Ask any chef: There is no better time in Denver to show off a new restaurant’s menu than during peak Colorado summer. So here we are, nearing the end of August and the height of peach, tomato and melon season, and from inside the new Denver restaurant American Elm, chef Brent Turnipseede (his actual name) is beaming. He’s talking about the way a watermelon can be compressed for Colorado striped bass aguachile, or how tomatoes are smoked for a refreshing “beurre blanc” balancing succotash and scallops.