Chez Panisse created its own butterfly effect, changing the way Americans cook, eat and think about food. For Venu Alla, who lived near the legendary restaurant in Berkeley, that influence was personal and powerful, turning him into “something of a foodie,” he says, and inspiring the Indian architect and tech…
Every start-up is a labor of love. But in the case of Work & Class, which I review this week, the term has a whole new meaning. Despite the old adage about not getting involved with someone from work, owner/executive chef Dana Rodriguez is engaged to sous chef Vicente Sosa,…
When they opened Work & Class at the end of January, the restaurant’s three owners pitched its concept as “a square meal, a stiff drink and a fair price.” Now, four months later, Work & Class appears to be offering exactly that to Denver diners How does it do it?…
Work & Class 2500 Larimer Street 303-292-0700 If I were Scheherazade spinning tales to save my life before a disgruntled king, I’d look to Work & Class for inspiration. Within the confines of this much-anticipated Ballpark restaurant, which opened at full tilt four months ago and hasn’t looked back since,…
Rarely does a restaurant capture the moment as well as Work & Class, which opened in the Ballpark neighborhood this past January. And I’m not just talking about how it embodies 21st-century sustainability with its shipping-container shell. See also: The ten best restaurants in the Ballpark neighborhood…
The Parisian family I lived with one summer served salads every night. They were plain little things, a few leaves of Bibb lettuce that their children and I rushed through on our way to the Camembert that was sure to follow. This was, after all, a traditional French family eating…
At Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant in Boulder, executive chef Rachel Best takes diners on a culinary adventure inspired by her own travels around the globe. The results are often unique takes that upend expectations as they move beyond a reliance on meat, dairy and wheat. Find out more in this week’s…
Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant 2010 16th Street, Boulder 303-442-1485 When it’s time for Rachel Best, executive chef of Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant in Boulder, to update the menu, she doesn’t turn to cookbooks or cooking shows. Nor does she rely on what she learned in culinary school, given the traditional emphasis on…
The days are long-gone when chefs could grill a portobello and think they’d please their vegetarian guests. These days, restaurants are expected to cater to vegetarians, vegans, gluten-free diners and people with a host of other food allergies and/or sensitivities. But despite the growing awareness of and willingness to cater…
A presence on Denver’s food scene for more than 25 years, Kevin Taylor has been associated with polished dining since the days of Zenith American Grill, which he opened in 1987 to local and national acclaim. That restaurant closed years ago, and in the past two months, two more of…
Palettes at the Denver Art Museum is part of the Kevin Taylor Restaurant Group, a name synonymous with fine dining. And for the most part, the aesthetically pleasing dining room matches its art-filled surroundings. To find out if the kitchen has a steady hand, read this week’s review of Palettes,…
Palettes 100 West 14th Avenue Parkway 303-534-1455 The roast pepper soup stared up at me, an edible riddle. Since it was from the special exhibition-themed menu at Palettes, the white-tablecloth restaurant inside the Denver Art Museum, I knew the dish must be related to the Modern Masters show, but how?…
Kevin Taylor Restaurant Group made headlines when two of its best-known properties, Restaurant Kevin Taylor and Prima Ristorante, shuttered this spring — Kevin Taylor at the end of March, Prima just two weeks ago. Both were fixtures in the Hotel Teatro, which is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation and is scheduled…
Eating oysters is like learning to ride a bike: It’s best approached with training wheels. More than taste, the texture is what really gets people — which is why Sheila Lucero, executive chef of the four (and counting) locations of Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar, recommends sandwiching oysters between…
Jax Glendale, which opened nearly a year ago in the CitySet complex, puts a focus on sustainability and traceability. “People want to know where they’re getting their food,” says Sheila Lucero, executive chef for Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar. Accordingly, the staff at the Glendale outpost is well-schooled on…
Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar 650 South Colorado Boulevard, Glendale 303-756-6449 Years ago, when I heard about the Seafood Watch pocket guide produced by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, I printed it out and tucked it in my wallet. Then, before ordering at restaurants, I’d scan the list to see…
Pete Fafalios of Pantaleone’s, which I review this week, isn’t the town’s only pizza-maker who’s been in the business a long time. Luke Loukopoulos, owner of Papou’s Pizzeria, has been slinging dough as long as he can remember. “I grew up making it back east,” says Loukopoulos, who learned to…
During last summer’s Kitchen Nightmares makeover of Pantaleone’s pizzeria on South Holly Street, chef Gordon Ramsay made many recommendations to owners Pete and Paulette Fafalios. And while Pete rejected some of Ramsay’s suggestions, he took him up on others, and during the course of the show, Pantaleone’s underwent big changes…
Pantaleone’s 2120 South Holly Street 303-757-3456 Pete Fafalios is passionate, stubborn — and no longer stuck in the past. Nor is Pantaleone’s, the pizzeria on South Holly Street that he founded in 1985 with his wife, Paulette, which survived not just Denver’s downturn in the ’80s, but the recent recession,…
Our recent list of the twelve best pizza spots in Denver raised a ruckus. In an outpouring on the Cafe Society blog, people took sides as if their dough — not the floury white stuff — depended on it. Interestingly, no reader gave a shout-out to Pantaleone’s, even though the…
Have you ever noticed how two people can look the same on paper, but when you meet them you sense that one has what the French would call a certain je ne sais quoi that sets that person apart? The same is true for restaurants: Sometimes that extra spark comes…
Finding space on East Colfax for his new restaurant and pub, says owner Glen Eastwood, “turned out to be a blessing.” And the Abbey’ Tavern’s Park Hill neighbors would agree. Much as a traditional Irish pub is designed to do, the Abbey brings locals together in a friendly place over…
