Don’t Miss: Trash Fish

Trash fish…sounds like something you don’t want to eat, right? Except you need to—and after next Monday’s Trash Fish dinner at the Squeaky Bean, the hope is that instead of standard choices such as cod and halibut, you’ll seek out undervalued species like porgy or North Atlantic dogfish. Put on by Chefs Collaborative, a sustainably-minded nonprofit started in 1993 in part by Alice Waters and Rick Bayless, the dinner’s underlying message is the critical need to expand our seafood choices.

The multicourse dinner is limited to just 100 seats. The lineup is beyond stellar with local heavy-hitters (Kelly Whitaker from Basta and Cart-Driver, Theo Adley from the Squeaky Bean, Kyle Mendenhall from the Kitchen, and Chris Thompson from the Nickel) and beyond: Mike Lata from Fig and the Ordinary in Charleston, South Carolina; Stephen Stryjewski from Cochon and Peche in New Orleans; and Michael Leviton from Lumière and Area Four in Massachusetts. Both Lata and Stryjewski are James Beard winners.

The Trash Fish dinner series began in 2013, but this is the first time it’s been held in a landlocked city. “This thing is cool,” says Whitaker, who sits on the Chefs Collaborative host committee. “But the biggest thing is that we are gonna knock everyone on their back. Colorado cares about the food supply chain on every level.”

Bonus: To kick off the event (and to garner a wider audience), the Kitchen Denver (1530 16th St., 303-623-3127) is hosting an oyster reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Suggested donation is $50.

FYI: For more on the topic of seafood sustainability, check out my interview with Beast & Bottle chef-owner Paul Reilly.

The Trash Fish dinner takes place Monday, July 28, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Squeaky Bean (1500 Wynkoop St., 303-623-2665). Tickets are $125 per person.

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