Fully Realized

Fruition was the last restaurant I visited in March, just days before the spring coronavirus dining shutdown. The venerable farm-to-table pioneer, which local star chef Alex Seidel opened between Capitol Hill and Cherry Creek in 2007, had hired Jon Lavelle (formerly of the Way Back) as its chef de cuisine the summer before, and I wanted to see how he was doing. The two meals I had then confirmed that Lavelle was busy elevating Fruition to the top ranks of serious Denver kitchens. I tasted almost everything on the concise menu, and many dishes were delightful and surprising. The pork chop was the best I’ve had in years. It was going to be a celebratory review.

Then: quarantine. Fruition transitioned