Aloha Poke Co. coming to Zeppelin Station
Rosenberg’s New York-style bagels, which arguably actually improve your life, are now available at a second location, inside Aurora’s Stanley Marketplace.
Owner Joshua Pollack uses traditional NYC methods, including replicating the Big Apple’s water, to make the perfect bagel. Judging by the lines at his original Five Points location, Denverites approve.
The Stanley outpost of Rosenberg’s will have the same menu as the original, plus expanded retail offerings so you can take home matzah, latkes and pounds upon pounds of lunch meat.
Rosenberg’s Bagels and Delicatessen at Stanley Marketplace: 2501 Dallas St., Aurora, 720-990-6743; rosenbergsbagels.com; Tues.-Sun. 6 a.m.-3 p.m.
●●●
It’s a New York deli kind of day. First, there was Rosenberg’s Bagels and Delicatessen moving into The Stanley. Now, we’ve got the skinny on the ownership change at New
York Deli News.
The good news? New owner Larry Bergstein, who bought the beloved restaurant from longtime owners Al and Tory Belsky last month, isn’t touching the sandwiches.
“The Jewish deli stuff is not going to go away,” Bergstein said. “If anything, I may bring in more stuff. Being from New York, I’m definitely familiar with all the products.”
Bergstein may hail from NYC, but he’s spent a lot of time cooking in Denver: He worked as the executive chef at The Capital Grille from 2008 until last summer. He was looking to acquire a restaurant, and when the opportunity to run New York Deli News came up, he jumped on it.
“To me this is an icon, and I could not pass up an icon,” Bergstein said.
While he’s not looking to take anything off the menu, he may put his cheffing skills to use and add a couple things to the dinner menu.
Other changes may include a remodel in the future, but nothing too crazy. This is a neighborhood staple, after all, and people come here for a taste of classic New York, not anything new or trendy.
“I couldn’t let (the restaurant) be flipped to something else because of the amount of people it feeds and the specialty of it. It needed someone to come in who was familiar with this stuff. As a kid, I grew up with this,” he said.
All right, Bergstein, I’ll trust you. Just don’t touch our corned beef and pastrami on rye.
New York Deli News: 7105 E. Hampden Ave., Denver, 303759-4741; nydndenver.com; Sun.-Thurs. 7 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 7 a.m.-10 p.m. ●●●
Yet more bagel news: Einstein Bros. Bagels teamed up with No Kid Hungry for a 21day pledge to raise enough money to provide 1 million children with nutritious meals. On May 17, the company donated $230,000 to the charity — enough to provide 2.3 million meals.
●●●
Zeppelin Station, which promises to be a blend of eats, drinks and creative concepts, won’t open until the end of the year. In the meantime, we’ve got the lowdown on the first confirmed food vendor: Chicago-based Aloha Poke Co.
“We’re tapping into highprofile tenants from all around the country,” said Zeppelin’s director of hospitality development, Justin Anderson. “We’re trying to keep it interesting.”
Anderson met Aloha’s cofounder, Zach Friedlander, while working in Chicago a few years ago. He was so impressed by the consistency and quality of Aloha’s poke bowls that when he started brainstorming food vendors for Zeppelin Station, that was the first call he made. Friedlander was an easy sell.
“Denver’s food scene is booming right now and it feels very similar to that of Chicago, so we’re excited to be packing bowls in the Mile High City,” Friedlander said. “I feel like the community and culture of Denver are very aligned with our demographics and company culture at Aloha.”
The eatery has garnered a major following in Chicago with its fresh, cubed fish bowls, but it’ll be facing some steep competition: Two poke spots will be opening soon on Platte Street, another in Avanti and other restaurants like Capitol Hill’s Sushi Cup have opened in the last few months.
So why the poke craze right now?
“Poke has taken sushi and made it into more of a fastfood product. It’s healthy, it’s lean, it doesn’t weigh you down, but it’s still very satisfying. It’s exciting to see more and more people working poke into their weekly meals,” Friedlander said.
Besides Aloha Poke Co., Zeppelin Station is also talking with all-star restaurants in New York, Austin, Los Angeles and Atlanta to come on board — although they’re not naming names (yet).
The RiNo development will feature eight food vendors on the first floor, plus a larger anchor restaurant. The creative office and retail space will be upstairs, because who wants to climb stairs to get to their poke?
Look for everything inside Zeppelin Station to open at the same time at the end of 2017.
Aloha Poke Co. at Zeppelin Station: 3501 Wazee St., Denver; alohapokeco.com, zeppelinstation.com.
●●●
June 15 will be a wild night at the Denver Zoo, and not just because you might catch some capuchins getting frisky. It’s the annual “Do at the Zoo” fundraiser, and this year’s restaurant lineup is bananas.
More than 60 restaurants will be providing bites, including Coperta, Departure, The Oceanaire and the not-even-yet-open Hickory & Ash. Wash it down with beer from a smattering of local breweries, plus wine and cocktails.
All proceeds go to the zoo, which means you’ll be doing your part to give Dobby, the adorable baby giraffe, a bright future. And doesn’t Dobby deserve a bright future?
Do at the Zoo, June 15, 7-10 p.m.; 2300 Steele St., Denver; denverzoo.org; tickets $175 Allyson Reedy (areedy@denverpost.com) is food writer for The Denver Post. On Twitter @AllysonBTC and Instagram, AllysonEats Den.