Off Menu: Chef Nick Swanson

Nick Swanson, culinary director and co-owner of Urban Field Pizza and Market in Longmont, talked about his 20-plus years in and around kitchens with such fervor, one can’t help but crack a smile. It’s the contagious type of energy only emitted by those who love every aspect of what they do.

“I was meant to end up in the kitchen,” Swanson said.

But two decades ago, he wasn’t thinking about becoming a chef. Instead, he was thinking about getting out on the ski slopes while living in Boulder and working as a busboy at Bacaro Venetian Taverna, which has since closed.

“I wasn’t very good at it,” he admitted with a chuckle.

Yet, something drew him to the kitchen.

“I was always asking the chef ‘Hey how do you cook this?’ ‘How do you cook that?’ And one day he said ‘Want to give it a try back here?’”

Swanson’s first assignment? Dice cans upon cans of tomatoes. “And I absolutely fell in love with the energy and vibe of the kitchen,” Swanson said. He worked his way up from prep cook to sous chef over three and half years. During his time at Bacaro, he also did a stage at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Italy’s Piedmont region. When he returned to the United States, he promptly enrolled in the French Culinary Institute of Manhattan — now called the International Culinary Center.

After completing school and working at several restaurants in and around New York City, Swanson returned to the Centennial State He got a job as a chef in a sorority house before running the kitchen at Under the Sun restaurant in Boulder.

Then 2020 happened. 

“[Paul Nashak, managing partner of Under the Sun] and I had thrown around ideas about a pizza food hall,” Swanson said. “When Covid hit, I was just like it’s now or never.”

Thus, Urban Fields was born. And in May, they’ll celebrate their two-year anniversary.

Making People Happy One Pizza at a Time 

Urban Fields’ staple dish? Pizza.

On the surface, pizza seems like a relatively simple food to make. After all, at its core, it’s just dough, cheese, and sauce. But that mentality is precisely why there’s so much crappy pizza out there.

At Urban Fields, however, Swanson takes pizza very seriously. And it shows. 

“Pizza is a special dish,” Swanson said. “People don’t realize everything that goes into it.” On the menu you’ll find standard pies as well as Detroit-style pizza. And what is the latter, exactly?

It’s a rectangular pie baked in a pan about two inches thick, resulting in a pizza with soft, pillowy dough and both carmalized and crispy cheese bits.

“It has nice contrasting textures,” he said.

Not Your Grandma’s Cooking (But Kinda Close) 

Alongside pizza, Urban Field’s menu also offers plenty of other dishes that Swanson characterized as “twists on grandma’s classics.” But how do you tweak the dish while still honoring the recipe that came before it?

“I think about what my grandparents had growing up,” Swanson said. “It was delicious, but simple food, after all, they grew up in a time where there was only so much available. For example, chicken parm was just breaded chicken, sauce, and cheese. I wanted to make something slightly different.”

The result? A chicken parm sandwich with all the standard fixings but with a pistachio basil pesto and, possibly the most surprising, butter pickles.

“When I see customers order it for the first time, they are often hesitant because of the pickles,” Swanson says. “Then they take a bite and I see their face light up. I’m going for those emotional connections. If you can develop that with a guest or a staff member, they are never going to forget that or you.”

A Lifelong Student 

Another thing Swanson loves about cooking? “You can learn something from anybody,” he said. “I have over 20 years experience at this point. But even if I hire someone who has worked in a kitchen for just over a year, they may have picked up a trick I’ve never seen before.”

The willingness to learn and have staff voice their ideas and opinions trickles down to the guest experience, not just in terms of the dishes but also the overall atmosphere. 

“Bring great ideas to the table and great stuff is going to happen,” Swanson said. “I try to create that kind of environment for my crew. If you create a happy crew that rubs off on the guest and makes for a great experience all around.”