Reader: Indy Eateries Have Made Do for Decades With These Flavor-of-the-Month Setups

Last week Gretchen Kurtz reviewed Amass, the bistro that took over the Corner House space in Jefferson Park. For this week's review, she went across town to northeast Denver, home of The Bistro at Stapleton. The two neighborhoods are very different, but the two restaurants have one thing in common:...

By Patricia Calhoun

January 16, 2015

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Last week Gretchen Kurtz reviewed Amass, the bistro that took over the Corner House space in Jefferson Park. For this week's review, she went across town to northeast Denver, home of The Bistro at Stapleton. The two neighborhoods are very different, but the two restaurants have one thing in common: very limited kitchens, which she found can cramp the style of chefs with ambitious menus.

Says TheFabulousMarkT:

Without wishing to minimize the struggles of either of these eateries, I should point out that many (if not most) of Denver's smaller independent restaurants do this exact same thing every single day -- and quite a few of them have been doing so for years, if not decades.

Just because Amass and the Bistro at Stapleton are flavors-of-the-month, that doesn't make them any more special.

Have you eaten at Amass or the Bistro at Stapleton? What's your favorite small, independent restaurant?

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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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