Reader: I love Trillium, but Gretchen is right about its flaws

Chef/owner Ryan Leinonen says that a rare flower, the blue trillium, was the inspiration for the restaurant that he opened last year in the Ballpark neighborhood, Trillium. But a flawless meal here is also a rare thing, as Gretchen Kurtz discovered when she reviewed the place this week. See also:...

By Patricia Calhoun

November 16, 2012

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Chef/owner Ryan Leinonen says that a rare flower, the blue trillium, was the inspiration for the restaurant that he opened last year in the Ballpark neighborhood, Trillium. But a flawless meal here is also a rare thing, as Gretchen Kurtz discovered when she reviewed the place this week. See also: - Slide Show: Behind the scenes at Trillium - Review: Trillium needs more attention to details to really bloom - Blue trillium, the inspiration for Ryan Leinonen's restaurant, is a rare bloom indeed

Says Arf_Arf

I love Trillium and have frequented it since it opened. I have to say that Gretchen has spotted the major flaws. The price point is a bit difficult to manage unless you're eating snacks at the bar, and service has gotten stuffy. There's been some turnover in staff since the restaurant opened, and the restaurant has lost some of the warm, welcoming atmosphere that made it such a great place in the first half of the year. I certainly hope Ryan reads the review and takes to heart the critiques it contains--improve on these minor points, and Trillium will continue to earn the accolades it's gotten so far. Ignore these points, and he might lose more customers to the atrocity next door (Ignite!).

Have you eaten at Trillium? What did you think? Post your thoughts below.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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