A Star Is Reborn
chi Denver is a big production, a swaggering Texas import set at the edge of Curtis Park. Open since this past October, it’s the fourth restaurant of the same name by chef Tyson Cole; the original dates to 2003 in Austin. There, Cole was credited with taking that city’s appreciation of sushi and artful small plates to a new level. He even won a James Beard Award in 2011 for his exacting respect for traditional Japanese techniques and ingredients, and his playful recombinations thereof. Let’s be clear, though: This isn’t a Colorado interpretation of a 16-year-old success. It’s a branch-plant extension of Uchis in Dallas, Houston, and Austin. And given Denver’s wealth of modern Japanese restaurants, I would have preferred a new idea from a star chef
