• Sober and not-so-sober observations from the Taste of the Nation

  Lori MidsonStaff from Vesta Dipping Grill and Steuben'sYesterday afternoon, Denver's best chefs rolled out the culinary red carpet and rubbed tongs with smitten admirers and other do-gooders who showed up in droves at Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation, a charity event that benefits anti-hunger organizations in Colorado and across the nation. The celebration was chef-chaired by Steuben's and Vesta Dipping Grill kitchen magician Matt Selby, who, with a lot of help from a lot of friends, pul

  July 20, 2009

• Crested Butte Land and Trust Food and Wine Festival uncorks today

  The first day of the four-day Crested Butte Land Trust Food and Wine Festival uncorks today. And unlike some local food and wine festivals where our homegrown chefs are snubbed, the Crested Butte powwow, which includes wine seminars, wine walks, chef dinners, grand tastings and gourmet picnics, parades four of Denver's top culinary chiefs: Keegan Gerhard (D Bar Desserts); Troy Guard (TAG); Tyler Wiard (Elway's Cherry Creek); and Frank Bonanno (Mizuna, Luca D'Italia, Osteria Marco and Bones). In

  July 23, 2009

• Behind the Bar: Mike Henderson of TAG

  ​Every week, Drink of the Week columnist Nancy Levine gets behind the bar with a local mixologist. Now serving: Mike Henderson, bar manager at TAG. How did you get into bartending? After college, I got a job as a doorman at a bar called Paul's Club in Madison, Wisconsin. I had only been working there a couple of months when one night we randomly got crazy busy and it was just me and the bar manager working. He literally came running up to me as I was checking someone's ID and shouted,

  August 18, 2009

• Part two: Chef and Tell with Frank Bonanno

  Frank Bonanno​This is part two of Lori Midson's interview with Frank Bonanno, executive chef-owner of Osteria Marco, Mizuna, Luca d'Italia and Bones. You can read the first part of Midson's interview with Bonanno here. Culinary inspirations: My mother and my sister. When I was six, seven, maybe eight, my mother and I used to cook together to the old Julia Child show. Our family ate dinner together every night, and from an early age, they cemented in me that food was more than just TV dinn

  October 15, 2009

• Cafe Society: Week in review

  ​What you might have missed this week on Cafe Society while you were carefully crafting your kick-ass crush letter telling us all about your favorite Denver dive-bar: Lobby American Grille general manager Cory Sylvester got more than be bargained for on Tuesday night when a couple of thugs roaming the alley roughed him up bad enough to send him off to the hospital. (He's fine). Jason Sheehan freely admits, right here in print, that Jonathan Safran's Eating Animals nearly converted him

  October 16, 2009

• Behind the Bar with Michael McGill of Osteria Marco

  ​Michael McGill grew up in Kansas City and moved to Boulder for college, where he poured his first drinks. He has been behind a bar since 1998, and today can be found managing the bar at Osteria Marco in Larimer Square. Now serving: Michael McGill. How did you get into bartending? I was serving tables at a sports bar in Boulder when one of the bartenders was sick and I got thrown behind the bar on Super Bowl Sunday 1998, when the Broncos won their second Super Bowl. It's still the most m

  October 20, 2009

• What's the worst way to get a bartender's attention?

  Don't worry, she sees you standing there.​Osteria Marco bartender Michael McGill hates being whistled at when someone wants his attention. As he told Westword's Nancy Levine in this week's Behind the Bar column, "I'm not a dog." Not every bartender is as cool as McGill. Still, no matter how he or she acts, that barkeep holds the keys to your happiness. So use the social skills you've acquired over the years when you try to flag one down. And in case you have no social skills, here's a li

  October 21, 2009

• 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 shoulder. The concept is also interesting: a purely and unapologetically Italian trattoria with chalkboard menus, changed daily and almost always brilliant, an open kitchen and a dining room alive with bodi

  October 23, 2009

• Here's a tip: Denver diners are the second best tippers in the nation, according to Zagat surveyors

  ​Tim and Nina Zagat just dropped the 2010 edition of America's Top Restaurants (full disclosure: I edited the Colorado section), along with pages and pages of dining summations that sling stats culled from eaters who responded to Zagat's annual dining survey that, more or less, sums up the best and worst of each city. And survey says...

  October 23, 2009

• Cafe Society: Week in review

  Lori Midson​ What you might have missed this week on Cafe Society while you were commiserating with Jason Sheehan over his abysmal dinners at Mark and Isabella, the Italian restaurant run by Arizona-based hot shot restaurateur, Mark Tarbell. A man was shot dead in an altercation inside Chopsticks & Sushi, the downtown restaurant at 16th and Welton that has absolutely nothing in common with Chopsticks China Bistro, the Chinese restaurant that recently relocated from Federal Boulevard t

  October 23, 2009

• Staffing Up: A new concept for Mark & Isabella

  ​ Last week, my buddy Dave Herrera over at Backbeat debuted a new bloggity thingamajig called Recast, in which he and his guys redo the soundtracks of existing movies. First one? Blade Runner -- one of the greatest movies of all time, and one with a soundtrack that already kicks some serious, artsy, Vangelis-y ass. Despite the fact that he had Dolly Parton, the Kinks and the Electric Prunes on his new version, I still thought it was a great idea. So good, in fact, that I've decided to

  October 29, 2009

• Egg-ceptional egg dishes in Denver

  ​ "With an egg on top." Ooh. You just stepped up your food game. You uttered those five words to the server, and suddenly everyone at your table perks up. It's not just a sign that you're starving. It shows you're a risk-taker. Someone who has had enough of diets and eating healthy. Someone who -- for a lack of a better term -- wants to break the shell. "Screw my waistline; just bring me what I want." While Homer Simpson's Good Morning Burger hasn't made its debut (yet), you can still

  November 3, 2009