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 >>
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 >>
When the Center for Science in the Public Interest handed out its Xtreme Eating Awards last month for the least nutritious dishes in the nation, people yawned. Except PR people, that is -- they went into overdrive. The list was as shocking as ever, but the truth simply doesn't hurt as much when you ... More >>
Happy Monday! Restaurants and bars around town are hosting a variety of celebrations for the new year. Keep reading to see just some of the options; find more in our online calendar listings calendar. And if you know of still other worthy end-of-the-year events, share the info in the comments sectio ... More >>
"All right, everybody ready to get their hands dirty?" asked Burton Koelliker, executive chef at Osteria Marco, as he and his crew rolled a few dozen balls of dough so that we could attempt to make pizza crusts. After much spilled laughter and flour, the students at Saturday's "The Art of Pizza Mak ... More >>
In this interview, Osteria Marco bar manager Amanda Olig weighs in on rye whiskey, how she got her first bartending job in Denver and what she drinks after a particularly difficult night.
According to the Interwebs, it's National Pizza Week (who knew?), which seems like as good a time as any to update our 2011 list of Denver's six best pizzas. Herewith, a citywide guide to the top ten palaces to achieve pizza utopia.
Lori Midson"I want to bring the upscale downtown bistro feel to the suburbs," says Jane Knauf, a former executive at the Magnolia Hotel, who, along with Brett Shaheen, fresh off the heels as exec chef of Osteria Marco, will open the Wooden Table next week at 2500 East Orchard Road, in Greenw ... More >>
You hear that sound? It's the sound of summer whistling its way out the door. Labor Day Weekend is upon us, and that means that even if we're still able to sit on patios next week, the moment when we're going to have to bundle up and brace for winter is any day. Don't let it go out with a wh ... More >>
Mark MangerFrank Bonanno has built a formidable empire in Denver over the last decade, expanding out from his original spot, Mizuna, into Luca d'Italia, Osteria Marco and Bones. Last year, the restaurateur gave the city two new concepts: Green Russell, a speakeasy in Larimer Square, and Lou's ... More >>
A new Marco's Pizza is about to open in Northfield Stapleton. No, not a branch of Osteria Marco, Frank Bonanno's restaurant in Larimer Square. And not another Marco's Coal-Fired Pizzeria. Next month, Nick Costanzo will open a Marco's Pizza at 8286 Northfield Boulevard; it will be the sixth ... More >>
Lori Midson"Believe it or not, it's been pretty calm today," said Frank Bonanno, standing in the kitchen of Osteria Marco, the turf for last night's Celebrity Chef Tour dinner, a gathering of five Denver chefs -- Bonanno, Alex Seidel (Fruition and Frution Farms), Eric Skokan (Black Cat and Bl ... More >>
Tonight Osteria Marco, 1453 Larimer Street, will host the Celebrity Chef Tour, a benefit for the James Beard Foundation that features a dinner prepared by Michael Ginor from Hudson Valley Foie Gras and Denver heavyweight chefs Frank Bonanno, Matt Selby, Alex Seidel and Eric Skokan (read Eric ... More >>
Mark MangerH Burger provides a setting for one kind of business lunch-- here are a half dozen additional optionsWhen I reviewed H Burger Co this week, I was especially drawn to the spot as a great downtown option for lunch on a work day -- an escape from the office where you can sit down to e ... More >>
Lori MidsonTickets go on sale today for the Denver Celebrity Chef Tour, a star-studded squad of kitchen sorcerers, including Matt Selby (Vesta Dipping Grill and Steuben's); Alex Seidel (Fruition and Fruition Farms); Eric Skokan (Black Cat, Boulder); and Michael Ginor, the co-founder and chef ... More >>
The beer extravaganza of the year is upon us. Starting this weekend, hundreds of breweries from around the country will descend upon the Mile High City for the Denver Beer Fest and the Great American Beer Festival. With so many rare brewed beverages suddenly available, it takes a lot of will ... More >>
Frank Bonanno at BonesA couple of months back, we saw a tweet from Frank Bonanno asking his Twitter followers whether Denver would rather see doughnuts or pie. Denver must have said pie. The chef, whose expanding restaurant group includes Mizuna, Bones, Osteria Marco and Luca d'Italia, acqui ... More >>
Colt &Gray's bacon and cashew caramel cornThe bacon and cashew caramel corn at Colt & Gray (1553 Platte Street) is salty, sweet and addictive, leaving us hungry for more every time we finish our allotted cup. And the treat just earned a nod from Bon Appetit, which called it one of the best ba ... More >>
Dining outside is one of the best things about beautiful weather. We've certainly got the weather, and tonight, Larimer Square will provide the eats at the inaugural Affair on the Square, a benefit for the Colorado Symphony. Participating restaurants include Bistro Vendome, Capital Grille, Co ... More >>
Lori Midson In less than an hour, Jean-Philippe Failyau, who owns Park Burger in Platt Park and a small interest in Osteria Marco, will lift the garage doors and fling open the front door of Park and Co, his new burger joint that took over the Bump and Grind plot at 439 East 17th Avenue.
The landlord finally found a tenant for the former home of Buca di Beppo, a choice space at 1400 Market Street that's been empty since summer 2008. And what's going in? Another big-name national eatery, like Ted's Montana Grill just up 14th Street? Another prestigious local restaurant, like ... More >>
Jason Sheehan just reviewed TAG and found lots to love at Troy Atherton Guard's eponymous restaurant, including -- but not limited to -- the rice. Here are nine more Larimer Square restaurants we think deserve some props:
"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 ... More >>
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 should ... More >>
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 bes ... More >>
Frank BonannoThis 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, may ... More >>
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, par ... More >>
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 offe ... More >>
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, b ... More >>
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 Ri ... More >>
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 ... More >>
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 Lari ... More >>
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 ... More >>
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 ... More >>
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 ... More >>
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 Co ... More >>
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 apparent ... More >>
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 ... More >>
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 sp ... More >>
Make a pig of yourself at Frank Bonannos new place.
Things are looking up at Larimer Square.
Rebecca Weitzman heads for the Big Apple.
Find everything you're looking for in your city
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city
