PRESS
Best Fusion Restaurant 2010 Westword April 2010
Great food, great drinks, and Pop-Rocks®? Need I say more? Snapshotfoodie.com April 2010
TAG, the restaurant, not the game Telluride Inside...and Out, April 2010
Featured Chef: TROY GUARD - Seattle Fish Company FACEBOOK March 2010
TAG FEATURED IN "Out Front Colorado" MAGAZINE OUT Front Colorado January 2010
Best New Restaurants 2009 5280 December 2009
Behind the bar with Jared Boller 5280 December 2009
Behind the Bar 5280 November 2009
TAG's effort to fight hunger Westword October 2009
Dining Out: TAG Denver Post October 2009
CHEF OF THE YEAR denver magazine October 2009
MIXOLOGIST OF THE YEAR denver magazine October 2009
IN MY KITCHEN 5280 September 2009
Behind the Bar: Mike Henderson of TAG Westword August 2009
CHEF AND TELL Westword August 2009
SAVOR denver magazine August 2009
TROY GUARD TAGged as Colorado’s Taste of the NFL chef Westword August 2009
Tango Strategy talks with stove-poet, Troy Guard.
View Interview
WhereTraveler | View Article
Share and share alike
At Troy Guard’s Larimer Square restaurant TAG, sharing tastes among a group seems both novel and natural. His “continental social cuisine” runs a bit playful to pretty adventurous, which encourages lots of plate passing, i.e. “You have to try this.” Dishes to divvy up include seared kampachi with Pop Rocks, roasted bone marrow with marmalade and tandoori-spiced yellowtail with smoked pistachio vinaigrette.
LORI MIDSON Westword
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF TAG
Sultry cocktails, social food and a whole gaggle of really sociable Denver chefs, many of them still
wired from a recent cooking stint at the James Beard House in New York, made for one helluva a fun
Sunday preview night at TAG, Troy Guard’s new restaurant.
PENNY PARKER Denver Post
TAG, YOU’RE IT
Denver chef Troy Guard (whose initials are TAG) opened the latest restaurant jewel in the Larimer
Square crown Monday. TAG, named after the chef and his pet bulldog, is a hipster eatery that I’m sure
will be the new see-and-be-seen spot for foodie folks who like to make the scene.
RACHEL RUFF Denver Cooking Examiner
TAG, YOU’RE IT!
As a child you play tag in your backyard and as an adult I play tag in my neighborhood. I’m
constantly trying to hunt down the best place to wine and dine. And finally I found a new place to mark;
TAG. Troy A. Guard is the “it” man in my book even after being open for only a matter of days,
a time when some restaurants don’t always go swimmingly with their menu. So I chased Chef Guard down
to talk to him about his new Larimer hot spot, TAG.
AMANDA FAISON 5280
BEST BITES: TAG’s KONA KAMPACHI
May 18 marked the long-awaited opening of TAG, chef Troy Guard’s “continental social food” restaurant
on Larimer Square. The description simply means the menu draws upon influences from all over the globe — Hawaii, Asia, Latin America, France — and includes small and big plates. One of the more
interesting eats is the ash-seared Kona Kampachi, which comes topped with jalapeños, yuzu, and Pop
Rocks. Yes, those Pop Rocks. At best, the combo sounded gimmicky and silly, but when it arrived, the
dish entirely dispelled those notions. The sprinkling of candy (which stands in for more traditional roe)
neutralizes the raw jalapeños, while heightening the kampachi’s richness. Pair the small plate with the
Amante Picante margarita. Each sip reveals a subtle balance of lime, cilantro, and green Tabasco. Bizarre
sounding, but delicious tasting.
JASON SHEEHAN Westword
Best places on Larimer:
TAG, 1441 Larimer Street. For the iconoclasts, screw the crowds, forget the hype and try out
the grub being offered by Troy Guard and his crew at Larimer Square’s newest restaurant.
BETSY MARTIN Denver Reign
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
He sent our hearts (and appetites) sailing with Ocean, tapped into our east-meets-west sensibilities
with Zengo and gave us newfound appreciation for the art of the “slider” with Nine75. Now, Denver’s culinary king Troy Guard is bringing it full circle with his latest gastronomic fete, TAG. Opening Monday,
TAG (which shares Guard’s initials) will grace LoDo’s Larimer Square with “continental social food”
that showcases Guard’s unique culinary style by fusing local ingredients with the international air
derived from his travels to Asia, Latin America and Hawaii. Rumor has it that TAG also boats a “wine
library” with a rolling ladder and interactive dining spaces aimed to encourage conversation. “TAG
will have an eclectic New York vibe with warm, inviting Denver hospitality,” says Guard. “I want the
guy or girl who lives alone downtown to come hang out at the Chef’s table for amazing appetizers
and a glass of syrah from a small winemaker. There will be definitely be something for everyone.”
Don’t need to twist our arms, Troy.
WILD BLUE YONDER MAGAZINE
NOTABLE NEWCOMER – TAG | DENVER
Top Denver Chef Troy Guard’s sustained success with past projects has local foodies wondering
where he’ll take them next. Enter TAG, Guard’s latest tasteful endeavor, a blend of sophisticated
favors from all over the world, anchored by good old fashioned Western hospitality.
With a globe-trotting menu billed as “Continental Social Food,” TAG makes you feel as if you’ve
just dropped in on a fabulous dinner party. Imagine the vibrancy of a hip Manhattan hangout,
blended with the sincerity of a local diner.
