Osteria Marco

Up From the Depths

Up From the Depths

Veggie Girl: Osteria Marco

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

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 sp ... More >>

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 ... More >>

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 ... More >>

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 apparent ... More >>

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 Co ... More >>

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 ... More >>

Star Light

Rebecca Weitzman heads for the Big Apple.

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 ... More >>

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 ... More >>

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 ... More >>

Underground

Things are looking up at Larimer Square.

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 ... More >>

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

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 >>

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

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 >>

Osteria Marco

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

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 ... More >>

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 Lari ... More >>

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 Ri ... More >>

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, b ... More >>

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 offe ... More >>

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, par ... More >>

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, may ... More >>

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 h ... More >>

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 should ... More >>

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 bes ... More >>

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 ... More >>

The list: Top ten Larimer Square restaurants

​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:

Buca di Beppo spot goes to pot

​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 >>

Park and Co. opens today at 4 p.m., just in time for happy hour

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.

Tonight: Affair on the Square does al fresco in the city

​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 >>

Happy Friday: Denver's ten best bar snacks

Colt &Gray's bacon and cashew caramel corn​The 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 >>

Frank Bonanno's new Larimer Square space will peddle pie... and something else

Frank Bonanno at Bones​A 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 >>

Flagstaff House cancels its beer dinner, but here's a six-pack of other beer-and-food pairings you shouldn't miss

​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 >>

Tickets go on sale today for the Denver Celebrity Chef Tour -- and the lineup is stellar

Lori Midson​Tickets 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 >>

Tonight: Osteria Marco hosts a Slow Taste of Italy

​Frank Bonanno hosts a Slow Taste of Italy at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Osteria Marco, 1453 Larimer Street. The five-course Italian meal features local and sustainable ingredients; the courses are all paired with wines from around Italy. Tickets are $90; to snag a seat, call 303-534-5855 or go to w ... More >>

The Green Russell's staff will allegedly include some big-name moonlighting bartenders from around town

Adam Hodak engages Denver bartenders to make guest appearances​Frank Bonanno and Adam Hodak are still ironing out the details of the Green Russell, the subterranean bar they're opening behind a pie shop front called Wednesday's Pie in Larimer Square -- and that includes staff. But while the p ... More >>

A half-dozen downtown Denver restaurants suitable for different business lunch occasions

Mark MangerH Burger provides a setting for one kind of business lunch-- here are a half dozen additional options​When 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 >>

Tonight: Celebrity Chef Tour at Osteria Marco

​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 >>

Food porn from last night's Celebrity Chef Tour powwow at Osteria Marco

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 >>

Marco's Pizza -- no, not Marco's Coal-Fired Pizzeria -- is coming to Stapleton

​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 >>

Review Preview: Lou's Food Bar

Mark Manger​Frank 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 >>

Five chilly libations to beat the heat

Mark MangerThe Interstate torpedo slushy cones help beat the heat.​It's hot outside -- so hot, in fact, that two restaurants in the Kevin Taylor Group, Prima Ristorante and Palettes, are adding summer happy hours featuring half-price cocktails, beers and wines by the glass from 4 until 6 p.m. ... More >>

Go celebrate the end of boat season with a boat drink

​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 >>

The Wooden Table will open next week in Greenwood Village

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 >>

Our ten best pizzas in Denver (and Boulder)

Lori Midson​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 the metro area's best spots to stuff your piehole. Herewith, a citywide guide to the top ten palaces to achieve pizza utopia.