Art & Culture · midsummer 2018 midsummer 2018 $5.95 0 74470 66411 6 07> 503 e. hyman ave., ste. d, aspen, co 81611 @aspenmagazine modernluxury.com art & starring ai weiwei,

MIDSUMMER 2018

MIDSUM

MER 2018 $5.950 674470 66411

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@ A S P E N M AG A Z I N E M O D E R N L U X U RY. C O M

Art &StarringAi Weiwei,

Cheryl Donegan, Kevin Fedarko &8 Female Artists

With a Natural Touch

That Lifts Us UpCulture

+ Special Section Interiors Colorado

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Korean, Hawaiian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and Japanese flavors all find a home in the Roaring Fork Valley. –Amanda Rae

Korean, Hawaiian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and Japanese

Asian PERSUASION

tepping from a dark alleyway into Tanuki ToGo (tanukitogo.com) feels like peeking backstage at

a rock concert—�tting considering that the takeout and catering

pop-up inhabits the long-unused Crystal Palace

kitchen (now part of Bootsy Bellows). Having opened Tanuki abruptly in February, chefs Jonathan Leichliter and Adam Christopher Norwig sling a freewheeling mashup of Korean-Southern street food infused with French technique (ramen carbonara; togarashi-spiced sweet potato bubble wa�e with buttermilk fried chicken; bourbon maple syrup and yuzu hot sauce). Set to a soundtrack of Sturgill Simpson or Wu-Tang Clan and serving booze from the nightclub, Tanuki’s four-seat chefs’ table located steps from the grill line has quickly become one of the most coveted reservations in town for its whimsical, coursed tasting menu and boisterous atmosphere. Now the chefs are shape-shifting again: House of the Rising Tanuki-San will boast a separate menu of farm-to-table fusion dishes for lunch and dinner to enjoy among 85 seats in the Bootsy Bellows lounge and sidewalk patio. Tanuki is one in a slew of new eateries that excites diners with exotic Asian �avors. Tiki Mana Island Grill (tikimanarestaurants.com), opened by �ai chef Paula Rungsawang of Bangkok Happy Bowl next door, �res Polynesian grill plates for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hawaiian-style poke bowls, pupu platters, Spam fried rice and �sh tacos pair spectacularly with Tiki drinks.On Main Street, Shanghai-native chef-restaurateur Frank Lu transformed his 17-year-old Asie into Jing (“gold” in Chinese) during a stunning $1.2 million revamp completed

From left: From IzaKaya Carbondale, chilled soba noodles with tentsuyu; a selection of dishes all from IzaKaya Carbondale include (clockwise from top left) a hijiki and lotus salad, black and blue zabuton with apple-sesame chutney, squid salad, tonkotsu ramen and Japanese curry lentils with seasonal vegetables and kazami nori.

last fall. Awash in honey-colored bamboo, Jing represents regeneration: Lu expanded his Chinese menu to include more healthful showstoppers (Frank’s kale fried rice and roasted whole �sh; authentic Peking duck with caviar; black tru�e �let mignon cooked in black bean sauce with basil and jalapeno), as well as a new sushi and raw bar and omakase tasting menu.

Meanwhile, Bamboo Bear (bamboobearrestaurant. com) on Cooper Avenue expanded this winter, doubling dining capacity with low-table seating and more of chef Vinnie Bagford’s fresh Vietnamese food that locals love.

Fans of Jimmy’s �ai Week—an o�season tradition seven years running—will want to head to Basalt, where longtime head chef Manny Diaz decamped with his wife, Mod Chansri, a caterer, to open Mod’s �ai House (modsthaihouse. com). Find familiar dishes (curry, tom yum soup, pad thai) and shareable small plates (duck spring rolls, chicken satay) along with �ai iced boba tea with black tapioca pearls.

Finally, master sushi chef Kiyomi Sano of Kenichi Aspen is returning to his roots, exploring seasonal, home-style Japanese recipes at IzaKaya Carbondale, which opened on Main Street in June. Technically a way of eating, izakaya items might include bu�alo yakitori, a ramen made with 14-hour chicken, �sh, pork or vegetable stocks. As the heart and soul of Kenichi for 27 years and counting, Sano knows that sushi sells well in our valley, so Izakaya Carbondale will o�er rolled rice and sashimi too.

F O O D & D R I N K

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