Chef Chris Cina has found a place to cook once again.
Long ago a chef at Kevin Taylor’s now-defunct Zenith American Grill, Cina then jazzed up the food at the Fourth Story (2955 E. First Ave.) and did the corporate thing at Bravo! Ristorante (1150 Court Place) and the Tuscany at the Loews Denver (4150 E. Mississippi Ave.). He even spent a year working with an uncle in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Now he’ll do the corporate thing again at the Canterberry Golf Course (11400 Canterberry Parkway) in Parker, running the restaurant, the bar and the banquet facilities. The restaurant, scheduled to open in the next two weeks, is a 55-seater called Beckett’s Table. There will be a separate bar called the Irish Embassy.
I’m sensing kind of a U.K. theme here.
Actually, Cina calls the menu “globally influenced American food,” and it looks delish. Starters include dishes of ginger-scented carrot soup ($5) or grilled asparagus, tangerines, goat cheese, hazelnuts and tarragon ($7); and entrees such as Arctic char with grapefruit, crab and daikon salad, and baby bok choy in a ginger-citrus vinaigrette ($18) or roast duck breast with zucchini-corn salsa and chevre crackers ($20).
Elsewhere, Pulcinella Ristorante Italiano, a beloved, 15-year-old Fort Collins eatery (2100 W. Drake Road), will open a second location in Lafayette at 300 S. Public Road. The owner of the original, which offers a well-rounded, Mediterranean-influenced Italian menu as well as a wine list lauded by Wine Spectator, says he hopes to be open by June 15.
In Cherry Creek North, the space that once held Bistro Adde Brewster (250 Steele St.), then briefly Agave and even more briefly Jack’s on Steele soon will turn into a Fiesta Jalisco, owned by the folks who have a slew of them up in the hills (including Evergreen, Avon, Breckenridge and Frisco).
The eateries are known for being family-friendly and reasonable, but people seem to be comparing that to mountain prices.
In other news, Café Bisque (244 Union Blvd., Lakewood) is now open for dinner. Since this charming bistro has done breakfast and lunch so beautifully, I have high hopes for the evening meal. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Bisque offers a three-courser for $17.50.
Food, glorious food: There’s a festival for every palate happening somewhere in the state this summer.
Check out the second year of the Colorado Culinary Series, the first event of which is the Toast of Breckenridge, July 8-10, featuring a grand tasting, Champagne brunch and seminars on martinis, single malt scotches and bubbly. Napa Valley chef and restaurant critic John Ash hosts a cooking demonstration, too.
Closer to home, the second part of the event will be held at the Fillmore Plaza in Cherry Creek North on four consecutive Saturdays (July 16, 23, 30 and Aug. 6). Called the Gourmet Series, this one features chef Rick Bayless and others doing cooking demos, seminars and plenty of tastings.
And things get wrapped up at the Telluride Culinary Art Festival in the Mountain Village Aug. 12-14. It opens with a progressive dinner and then offers a grand tasting, the famous Bloodies & Bluegrass Brunch, and cooking demos and seminars. The featured chef is Dean Fearing, called the “father of Southwest cuisine” and chef at Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas for 20 years.
Tickets to all of the events are available at coloradoculinaryseries.com or by calling 877-359-5606.
And it’s a little early, but I believe in planning ahead, so mark your calendars for Nov. 5, when the Wine Country Network (publishers of Wine Country International magazine) will host its first Denver International Wine Festival at the Oxford Hotel (1600 17th St.).
Johnson & Wales University is sponsoring the event, which is expected to feature 50 international wineries, along with a grand tasting and the usual wine seminars and food samplings. The cost is $95 per person, which includes a one-year subscription to the magazine.
For more information, go to denver winefest.com or call 303-327-1515.
Dining critic Kyle Wagner can be reached at 303-820-1958 or kwagner@denverpost.com.
