February Is For Lovers: Chef Mark Dym on TAG

February is dominated by Valentine's Day and we are about to spread a special kind of chain love starting right now: the love for our local restaurants and chefs. First, restaurant critic Stacey Brugeman of 5280 Magazine launched the month-long spread the love series with praises for chef Mary Nguyen and her new café, Olive & Finch. Nguyen passed along some love to chef Mark Dym of Marco's Coal Fired Pizza and now Dym gets a chance to shares his favorite spot: TAG, chef Troy Guard's flagship restaurant.

It's an incredible time to be a diner in Denver. The city is exploding with new, inventive restaurants opening every week. When we opened Marco's Coal Fired Pizza in the Ballpark neighborhood, we were the only place around and people thought we were crazy to start a restaurant in that part of town. Even with all the new places popping up, Kristy and I still find ourselves wanting to go to our favorite place over and over again on our date nights. We love TAG Restaurant on Larimer Square because even though it's been open for five years, the menu changes every week-- it always feels new and fresh. We don't serve much seafood at Marco's' so we tend to order chef Guard's fish dishes when we dine at TAG. Recently we tried and loved his Alamosa striped bass and of course, we always love the miso black cod. We go in for lunch a lot too and order the kale and quinoa salad with this salmon that's just cooked in the middle and crispy on the outside. We also love the cocktails, and especially the names they come up with. [...] I'm from Brooklyn, and the vibe at TAG with the rough brick walls and intimate booths reminds me of the great places you'd find there. So yeah, we'll try all the new places in Denver, but we'll always love, and come back to, TAG.

Every day, the recipient of the praises will have a chance to pass the love around. Come back tomorrow to hear what restaurant chef Guard is obsessing over this month.

· February Love: Restaurant Critic Stacey Brugeman on Olive & Finch [EDen]
· Chef Mary Nguyen on Marco's Coal Fired Pizza [EDen]
· The Mammoth Guide to Valentine's Day: 56 Ways To Celebrate [EDen]
· Happy Hour Heatmap: Where To Get The Best Deals [EDen]

Troy Guard [Photo courtesy of TAG]