Foodography: A sneak peek at Bisque, opening tonight in Cherry Creek

What a month for restaurant openings. Coohills, a French-influenced restaurant from Tom and Diane Coohill, flung the doors open to the public last Wednesday; Ambria unlocks its doors tomorrow, with chef Jeremy Kittelson presiding over the kitchen; District Meats, New York restaurateur Charlie Palmer's tribute to off-cuts, opens later this week; Steak 'n Shake -- no explanation needed -- starts slinging burgers on Thursday at 11 a.m. in Centennial; Williams & Graham, a windowless speakeasy, opens to the public tonight at 8:30 p.m.; starting tomorrow, Naked Pizza joins the cluster of restaurants hustling pizza on East Colfax; and tonight, at 5 p.m., Bisque will open for dinner in Cherry Creek North.

The two-tiered restaurant, which started out in Lakewood as a breakfast-only joint, relocated to Cherry Creek in early October, and last night, exec chef Gino Marrone introduced a small congregation of friends and family to his cooking. "I love how we've evolved from a cafe to a bistro to a New American restaurant, and I'm all about preparing unpretentious, simple foods made with great ingredients that are both recognizable to the eye and familiar to the palate," says Marrone. "My whole philosophy," he adds, is "cooking and serving food with integrity."

Here's a taste of what Marrone and his chef de cuisine, Dan Pope, have in store.

Butter-sauteed garlic shrimp with a jammy tomatillo sauce and a housemade ketchup cocktail sauce. The Bisque charcuterie plate: Greek olives; Italian piave; aged manchego; caramelized onions; bacon-wrapped country pate with duck confit, duck liver, pulled pork and sundried tomatoes; cornichons; and prosciutto di Parma. Confit of red and gold beets, braised beet greens and beet emulsion. Lobster bisque, kissed with sherry, and topped with housemade herbed croutons. Mussels pooled in a sage-infused broth with lemon confit, aioli and house-cut skinny fries. Wild arugula and beet salad dotted with goat cheese and dressed with a champagne vinaigrette. New York strip straddling bacon-rosemary potatoes wreathed in a Burgundy jus, and topped with braised Swiss chard and compound blue cheese butter. Lobster tagliatelle with sweet peas, roasted garlic, basil, tomatoes and red vermouth cream. Duck confit and sweet potato and sage bread pudding sauced with a cranberry Dijon. Smoked trout with charred peppers, Swiss chard, herbed potatoes, corn and Serrano-lime aioli. Cider-brined grilled pork chop draped with a poblano mole and served with caramelized sweet potatoes.

Bisque is open for lunch Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; dinner service is Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to close; brunch hours are Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and cocktail hour is Tuesday through Friday from 5 to 7 p.m.