RESTAURANTS
The Big on the Pig, pork dumplings in crispy chili oil at Bao Brewhouse in Larimer Square.
Provision) this year left the city for his hometown in the mountains. And just this season he’s opened his first restaurant, Rootstalk, inside a lovely cottage on Main Street in Breckenridge. Vawter’s experience shines on a menu of handmade pastas — mafaldine with beef cheek ($19) or agnolotti with parsnip, ricotta, hazelnut and squash ($17) — and large plates of diver scallops ($34) or bavette steaks ($39). Reserve assured that inside the warm dining room, the team is following COVID rules to a T. But you can also go for après ski with cocktails and snacks and heated seating outdoors. 207 N. Main St., Breckenridge, 970-4539124, rootstalkbreck.com
The Rotary. This food hall success has moved out on its own and into the Hilltop neighborhood on a delicious corner that is already home to Park Burger and High Point Creamery. Chef Don Gragg is a Denver native with quite the resumé: He got his start at beloved local spots Barolo Grill and Mel’s. Then he went on to work at Cali
The Rotary owners, from left: Brian Boyd, Don Gragg and Scott Boyd.
fornia’s Chez Panisse and New York’s Gramercy Tavern. You wouldn’t know any of that by The Rotary’s family-friendly and neighborhood-focused setup, though. Gragg and partners Brian and Scott Boyd always create a welcoming atmosphere. Then the food is where you’ll taste that fine-dining difference and
Rootstalk specializes in housemade pastas, from agnolotti to mafaldine and spaghetti.
Gragg’s more recent experience cooking Brazilian-style churrasco over open flame. Order a plate of his rotisserie chicken thighs and slow-roast pork shoulder, some chimichurri to drizzle on top, and sides like blistered green beans and smashed potatoes ($14). 217 S. Holly St., 303537-5327, therotaryeats.com
Bao Brewhouse. Larimer Square’s Euclid Hall closed at the start of the pandemic, but a new restaurant has taken over that space with a very different concept. Bao Brewhouse serves up a variety of Asian fusion dishes with different offerings planned for each floor of the multi-level concept. The first floor, splashed with graffiti and neon signs, is designed to be the “brewpub” portion, serving up Colorado riffs on Chinese street food and offering easy take-out. This is the only floor that was open during our visit (we should know more about plans for the sprawling second floor in coming weeks), but it offers plenty to explore. Try the Colorado Lamb Bansh ($13), Mongolian-style lamb dumplings, or the indulgent and perhaps somewhat plagiarized In-N-Bâout ($10), a bao bun stuffed with an “Animal-style classic cheeseburger.” Bao isn’t brewing its own beer just yet, but there’s a solid canned beer list and cocktails. —