What Will the Year of the Pig Bring for Denver's Chinese Restaurants?

At ChoLon, chef/owner Lon Symensma has been serving handmade French onion soup dumplings, a European embellishment on the Shanghai specialty, since the restaurant opened in 2010. And just last week, he added two other variations on xiao long bao at the newly reopened Cho77.

What Will the Year of the Pig Bring for Denver’s Chinese Restaurants?

Cho77 is LoDo's Newest Dumpling House

If you work or live in downtown Denver, you already know that when the craving for dumplings or noodle bowls or other Asian fare strikes, there are only a few non-chain dining options within walking distance. That status quo ended last week, when Cho77, chef Lon Symensma’s casual southeast Asian street food concept (formerly located on South Broadway), re-opened in its new home on the 16th Street Mall near Blake Street.

Cho77 is LoDo’s Newest Dumpling House

Cho77's Southeast Asian Street Food Moves Into New LoDo Digs

Cho77, the popular Asian street food restaurant that started on South Broadway, is poised to open the doors of its new LoDo location on Monday, January 28, 2019.

Chef Lon Symensma made the choice to move his casual concept to the SugarCube Building at 1555 Blake Street to put the restaurant in closer proximity to its sisters ChoLonand LeRoux — the latest of Denver’s new French options just opened last month. Back on South Broadway, the space that housed Cho77 is now occupied by another of Symensma’s eateries, BorraCho Tacos, which serves street tacos and more Mexican fare and cocktails.

Cho77’s Southeast Asian Street Food Moves Into New LoDo Digs

Lon Symensma’s LeRoux is an Escape off 16th Street

Times are changing on 16th Street, where, by the end of the year, a pair of decades-old neighborhood restaurants had closed and a pan-European destination opened up, looking more Parisian jewel box than Denver’s downtown Mall.

Lon Symensma’s LeRoux is an Escape off 16th Street

New LoDo Restaurant Brings European Decadence to Denver with LeRoux

Chef Lon Symensma has made quite a name for himself in Denver as a master of modern Asian cuisine with restaurants like Cholon and Cho77. As such, people might be surprised to hear that the focus of his next restaurant, LeRoux is entirely European. But European gastronomy is by no means outside his wheelhouse, for the first 11 years of chef Symensma’s career (he has been at it since he was 14), he cooked entirely European, working in restaurants across France and Spain.

New LoDo Restaurant Brings European Decadence to Denver with LeRoux

LeRoux Captures the Essence of Chef Lon Symensma's Culinary Journey

“Even if you’re not familiar with the term “mille-feuille,” you’ve probably eaten the French pastry. The phrase means “thousand-leaf,” which accurately describes the paper-thin layers of puff pastry that go into Napoleons and other labor-intensive desserts. Now imagine standing over a prep counter all day cutting mushrooms into equally fine slices, stacking them in a terrine and baking the terrine until the mushrooms form an almost solid loaf that’s sliced and served as an appetizer. Each layer comes apart to provide an intensely flavored bite of nothing but king trumpet mushroom, butter and salt.
That’s the kind of effort that goes into nearly every dish at LeRoux, chef Lon Symensma’s new French/European restaurant that opens tomorrow, December 28, next door to ChoLon, the chef’s eight-year-old, Asian-inspired eatery on the 16th Street Mall.”

LeRoux Captures the Essence of Chef Lon Symensma’s Culinary Journey

Denver’s 17 Most Iconic Dishes

“The first of Chef Lon Symensma’s fleet of local restaurants is now famous for its delicate steamed dumplings — a Chinese tradition, in this instance encasing cheesy French onion soup with a sherry-infused broth.”

Denver’s 17 Most Iconic Dishes

 

In the Kitchen with Lon Symensma

“Lon Symensma is a busy man these days. This past month alone, Symensma played musical restaurants, shuffling the three-year-old Cho77 out of its Broadway digs and replacing it with south-of-the-border restaurant, BorraCho Tacos. But worry not Cho77 fans—the street Asian food concept will soon reside next to its sister restaurant, ChoLon Modern Asian Bistro, later this winter. Speaking of ChoLon, the LoDo restaurant marked eight years in business this past October, celebrating with an all-out bash replete with endless bites and libations.”

In the Kitchen with Lon Symensma

Conde Nast - 22 Best Restaurants in Denver

“The moment you step foot into ChoLon’s dining room, you grow a little taller, get a little better-looking, and suddenly have a little more money. At least that’s what it feels like, as the high ceilings, giant windows, massive concrete pillars, marble floors, and sleek banquettes come together to create an aura of sophistication and privilege. It’s a nice feeling while it lasts. Better still is chef-owner Lon Symensma’s exuberant menu, inspired by the market goods and street foods of Southeast Asia. There’s a yin-and-yang energy to Symensma’s food, a wonderful tension between the earthy and the ethereal that you can taste for yourself when you order (and you will) what may be his two greatest hits, both umami bombs: the French onion soup dumplings and an elevated take on Singaporean kaya toast that comes with a frothy “egg cloud” for dipping.”

Conde Nast – 22 Best Restaurants in Denver

Where to Eat While Black Friday Shopping

CHOLON Lon Symensma’s sophisticated southeast Asian bistro stands out amid the fast-casual and street-food kiosks in this area with an ever-evolving menu anchored by a few icons, including the French onion soup dumplings, that’ll warm your soul no matter the weather outside.”

Where to Eat While Black Friday Shopping