Denver Eater Awards 2012 Celebration at Colt & Gray

Last night at Colt & Gray, Eater Denver celebrated the 2012 Eater Awards winners and nominees in an intimate setting packed with concentrated flavors of chefs, restaurateurs, bartenders, and more. On the bar, freshly arrived from New York City, custom cans of Eater Awards-brand signature Italian Peeled Tomatoes were stacked, emblazoned with the names of the Denver Eater Award winners. Winners took home their cans, nominees were congratulated, all guests drank, ate, and enjoyed each other's company.

Grid View

• Eater Denver Awards at Colt & Gray
• Eater Denver Award Cans For The Winners
• Kevin Burke, bar manager at Colt & Gray, Bartender of the Year nominee
• Randy Layman of Ace, Bartender of the Year winner and Ryan Layman of Steuben's
• Jenna Johansen and Mark DeNittis
• Ellen Marchman, Bob and Catherine Blair
• Max MacKissock, Chef of the Year, loving on his can
• Max MacKissock, Jen Jasinski, Danette and Bobby Stuckey
• the Crooked Stave Crew
• Leigh Sullivan and Ellen Marchman
• Jenna Johansen and Mark DeNittis
• Ellen Marchman and Jess Hunter
• Eater editor Andra Zeppelin and Courtney Wilson of Williams & Graham, Bartender of the Year nominee
• Stephen Smith of Caprock and Steve Redzikowski of Oak at Fourteenth
• Squeaky Bean team
• Tim O'Shea of Vesta Dipping Grill, Michaela Franz of the Kitchen, Kevin & Michelle Delk of Beatrice & Woodsley
• John & Travis from Uncle & Mary Allison Wright
• Kevin Delk & Eater Denver Editor Andra Zeppelin
• Vesta Dipping Grill, Steuben's, and Ace family: Taryn Kapronica, Jen and Josh Wolkon, Randy and Ryan Layman
• Seth & Kelly McMurty of Central Bistro & Bar
• Randy Layman, Bartender of the Year
• Steve Redzikowski accepting the So Hot Right Now can for Oak at Fourteenth
• Stephen and Melissa Gallic, Sean Kenyon, Lindsey and Jorel Pierce
• Frank Bonanno, Empire Builder of the Year with the former and current Eater Denver editors
• Frank Bonanno, Eater's Empire Builder of the Year
• the Squeaky Bean crew, Johnny Ballen front and center
• Max MacKissock, Andra Zeppelin, Mary Allison Wright, Johnny Ballen
• Max MacKissock, Chef of the Year and Johnny Ballen of the Squeaky Bean, Restaurant of the Year

- Bobby and Danette Stuckey of Frasca Food and Wine dedicated a large chunk of date night to the Eater party. They dashed off to Sushi Sasa for an intimate dinner after the festivities.

- Bob Blair of Fuel Cafe and his wife, Catherine, are vocally excited about the opening of the Corner House in their hood, Jefferson Park. Bob is also excited about his new joint, reFuel, set to open in the next month.

- Eater has received requests not to post some of the photos that were taken. We obliged although we vouch none were embarrassing or warranting the call not to publish- all just taken in great fun. Speaking of photos, apparently Steve Redzikowski is camera-shy. It took some strong-arming to get him to pose.

- Sean Kenyon sang some praises to the hospitality he experiences at the new RiNo hot spot The Populist. The bartender could not share any feedback on cocktails there, all he had was wine.

- At one point, a small group of ladies, a chef, the wife of a restaurant manager, a PR gal, and perhaps a writer were talking intensely about boobs. To preserve the image of those involved, names shall be kept private.

- Josh and Jen Wolkon of Vesta, Steuben's, and Ace, were excited to have found a last minute babysitter for their two children to come over to Colt & Gray, but wondered where owner Nelson Perkins was.

- A very drunk couple, unassociated with Eater, wearing full Broncos gear, somehow occupied two seats at the bar during the party. They experienced the whole range of emotions from laughs to cries, break-ups and make-ups throughout the evening to the sometimes exasperated looks of the Colt & Gray staff.

- The kitchen crew from Uncle lamented the slow pace of fermentation: apparently the So Hot Right Now restaurant nominee in LoHi cannot keep up with demand for kimchi stew- the cabbage doesn't seem to ferment as fast as the guests want to eat it.

- Mike Henderson, bar manager at Linger and Root Down, arrived solo to the party because his Linger crew jetted off to Japan and his lovely wife could not peel away from watching the Steelers.

- Johnny Ballen arrived in festive attire, a walking bilboard suit for the Squeaky Bean, his successful LoDo restaurant whose team that snagged both the Restaurant of the Year award and the Chef of the Year title.

Many thanks to those who contributed to the gift bags for the nominees, a mixed tape of commercially unavailable items like roasted almonds by Matt Selby, preserved lemon from Cafe Aion, whiskey cherries from Steuben's, apricot preserves from Oak at Fourteenth, and limoncello from Fuel Cafe, and other special items like coffee from Boxcar, booze from Caprock and Crooked Stave, cured meats from Il Mondo Vecchio and cookbooks from Vesta Dipping Grill, Rioja, and Mizuna.

Special thanks to Colt & Gray for being spectacular hosts.

· Announcing the 2012 Eater Awards For Denver [EDen]
· All Colt & Gray Coverage [EDen]
· Denver's 38 Essential Restaurants [EDen]