Opening a French-Vietnamese Bistro here in Denver called 'Parallel 17' in 2005, she showed her culinary creativity and astute knowledge of being both a business owner and chef. It didn't start there, however. My history with Mary goes back to when I met her while working at Starbucks. She had 3 or 4 full time jobs (it seemed anyway!) including head chef at Hapa Sushi in Cherry Creek and owning a catering business. She had an undying drive to succeed. Her successes didn't just take her to P17 either, as tonight I was invited to the grand opening of her new restaurant, Street Kitchen Asian Bistro. It's inspiring, humbling, and pride inducing to see a good friend in a moment of great success. As the woman of the hour, she was bombarded by hundreds of people, but I managed to sneak in and give her a congratulatory hug and well wishing.
To me, she's one of the best chefs in Denver - and Denver is becoming quite the food town. Am I biased? Sure, but taste for yourself the incredible cuisine found on her menu. I do suggest any of the sushi, the Roti, curries, and whatever dish that was served in the martini glass. (tuna, rice, veggies) That may have been my favorite...
Cheers Mary! Good luck with the new restaurant.
