If you didn’t catch it, I was featured on a recent episode of This Is TASTE, a podcast based out of NYC hosted by Aliza Abarbanel and Matt Rodbard. I got a chance to hang out with Matt and take him on a food crawl of some of my favorite breakfast and brunch places RiNo and Five Points while the podcast rolled through Denver. Listen now.
Now for this month’s report!
Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
5 new Denver and Colorado restaurants & cafes you should know about
3 links that made me laugh, cry, or say whaaaat?
One final craving (the surprisingly successful shopping center sushi spot)
I keep a list of all the new and upcoming restaurant openings in and around Colorado and every few weeks I filter through them to find the ones you need to know about. Here’s my curated list of interesting spots that started welcoming guests in June:
As someone who previously made her fandom of The Easy Vegan pop-up kitchen known, it’s no surprise I’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Alexi Mandolini and Taylor Herbert’s first brick-and-mortar location. Opened at the end of June, Mother Other is a bar and restaurant delivering homey vegan cooking. The name of the restaurant is an homage to the various types of “mothers” that devote their talent and lives to keeping the rest of us cared for and fed. “Women have always been the backbone of hospitality, and we want our kitchen to reflect that,” says Mandolini. Building on that, Mandolini and Herbert, who are both partners in life and in business, use the term “other” to welcome those historically marginalized by society and the culinary world into their community. “Mother Other is also for everyone who has ever needed a third place to call their own,” Mandolini adds. “Queer folks, chosen families, people who found their people at a neighborhood bar. Hospitality, to us, means everyone at the table.”
While walk-ins are accommodated when available, with many first-time guests ordering up a lot of the menu and lingering at their tables, I recommend making a reservation ahead of time.
Vibe: Although a permanent location was announced nearly a year ago, Herbert tells me they did so without a real plan, spending the rest of 2025 working to save up money before starting the build out in earnest this year. The space feels like a warm, well-appointed home kitchen. And except for the long walnut banquette bench lining one wall, Mandolini and Herbert designed and constructed the interior by themselves with help from friends – a tiring but rewarding project that Herbert jokes turned her into a “Home Depot lesbian.” A former wedding client installed the muted green bead board, while another customer-turned-friend put in the lamps that hang over the line of tables. The decor features colorful pieces from local artists and personal collectibles, with the walls finished with framed personal artifacts: recipe cards from Herbert’s grandmother and a ratty piece of cardboard scribbled with first ideas the two dreamed up for the concept that would eventually become The Easy Vegan.
What’s on the menu: The food follows their signature style of comforting favorites incorporating the best of what farm produce has to offer. The pair works closely with local purveyors – such as Switch Gear Farms for produce and Sfoglina for fresh pasta – whom they have gotten to know well on the farmers market circuit. My favorites include dishes where Mandolini incorporates her Italian and Polish heritage, such as the “giarancini” – an arancini topped with Chicago-style giardiniera – and their signature potato and chive pierogi, now served fresh and artfully plated. The Japanese sweet potato is already a fan favorite, with its Asian-inspired miso and black garlic flavoring, topped with alternating fried onions and taro chips arranged in an eye-catching vertical display. To finish, the brioche doughnuts arrive as three sugared pom-poms, served with side-by-side pools of vanilla custard and poached rhubarb for dipping. Herbert, whose background in bartending, now has a better showcase for her talents. Her bar program includes a majority of cocktails that can be made non-alcoholic, utilizing vegetable-based carbonated sodas – such as tomato water or red bell pepper lemonade – as their bases. She says the drink program is still young and they hope to grow it over time, but diners are welcome to ask servers about off-menu drinks for additional options.
Italian restaurants have been popping up all over Denver lately, and now Boulder chef Hosea Rosenberg is bringing his own take on Italian-American with his newest spot, Morso. The former Top Chef winner, best known for his Blackbelly restaurants, was inspired by the East Coast origins of his opening team, creating a casual spot focused on wood-fired pizzas and housemade pastas.
Vibe: Rosenberg’s Little Piggy Hospitality group has a history of taking over institutional-looking brick buildings and transforming the experience into something far more personal and human than you’d expect. At Morso that translates to an army of chiclet-style lounge chairs to cozy up to in the front section and expansive dining room that can easily accommodate large parties. There’s more seating along the wrap-around bar and a smaller counter facing the wood-fired stove, accented by pale wood chairs, a slat-wood ceiling, and wine-colored banquets. Dashes of pale pink pop throughout the space, including as the base of the staff’s shirts. They’ve also included a clever feature: a section of the dining room that can be cordoned off with windows that frost instantly for private events.
What’s on the menu: The menu covers time-tested favorites, starting with a supersized mozzarella stick snowcapped with shaves of parmesan, alongside calamari misto and a classic Caesar. Pizzas span toppings like kale, clam, and pepperoni with a special Hatch green chile and sausage pie that’s a nod to Rosenberg’s New Mexican roots. For mains, there’s chicken and eggplant parm served on family-style platters, chicken marsala, and a selection of pastas. For anyone needing a pause from the red sauce, there’s linguini alle vongole. The dessert options are plentiful, featuring affogato (made with Huckleberry Roaster beans) and tiramisu. However, if you’re looking to beat the summer heat, order a straight vanilla soft serve, or try one of the sweets that use it as a base: the panettone, which piles on pistachio, dark chocolate, and candied orange, or the “Italian American,” which offsets the tangy creaminess of the soft serve with a drizzle of grassy extra virgin olive oil and salty Maldon flakes. And true to the family-friendly atmosphere, there is a kids’ menu (yes, chicken tendies available).
Matt Chausseur, a former Alinea chef, and his wife, Asheley Fees Chausseur, have owned and operated the Palisade, CO restaurant Pêche since 2019. Roughly a year ago, the duo began dreaming up a second, more casual concept. As Matt Chausseur told Matt Rodbard on the aforementioned This Is TASTE podcast episode, Pêche guests would often ask about the return of various chicken dishes they’ve tasted over the years, which had the Chausseurs thinking a dedicated chicken shop might be something worth spinning up in nearby Grand Junction. The opening of the restaurant brings a much-welcome jolt of energy to the town which, despite boasting notable spots like Josh Niernberg’s Bin 707, remains a relatively sleepy dining destination.
Vibe: Tiki Bird has a bold and youthful aesthetic, a break from the casual elegance they’ve mined at Pêche. The shipping-container style exterior is plastered in bright floral prints. Inside, the walls, ceilings, and floors are finished in various shades of black, contrasting with the colorful graffiti-inspired art and an extensive collection of tiki glassware – ranging from adorable panda bears to skeleton pirates. The couple hand built much of restaurant’s interior elements, including the tables decorated with abstract swirls and splatters and the banquets made of the same durable vinyl used for seating on boats. There’s also a sprawling patio for stretching out on a warm day. It’s still early goings (the restaurant has been in a soft opening phase since the beginning of June), so there’s still a bit of fine tuning to be done. For example, the website has already undergone a typography update, as customers pushed for a more legible menu after struggling to read the original, graffiti-style menu font.
What’s on the menu: The various chicken dishes take guests on a tour around the world, including Japanese-style BBQ skewers, sticky Kansas City drumsticks, Jamaican-spiced jerk chicken, pollo asado, and chicken tikka accompanied by naan and green garbanzo hummus. For a contribution from the US of A, a Southern-fried version served with cheesy grits and braised greens is available. According to the restaurant, everything is prepared to order. This means the food can take a bit longer to arrive, which has rattled some locals who’ve left mixed reviews. The beverage program leans heavily into rum-based concoctions like mojitos, piña coladas, and daiquiris, alongside an assortment of mixed, bottled, and canned non-alcoholic drinks, beers, and wines.
Forage’s Instagram account began the restaurant equivalent of vagueposting a few months ago, with one announcement touting a dining experience of “One table, 16 people, 12 courses, one restaurant unlike anything Breckenridge has seen before.” Requests for comment from the restaurant have gone unanswered, so most of what I know about the place comes from publicly available information and a recent Summit Daily article from Allison Moore. Officially opened on June 19 inside a converted, colonial-blue Victorian house on Breckenridge’s Main Street, service runs Fridays and Saturdays, with guests asked to arrive by 5:30 PM for a 6 PM start. The meal cost $195 per person, with optional non-alcoholic ($80) and wine ($110) pairings. For those looking to secure a seat, solo dining spots are plentiful most weekends in July, with broader availability for two people stretching into August.
Vibe: Photos depict a style of dining room familiar to those who frequent high-end tasting menus – a meditative space where the outside world is shut out by window coverings. According to the Summit Daily, guests dine under a U-shaped table crafted from Colorado pine that sits below a copper-plated ceiling and mood lighting shifts in sync with the courses.
What’s on the menu: The official site describes a meal focused on telling “the story of Colorado” through its food. The Summit Daily reports that owner Claire Preen and chef Ryan Cook worked on the concept, while Victor Muñoz leads the kitchen on a daily basis as Executive Chef. Originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, Muñoz most recently headed the now closed ORO Miami, a luxurious South Beach restaurant that reveled in a global menu dripping with caviar bumps and truffle-laced fries. Perhaps true to Muñoz’s former experience, the Forage experience brings theatrics into their tasting menu – including the use of liquid nitrogen to freeze wildflowers and herbs, which guests are invited to crush with a mortar and pestle and pour over dessert. Reviews mention a bread course that pays homage to the town’s local mining past; the “Sticking Tommy” includes a beef tallow candle in an antique-looking holder that eventually melts into a pool of dipping sauce. The chicken liver pâté tart, braised short ribs with black currant compote, and an elk Wellington paired with rhubarb ketchup have been favorites with the restaurant’s early diners. The chef team is rounded out by Jacob Tracy, Jake Maki, and Austin Maki, the latter of whom previously worked at Rootstalk, Matt Vawter’s acclaimed restaurant just down the street.
Milly’s Bagels is a new Wash Park bagel shop only open since mid-June, but it’s already got crowds of breakfastgoers eager to secure their bagels at 8:30 on a Tuesday morning. Owned and operated by Milly Lorden, Milly’s has a built-in following of fans from their catering business and Denver-area farmers market apperances over the last year. Like it or not, part of the experience of Milly’s is spending time in the queue. On a recent visit, I was surrounded by athleisure-clad Wash Park mommies and daddies – both of human and doggie parentage – scrolling on their phones to pass the time. More surprisingly, I also spied one school-age child in line. His two friends occupied themselves by riding in loose circles in front of the shop, debating the coolness of BMX bikes and shouting, “Are you still in line for bagels?” as the boy waited for his order. Once the young customer’s number was called, he gathered his order and looped the paper bag handles onto his bike and quickly rode off on the sidewalk. Milly’s is also for the kids!
Vibe: There’s no indoor seating, but there are a few spots to settle down. A pair of tables and chairs are bolted to the sidewalk in front of the shop, and from there you’ll get to proctor the comings and goings of all the bagel buyers who didn’t get there as early as you did. If the 30-60+ minutes of line-waiting you already endured has you seeking refuge, you can sneak through a side alley just to the right of the shop entrance to come upon a lovely back patio to enjoy your bagels in a more peaceful setting. (Some of you may remember this space as its former life as the patio seating for the sandwich shop Vert Kitchen.)
What’s on the menu: The menu is simple – a handful of flavored sourdough bagels available individually or by the dozen, a few spreads, and a handful of breakfast sandwiches, including my order of a “Lenny’s Lover” – a bacon egg and cheese with avocado and chili aioli. After I posted an IG reel of my visit, one person commented, “That looks like the most dense, crumbly bagel ever – someone confirm or deny, quick!” I would argue there is a level of density to the bagels, but I wouldn’t characterize them as crumbly; there’s a bit of spring and elasticity to them.
Want to see more of the new space? Check out my IG Reel of my visit to Milly’s Bagels.
* Disclosure: Blurbs marked with an asterisk were facilitated by a hosted meal or media event. However, the restaurant has no influence over my coverage, which remains independent.
The Pursuit of Hungriness: 250 Years of American Food Innovation. NYTimes
In honor of the country’s semiquincentennial anniversary, the paper narrowed down the top 25 American food inventions over the last 250 years. It starts with the johnnycake, a recipe crafted by the Native Americans, and goes all the way to the creation of the delivery app DoorDash. Along the way, you’ll stumble upon some amusing and head-scratching trivia, like how Sylvester Graham created the graham cracker – a bland, whole-wheat cookie — with the intention of curbing the consumption of meat, alcohol, and mass-produced foods, which he all deemed immoral foodstuffs.
Instagram Plus Is a New Low. The Atlantic
Have you ever wanted to view someone’s Instagram story without them ever knowing it? Congrats, for only $3.99/month you can pay Instagram for this and a host of other obsessive/creepy privileges that are probably not good for society or your mental health. Writes Annie Joy Williams, “If what you love is the ability to more conveniently keep tabs on crushes or enemies, by which I mean torture yourself, then Instagram nailed it. Instagram Plus is social media’s newest low – a company preying on our most pathetic impulses, for the price of a small iced coffee.”
The Best Seats in the House. The Angel
A non-scientific breakdown of the best, most iconic, and most coveted seating types you can find in restaurants across Los Angeles and New York, from the austere Vienna chair to the (usually red) cushy booth.
I didn’t quite know what to expect when I was invited to come in for a meal at Sushi by SYC, an omakase restaurant located in a Colorado Boulevard shopping center catty-corner to a Guitar Center. I was swayed into visiting because of Chef Min Koo Lee, who returned to Colorado to spearhead the project after spending a decade honing his skills in NYC. With him, he’s brought back a bit of elegant flair picked up former places of work, like Masa Takayama’s eponymous two-Michelin-starred omakase restaurant, and I was pleasantly surprised by an experience that punches well above its weight thanks to its thoughtful prep and presentation.
It is one of the city’s more accessible omakase experiences, offering 11 courses for $100 or 16 for $150. Here your focus should be on the food, which is refreshingly subdued and elegant, and in contrast with the space’s flashier elements, like the monogrammed Louis Vuitton plates. The meal punctuates its nigiri courses with pleasant detours, like as a slightly citrusy A5 Wagyu tartare on toasted, pillowy Japanese milk bread. If I’m being honest, the experience at Sushi by SYC surpasses at least one other spot in town that I’ve seen others coo over that boasts higher prices and fancier airs.
ICYMI: Last week I revealed most memorable meal I had during a recent trip to Chicago + Jenny Volvovski answers questions about creating the brand identity for one of the city’s most talked about new restaurants. ✨Read it here✨
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