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Eggplant and Halloumi Sammie at Stowaway Kitchen. | Photo by Linnea Covington

Discovering A Tantalizing World Outside Of Bagels With Josh Pollack

From sandwiches to kosher fish to epic salads, Josh Pollack of Bridge & Tunnel Restaurant Group loves to eat out, especially with his family. 

BY Linnea Covington

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Josh Pollack loves vegetables, even though he’s most famous for peddling New-York-style bagels, cured fish, and shmear at Rosenberg’s Bagels & Delicatessen. Yes, he does nosh on a breakfast sandwich just about every day he’s there. The order, bacon, egg and cheese ($11). 

“It’s my number one, and it’s the number one biggest seller,” said Pollack, owner of Bridge & Tunnel Restaurant Group in Denver. His second pick, he added, is The Jersey Boy ($13) with double-stacked Taylor ham, fried eggs, and American cheese on an egg bagel. 

Rosenberg’s is known as making NY-style bagels, importing East Coast deli favorites, serving kosher foods, and being the only place in the city house-curing all its smoked salmon, gravlax, and sable. Today Pollack’s group runs the two locations of Rosenberg’s, Lou’s Italian Specialties, and Famous Original J’s Pizza, all serving New York versions of bagels, deli orders, and pizza respectively. 

Josh Pollack, owner of Bridge & Tunnel Restaurant Group. | Photo by Linnea Covington
Josh Pollack, owner of Bridge & Tunnel Restaurant Group. | Photo by Linnea Covington

Fun fact, through a customer Pollack learned bagels have a lot of nutrients such as calcium, iron, fiber, protein, and B vitamins. Add raisins, he said, and that makes the bagel even better for you. So, while the proprietor craves a salad or fresh juice, it turns out a morning bagel habit is just as healthy, or so said a patron and we choose to believe it. 

But back to Pollack. While NYC is always on his mind at work, he still breaks away to have dinner every night at home with his wife and two young sons. Though, he added, they do enjoy dining out, whether it’s the whole family, a date night, or even a solo venture. 

“During the first eight years of Bridge & Tunnel we were opening a restaurant every single year, so we had to set some family rules,” said Pollack. “One of the sacred rules was we’ll always be home for dinner, though sometimes I have to go back to work after.” 

Smoked fish at Rosenberg's in Five Points. | Photo by Linnea Covington
Soon you can get Rosenberg’s house-cured fish packaged and from stores. | Photo by Linnea Covington

Meetings too get Pollack out of his eateries and into another place. And, after sitting down for a meal at Stowaway Kitchen, we found out some of his favorite places to dine. While he mentioned more, read on for highlights from our conversation.

Cafe Culture at Stowaway Kitchen

One of Pollack’s favorite places to sit down and have a meeting over a meal is the RiNo-based Stowaway Kitchen, which has graced the area since 2016. Owned by chef Amy Cohen and her husband Hayden Barnie, the menu features a blend of Australian cafe culture with Japanese influences, a direct nod to places the chef has lived.

All the food here is great and thoughtfully prepared, added Pollack, and the natural light, laidback vibe, and simple design also make the eatery a good place to chat. 

Highlights from the menu include the Mushroom Tartine ($17) with sauteed crimini and oyster mushrooms, spinach, celeriac puree, Bakery Four sourdough, horseradish salsa verde, and an umami pop of bottarga (cured fish roe).  Other favorites include the Eggplant and Halloumi Sammie ($18), featuring slabs of roasted eggplant, tomato, grilled halloumi cheese, tahini sauce, fresh greens, and house-made giardiniera, all on a toasted ciabatta roll. 

Mushroom Tartine at Stowaway Kitchen. | Photo by Linnea Covington
Mushroom Tartine at Stowaway Kitchen. | Photo by Linnea Covington

The bowls too should be considered, said Pollack. For example, the Japanese Asa-gohan with grilled and salted Verlasso salmon, avocado, a tangy carrot-ginger slaw, toasted nori, a poached egg, and rice simple sings. 2528 Walnut St., Denver, stowawaydenver.com

Onefold For Breakfast

“Its just the best,” said Pollack about Mark Nery’s 10-year-old breakfast and lunch spot in City Park. That’s high praise coming from a man who moments before stated he doesn’t go out to breakfast, mainly because he owns a breakfast spot.

“If I wasn’t eating at Rosenberg’s for breakfast, I would totally run out for Onefold,” he said, adding he would also break the rule for Odie B’s breakfast sandwich. 

A breakfast spread at Onefold. | Photo by Stacey McMahan
A breakfast spread at Onefold. | Photo by Stacey McMahan

Over at Onefold, hot items include the Breakfast Tacos ($13.99). Each order comes on homemade tortillas laden with grilled mozzarella cheese, duck-fat-fried shredded potatoes, eggs, fresh salsa, and a choice of bacon, sausage, or chorizo. Another popular morning item, the Chinese Sausage Fried Rice ($16.75). This dish features  Lap Chong sausage, two fried eggs, scallions, garlic, chili oil, and tamari. 1420 E. 18th Ave., Denver, eatonefold.com

Hand Rolls at Tamaki Den

Since it opened in 2020, Pollack has been a big fan of chefs Toshi Kizaki and Kenta Kamo’s tiny spot inside The Source in RiNo. It’s not surprising, Kizaki already had a solid reputation thanks to his Pearl Street restaurant Sushi Den, which opened in 1984. 

“I love sushi, it’s one of my favorite foods on the planet,” said Pollack. “But my wife doesn’t, but she’ll put up with it and I finally got my boys into it.” 

One of his favorite things to get was the take-out hand rolls, which came deconstructed and perfect for little hands exploring flavors. However, he said, after the Michelin recommendation, the restaurant got too busy and the service was no longer available. Eschewing the idea of bringing hyper little kids to the bustling place at night, Pollack compromised and now goes for lunch service (Friday through Sunday). He can still get deconstructed hand rolls for the kids, so it’s become a thing the boys do together. 3350 Brighton Blvd., Denver, temakiden.com

Adulting With Kids at Cart-Driver

The decade-old pizza place in RiNo is another restaurant Pollack likes to take his kids to. Not that there’s a lack of pizza in their lives with Famous Original J’s. 

The White pizza at Cart Driver. | Photo by Linnea Covington
The White pizza at Cart-Driver. | Photo by Linnea Covington

“It’s totally different from ours, and I can have a half-dozen oysters and a glass of wine,” he said. “I can be adulting while the kids are being kids.”

The standard order consists of the tomato, mozzarella, and basil Daisy ($17) pie for the little ones. The adults like the spicy pizza options. For Pollack personally, the Clam (market price) trumps the rest. While the family visits the RiNo location keep in mind the LoHi spot just opened after a year being closed. It’s the same pizza plus pasta and other dishes. 2500 Larimer St., Denver, and 2239 W. 30th Ave., Denver, cart-driver.com

All the Vegetables at Kawa Ni 

When Bill Taibe brought his 10-year-old Japanese concept to Colorado from Connecticut in late 2023, he added another layer to Denver’s booming Asian food scene. He also offered Japanese food that wasn’t sushi, and an appreciation for vegetables every parent dreams of instilling in their child. 

Shaved broccoli miso goma at Kawa Ni stuns. | Photo by Linnea Covington
Shaved Broccoli Miso Goma at Kawa Ni stuns. | Photo by Linnea Covington

It’s the veggies that hooked Pollack in, especially the Addictive Cabbage ($11). Yes, that’s the actual title of the dish, and aptly named too given how many people swooned over the sesame, wasabi, and yuzu spiked Brassica. Another must-try dish, the Shaved Broccoli Miso Goma ($16), which gives the vegetable star status after being mixed with ham, burnt honey, and a crunch ra-yu (chili crisp) to give even more texture. Kawa Ni also offers a build-your-own hand roll, running $26 to $30. 1900 W. 32nd Ave., Denver, kawanidenver.com

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Linnea Covington

Linnea Covington is the managing editor of DiningOut. She comes to us with a long background in food, restaurant and drinks journalism. Over the last two decades she’s written for tons of publications including Denver Post, Washington Post, Forbes Travel Guide, 5280 Magazine, New York Magazine, New York Times, Time Out New York and more.
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