786: TASTE Travels: Colorado

Today’s episode is really special: a deep eating, drinking, and food culture tour of Colorado, a state that has been quietly (and then not so quietly) building one of the most exciting culinary scenes in America. From Denver’s Michelin-starred restaurant boom to the peach orchards and wine country of the Grand Valley, we went to find out why Colorado is a serious food destination—and came back convinced. First up, we sit down with Johnny Curiel, the Guadalajara-born, Denver-raised chef and 2025 James Beard Award finalist behind the Michelin-starred Alma Fonda Fina and the newly opened Milpero. Johnny’s story—from learning to cook in his father’s kitchen in Jalisco to redefining modern Mexican cuisine in the Rockies—is one we’re excited to tell. Next we hit Five Points and RiNo with Laura Young, Denver food writer and founder of New Denizen. Laura takes us on an epic crawl of the spots defining the new Denver dining moment: Cuban pastry, specialty coffee, and an amazing Japanese-inspired all-day café. We then head west to the Grand Valley for a conversation with chef Matthew Chasseur of Pêche in Palisade—a restaurant built on the region’s extraordinary agricultural bounty, from Palisade peaches to Colorado lamb, proving that world-class dining doesn’t require an urban zip code. Throughout the episode, we share highlights from our wider Colorado eating adventures—the restaurants, markets, and producers that made this trip one for the books. Check out a ⁠Google Map⁠ to see all of the places we visit, and save for your own visit. Thank you to Visit Colorado for supporting this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices