Score: 16/20

Value: 3/5 (Costs what it should for its quality)

What the scores mean

Frasca has been the best, and my favorite, restaurant in Colorado for a long time. Started by Chef Lachlan MacKinnon-Patterson and Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey, it has long been nationally recognized as being among the best restaurants in the country. It seems like it is up for some James Beard award or another every year and has won Best Chef: Southwest (2008), Outstanding Wine Service (2013), and Outstanding Service (2019). It is the only restaurant in Colorado worthy of being compared to other great restaurants around the world.

MacKinnon-Patterson himself is no longer in the kitchen, which has been co-run for the past few years by Kelly Jeun and Eduardo Valle Lobo. As you would expect, they come with serious pedigree: Jeun spent several years at Eleven Madison Park and Del Posto; Valle Lobo at Del Posto and Daniel Boulud’s DB Bistro Moderne. Eleven Madison Park and Del Posto in particular are some of New York City’s, and therefore America’s, heaviest hitters.

Frasca focuses on the cuisine of the northeastern-most region of Italy, Friuli Venezia-Giulia. It is known not just for the food but also for having one of the best wine programs in the country. I am not knowledgeable enough about wine to write intelligently about it but I can tell you that I always come away from here thinking the wine I drank was just plain better than almost all other restaurants. The wine pairings are also typically spot on with the food. It is an absolute joy to drink wine here and for me, there is no finer place in Colorado to get plastered.

The restaurant offers a choice between a 4 course “Quattro Piatti” menu and a 7 course tasting menu. Tonight we had the tasting menu.

I will preface this review by saying I am a serious fanboy of this restaurant and was looking forward to writing up my typically effusive, glowing feelings about it. Unfortunately though, this meal was just a bit below the typical standard I have experienced at Frasca. Don’t get me wrong, it was still an excellent meal and rates among the best you can get in Colorado; but having eaten here probably around 15 times over the past decade, I would say this was on the lowest end of the range of meals I’ve had here. So look at the score of 16 keeping in mind that I would typically rate most meals here a 17 or even 18, including the several meals I’ve had here since the chef change.

On to the food:

“Sformato di zucca”: butternut squash, smoked ricotta, black truffle (17/20):

Sformato is a savory Italian custard; I think of it as essentially a savory version of panna cotta. This was a lovely amuse, a cheesy, warm, wintry hug to start the meal.

Bread at this meal was better than I can ever recall having here. I typically find the bread here to be very good but nothing special. This, however, was an exemplary sourdough with the distinctive, strong sourdough flavor really coming through well (16/20):

“Inverno in Friuli”: root vegetables, fruits, winter greens, hazelnut (15/20):

This was nice enough, but the vegetables themselves have to be of really top-notch quality to get excited about such a dish. These were very good but nothing more than that, with the exception of the cauliflower, which really stood out.

Scallop, puntarelle, potato, black truffle (17/20):

Wow was this an amazing scallop. Scallop usually has quite a mild taste, but this one was intense, with deep shellfish flavor and unique character. I believe it is the best scallop I’ve ever eaten, I have never encountered another one quite like it. This meal took place a few weeks ago and I still daydream about the scallop. I also love puntarelle, a bitter chicory most commonly seen in Italian cooking that I really wish was more commonly used.

Risotto with acquerello rice, red cow parmigiano, langoustine, calamansi (16/20):

Overall this was a very good risotto but I have had better at Frasca. The rice had a good, firm texture and the red cow version of parmigiano cheese has its own unique characteristics compared to a standard version. The langoustine, served in thin slices on top, was also good. My quibbles would be that I prefer a “looser”, thinner consistency in risotto to this thicker, stickier style and while the calamansi (a citrus fruit) is there to provide some balance to the richness of the cheese, I am unconvinced that it is really necessary here. I think the dish may have been better without it. Not all richness needs to be balanced with acid. Nonetheless, still a very good risotto.

Smoked black cod, apple, horseradish, radish (17/20):

This was fantastic, the quality of the smoking of the fish being a real highlight of the meal. I often find smoking on fish to be an operation of blunt force trauma that can ruin the fish, but here it felt light and refined, while still bringing a strong flavor of its own and not overwhelming the butteriness of the fish. It was marvelous, and went beautifully with the horseradish cream.

Lamb, polenta, squash, wild mushroom, broccoli rabe (15/20):

The lamb was unfortunately the most disappointing part of the meal. The fat had too much chew to it rather than being meltingly tender and the meat itself was a bit lacking in that distinctive “lambiness” you find in really great lamb. I have eaten a lot of great lamb recently and this did not hold up to a superior recent dish at Beckon, let alone the exceptional lamb dishes I had at Neuvieme Art in Lyon, France and Hotel de Ville in Switzerland this past fall. Again, it also does not hold up to past dishes here at Frasca; I had an unbelievable lamb dish here shortly after the new chefs took over that had neither of the aforementioned problems. Nonetheless, I don’t mean to say that this was a bad dish by any means, just not up to snuff for this restaurant. It is also saved by the polenta and mushrooms, which were fantastic.

Torta di kumquat (16/20):

Pastry chef Alberto Hernandez always does outstanding and interesting work, and this was no exception. Very enjoyable dessert.

The meal ended with some excellent chocolates (16/20):

I usually say that this is without question the best restaurant in the state, but I can’t say this was a better meal than the one I recently had at Beckon, so I now have to insert some doubt into that statement. As you can see though, the meal still had some standout dishes, the black cod and scallop being the best. Even though I was not quite as taken with the meal as I typically am at Frasca, as usual I still can’t wait until the next time I come back here.