Grand Junction and Palisade restaurants, bars make the most of this year’s peach harvest

For the adjacent period oregon so, Theo Otte’s greeting regular goes thing similar this: Get up, get acceptable for the day, thrust the 2 miles from his Palisade location to Sweet Cheeks Organic Peaches to prime up a fewer boxes of fresh-off-the histrion peaches, past caput into the room astatine his Grand Junction restaurant, 626 connected Rood.

This is what peach play looks similar for chefs and bartenders successful Grand Junction, Palisade and neighboring communities, who are blessed to erstwhile again incorporated the delectable, fuzzy fruits that the portion is truthful well-known for into their menus — immoderate successful unexpected ways.

Provided by Visit Grand Junction

The 2021 peach harvest successful Grand Junction, Palisade and neighboring communities has been terrific, growers say. (Provided by Visit Grand Junction)

Sure, they’re making peach cobbler, peach crisp and different accepted peach desserts. But they’re besides incorporating peaches into tart sauces, savory appetizers, refreshing salads and punchy herbal cocktails.

And this year’s harvest is particularly exciting, since it comes connected the heels of 1 of the worst peach seasons connected record. In 2020, a hard April frost wiped retired upwards of 90 percent of peach crops for immoderate growers connected the Western Slope, which meant determination were precise few, if any, peaches to travel by past summer.

This year, however, contempt different hard frost past October that killed disconnected immoderate growers’ effect trees, the peach harvest is looking promising overall.

The sky-high temperatures that Colorado experienced successful aboriginal June helped marque the peaches intensely sweet. Then, the dense rains that doused the portion successful July helped the peaches turn successful size. The result? A “beautiful crop,” said Theresa High, who owns High Country Orchards & Vineyards and Colterris Winery with her hubby Scott.

“We’re astatine astir 75 to 85 percent of mean production. The peaches are looking wonderful,” said High. “Finally the stars are aligning — the peaches are aligning themselves.”

Though question connected Interstate 70 whitethorn beryllium dilatory due to the fact that of the precocious July Glenwood Canyon mudslide (officials person present reopened 1 lane successful each direction), peach growers similar High anticipation visitors volition inactive marque the travel for this year’s Palisade Peach Festival, which runs Aug. 19-21.

“It’s decidedly worthy it,” she said. “Everything’s truthful beauteous up present close now, the effect is bully and we truly admit the enactment of the Front Range.”

And travelers who can’t marque it to the festival itself tin inactive acquisition the region’s bounty by visiting section restaurants and bars, galore of which anticipation to support peaches connected the paper into September and October.

At 626 connected Rood (626 Rood Ave., Grand Junction), Otte and his culinary squad are utilizing peaches alternatively of tomatoes successful their unsocial instrumentality connected a Caprese salad. They apical grilled peaches with caller mozzarella and Sweet Dani basil, an uncommon varietal with a lemony taste, past drizzle the full happening with a smoky, Mezcal vinaigrette.

The edifice besides uses peaches successful respective of its plant-based paper options, including coconut reddish curry tofu “scallops” with spiced peaches and a crispy tofu appetizer with ginger ponzu and peach habanero sauces.

Another savory paper point features bucatini pasta with shrimp, charred tomatoes, grilled peaches and spicy Beaver Dam peppers.

“The scope of peaches and the enthusiasm for them — it’s determination each year,” said Otte, who owns the edifice with his wife, Brenda Wray. “What we bring to the table, figuratively speaking and literally, is the innovative attack of utilizing peaches successful savory dishes, not conscionable sweet. You tin bash a batch much things with peaches.”

(Provided by 626 connected Rood

Peach Napoleon astatine 626 connected Rood successful Grand Junction. (Provided by 626 connected Rood)

On the sweeter side, 626 connected Rood is bringing backmost its fashionable peach Napoleon, made with layers of thin, sugar-cookie-esque crisps, peaches, pastry pick and crème anglaise and plated with hibiscus and mint syrups. They’re besides making a elemental peach galette with a airy drizzle of caramel condiment and lavender crystal cream.

“Our thought is to showcase the peaches successful the galette and not overwhelm them with cinnamon oregon spices,” Otte said. “Just a spot of sweetener to caramelize it and past a bully shortcrust.”

At Bin 707 Foodbar (225 N. 5th St., Grand Junction) and Tacoparty (126 S. 5th St., Grand Junction), chef-owner Josh Niernberg likes to get originative during peach season, but helium besides afloat embraces the longstanding uses of the fruit.

“I similar to showcase them successful truly accepted forms due to the fact that they’re conscionable truthful bully plain, you can’t truly bushed that,” helium said. “It’s truthful hard to marque a large Palisade peach amended than what it already is and I can’t conscionable enactment 1 connected a plate.”

The peach cobbler and panna cotta pastry (top) astatine Bin 707 successful Grand Junction.

Case successful point: the Palisade peach cobbler astatine Bin 707, which is served with housemade Olathe saccharine maize crystal cream.

“It’s wholly traditional, it’s not chef-ed up, it’s conscionable ace high-quality ingredients and it’s technique-driven, with precise minimal intervention,” helium said.

In the bosom of the season, his kitchens spell done 200 to 220 pounds of Palisade peaches a week. At Bin 707, helium uses immoderate of those successful a crockery with heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, sumac flan and soy caramel.

“Texture-wise, it should devour similar a Caprese salad. Flavor-wise, it should beryllium indicative of the Grand Valley,” helium said.

He besides makes a peach tapenade to service with elk tartare topped with bearnaise and puffed tendon. At some restaurants, his culinary squad uses peaches to marque a tangy French condiment called a gastrique, which takes the spot of lime foodstuff successful Tacoparty’s made-to-order guacamole (which besides features caller peaches connected apical for garnish). They besides usage the peach gastrique astatine Bin 707 successful a crockery featuring Jimmy Nardello peppers, achromatic cheddar fondue and puffed grains.

“The premise of Tacoparty is to showcase Colorado, and that’s truly hard to bash with a cuisine that has truthful overmuch citrus,” helium said. “The mode that we’ve tried to code that is to usage section cider from Hotchkiss and usage that cider vinegar to marque gastriques flavored with effect from the valley. We’re utilizing gastrique connected immoderate crockery we’d usage acerb oregon lime foodstuff oregon thing akin — it’s each implicit the menus.”

Matthew and Ashley Chasseur emotion the region’s bountiful nutrient truthful overmuch that they decided to sanction their downtown Palisade edifice Pêche (336 Main St., Palisade), which means peach successful French. (It besides means fish, but they adopted it for the peach translation.)

Pêche diners person 3 options for savoring peaches grown a mile from the restaurant. The archetypal is simply a foie gras mousse with peach jam and housemade brioche.

“We tried different jams and peach was conscionable the best,” said Ashley Chasseur. “The foie gras is truthful luxurious and affluent and everything you privation with that salty, delicious affluent flavor, truthful to person that sweetness assistance chopped done that, it’s truthful lovely.”

They’re besides doing a peach crockery with section herbs, surryano ham and fennel, arsenic good arsenic a layered peach crisp served with soft, housemade vanilla crystal cream.

“Envision the past ooey-gooey wound of crisp — each azygous wound of this dessert tastes similar that past bite,” she said.

Provided by Josh Niernberg, Bin 707

Palisade peaches with heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, sumac flan and soy caramel astatine Bin 707 successful Grand Junction.

For adjacent much peach options successful the Grand Junction and Palisade area, visit:

• Highlands Distillery (782 24 Road, Grand Junction), which makes its Peach Orchard Punch with vodka that’s been infused with peach, achromatic beverage and elderflower; ginger beer; peach-pear sparkling water; agave syrup; lime; muddled peach and tarragon for garnish.
• Pablo’s Pizza (319 Main St., Grand Junction and 456 Kokopelli Drive, Fruita), which has rotating peach pizza specials each week. Recently, they made a “Canyon Closure” pastry with peach, pancetta, goat food and jalapenos, arsenic good arsenic a “Kangarugula” with arugula, peaches, reddish doorbell peppers, conifer nuts, feta crumbles, mozzarella and citrus olive lipid sauce.
• The Glorious Fig (209 1/2 Colorado Ave., Grand Junction), which is hosting a peach-themed curated meal connected Aug. 20. The paper includes dishes similar peach and prosciutto ravioli and sticky peach and serrano chili ribs, conscionable to sanction a few. The Glorious Fig is besides unfastened Thursday evenings during Grand Junction’s Market connected Main, serving up cocktails (and zero-proof versions) similar an iced peach basil bellini.

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