Nabbing reservations at a top restaurant during Denver Restaurant Week can be a thrill, especially when you’ve waited a bit too long to make them, and it’s almost all booked. Like finding something at Stoic & Genuine in Union Station on a Saturday night, nabbing two places at the chef’s bar, or getting a reservation at ChoLon on a Monday night.
Denver Restaurant Week, which runs from Feb. 20 through Mar. 1, spotlights the city’s thriving restaurant scene, with more than 250 menus featuring multicourse dinners for $30 per person.
Just can be addictive — some people spend hours browsing the website, looking for the best deals and menus that fit their unique needs.
On the DRW website, you can sort for restaurants with vegetarian, vegan and gluten -free options. You can browse by type of cuisine or restaurant neighborhood, finding places like in Washington Park. Restaurants also offer helpful information on things like parking — some offer free valet, others charge a fee, and still others give information on parking lots nearby and what they cost. Browsing the website also lets you find the places that offer four courses, instead of three, so you get more for your money.
Many of the top restaurants are close to being booked solid by now, but restaurant consultant John Imbergamo offers some helpful tips.
“Think about different times,” he said. “Instead of just Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., try Monday at 5:30 p.m. or 8 p.m.”
Chances that you’ll get lucky are greater in areas with clusters of restaurants, like around Larimer Square, he said, so you can restaurant hop if needed. Denver Restaurant Week,
Grand reopening
The grand reopening party for Rioja last week was packed with people who wanted to check out the newly renovated space.
“We were just having dinner here a couple weeks ago, and heard about the renovation,” said Katie O’Shea-Padro, co-owner of Highland Tap & Burger and Old Major, who celebrated at the reopening party with her husband, Juan Padro. “It just looks amazing.”
In just three weeks, the flagship restaurant of chef Jennifer Jasinski and business partner Beth Gruitch was stripped down to raw brick and studs, then recreated by Denver-based Boss Architecture. The firm also designed Stoic & Genuine at Union Station, Jasiniski and Gruitch’s newest restaurant.
Warm woods mix with gold-and-brass accents, chairs and booths are covered in crushed velvet, and screens of deep, rich red punctuate the space. The wine display is the centerpiece of the design, and soft lighting creates an intimate atmosphere.
Jasinski reflected on the decade since she opened Rioja, during which she won a James Beard award and many other accolades.
“Things have changed so much in 10 years,” she said. “Sometimes I’d ask myself if I would do things the way I did things 10 years ago.”
The answers inspired the renovation.
DerrickKimbrough, who lives in Boston, was in town for the celebration. He’s been visiting Denver for years.
“I remember when LoDo was pizza shops and dive bars,” he said. “It’s impressive to see how the restaurant scene has grown and diversified.” Rioja, 1431 Larimer St. 303-820-2282.
Taste & Savor the best
If you’ve long wanted to hang out with some of the country’s top chefs and sommeliers, you can at the inaugural Taste & Savor culinary weekend, held at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, March 5- 8.
More than 16 chefs and beverage experts will schmooze with guests during demonstations, seminars, meals and a grand tasting. They include three Michelin-starred chef Curtis Duffy; Eater LA’s Chef of the Year, Jessica Koslow; and Doug Frost, who became America’s eighth Master of Wine in the mid-1990s.
Award-winning mixologists include Tony Abou-Ganim and Denver’s Sean Kenyon, whose Williams & Graham bar recently made the list of top 50 bars in the world.
The culinary experts from Colorado include Frank Bonanno, whose restaurants include Mizuna and Bones; Alex Seidel of Fruition and Mercantile Dining and Provision; Kelly Liken of Restaurant Kelly Liken in Vail; and Tyler Wiard, culinary director of Elway’s in Denver. Two-night packages are $750 per person, while three-night packages are $1,025 each. Reservations can be made at www.broadmoor.com or by calling 855-634-7711 . The Broadmoor, 1 Lake Ave., Colorado Springs.
Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083, coconnor@denverpost.com or twitter.com/coconnordp
