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Rioja Denver

@riojadenver

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Denver’s first James Beard Best Chef winner 🏆
Locally sourced & sustainable Mediterranean dishes & wines on historic Larimer Square

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📍Rioja
📍Goat Cheese Tart
📍Tortelloni
📍Fideuà

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Chestnut pear agnolotti crown, butternut squash nage, spiced pepitas, pickled apple and fennel salad.

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this could be the end of wanting… to visit Kate in Colorado because I finally did! #lostgirls

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Denver Diaries 🏔️
Here are some places my little sis and I enjoyed visiting on a sibling getaway in Colorado. Save for your next trip!

Met her at Union Station. The A Line is direct from the airport.

Larimer Square
Historic Victorian buildings, charming boutiques, and a lively bazaar made this an enchanting place to wander and discover the city’s earliest chapter.

Rioja
An unforgettable evening at this Mediterranean-inspired restaurant, led by James Beard Award-winning chef Jennifer Jasinski.... For food, we tried the seasonal cauliflower-tahini soup, topped with boondi (chickpea) and lemon yogurt.
Next was the Beet Salad with stracciatella, duck ham, pomegranate molasses and candied walnuts.
We split their signature pasta, the Artichoke Tortellini. It had artichoke mousse, white truffle brodo, aged Manchego, and chervil. A masterpiece 🤤 Finished with some wonderful Tempranillo wine (Marqués de Murrieta, sommelier’s choice!)

Our waiter was kind and sent us some dessert that we promptly destroyed 🍦it’s her flip phone for me 😂

Bike transportation in downtown 🚲

We had fun at Holey Moley Mini Golf. Gabby is the last thing from being boring. She has five kids, and they keep her young!

Trompeau Bakery
Both Gabrielle and I are French citizens, and she could hardly wait for some buttery French pastries. If she could live there, she would! 🇫🇷

Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception ✝️
Soaring Gothic architecture, magnificent stained glass, and a beautiful reminder to look around, and appreciate the sacred. A moment of stillness amid our adventures.

Margaret “Molly” Brown House
We had a docent-led visit to the beautifully preserved home of the “Unsinkable Molly Brown.” This was one of the first homes to have plumbing and electricity!

Margaret “Molly” Brown House: It offered a fascinating glimpse into Denver’s Gilded Age and the life of a woman whose courage reached far beyond the Titanic. After she survived the Titanic disaster, she led many movements for women’s rights and immigrant equality.

Molly Brown’s study. She was passionate and strong willed! Like most women I know.

Brown Palace Hotel
A wonderfully decorated hotel to many people ov

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A huge congratulations to Denver’s own Jen Jasinski for her induction into @theculinaryinstituteofamerica’s Alumni Hall of Fame! 🙌

The 2026 honorees were nominated by their peers on the alumni council for exemplifying CIA’s core values and embodying the Food is Life philosophy, “bringing joy, nourishment, and community to so many.”

Chef Jen was the first Denver chef to win the @beardfoundation Best Chef Southwest award (2013), and was named a James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Chef (2016). Other accolades include being a finalist on Bravo’s Top Chef Masters (2013), winning Colorado Chef of the Year (2004) and Western Regional Chef of the Year (2005) by the American Culinary Federation, being named one of America’s Best Female Chefs (2015) by @thrillist, and inclusion in the Restaurant Business Online Power 20 (2016).

From Iron Chefs, James Beard and World's 50 Best honorees, to authors, educators, and the entrepreneurs behind globally recognized hospitality brands, cheers to this year's inductees:

⭐ David Burke ’82
⭐ Anne Burrell ’96
⭐ Mario Carbone ’00
⭐ Andrew Carmellini ’91
⭐ Maneet Chauhan ’00
⭐ Michael Cimarusti ’91
⭐ Scott Conant ’92
⭐ Cat Cora ’95
⭐ Mark Erickson ’77
⭐ Jennifer Jasinski ’89
⭐ Michael Mina ’89
⭐ Enrique Olvera Figueras ’97/’99
⭐ Alfred Portale ’81
⭐ Michael Symon ’90
⭐ Rich Torrisi ’01
⭐ Geoffrey Zakarian ’83

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@smashburger just put pastrami on the burger AND the hot dog, and that’s only the start of this week in Denver dining. 🔥

A @riojadenver co-founder just got a big career honor, @boombots_pastashop has a new menu and the Big A$$ Mozz Stick is back, @themilkshakefactory has a buy-one-get-one deal today, and @peachcreaseclub turns into The Peach Scream Club for Halloween season.

Plus Anime Week at @ti.cafe, a Sotol Week cocktail special, lamb birria at @riot.bbq and more.

Link in bio for the full plate of new from @linneacovington.

Follow and DM us “GUIDE” and we’ll send you the 2026 Best New Restaurants Guide.

#DenverFood #DenverEats #DenverRestaurants #DenverDining #DenverFoodie

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Some trips stay with you long after you get home. This will be one of them. ❤️

I traveled to New York to celebrate Jennifer Jasinski’s induction into the Culinary Institute of America’s Hall of Fame, and somehow, the entire experience exceeded anything I could have imagined.

Sixteen incredible chefs. A day spent on campus. An unforgettable lunch, a balsamic tasting, a campus tour, a ceremony celebrating culinary excellence, cocktails overlooking the Hudson River, and a dinner in a stunning dining hall. ✨

The lineup of talent was extraordinary. The setting was unforgettable. But what I’ll remember most is the hospitality.

It was in the details. The thoughtfulness. The way every moment was considered, every guest was welcomed, and every experience felt special. From beginning to end, hospitality was at 100,000%.

And that’s the thing about hospitality. It’s so much more than food, service, or a beautiful setting. It’s how you make people feel. It’s the care behind the details. It’s creating moments people carry with them long after they leave.

That belief is at the heart of everything I do at Union Stitch & Design. Getting to experience it on this level, surrounded by so many extraordinary people in the culinary world, was a reminder of why I love what I do and the community I get to be a part of.

Jennifer, congratulations on this incredible and well-deserved honor. ❤️ And to everyone who made this trip so special, thank you for showing me what hospitality looks like when it’s done with intention, generosity, and heart.

I came to celebrate a chef. I left feeling inspired by an entire industry.

Hospitality, always. ❤️

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Last week, Denver’s culinary scene took center stage at Savor the Season, EatDenver’s annual celebration of the independent restaurants and chefs shaping the city’s dining culture.

Set against the creative backdrop of RiNo ArtPark in @rinoartdistrict, each of the three evenings brought together an impressive collection of local talent for a five-course dinner rooted in seasonal ingredients, thoughtful technique, and a distinctly Colorado sensibility.

Participating restaurants on Wednesday's event included @bear_leek, @riojadenver, @diomiopasta and @johnnybechamels, @olivia_pasta, @bistrovendomedenver, @flagstaffhouse_restaurant, @blackbellyco, and @samecafedenver, which presented a fully vegan menu. Colorado craft beverages, such as @ratiobeerworks, rounded out the experience.

Yet each evening’s significance extended well beyond the table. As a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening Colorado’s independent food and beverage community, @eat_denver champions the people and businesses that give the region its culinary identity. Proceeds from Savor the Season support this work, alongside initiatives focused on food access, immigrant and refugee advocacy, regenerative agriculture, and climate action.

The result was a series of evenings that celebrated not only what Colorado cooks, but what its culinary community stands for: independent spirit, a sense of place, and a commitment to a more sustainable and inclusive food future.

To learn more about EatDenver and its work supporting Colorado’s independent food and beverage community, visit www.eatdenver.com and follow @eat_denver.

📷 Photography by: @behindtheapronmedia

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What a day yesterday! It was such an honor to be inducted into the CIA culinary hall of fame! And to be there with so many AMAZING chefs! And my favorite people were with me!

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Ten Colorado chefs. Five courses. One VERY good reason to gather around the table. 🍽️

Our very own Pastry Chef, Erin Kuklinski, is joining some of Colorado’s culinary best on Sunday, October 25th, for ‘One Table: A Chef’s Collective Dinner’ hosted by Mercantile Dining & Provision and benefiting OneKitchen Colorado.

Join us for an evening of incredible food, chef stories, and a shared mission to strengthen food access, support local producers, and create a better food system across Colorado. Details below! ⬇️

📍Mercantile Dining & Provision
🗓️ Sunday, October 25th, 5:30 PM
🎟️ $175 per guest | Optional $75 wine pairing

Tap the “One Table” link in our bio to reserve your spot! 📲

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Dinner in Denver at @riojadenver where the Millennia G1 Bordeaux/Gold timepiece from @hiddenhillswatch stood out. So many compliments.

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Ten Colorado chefs. One table. One night you won’t see again.

Mercantile presents One Table: A Chefs’ Collective Dinner, featuring chefs from Mercantile Dining & Provision, Rioja, Working Title Food Group, Bistro Vendôme, Coperta, Ash’Kara and Restaurant Olivia, cooking side by side for one evening. Only 70 seats.
$50 of every ticket supports OneKitchen Colorado and its work alongside Nourish Colorado to champion fresh, local food for Colorado communities and schools.

📍 Mercantile Dining & Provision 🗓 Sunday, October 25 | 5:30 p.m. 🎟 $175 per guest | Optional $75 wine pairing

Reservations are open now. Link in bio.

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