Bar Dough in Highland Park is a rustic Italian restaurant that serves pizzas and pasta. But what about brunch, you might ask. They serve a delicious weekend brunch menu featuring pizzas, mimosas, beer, wine, cinnamon rolls, and so much more. If you want a sweet start to the day, they have it, but they also have salads and hearty dishes that will satisfy your hunger. I had the steak and eggs, which were fantastic. An 8 oz grass-fed hanger steak served with fingerling potatoes and two eggs makes a hearty beginning to the day. I grabbed a cinnamon roll to-go, though, and that was incredible, too.
read moreIf this six-year-old Highland restaurant were a cocktail, it would be a spritz: The sparkling, trendy quaff befits Bar Dough’s celebratory, convivial nature. (The fun factor also isn’t surprising considering that Culinary Creative Group, the team behind Bar Dough, has also given us the quirky, always delicious Señor Bear, A5, and Forget Me Not.) Executive chef Russell Stippich—formerly of Boulder’s Frasca Food and Wine, RiNo’s now-closed Acorn, and the Nickel—mans the kitchen, turning out a rotating lineup of stellar pastas, vegetable dishes, pizzas, and larger entrées. Our go-tos: The Berkshire pork Milanese and one of the seasonal pastas (right now, we recommend the almond-pesto-slicked strozzapreti with artichokes). Whatever you choose to eat from the modern menu, pair it with—what else?—your choice of five spritzes. 2227 W. 32nd Ave.
read moreThe team behind Forget Me Not are planning to open a second cocktail bar in Cherry Creek. Juan Padro, founder of local restaurant group Culinary Creative, and Nicole Lebedevitch, a managing partner who runs the company’s cocktail division, expect to open the new concept at 248 Detroit St. this fall. “For Cherry Creek to continue to grow, it needs more options,” Padro said. “We’re filling a niche in Cherry Creek because it’s packed with big hotel restaurants and bars, plus national names. There’s a need for more local operators.” Matt Joblon of BMC Investments is also a partner in the cocktail lounge. He and Padro co-own Aviano Coffee, whose first location is right next door at 244 Detroit St. Forget Me Not — which Padro, Lebedevitch and Joblon also partnered on — opened in March 2021 at 227 Clayton St., just a block away. Weekends can see two-hour wait times, and reservations are booked months in advance. “Right now, we’re fortunate that this place has been so popular,” Padro said. “People come and hang out for four or five hours. That’s pretty unusual, so we want to have another place people can bounce back and forth to, so if they can’t get a patio seat at Forget Me Not, they can get one at our new spot and have a true night out.” Padro and co. don’t yet have a name for the new bar, but Lebedevitch said the cocktail list will have an “easy, breezy afternoon feel” and focus on light spirits, like gin, tequila and vodka. The venue will have a Mediterranean theme, which will expand to the snack list. The partners plan to invest around $1.7 million into the renovation of the space and have hired 4240 Architecture and Torres Construction and Remodeling. The 244 Detroit St. building was formerly home to Coda Studio. That business was owned by owned by Angela Feddersen, the wife of attorney Steve Bachar, who is facing felony theft and securities fraud charges. Culinary Creative is going to gut the space and add some skylights, banquette seating, hanging plants and lights throughout, plus a trellis on the patio which can seat up to 40 people. “You could parachute this into New York City, and it would be extremely successful,” Padro said. “The talent Nicole attracts is the best talent in the city.” Lebedevitch built her reputation in the hospitality industry in Boston, running beverage programs for bars like Eastern Standard and The Hawthorne. Padro, who is also from Boston, met her there and spent eight years trying to convince her to work for him. She moved to Denver in 2019 to work with Culinary Creative and began building plans for Forget Me Not. RELATED ARTICLES GABF turns 40: How Colorado’s biggest beer festival shaped the American craft industry This well-preserved East Colfax dive is both a dim drinking haven and a top-notch stage Tom’s Diner on Colfax reopens as Tom’s Starlight with a patio, cocktails and retro “Palm Springs” vibe 5 of Denver’s best beer bars This legendary green chile-and-beer spot will give you a taste of Colorado like no other “There’s not a bar in this city that I go to that has as diverse of a crowd as Forget Me Not,” Padro said. “We’re drawing as much from Aurora as we are from RiNo.” “There’s no one person this attracts, and that’s what we’ll continue to do as we build more spaces,” Lebedevitch added. “We had a woman come in and drink a Manhattan by the fire while knitting a baby sweater, and we also have a hall of fame hockey player, who’s come in almost every night this week.” Culinary Creative also owns the local Tap and Burger chain, Italian restaurant Bar Dough, Israeli restaurant Ash’Kara, Mexican restaurant Senor Bear, Latin restaurant Mister Oso and A5 Steakhouse. And Padro is getting ready to open Fox and the Hen, a brunch spot at 2257 W. 32nd Ave. in the Highlands, this summer with “Top Chef” alumna Carrie Baird and friend Michael Fox.
read moreThursdays through Saturdays, Oyster Wulff’s Wolven shucks oysters out of a cooler on the patio at Forget Me Not, Cherry Creek’s chic cocktail bar. Wolven, who grew up in Maine plucking ocean dwellers fresh from the water, maintains relationships with the mom-and-pop farms back home, and flies oysters to the Centennial State multiple times per week. Wolven prefers oysters with high salinity—which helps carry tertiary notes like reed grass and moss, he says—and has honed his palate and his craft by traveling the country to attend oyster festivals and learn regional shucking techniques. So while at $5 a pop, the oysters he brings in are some of the highest-priced in Denver, in this expert’s hands, they’re worth it. 227 Clayton St.
read more
