Yasmin Lozada-Hissom

Spuntino closes for a remodel and will reopen later this week

Back in December, we broke the news that Spuntino, chef John Broening and pastry chef Yasmin Lozada-Hissom's neighborhood restaurant in Highland -- a restaurant that turns out everything from unassailable gelato to equally unparalleled porchetta -- would temporarily shutter sometime this February to ... More >>

Reader: Everything about Spuntino's chocolate caramel tart is perfect

The 100 Favorite Dishes countdown continues, and No. 98 is the chocolate caramel sea salt tart from Spuntino, created by pastry expert Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, who's married to John Broening, an equally talented chef. They've recently revamped the restaurant, and Spuntino is now getting raves for many ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes: chocolate caramel sea salt tart from Spuntino

Suffice it to say that I eat out more than the general population, unless, of course, the general population can catalog more than 450 restaurant meals in a year -- which is about the number of breakfasts, lunches and dinners that I stomached in 2012. Pathetic, isn't it? But all those food dates are ... More >>

Some celebrity chefs are stars...and others, like Daniel Cofrades, cook for them

The term "celebrity chef" is as ubiquitous as pork belly, but I bet that if I asked ten people for a definition, I'd get ten different answers. To some, it means a nationally known chef with a mug you'd recognize from appearances on TV. Denver has a few of these, such as Keegan Gerhard of D Bar Dess ... More >>

Paul Reilly will open Beast Bottle in the former Olivea space

"Celebrating now!" read the text from Paul Reilly, who just inked a deal to take over Olivéa, Stephanie Bonin and Keith Arnold's beloved New American restaurant, which the couple, along with exec chef John Broening and pastry chef Yasmin Lozada-Hissom (the betrothed twosome now own Spuntino), opene ... More >>

Trends without end: chef predictions for 2013 include simplicity, more local greens and pot (maybe)

What will be the big culinary trends in 2013? As we prepare for a new year in gastronomy, we posed that question to dozens of people in the local food business, everyone from chefs and pastry magicians to restaurant brokers and PR consultants, from brewers and grape gurus to realtors and pig farmers ... More >>

Spuntino will undergo a remodel, expand its menu and pursue a full liquor license

In early February, Spuntino, the Highland restaurant and dessert palace overseen by betrothed couple John Broening (he's the chef) and Yasmin Lozada-Hissom (she's the pastry chef) will close for a week -- maybe two -- to undergo a major makeover, and when it reopens, guests will not only be treated ... More >>

Our favorite local culinary gifts of 2012: Spuntino's hot chocolate mix and salted caramel marshmallows

All this week, I'll be featuring my favorite culinary stocking stuffers and presents for the fervent foodnik, cook and restaurant fiend in your life. These are all gifts that are available locally -- and locally made or produced -- and they're all things that I hope to find in my own stocking (or un ... More >>

Spuntino adds Sunday brunch and happy-hour deals

Spuntino has added happy-hour specials and brunch to a roster that includes its renowned gelato, which rated our best ice cream list. Spuntino, which closed earlier this year to retool its concept, reopened in March with a new lineup that included Yasmin Lozada-Hissom and John Broening, along with ... More >>

Spring fever? Get gelato at Spuntino

It's been spring for weeks, but afternoons like this -- afternoons when it's a perfect 71 degrees and sunny -- make it extremely hard for us to stay indoors without losing our sanity. And right about this time of day, we start looking for any excuse we can get to leave the office.

South Federal vs. Lower Highland: The Street 16 championship!

Cafe Society readers have narrowed the field of sixteen down to just two in our Street 16 neighborhood tournament. This week South Federal and LoHi face off after beating Boulder and Tennyson respectively. So which is the single-best neighborhood for eating in Denver, South Federal or LoHi? Vote ... More >>

Tennyson vs. Lower Highland: The Street 16 final four!

Lower Highland solidly won against Capitol Hill in the round of 8 in our restaurant neighborhood tournament, and Tennyson squeaked by the favorited Upper Larimer, due to some serious campaigning on social media. In this match-up of Tennyson and LoHi, who you got? Vote below!

Capitol Hill and LoHi face off in the elite eight of our Street 16 tourney

The choice was easy for many Cafe Society readers last week when they voted for Capitol Hill to beat out the Bluebird district in the first round of the Street 16 tournament. Now Cap Hill goes up against burgeoning LoHi in this elite eight match-up. Industry folks, eaters and supporters: Now's the t ... More >>

An exclusive first look: Spuntino reopens today in Highland

Dorina Miller, Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, the pastry chef at Duo and Olivea, and her husband, John Broening, executive chef of both restaurants, quietly re-opened Spuntino last week, the Italian cafe that Miller co-owned with Simone Parisi, who bowed out of Spuntino to concentrate on Parisi and Firenze a ... More >>

The Golden Triangle goes against LoHi in our Street 16 tourney

It's been an opinionated first round in this first week of the Cafe Society Street 16 neighborhood tournament ("Boulder's not a neighborhood!" "The more hipster neighborhood will win every time!") All part of the fun. Now for the final match-up in the first round, the Golden Triangle goes up agains ... More >>

Meatless Monday at Olivea and Duo

Whether you're vegetarian or not, it you'll want to take advantage of the Meatless Monday opportunity at Duo (2413 West 32nd Avenue) or Olivea (719 East 17th Avenue), to restaurants featuring the work of husband-and-wife team John Broening and Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, who deserve every bit of praise th ... More >>

Pastry queen Yasmin Lozada-Hissom has plans to make Spuntino even sweeter

Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, the pastry chef of Duo and Olivea, where her husband, John Broening, is also the executive chef, was a regular at Spuntino, an Italian cafe in Highland, owned, in part, by Simone Parisi, who also runs a namesake pizzeria and deli, as well as its downstairs restaurant, Firenze a ... More >>

Alex Seidel, Jennifer Jasinski, Frank Bonanno, Mark Fischer, Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, Frasca Food and Wine and Peak Spirits all James Beard semi-finalists

Jennifer Jasinski, chef/owner of Rioja, Bistro Vendome and Euclid Hall, is among the chosen few vying for a James Beard Foundation award.​The James Beard Foundation has just announced its crop of restaurant and chef semi-finalists vying for a coveted 2012 James Beard award, and several Denver ... More >>

Round two with Udi's executive chef Robin Baron

Lori Midson​ Robin Baron Udi's Pizza Cafe Bar Udi's Bread Cafes (four locations) www.udisfood.com This is part two of my interview with Robin Baron, executive chef of Udi's Pizza Bar, Udi's Bread Cafe and the soon-to-be-open Pickled Lemon in Boulder. Part one of my interview with Baron ran ye ... More >>

James Beard Foundation announces 2011 chef and restaurant finalists -- and two are from Colorado

Frasca Good & Wine master sommelier Bobby Stuckey is a James Beard finalist​Earlier today, in Portland, the James Beard Foundation released the listage of superstar chefs, restaurants and restaurateurs who are finalists (semifinalists, of which there were several from Colorado, were announced ... More >>

Duo and Olivéa pastry chef Yasmin Lozada-Hissom tapped to bake at the James Beard Foundation awards gala

​The James Beard Foundation awards gala, a glitzy, high-falutin' soiree that honors the best chefs, pastry kings and queens, restaurateurs, restaurants and wine directors in the country, takes place on May 9, 2011, at the Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall in New York. And the culinary blowout ... More >>

James Beard Foundation announces 2011 semi-finalists: Frank Bonanno, Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, Frasca and ChoLon among them

James Beard Foundation​Last November, the James Beard Foundation summoned the public to nominate its favorite chefs, restaurants and industry professionals for the 2011 awards. And after all the self-pimping and ballot-stuffing, the poll is closed. This morning, the foundation announced its ... More >>

New Year's resolutions from Max MacKissock, Matt Selby, Mark DeNittis, Michael Long and twenty-one more Denver/Boulder chefs

Lori MidsonBrad Rowell, chef at Colt & Gray, resolves to eat twenty percent less pork fat per day and replace that with twenty percent more Schlitz​ Haven't made your New Year's resolutions yet? That makes two of us. But instead of focusing on ourselves, we prodded more than two dozen Denver/ ... More >>

FIVE will announce its new crop of chefs tonight

​ Tonight, at 6 p.m., Leigh Sullivan-Guard, the force behind FIVE, an über-talented crop of five Denver chefs who put on showstopping dinners throughout the year at their respective restaurants, represent the local fray at the ritzy Aspen Food & Wine Classic and commune at the James Beard H ... More >>

Reader: Olivea starts the new year off right

Olivea, site of good food and good deeds.​ Denver's restaurateurs are an incredibly generous group, with chefs and owners alike stepping up to contribute to endless good causes throughout the year. Olivea -- the eighteen-month-old restaurant owned by Keith Arnold and Stephanie Bonin (who're ... More >>

Olivéa New Year's Eve dinner winner update (and a bonus brunch)

​ Tonight, one lucky Cafe Society reader will get to celebrate New Year's Eve at Olivéa, the sensational Mediterranean restaurant in Uptown whose kitchen is overseen by the dynamic husband-and-wife duo of exec chef John Broening and pastry goddess Yasmin Lozada-Hissom. Earlier this week, w ... More >>

Win a complimentary dinner for two at Olivéa on New Year's Eve

​Yes, you read that headline correctly: Olivéa, the sensational Mediterranean restaurant in Uptown whose kitchen is overseen by the dynamic husband-and-wife duo of exec chef John Broening and pastry goddess Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, is offering a free three-course dinner for two on New Year's Eve ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes: Lemon-ricotta doughnuts from Olivéa

Lori Midson​ No. 89: Lemon-ricotta doughnuts from Olivéa They were an afterthought, those doughnuts. After desecrating the headcheese, swelling my jowls with pork cheeks, emptying a plate of tortellini bobbing in a pancetta-scented broth and reducing the guilt with a crock of cauliflower, ... More >>

Top Chef Just Desserts, round five: Dress for excess

​The very wealthy have played around with their food for centuries. Think of those crazy medieval dishes: real birds baked into pies, swans stuffed with edibles and brought to the table dressed in their original plumage and looking alive, a cock dressed as a knight -- tiny spurs and all -- and ... More >>

Tonight: Olivea spills over with good food at a benefit for the Gulf

​Olivea is one of the seventeen 17th Avenue businesses joining together for the Seventeen on 17th benefit tonight, when they'll all donate 10 percent of their sales to the National Wildlife Federation Gulf Oil Spill Restoration Fund. That alone is a good reason to visit Olivea. But here's ano ... More >>

Frank Bonanno, Alex Seidel, Jennifer Jasinski, Steve Ells and James Rugile among James Beard semifinalists

Lori Midson Venue chef James Rugile ​Restaurant and chef semifinalists for the 2010 James Beard Foundation Awards were released this morning, which gives all the nominees exactly 32 days to chew on their success before the five finalists in each category are announced on Monday, March 22. The ... More >>

Local restaurants step up to help out Haiti

Left to right: Max Mackissock, Jennifer Jasinski, Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, John Broening, Alex Seidel, Blake Edmunds and Travis Vaughn​Two very different restaurant fundraisers this week bought a literal boatload of help for Haiti. First up: The $125-a-head, six-course meal at Rioja on Monday n ... More >>

Sugar High: Olivea

Liz KellermeyerChocolate and fleur de sel caramel tart with milk chocolate gelato and nougatine crunch. Oh, yes.​If your New Year's resolutions have you off the sugar, this post isn't for you. If, however, you've instead vowed to be more mindful of the quality of your indulgences and are keeping ... More >>

Chef and Tell part two: Max Mackissock from Squeaky Bean

Max Mackissock​This is part two of my interview with Max Mackissock, executive chef of Squeaky Bean. To read part one of this interview, click here. Proudest moment as a chef: One of the best parts about being a chef is watching people enjoy our hard work -- our food -- every day. That's alw ... More >>

At Olivea, John Broening shows that he has all the right tools -- and knows how to use them

Before Olivea, there was Duo -- created by the same talented foursome

Keith Arnold, Stephanie Bonin, John Broening and Yasmin Lozada-Hissom.​Eating John Broening's food at Olivea made me think about his other kitchen -- the one at Duo. Duo is...how do I even describe it without it coming out all wrong? For a guy like me -- terminally overfed, always on the hu ... More >>

John Broening may be quiet, but he's the consummate craftsman at Olivea

Mark MangerJohn Broening may be quiet, but his food at Olivea speaks for itself.​"Jesus," I said to no one in particular, dopey smile aimed down 17th Avenue, waddling a little as I cleared the doors of Olivea. "He is just so fucking good..." John Broening keeps a relatively low profile, even ... More >>

A conversation with John Broening, of Duo and Olivea

Chef and Tell: John Broening

John Broening​"We'll have head cheese at Olivéa on Friday -- I expect to see you there," summoned the e-mail. The note - short and to the point -- was from John Broening, the executive chef at Duo and Olivéa: the former a restaurant in Highland with a field-to-plate, seasonal approach to foo ... More >>

Rhubarb Martini at Olivea

Olivea opens tonight, Otto's and Pho on 6th already up

Olivea's website photos look good enough to eat.Olivea, the joint effort from Keith Arnold and Stephanie Bonin (owners of Duo), and John Broening and Yasmin Lozada-Hissom (chef and pastry chef of Duo, respectively), opens at 5 p.m. at 719 East 17th Avenue, in the former home of Aix. According to t ... More >>

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 >>

Beard House Blues: One Colorado finalist

It was a rough year for Colorado chefs (and writers) in this year's James Beard awards.  The finalists were announced this morning -- and our white jackets just got spanked. A handful of Coloradans had made the semi-finalists list. Frank Bonanno (above) got tapped for Best Restaurateur. Yasmin ... More >>

Aix marked the spot that will soon be Olivea

One of the first big restaurant deals of the new year was the purchase of Aix -- by a new partnership comprised of of Keith Arnold and Stephanie Bonin (owners of Duo), and John Broening and Yasmin Lozada-Hissom (chef and pastry chef of Duo, respectively). When the quartet took on Aix, they had a con ... 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 >>

Outta Here

One Emogene closes, while another restaffs.

Busy Work

Duo gives Denver diners reason to smile.

Foreign Service

Open-and-shut cases.

Bite Me

The Rest of Denver