Eater Denver - Long Lost Lamented Restaurant Power HourThe Denver Restaurant, Bar, and Nightlife Bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52682/favicon-32x32.png2015-01-29T14:15:26-07:00http://denver.eater.com/rss/stream/77091902015-01-29T14:15:26-07:002015-01-29T14:15:26-07:00Food Editor Amanda Faison Remembers Aubergine's Cozy Space
<figure>
<img alt="Sean Kelly" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yt9mAYh7ot4CRZL6t0R3u6zFf8k=/0x0:508x381/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45586954/seankelly.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Sean Kelly | <a href='http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2009/10/sean_kelly.php''>Westword</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The restaurant opened in the late 90s, with only 45 seats ready to serve diners in the space that now houses Mizuna. </p> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.24; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; width: 100%; overflow-x: hidden; padding: 15px; margin: 0px;">
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.5;"><span>When we asked<i> 5280 Magazine</i> food editor </span><b style="font-style: normal;">Amanda Faison</b> which restaurant she missed the most, she talked about Aubergine. She detailed the restaurant's ambience and a remembered dish. The chef and owner, Sean Kelly, later opened Claire de Lune, which shuttered a few years later. He was until recently involved in LoHi SteakBar.</p>
<blockquote style="font-style: normal; font-weight: 400;">
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.5;">It's been 14 years since Aubergine closed and I continue to miss it. I spent many an evening in that small, intimate dining room eating Sean Kelly's beguilingly simple and delicious fried baby artichokes with basil aïoli. To this day, no one has executed that dish as perfectly.</p>
</blockquote>
</div>
https://denver.eater.com/2015/1/29/7947603/5280-food-editor-remembers-aubergines-cozy-spaceAlexandria Arroyo2015-01-29T14:09:27-07:002015-01-29T14:09:27-07:00Gone, Not Forgotten: More Memories On Shuttered Eateries
<figure>
<img alt="Still-open sister-spot Buenos Aires Pizzeria" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zHl6KwD83qBehWQkCLYJ_dwoqQE=/0x0:720x540/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45587818/buenos-aires-pizzeria.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Still-open sister-spot Buenos Aires Pizzeria | <a href='https://cbsdenver.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/buenos-aires-pizzeria.jpg'>CBS Denver</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Chefs and food writers reminisce on their old time and long gone favorites. </p> <p><b>Jennifer Jasinski</b>, Rioja, Euclid Hall, Stoic & Genuine, Bistro Vendome</p>
<blockquote>
<p><b>Fourth Story Restaurant</b> that was above The Tattered Cover bookstore on 1st Avenue in Cherry Creek North. Tyler Wiard was the chef for a while. Great wines by the glass program before many restaurants did that. Giant windows facing 1st Avenue. Romantic, great ambiance. Best of all, it was on top of a great bookstore and you had to go through The Tattered Cover, get on an elevator to get up there.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><b style="line-height: 1.5;">Ruth Tobias</b><span>, freelance writer, contributor at Eater Denver, Thrillist, Zester Daily</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p>I moved to Denver in '07, so I can only speak of the scene from that point onward. But the first place that comes to mind is<b> Buenos Aires Grill</b>. Quite the classy oasis in Ballpark at the time, and I loved the grilled provolone with mushrooms and the steak smothered in gorgonzola and tomatoes. Don't get me wrong, Buenos Aires Pizza is great too, but that random slice of Euro-Latin cosmpolitanism had something special going for it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><b>Steve Jankousky</b>, Tom's Home Cooking</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I loved<b> Micole</b>, Chef Eric Roeder's place on South Pearl Street. I loved his contemporary cooking, and loved the $40 prix fixe menu; it was a bargain! I remember eating the most delicious chocolate cake there, garnished with edible gold foil...</p>
<p>And I loved <b>Aubergine Cafe</b>. Sean Kelly introduced me to duck confit there in a risotto with butternut squash.</p>
<div><br></div>
</blockquote>
<p><b>Elaine St. Louis</b>, Colorado Homes & Lifestyles</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We loved <b>Dudley's </b>(on 6th and Downing next to the Safeway) in the early eighties. Ahead of it's time with creative presentation and rare ingredients and a real special-occasion dining establishment. I miss the intimacy and refined elegance, the stellar waitstaff, the hushed yet happy ambiance, the HUGE flower arrangement that greeted you. And we were foodie newbies so everything was a revelation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><b>Etai Bar-on</b>, Etai's and the U Baron Group</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There used to be a restaurant on 72nd and Sheridan called <b>Vientiane Garden</b>. They occupied a defunct Chuckie Cheese where coincidentally I had my first job. Vientiane Garden served Laotian and Nortern Thai style cuisine. We used to go there for Pork Larb, Som Thum and Sticky Rice. The owner taught us to eat with our fingers using the sticky rice to scoop up the pork and papaya. The food was extra spicy but always in balance with the other flavors. I've never been able to find this style of food done as well anywere in Denver since Vientiane closed. Only in the past few years have I found anything remotely as good but I've had to travel to New York, Portland or Bangkok. It must have closed 12 years ago and I'm still sad.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><b>Laura Saffioti</b>, Eater Denver contributor</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Two places in Boulder. <b>Trilogy</b>- it was where I seduced my now husband who was working as a door guy, I miss the dancing, the weird clientele, the good wine and the cheap wine, the funkiness, the velvet couches, all of it.</p>
<p>The original<b> Laudisio</b> which was open for close to 20 years. I regret the years I lived in Boulder in my late teens as a college kid and missed the opportunity to dine here. When friends describe meals there, the food is the best, and the hospitality and heart behind the place are huge. The Laudisio family has been an integral part of the Colorado culinary culture for generations.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><b>Brandon Biederman</b>, ACE and Steuben's</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I gotta say I miss Tommy Tsunamis a little bit. I met my wife Emily there, learned a lot about seafood and it became my first executive chef job. There was a lot of funny things that happened as well but I am waiting for the statute of limitations to run out before I can talk about them.</p>
</blockquote>
https://denver.eater.com/2015/1/29/7936059/gone-not-forgotten-food-writers-chefs-reminisce-about-shutteredAndra Zeppelin2015-01-29T13:55:12-07:002015-01-29T13:55:12-07:00Adega Is Why Chef Paul Reilly Moved to Denver
<figure>
<img alt="Chef Bryan Moscatello" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6Iv_ekRUTR5a6eVmXfga8nuhlF8=/50x0:584x401/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45586950/Moscatello.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Chef Bryan Moscatello | <a href='http://www.zagat.com/b/denver/star-qa-the-little-nells-bryan-moscatello'>Zagat</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Beast + Bottle chef was charmed after a visit to Denver. </p> <p>Adega, helmed by chef <a href="http://denver.eater.com/2013/12/6/6321783/chef-bryan-moscatello-formerly-of-adega-returns-to-colorado-at-aspens">Bryan Moscatello</a>, made quite a splash in Denver the early 2000. The restaurant located across from Union Station in the space that now houses Venice shuttered somewhat abruptly in 2005.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It's because of a meal in August of 2002 at Adega that I moved to Denver. I was working in New York City at the time and came out to visit my folks. They wanted to show off the hot new place.</p>
<p>We ordered the tasting menu and it rivaled anything I had back east at the time. 18 months later I heard chef Bryan Moscatello and his company were opening Mirepoix in Cherry Creek. I figured if I got the job I'd move back to Colorado. One month later, I left Brooklyn without no intention of staying in Colorado for good. That was 11 years ago. I guess thank yous are in order.</p>
</blockquote>
https://denver.eater.com/2015/1/29/7947569/adega-is-why-chef-paul-reilly-moved-to-denverAndra Zeppelin2015-01-29T13:53:22-07:002015-01-29T13:53:22-07:00Squeaky Bean Owner Johnny Ballen Misses City Spirit
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/68ldzLLEUzdECL_7CIPTz-SVFjk=/63x0:502x329/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45586936/City_Spirit.0.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>The hangout closed its doors in 1997, but a <a href="http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2012/11/tonight_city_spirit_cafe_will.php">City Spirit reunion </a>was held in 2012 for those who wanted to share some of its memories. </p> <p>When Squeaky Bean owner Johnny Ballen was asked what Denver restaurant he'll forever miss, he talked about <b>City Spirit</b> and <b>Muddy's</b>. Ballen reminsices on good times and good coffee.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.5;"><span>I miss City Spirit on Blake Street. It was a big watering hole for myself and many of my friends back in the day. Full of fond memories of great times, good music and great vibes with design & art from Susan Wick.</span></p>
<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.5;"><span></span><span>I also miss Muddy's that was on the corner of 15th & Boulder. Great late night meeting spot for coffee and treats.</span></p>
<p> </p>
</blockquote>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.24; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; width: 100%; overflow-x: hidden; padding: 15px; margin: 0px;">
<p> </p>
</div>
https://denver.eater.com/2015/1/29/7947285/squeaky-bean-owner-johnny-ballen-misses-city-spiritAlexandria Arroyo2015-01-29T13:23:38-07:002015-01-29T13:23:38-07:00The Now Defunct Strings Has Elizabeth Woessner Still Longing
<figure>
<img alt="Strings, now Humboldt" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ewSi8mdhNHM2kV47yiV7Hcatsro=/34x0:566x399/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45586758/Strings.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Strings, now Humboldt</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And so does Mel's in Cherry Creek.</p> <p>Elizabeth Wossner, food writer for <i>Dining Out Magazine</i>, shared her long lost and beloved restaurant thoughts.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I know it only closed two years ago, but <b>Strings</b> was open for 27 years and was a true Denver institution. Some of Denver's best chefs at one point manned the burners at Strings. Noel was a true restaurateur and a great humanitarian. No round up of Denver classics would be possible without it.</p>
<p>Also <b>Mel's</b> in Cherry Creek - a stepping stone for Tyler Wiard, Blair Taylor, Frank Bonanno, Goose Sorenson etc. Mel and Janie Masters were fixtures in the Denver dining scene and helped jump start the careers of so many and made the growth of this town's restaurant scene today possible.</p>
<div><br></div>
</blockquote>
https://denver.eater.com/2015/1/29/7947401/strings-mels-closed-restauants-denverAndra Zeppelin2015-01-29T13:15:02-07:002015-01-29T13:15:02-07:00Denver Post Restaurant Critic William Porter Reminisces on Brasserie Z's Camaraderie
<figure>
<img alt="Kevin Taylor" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kJSU8dTVGaLWxgcjXMGKHoKXWFs=/58x0:447x292/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45586316/KevinTaylor.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kevin Taylor | <a href='http://blogs.denverpost.com/food/2014/03/07/restaurant-kevin-taylor-close-march-30/23304/'>DP</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Opening in Denver in 1997 the restaurant created a neighborhood vibe, pulling in regulars and making patrons feel at home. </p> <p>When we asked Denver restaurant critic William Porter to talk about one restaurant he missed the most, he raved about Kevin Taylor's<b> Brasserie Z</b>. Porter shared his experiences with the friendly staff that turned into lifelong relationships.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When I moved here in 1997, I rented a corner apartment in the Bank Lofts at the corner of 17th and Stout streets. One of the things I liked about it was that the building's ground floor was occupied by Brasserie Z, the place that chef-restaurateur Kevin Taylor opened after his original <b>Zenith</b> closed.</p>
<p>It was an excellent restaurant with a great bar, and you could actually access the side exit of the place through the Bank Lofts lobby. Kevin was putting out terrific food, including a beef carpaccio I still miss. Later on Sean Yontz helmed the kitchen. When I first started going there, the bar was manned by <b>Jim Oswald</b> and John Holmes, two great guys and serious Deadheads. Oz served me my first martini. (Weirdly, I had long been a dedicated Scotch guy and it wasn't until I was 40 that I had Bond's favorite drink.)</p>
<p>There was a nice crowd of regulars and it became sort of a surrogate family when I was single. I remember stopping in for a nightcap after the first date with the woman who is now my wife. <b>Robert "Bird" Bredeck</b> was by then the bartender and he asked me how it had gone. I gave him what must have been an odd look and said, "I know this sounds crazy after just one date, but I think this might be the one." He clapped me on the back and stood me to a glass of wine. And 2 1/2 years later, he was reading a passage from Pablo Neruda at our wedding.</p>
<p>It was just that kind of place.</p>
</blockquote>
https://denver.eater.com/2015/1/29/7946893/denver-post-restaurant-critic-william-porter-reminisces-on-brasserieAlexandria Arroyo2015-01-29T13:10:03-07:002015-01-29T13:10:03-07:00Lori Midson, Zagat's Editor, Still Devastated at the Loss of Little Pepina's
<figure>
<img alt="Little Pepinas" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kOM7X8mOVkAk2a7xz61DqaAupWc=/0x0:500x375/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45586442/LittlePepinasexterior.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Little Pepinas</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The restaurant, now Kobe An, made more than a lasting impression with its charm and easy-going staff. </p> <p>Lori Midson, Zagat food editor, talked about Little Pepina's atmosphere and incredible food when we asked her about one Denver restaurant she misses the most. Midson is consumed by nostalgia when she thinks of Little Pepina's.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><span> </span></p>
<div>I grew up on the west side of town, in Applewood, and our go-to restaurant was Little Pepina's, a white tablecloth Italian place that still, even after two decades, is the Denver restaurant I miss the most.</div>
<div>
<p>It was my mother's favorite restaurant, too, and while more than 20 years has passed since chef and owner Richard Blick walked away from the kitchen, she still wistfully reminsces. We danced, often, with Dino Santoro, the restaurant's flirtatious maître d’, and we spent plenty of time in the kitchen with Blick, who made the most amazing shrimp fra diavolo I’ve ever had.</p>
<p>I had my first underage cocktail at Little Pepina's. My stepfather, an academic curmudgeon who despises just about everything except history books, adored Little Pepina's, at least until that one evening when he inhaled too many martinis and found himself face-down on the sidewalk. One night, while Pepina's was closed for a private party (it had been bought out by some marvelous transvestites from Trinidad), we were summoned by phone to join them, and it was one of the best nights of my life. My rehearsal dinner was at Little Pepina's. Someone -- I don't remember the culprit -- had way too much wine and teetered backwards, breaking the window. Santoro celebrated by uncorking another bottle of Champagne. No matter the circumstances, Santoro always had a smile — and smiling eyes — that lit up a room.</p>
<p>When Little Pepina's closed, I was devastated. Several years later, when Santoro passed away, I sobbed. Blick is now living in Seattle, and we still keep in touch, and whenever I get the chance, I never hesitate to tell him that his food, not to mention his and Santoro’s genuine hospitality, made an indelible mark on my life. For years after it shuttered, I’d drive by, stopping in front of the boarded up building – now Kobe An - to plot how I could sneak back at night to pilfer the scripted Little Pepina's sign that was bolted to the stucco exterior. That sign is now long gone, but the memories I have of the hours upon hours I spent at Little Pepina's are still fully etched in my mind.</p>
</div>
<p> </p>
</blockquote>
https://denver.eater.com/2015/1/29/7947095/zagat-food-editor-lori-midson-still-devastated-at-the-loss-of-littleAlexandria Arroyo2015-01-29T13:05:02-07:002015-01-29T13:05:02-07:00Master Sommelier Brett Zimmerman Laments The Lost Gem That Was Laudisio
<figure>
<img alt="Antonio Laudisio" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/35km-upFctOvOnexe7YVmXnuS0E=/0x10:600x460/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45583398/Laudisios.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Antonio Laudisio | <a href='http://www.dailycamera.com/business_old/ci_23428329/boulders-ristorante-l-formerly-laudisio-closes-after-20'>Daily Camera</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The family that owned the restaurant that shuttered in 2012 still operates the Med in Boulder and a pizza cart at the Boulder Farmers Market. </p> <p>When we asked master sommelier and Boulder Wine Merchant owner Brett Zimmerman to talk about one restaurant he missed the most, he mentioned Laudisio, the Boulder staple that closed two and a half years ago. Here's what Zimmerman shared.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"I realize that there was a newer version of the Laudisio restaurant that went out of business just a few years ago, but I am mentioning the one that went out of business in the Willow Springs shopping center over ten years ago, <b>the original Laudisio</b>.</p>
<p>I was a waiter and sommelier there during my college years and beyond so I have a bit of a soft spot for the place, but it was one of the most soulful and delicious restaurants in its hay-day. The food was as good as Boulder had to offer with master chef, Raimondo Laudisio and his brother Antonio running the kitchen. Raimondo worked with the likes of <b>Paul Bocuse</b>, and the Troisgros brothers - additionally, he had a world acclaimed restaurant in Miami in the 1970's. Raimondo's was one of the finest spots in the country.</p>
<p>Raimondo moved to Boulder and started Laudisio as a traditional trattoria, but the recipes and menu items were made with unbelievable talent and love. This was more than just a trattoria. Raimondo was the last person I have seen bone an entire leg of veal<b> for the sake of having scallopini</b>, paillard, and to use the bones for stock. With classic training, the breads he baked, stocks he made, and the rolodex of recipes he had to create were mind blowing. He is still today one of the greatest culinary experts I have had the privilege to know. While I was a server there, I used to go in early before my shift to work with him and learn. This was the backbone of my culinary education.</p>
<p>What do I miss about the original Laudisio? <b>The soul of the menu</b> and classic Italian concept are very rarely duplicated, especially in Colorado. Laudisio restaurant had one of the best wine lists in Colorado and it was all Italian wine, they had a great menu filled with traditional Italian fare, and a collection of fun-loving, talented, wacky Italian guys running the place. It was classic.</p>
<p>I miss the personal touch of the service and having Antonio and the family dazzle guests on a nightly basis. Even thought the place was tucked into the corner of a strip mall, this place transported you to Italy for a few hours with the open kitchen, general atmosphere, wine program, and classic Italian dishes."</p>
</blockquote>
https://denver.eater.com/2015/1/29/7945009/master-sommelier-brett-zimmerman-laments-the-lost-gem-that-wasAndra Zeppelin