Round two with Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson, exec chef of Frasca Food and Wine

Lori Midson

This is part two of my interview with Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson, co-owner and executive chef of Frasca Food and Wine. Part one of my chat with Mackinnon-Patterson ran in this space yesterday.

Favorite restaurant in America: Mozza in Los Angeles. It's the combination of food, price point, service, decor and the wine list that makes this restaurant an all-around favorite for me.

Best food city in America: San Francisco. It's close to great year-round produce, and there's such a huge food culture within the local population. I also think that New Orleans has a ton of soul; it's unpretentious, the chefs use good ingredients and products, and they quietly go about doing their thing without a lot of unnecessary fanfare.

Favorite Denver/Boulder restaurant(s) other than your own: The Kitchen is a perfect example of why more Boulder restaurants should use more local ingredients. This is the deal: The Boulder Farmers' Market is the highest-grossing farmers' market in the state, so if that's the case, why don't more restaurants buy from local farmers? You'd be shocked by how many restaurants in Boulder don't support -- or buy from -- local farmers, which is crazy for a town that goes apeshit over the farmers' market.

What you'd like to see more of in Denver/Boulder from a culinary standpoint: I'd like to see more restaurants in general. A lot of "tastemakers" don't consider Denver a serious place to do business, which is a huge mistake. Denver has a huge food-conscious population, access to great produce and lots of neighborhoods to support serious restaurants.

What you'd like to see less of in Denver/Boulder from a culinary standpoint: Food trucks. Let's face it: They took off because of buzz and press, and now they're just a trendy phenomenon. Having a food truck for the sake of a having a food truck is ridiculous, and a lot of food trucks that end up being spin-offs of restaurants are often a stretch. And, really, wouldn't people rather eat in the actual restaurant than off the restaurant's truck?

Current Denver culinary genius: Alex Seidel. I really admire what he's doing with his cheese-making project at Fruition Farm.

What's the best food- or kitchen-related gift you've been given? My mom gave me a solid marble mortar and pestle from Blackberry Farm in Tennessee. Right now, we use it daily to make fresh pesto.