Round two with Rob Lawler of the Truffle

By Lori Midson Thu., Dec. 15 2011 at 9:02 AM

Lori Midson

Rob Lawler
The Truffle
2906 East Sixth Avenue
303-322-7363
www.denvertruffle.com

This is part two of my interview with Rob Lawler, former chef and the sovereign of cheese at the Truffle. Part one of my chat with Lawler ran yesterday.

Favorite restaurant in America: I really don't travel much anymore, and certainly not enough to say with any real authority what my favorite restaurant in the country is.

Last restaurant you visited: My parents were in town for Thanksgiving and we went to El Diablo. It was great.

Favorite Denver/Boulder restaurant(s) other than your own: All the good restaurants are our customers, so it's like asking me who my favorite child is. They're all special in their own way, but when it comes to Vietnamese food, I really love New Saigon. It's always good, I can go there with the kids and no one cares, and it reminds me of the Vietnamese food in San Francisco. Karin is a creature of habit, so we always have to get the Dungeness crab, but they also have phenomenal hot pots. We pig out there.

What you'd like to see more of in Denver/Boulder from a culinary standpoint: I think we're doing really well, and it always annoys me when people rant on not having a good Micronesian restaurant or whatever. These people aren't happy with anything, and most likely couldn't cook their way out of a paper bag, even if someone gave them a hot pan and a sharp knife. There are so many innovative and exciting restaurants here, and it's great to see Denver chefs doing their own thing, showing their style and accentuating Colorado produce. It really is a very exciting time in Denver. Still, I'd like to see more independently owned markets, butcher shops, produce markets, cheese shops, bakeries and patisseries -- places that do only one thing and do it really, really well.

What you'd like to see less of in Denver/Boulder from a culinary standpoint: Steakhouses. I love a good steak, but why do crowds insist on spending $45 on a ridiculously huge colon-clogging, suffered-in-a-feedlot, corn-fed steak but balk at $30 for a perfectly composed plate of fish or a well-thought-out series of tapas?

Which chef in Denver/Boulder do you most respect? They're all customers of mine, and I love them all, but I will say that neither John Platt, from Q's and Riff's in Boulder, nor Teri Rippeto at Potager get as much recognition as they deserve. The two of them use more local produce than half of the other chefs giving it lip service combined.

If you could cook in another chef's kitchen, whose would it be? I'd like to cook in the White House, at the Nobel Peace Prize dinner, or for the Pope or some other prestigious occasion, if for no other reason than to have the the bragging rights.

Favorite celebrity chef: Rokusaburo Michiba, the bad-ass Japanese chef from Iron Chef Japan. That man is a bad motherfucker.

Location Info

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The Truffle

2906 E. 6th Ave., Denver, CO

Category: General

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Cheese, Rob Lawler, the Truffle

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lels46

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Spayurpets

LOL. If you've never set foot into the Truffle, and you live in hipster Highlands, what the f--k are you doing on a comment board making such a big deal about what he thinks or serves at a tiny shop in Cherry Creek. If you are that worked up about the real or imagined dangers of gluten, just do yourself a favor and do as you've always done for every day of your life and don't go to the Truffle. I am a customer of and love the Truffle for their cheese plates and cured meats; a holiday party is spruced up so well by a big plate from the Truffle. As for gluten, I, for one, love it so much I go to my local Chinese market and buy it by the jar. It's delicious! And if anyone has a beef with Lawler, it's me, as a neighbor, for his comment about Cherry Creekers and their entitled dogs. Let's see how much of a lather we can work ourselves up over that comment!

Jon S

I'd go out of my way to spend money at a place that calls dietary fad-hoppers glutards.

caviar_and_chitlins

I think some of you are getting a little worked up over the "glutard" comment. Many of us in the business are less than charmed by the food-affliction trends. Today it's gluten, last week it was lactose-intolerence, I predict casein as the next thing that people find they suddenly can't digest.

I also think that those with actual allergies would be a little miffed by the "I pretend to have an allergy to get attention/control people" crowd. It makes it harder for real sufferers to be taken seriously.

And I think Glutard is a pretty funny word for the pretenders, frankly.

Mantonat

How is it that you or Lawler or anyone else get to decide whose just an annoying trend follower and who suffers from an actual disease? I don't think there was any mention that the wheat-free requester was just trying to lose a few pounds or was trying to avoid getting very sick. Isn't it wiser and a little more gracious to just assume the latter? Especially in a public forum? Especially when you run a business that pretty much requires being kind to people to make money? Ridiculing people in private among your friends is one thing, but taking an opinion like that publicly just doesn't seem like a good idea for a businessman.

cmack23

sound like very bitter people. Tis the season though scrooganot and funergen free relax. Happy Holidays! :) try to :)

cmack23

Great interview-Now all of those who ripped this man and his shop on the first round, come on back, how horrible is he now that he showed so much respect for customers, chefs and most importantly his family. Good interview and a different kind of chef Kudos westword!

Mantonat

I completely agree with you that the Truffle is a great part of Denver and a wonderful place to shop. I also agree with Rob Lawler that Denver needs more independently owned markets for produce, cheese, meats, and other specialty items. None of that excuses the fact that Lawler's statement about "glutards" was both ignorant and mean-spirited.

I don't have celiac disease, so I'm not just some grumpy glutard with a rumbly tummy. I am a customer who may be wondering if something I say while in the Truffle will cause the owner to ridicule me as soon as I am out of hearing range. If he can make fun of people with a known medical condition, is he also capable of ridiculing you for having to ask the difference between camembert and brie?

It is perhaps a wise idea to disguise your contempt of others if your livelihood depends on their money.

Allergen Free

Umm...he still said an irresponsible thing in the first half of the interview, CMack, regardless of today being Thursday.

Look, telling people their "wittle tummy" should just suck it up because their ancestors ate bread is dumb and irresponsible. It doesn't matter if he'd like to cook for the Pope. Now, if Rob would like to retract his statement calling people with gluten allergies, "Glutards," maybe we'll all feel a little better. I believe those of us angered in yesterday's post were angered because we feel that someone in the position of Chef should, in this day and age, be more tolerant of allergies.

No one ripped his shop or his family, just his statement. That's a fact.