Cho77 Scores Big with the Denver Post; Lo Stella Disappoints Westword

Chef Lon Symensma's new "wallet friendly" version of ChoLon Bistro, Cho 77, was reviewed by William Porter of the Denver Post this week. The critic stated that the "handsome" space on Broadway serves "one of the most aromatic dishes in town;" the coconut curry with chicken. He related the dishes to the most prominent seasons in Denver, finding "winter notes" in the Singapore noodles' mushroom sauce and declaring the shrimp and octopus laksa as "an excellent forerunner of warm days to come." Denver's trend of noodle houses was noted and Porter concluded that Cho is certainly excelling in the fad.

Golden Triangle's Lo Stella Ristorante has received a painful review by Westword's Gretchen Kurtz. The critic described a number of problems she experienced during her meals, including an unusual amount of unavailable dishes due to lack of ingredients and an uncomfortably loud argument occurring between staffers in the kitchen. Kurtz compared her evening at Lo Stella to a "comic opera" and only found pleasant tastes in a few select dishes. Kurtz did acknowledge the Italian tradition owner Alessandro Polo preserves in the menu, despite the fact that some of it did not please her American taste buds.