Food & Wine Magazine makes an annual anointment of who the foodie mag deems to be the 10 “Best New Chefs” throughout the country before the annual much-anticipated Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. Those top 10 are invited to the Classic to prepare a dish during a dinner in their honor.
New this year the public is invited to participate in picking 10 chefs for a People’s Choice award through online voting. Denver, which so often is overlooked when national nods are given out, has a single entrant who made the ballot: Max MacKissock of The Squeaky Bean.
Here’s what Food & Wine wrote about our Denver dude:
Why he’s amazing: Because his time spent cooking in Italy and his love of heirloom vegetables is evident in his spectacular dishes, which often feature a single ingredient in many ways — for instance, roasted, stewed, raw and pureed.
Culinary school: Coursework at Schenectady County Community College (Schenectady, NY).
Background: Glen Sanders Mansion (Scotia, NY), Great Northern Tavern (Keystone, CO), Vita (Denver).
Quintessential dish: “Variations of carrot” (carrot soup with citrus peanuts and kaffir lime ice cream).
Home-grown ingredients: The restaurant has six garden beds near its original location and its own organic farm, the Bean Acre, in Lakewood, Colorado.
Food he can’t live without: “I could eat pizza for every meal.”
What’s with that name? “My business partner, Johnny (Ballen), and his girlfriend were having dinner, eating green beans. She commented how funny it is when they squeak on your teeth. The name is meant to symbolize freshness and what we do. We cook things that are at the peak of the season.”
Accolades: The Squeaky Bean received The Denver Post’s first four-star review since the paper started its current rating system in 2005.
Rev it up
The Charity Preview Party — the premier event of the Denver Auto Show — gets better every year.
This year’s fifth annual event takes place from 7 to 10 p.m. Tuesday (the night before the show opens) on the Denver Auto Show floor and includes exclusive access to the entire 500-plus new-car showroom inside the Colorado Convention Center.
The party features snacks and sips while attendees stroll through acres of new cars. The Charity Preview Party is a benefit for National Jewish Health, Clear the Air Foundation and The Denver Post Community Foundation.
To purchase tickets, go to www.charitypreviewparty.com.
Room with a view
The already hot Ballpark Neighborhood restaurant scene turns up the heat even higher with the opening of VIEWHOUSE this week.
The eatery features an eclectic menu from chef Jose Guerrero (from Roy’s Cherry Creek, Mao and Pizza Republica), Colorado-centric cocktails and microbrews and the spectacular view from the rooftop patio bar.
Opening-week events at the 20th and Market street spot, begin with a grand opening celebration — a benefit for the Ballpark Neighborhood Association — from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday.
The restaurant opens for regular business on Friday, and on Saturday “Westword” will throw its first Shamrock & Roll from 2 to 8 p.m. The music lineup includes Calder’s Revolvers, Bop Skizzum, Monroe Monroe and Rachel & The Kings. The event is free and open to participants 21 and over.
VIEWHOUSE is a Denver corporation comprised of principals Brad Manske as managing partner and nightclub king Francois Safieddine as landlord and money man.
Grobbie alert!
Popular recording artist
Josh Groban will perform a special concert with the Colorado Symphony on July 7 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. March 22 at
www.ticketmaster.com.
Groban is an internationally renowned singer, songwriter and actor. His latest album All That Echoes debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Album Chart making it the first No. 1 debut of his career.
No doubt his fame will make this concert a sellout for the Colorado Symphony, which had been nearly fatally wounded by lackluster ticket sales. Smart move on the Symphony’s part in this partnership.
Bartender battle
Two bartenders from Tom’s Urban Diner – the 24-hour eatery on Larimer Square – are Vegas-bound to compete as finalists in the “Shake it Up” cocktail challenge.
“It’s such an honor to be participating in the national contest,” said Chris Clewell, who will compete with fellow barkeep and pal Les Baker. The two cocktail-ologists spent weeks experimenting with recipes, and then submitted their best to the national competition.
The field was whittled from 500 original applicants to 30 who will be competing for the 2013 best cocktail recipe. The event takes place on March 20 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
A panel of expert mixologists from around the world will judge the cocktail entries and narrow the field to just five contenders. The final five will be given a secret ingredient and mere minutes to create a winning adult beverage.
Eavesdropping on a woman to a man at Old Major: “You’re so thin.”
“I have this disease where everything I eat goes to my sister’s butt.”
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