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French Fare Returns to Brasserie Brixton
After a stint as a pizza joint, the Cole restaurant is back to serving bistro classics with flair.Patricia Kaowthumrong •
Brasserie Brixton is finally operating as the bustling neighborhood hangout it was destined to be just nearly a year later than expected. Owners Justin Morse, Amy Keil, and Matt Daniels and chef Nick Dalton debuted the restaurant in July 2020, aiming to bring the charm of an intimate and affordable Parisian bistro to the Cole neighborhood. Then indoor seating limits squashed their visions of patrons packing around the sleek marble-topped bar and gathering around the chef’s counter for steak frites and glasses of wine. The team pivoted to a takeout-only concept called Le Brix Pizza and Wine for the winter, but as vaccines were administered and the weather warmed, Brasserie Brixton triumphantly relaunched Dalton’s dinner menu of small plates and made-for-sharing dishes, such as crispy-skinned roast chicken
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Pizza Was the Restaurant Hero of 2020
Its ease and affordability made it a pandemic staple for many families and a rare bright spot in an industry that has been decimated.
Credit.Tony Cenicola/The New York Times
Feb. 12, 2021
A few times a week, Elizabeth Reninger ambles to a pizza restaurant near her job for lunch. She orders the same thing every time: a cheese slice and fries for $6. For a little adventure, she sprinkles on some Parmesan and red pepper flakes.
Before the coronavirus pandemic swept across the country, Ms. Reninger, a criminology student at Northern Arizona University who also works at a dog day-care facility, estimated that she ate pizza only once every couple of months. That changed late last summer when she strolled into a Slice and Ice pizza parlor.
>Chef Jeff Schwing bakes Pizzas at (Le) Brix Pizza & Wine in Denver, on Thursday, Jan. 14. Pizza boxes for pickup orders are at the ready. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)
Editor’s note: We’re just craving pizza all the time lately. There are few foods that are more comforting. So leading up to Super Bowl Sunday, we’re bringing you a three-part series on our favorite pie. Today, the story of Brasserie Brixton, a new restaurant in Cole that has quite the pandemic story and has recently overhauled its entire menu, serving pizzas to go in order to survive the winter. Next week: Our Top 10 pizzas in metro Denver.
The First COVID Dining Room Lockdown
In early March, the seriousness of the looming pandemic became more obvious as COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths began to mount. Some restaurants began closing to protect their employees and customers even before it was mandated, but on March 17, Governor Jared Polis ordered every bar and restaurant in Colorado to suspend in-house dining, with only takeout and delivery sales allowed. That model continued until May 26, when businesses were allowed to reopen at 50 percent capacity.
Tavernetta has been packaging a rainbow of cocktail choices for takeout customer for most of 2020.
Tavernetta
Liquor To Go In a pandemic-inspired move that may stick around long after we ve dropped our masks, in March Governor Polis issued an executive order allowing takeout and delivery of alcoholic beverages