Recap: Harvest Dinner at Six89

Last night in Carbondale, at chef Mark Fischer's Restaurant Six89, an all-star line-up of Denver chefs dished up the annual harvest dinner. On its 9th year, this event benefits Slow Food Roaring Fork/Aspen, the local chapter of Slow Food USA, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and enjoyment of traditional and artisan foods and the advocacy of sustainability.

The dinner, priced at $115 per person for Slow Food members and $135 for non-members, featured locally produced food prepared by an army of Colorado's best chefs that included. Here is the line-up of chefs and dishes:

Barclay Dodge of Pacifica in Aspen cooked up a slow roasted salmon lobster emulsion buttered rendezvous carrot and chard.

Alex Seidel of Fruition in Denver dished a Rocky Ford melon salad with Fruition Farm ricotta cheese and La Quercia prosciutto.

Frank Bonanno of Mizuna, et al in Denver kept true to his Italian roots with cavatelli with zephyrons farm artichoke brown butter talleggio fonduta.

Lon Symensma of Cholon in Denver prepared a zephyrs farm and garden heirloom tomato gazpacho watermelon spiced yogurt.

Jim Butchart of the Aspen Skiing Company in Aspen cooked up Crystal river lamb neck carnitas fennel and white chocolate purée gremolata.

Will Nolan of EightK at Viceroy Snowmass charmed with biscuits and gravy-  Milagros Ranch slow roasted ribeye cap eagle springs black kale, debri gravy.

John Chad Little of The Pullman in Glenwood Springs served the Pullman Hoppity acres roulade (yes rabbit) spiced carrot purée braised rabbit leg farrotto.

Aside from the delicious dinner, there was an attractive silent auction of very desirable artisinal comestables and collector’s pieces.

Big Guns: Alice Waters

The mother of all things slow food and farm-to-table, Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, will be visiting Denver on a mission to help fundraise for the Center for Women's Health Research at the University of Colorado. It is not often that such nationally acclaimed food icons visit the mile high city. 

The owner of the famed Berkeley restaurant, will attend two events: a small gathering and private reception on September 4th and a community luncheon on September 5th.  

The private reception on September 4th will feature four of Colorado's top chefs: Jennifer Jasinski of Rioja, Bistro Vendome and Euclid Hall, Hugo Matheson of the Kitchen, Alex Seidel of Fruition, and Erik Skokan of Black Cat and Bramble and Hare. This foursome will create a menu that will serve up to 50 guests at a private home in Cherry Hills starting at 4:00 p.m. Whole Foods sponsored part of this event by donating ingredients. A few tickets are still available for this event for the peppered price of $750 a person - all going to a great cause. If you are interested, send an email to carolyn.doyle@ucdenver.edu.

On September 5th, a Community Luncheon will be held at the Seawell Grand Ballroom at DCPA. This larger gathering comes with the price tag of $100. Click here for registration and more information. 

Anniversary: Le Grand Bistro

It seems like it was just yesterday that Le Grand Bistro opened its doors downtown Denver promising to bring traditional French bistro fare to the eager diners. Led by chef Sergio Romero, Le Grand Bistro promised a new culinary experience in Denver, one focused on locally sourced ingredients prepared using charming and timeless traditional French techniques and recipes.

Romero was a hot name in the dining scene in Denver. He wowed crowds as the executive chef at Argyll Gastropub, winner of a Westword Best New Restaurant in Denver award and was named personally a Rising Culinary Star in Denver. He was eager to elevate his status and introduce Denver to traditional French dishes prepared in a light and fresh style. He did exactly that for the last twelve months at Le Grand Bistro.

Le Grand Bistro turns one tomorrow.  To celebrate the milestone, the restaurant is offering a half price lunch for the entire week. Cut your lunch bill in half on some fun French food and celebrate the eatery's anniversary.

Bite It: Paella at Cafe Aion

Each week, Eater Denver will choose one dish from Denver's hot eateries that shines and is a must for local diners. 



Café Aion, the Spanish-inspired eatery on the hill in Boulder, does a lot of things right and it does paella great. In the former funky bookstore space that Café Aion calls home you will find the best paella in the state of Colorado and likely many others states.

This Spanish rice dish that bursts with saffron flavors, combines each week at Café Aion various elements that shine and keep each version new for the diner. Depending on when you go, your paella may feature house-made linguiça sausage, mussels, lamb or whatever else the owner and chef Dakota Soifer found to be the freshest and most appropriate element for that day's blazing-hot paella pan. Order it and be ready to fall in love. Tip: reach deep to the bottom of the pan when you serve yourself to get to the best part of this dish: the caramelized, crispy bottom crust that defines a good paella.

To sweeten up the deal, go for paella on Wednesdays when the restaurant runs a special serving the nightly paella and a bottle of wine to tables of two to four people for an mere $35. This weekly special is a tradition consistent with the restaurant’s philosophy of sharing Mediterranean plates and pairing them with simple soulful wines. A carefully selected and sometimes surprising bottle of wine, such as a Greek Skouras Red Blend, complements this traditional Spanish dish.

Café Aion, 1235 Pennsylvania Avenue, Boulder, 303-993-8131.

Cheap Thrills: Bubbly Tasting at Cured

To say that Cured is cheese shop, cured meat shop, or sandwich shop does Cured in Boulder no justice. Cured is a destination hot spot for food in many ways and one of these ways is the events held in the quaint wine store tucked in the back of the Cured space. The small glass cube housing the booze is stocked with carefully curated wines, spirits, and beers displayed tastefully.

Every Tuesday night, Coral and Will Frischkorn, the friendly and dynamic couple who owns Cured, hosts an informal and free wine tasting. Today from 4 to 7 p.m., it is time for bubbly. The shop will be sampling a bottle of Spasso Prosecco, Navarre Vintage Cava, and liter bottles of Berger’s Grüner Veltliner and Zweigelt. Bubbles and Big Bottles? Sounds like a party to me. While we’re on the subject, do you know the difference between Cava and Prosecco? If you don't, come and find out. If you do, just come drink before heading out to dinner.

Trends: Shishito Peppers

They are here: shisito peppers have been popping up all over menus around the country and Colorado restaurants have embraced the trend. A coveted sweet Japanese pepper, similar to the better known Padron pepper, the shisito is full of flavor and mild. Prepared simply, these are a spectacular snack before a meal or just as a popcorn-like snack with a strong cocktail.

At Bones, Frank Bonanno started riding the shisito pepper train years ago. Along side staple small plates like spring rolls and potstickes, Bonanno includes a bowl of lightly fried shisito peppers topped with togarashi. He shares his frying secrets in a video here. 

Oak at Fourteenth serves them fried with the rich Spanish Iberico de Bellota Lomo in a thin harissa sauce with a healthy sprinkle of sea salt. This more intricate preparation is outrageous.

At the Corner Office, one can get a big bowl of shishito peppers prepared very simply - lightly fried and hit with quality sea salt  - hard to beat simplicity when the star ingredient is great. 

Pizzeria Basta's version Shishito peppers throws them in the pizza oven where they get the wood-fire treatment to blister their skins. They get topped with espelette pepper powder from France. 

Get on the shishito train and send us your best finds from around town!