is celebrating its first anniversary with a three-course meal that highlights its farm-to-table roots. Executive chef Chris Thompson is excited about his first year in Denver after a stint in San Francisco as executive chef at the popular A16 restaurant.
“I’ve been getting out to meet people and trying to associate with people who have parallel values, going to farmers markets and reaching out to the loose extended network here,” he said.
Thompson, who favors locally sourced ingredients, has built relationships with such local companies as the and Fresh Point Produce.
Many of them will be featured on the anniversary menu, as a way of focusing on The Nickel’s theme: new American cuisine under a Colorado lens.
“We’ve had a good year, we’re pushing uphill and trying to get better at what we do,” he said.
The three-course meal, which includes Western Daughters dry aged beef tartare with salt cured egg yolk, costs $50 and will be served on Aug. 7 and 8.
You also get a drink if you say the code phrase, “Happy birthday,” to the server or bartender when you arrive — a free cocktail from Leopold Brothers or CVC Vodka.
The Nickel, 1100 14th St. 720-889-2128.
Last chance for Griff’s burgers
Now is your time to stock up on grub at the which will close at the end of August, shuttering a piece of .
The restaurant, at 742 S. Broadway, is legendary for its drive-through burgers served from its red-roofed A-frame building. H.J. Griffith, known as Griff, started the company in 1960 in Wichita, Kan.
Its menu is a slice of mid-century America that remains popular today: cheeseburgers, fries and milkshakes.
The Griff’s in Arvada (5770 Olde Wadsworth Blvd.) also has been sold, which means there will no longer be any Griff’s in Colorado.
The chain has more than 10 other locations in New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana.
And when one door closes, another one opens.
Tycoon Ramen & Sushi Bar will open in a few months at 338 E. Colfax Ave., in the space that formerly housed Emilio’s Mexican Restaurant, which closed earlier this year because of unpaid taxes.
The new place is just up the street from Sassafras American Eatery, which serves cuisine influenced by Southern American cooking traditions — the same block where the classic closed in February.
Food and film fundraiser
If you love food and film, you’ve got a chance to help the third annual Flatirons Food Film Festival, which will take place in October. Organizers are hosting a benefit Tuesday to raise money to bring at least one of the featured filmmakers to town during the festival.
Called “Films, Chefs, and Glorious Song,” the fundraiser will pair short food films with small plates from some of Boulder’s top chefs, plus live performances from Opera on Tap Colorado.
Participating chefs include Alex Krill and Dave Query of Jax Fish House; Eric Skokan of Black Cat Farm-to-Table Bistro; John Platt of Riffs Urban Fare; Kelly Whitaker of Basta and Kyle Mendenhall of The Kitchen.
The event will be held Tuesday from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Agora at Riverside in Boulder.
Tickets are $55 in advance at eventbrite.com/e/2015-flatirons-food-film-festival-benefit-tickets-17514828323, or $60 at the door.
