Ramen hot spot opening a second location
Uncle (the restaurant, not your mom’s sort-of creepy brother) is famous for two things: delicious, soul-warming bowls of ramen and long waits. Owner Tommy Lee has heard your “I want ramen, and I want it now!” demands and is increasing his supply — he’s opening a second Uncle location in Wash Park.
“I wasn’t originally looking in that area, but my real estate broker brought it to me, and I thought it was a great neighborhood,” Lee said. “I think it’s a cool neighborhood that’s kind of underdeveloped in terms of restaurants, but it’s still in the city.”
The new restaurant, which, alas, won’t open until next summer, will be twice the size of the LoHi space and will still focus on the rich, eggy ramens we’ve come to know and love. That said, the bigger kitchen means more room to play, and Lee said we may see more non-ramen entrees.
“We want to keep the identity of Uncle and not mess with it too much. The goal is to be the same, but a little more ambitious. The kitchen will be twice the size (of the original), if not a little bigger, so we’ll have the flexibility to do more, but at the same time we’re still a ramen shop, so the focus is on noodles,” Lee said.
Uncle the Sequel will open on the ground floor of a new condo development on the corner of Pennsylvania and Bayaud.
Added Lee, “Hopefully the wait time is a little less.” You and me both, kid.
●●● According to Bon Appétit, two of the nation’s 50 best new restaurants are in Colorado.
First up is Annette, chef Caroline Glover’s spot inside Aurora’s Stanley Marketplace. Glover found out about the honor via email last week — right before she went to BA’s website to pull up the list, as she does every year.
“Honestly, it doesn’t feel real,” she said. “Our little baby restaurant in Aurora. I’m over the moon. Hopefully it brings a little more attention to the east side of town and Aurora.”
The other restaurant isn’t really a restaurant at all, but semantics shemantics. The Denver Central Market, which houses 11 food and drink purveyors, also got a nod.
Interesting that both Colorado spots on t he list are a part of (or are) food halls. BA editors will whittle the 50 finalists down to 10 on Aug. 15.
●●● Continuing his quest to dominate South Pearl, Restaurateur/Chef Patrick Mangold-White opened Palizo Italiano on Aug. 4. The owner of three other South Pearl restaurants — hand at Northern Italian, because why not? 1472 S. ●●●
Also on South Pearl, The Boulangerie opened July 29. The European-style cafe will pick up where the Pajama Ba king Co. left off, with simple breakfasts, sandwiches and tarts and notso-simple baked goods.
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Way to go, Belmar! As of Aug. 1, you have your very own Bar Louie. It’s the martini/bar food chain’s seventh Colorado location, but it’s the first in the 80226 Zip code, so there’s that. 7111 W. Alaska Dr.,
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Pizza Republica opened two weeks ago in Glendale in the former Silvi’s Kitchen space. Is this two pizza steps forward? Two steps back? If only Paula Abdul were here to judge. ●●●
What’s better than a summer weekend in Steamboat Springs? A summer weekend in Steamboat Springs during the 14th annual Steamboat Wine Festival, of course. Catch stunning scenery, wine hikes (yes, wine hikes) and good eats Aug. 9-12.
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Happy birthday, Euclid Hall! The Larimer Square restaurant is celebrating its seventh year with a throwback $7 menu. Through Aug. 13, Cheez Whiz Spaetzle, Car Bomb Floats and other fan favorites can be yours for $7.