For several years, Boulder residents have been able to experience the excellence of chef Eduardo Valle Lobo at local fine-dining cornerstone Frasca Food and Wine. With the opening of Casa Juani, located at 901 Pearl St., they’ll now be able to experience the food that lives in Valle Lobo’s heart, the flavors that shaped his youth in Spain.
He and his wife, fellow former Frasca chef Kelly Jeun, have tapped into the traditional Spanish dishes his mother, his “north star,” would prepare day in and day out for the family, naming their first solo restaurant in her honor. The 5,300-square-foot space is built around the concept of a marisquería, a traditional seafood and shellfish bar where they prepare raw offerings such as sea urchin and razor clams.
Valle Lobo emphasized the importance of seafood in Spanish cuisine and the variety of ingredients available from the waters surrounding Spain — the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Cantabrian Sea, a body of water north of Spain and west of France.
“We have different varieties, a lot of choices, a lot of different ingredients,” he said, highlighting crystal shrimp that fry into a sweet, crispy delicacy. “We eat a lot of fish. My mom was always cooking fish, maybe two or three times a week.”
Pulpo, or Spanish-style octopus, served at Casa Juani. Courtesy of Casa Juani
The dining room at Casa Juani. Courtesy of Casa Juani
He imported a special grill from Spain used for cooking fish, which is prepared simply with a spray of garlic oil and verjus. “It’s very classic. Very, very umami. And it’s super delicious. Simple, classic things well made,” Valle Lobo said.
Another dish is made to imitate a piece of nigiri, with rice on the bottom, a piece of Iberico secreto in the middle and langoustine on top, wrapped in nori. He describes the approach as “not fine dining, but fun dining.”
“It is about having fun, making things different, maybe giving a twist,” he said. “I’m kind of overwhelmed by the strict protocols when you are in a fine-dining restaurant. I want to have the same food sometimes, but in a different ambience. We want things that make you smile — tapas, croquetas, the fish. And the cheesecake is marvelous. We put a little bit of blue cheese in it.”
Many of the dishes he comes back to when discussing Casa Juani are foundational to Spanish cuisine. There are croquetas, made with goat milk, chopped Iberico ham and scallions; tortilla Española with alioli; as well as the marinated olives that his mother used to make, simple, with a bit of paprika, olive oil, orange, thyme and rosemary.
In addition to the marisquería and fish preparations, the menu includes dishes such as pato asado (grilled duck) and shareables like pluma Iberico and dry-aged ribeye. Traditional Madrileño dishes can be hearty, including carilleras (braised pork cheeks). Valle Lobo said they’ll move more in that direction depending on the seasons, and this winter hasn’t been one for that type of rich, cold-weather fare.
“We will get there. I would like to have, eventually, some classic stews and braises on the menu,” he said.
The restaurant is working with local growers to source specific produce, hoping for things like locally grown Padrón peppers this summer. They will also have snack-sized offerings including a few different Gilda skewers, a Basque pintxo traditionally made with a pickled pepper, olive and anchovy. A chef’s table will feature a curated tasting menu.
Chefs Eduardo Valle Lobo and Kelly Jeun. Courtesy of Casa Juani
Valle Lobo is already imagining future dishes, from huevos rotos (fried eggs over potatoes and chorizo) to sea urchin with a gelée of grapes. He also hopes to eventually explore more adventurous territory using classic ingredients such as pig ears and tripe.
Bringing his native cuisine to Boulder means the world to him, he said, but it has also challenged him to better understand his mother’s techniques and the nuances behind them, sometimes things as simple as how cooking with more olive oil changes a dish’s flavor, or salting the potatoes for tortilla before cooking rather than after.
The wine selection is curated by Frasca’s lead sommelier, Jeremy Schwartz. Just inside the front door, a glass showcase displays about 80 wines from Spain, Portugal, France and Italy, with 15 to 18 available by the glass.
“I think it’s important to have different kinds of flavors, some rustic, some elegant,” Valle Lobo said. “After working with Bobby Stuckey at Frasca, I respect wine more because it’s so important. Wine needs good food, and good food needs good wine.”
They also offer a full bar, overseen by general manager Daniel Dirth, who worked with Jeun years ago at Eleven Madison Park in New York. Dirth has developed a cocktail list of classics with a Spanish twist.
While Spanish cuisine may not carry the same cachet as French or Italian fine dining, Valle Lobo is confident it will be embraced.
“In Boulder, people are very well traveled. They know how to eat and drink. They are open to good food,” he said. “This is soul food that transmits a lot of love and passion.”
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Dining and Cooking