Off Menu with Gemini Boulder

Creativity is an essential but overlooked component of delicious food. While many chefs develop a culinary equation that results in a dish that falls into a classic category, others like Gemini’s Chef Brian Pierce take the cooking process a step further to push culinary standards by adding nuance to food.

Pierce began dabbling with cuisine in college using a blend of curiosity and guidance from his mom to master a handful of dishes. But it wasn’t until he moved to New York City that he began taking his calling seriously. It was there where he gleaned inspiration from the cultural diversity.

“I spent a lot of time going to farmers markets. I would also go to ChinaTown and buy dried shrimp, sweet potato leaves, and dried mushrooms that we used in integral ways. We went to a Spanish store in SOHO because it was right there,” explained Pierce. The food diversity was a key component to his culinary development. It was also in New York where his understanding of farms became integral to how he thought about food.

Eventually he landed in Estela — an iconic modern American eatery that’s under the creative supervision of Chef Ignacio Mattos. Then he began working for Andrew Tarlow for five years, a man he describes as the “Alice Waters of Brooklyn.”

“Andrew Tarlow owns several different concepts in Brooklyn and Manhattan. I worked at Marlow and Sons, Romans, and Reynard (which is now closed),” explains Pierce. He credits Tarlow for ushering in a new era of Brooklyn food. Borgo, Tarlow’s newest restaurant, even received a Michelin star shortly after opening, demonstrating the standards under which Pierce worked for many years.

Although New York molded Pierce into the chef he is today, he eventually made a homecoming in 2017. In 2021, Gemini opened its doors for the first time, taking a contemporary spin to traditional Spanish dishes and tapas to captivate the palate of Pearl Street passersby. Busy even at 12:00 on a Monday afternoon, Gemini’s menu features classic dishes like seafood paella with lobster stock, PEI mussels, and chorizo for a hearty, delicious meal. But the menu’s tapas are more prone to shift with the seasons and to garner attention with their flavors.

“The change keeps me engaged and people in the community engaged,” he says.

He adds, “I think the creativity in appetizers is more playful. Restaurants can take more risks there. I think that’s where the underlying excitement came from.”

Beginning on Valentines day, Pierce is ushering in a new change to the restaurant as well. Gemini will begin featuring a number of menu items from a raw bar like oysters, and some type of crude fish. Despite a common assumption that claims Colorado’s land-locked location make seafood an uncommon and unsafe delicacy, Pierce explains that Denver is actually a travel-hub that’s a convenient stop over for food from both the east and the west coast. As a result, a raw bar like Gemini’s may feature some of the best seafood in the nation.

As Gemini continues to captivate foodies across Boulder, Pierce added another project to his culinary empire: a new restaurant called High Country, which is located right next to Gemini and brings a laid back atmosphere with elevated dishes like the vaquera flank steak and poached salmon and appetizers like cast iron cornbread.

Both restaurants are operated by Chef Pierce, managing partner Michael Mehiel, pastry chef Catherine Neckes, and Elizabeth Neckes. High Country opened its doors for the first time in April of 2024, and it continues to carve its space out amongst Pearl Street’s classic restaurants. With decades of combined culinary experience, Pierce, Mehiel, and the Neckes sisters are bringing new and unique flavors to Boulder.