Tempting fate: It was my first fortune-cookie message completely out of the realm of possibility. “The secrets of seven dynasties will be revealed to you,” claimed the slip of paper I found in the cookie with my to-go order from Pavilion restaurant (see review above). Not a chance: When I…

The sign outside the modest Lancer Lounge promised Salvadoran and Japanese food, a combination so unusual we couldn’t resist popping in for a multicultural bite to eat. Never mind that we were overdressed (one member of our group was wearing a suit, something the Lancer probably hasn’t seen since they…

Foie gripe, part II: Talk about your wild goose chases. I’ve been following foie gras around for weeks now, and guess where it’s brought me: right back to Denver. I initially waded into these waters with my November 7 review of Tante Louise, “Fedded Bliss,” that mentioned its “humane” foie…

Most couples promise to stay married “for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health,” but no wedding vow directly addresses the problems unique to twosomes who take on restaurants. Of course, the “richer or poorer” part applies, but so does “and when the dishwasher calls in sick and…

Foie gripe: My mention of Hudson Valley Foie Gras in the November 7 Tante Louise review, “Fedded Bliss”–particularly my use of the word “humane” in conjunction with the duck liver I’d eaten–prompted reader Amy Crews to request more information about Hudson Valley and its purportedly “humane” foie gras. “Being aware…

At the rate they’re going, the partners in the Larimer Group have only to open a Sephardic-Ethiopian restaurant and they’ll have the culinary bases pretty much covered. They’ve already done Italian at Josephina’s, upscale Mexican at Mexicali Cafe, American pub grub and microbrews at Champion Brewing Co. and Southwestern-meets-the-rest-of-the-world at…

Withered on the vine: Cliff Young has shut down Napa Cafe, at 2033 East Colfax Avenue. This isn’t the first Young venture to close abruptly, leaving employees jobless and disgruntled. One such casualty of Napa left a bitter voicemail message wherein he listed all of Young’s closed restaurants–several of which…

In case someone missed it the first several hundred times I said it, I don’t like chain restaurants. They generally have all the charm and warmth of a metal Christmas tree; their service is usually non-existent; their food is almost always of substandard quality; and, worst of all, they frequently…

Beers repeating: After poring over Claim Jumper’s extensive beer roster, we were inspired to have a microbrew tasting with some old friends visiting from out of town (it’s best to do this with people who won’t have to leave your house for a while). At the restaurant, we had tried…

Here’s the beef: Ivan Utrera’s letter to the editor published in this issue is itself filled with so many “ignorant criticisms” that I feel compelled to reply. Utrera, the president and CEO of Rodizio Restaurants International–which isn’t quite international yet, since the only location so far is in Denver–writes to…

“I’ll take you anywhere you want to go,” said my husband of seven years (as of that very day). “No review, no analyzing the food, no eavesdropping on conversations. We’ll just relax. You pick the place.” I didn’t need to give it a second thought: I wanted to eat at…

In Denver to promote her latest cookbook, Patricia Wells, restaurant critic for the International Herald-Tribune, complained about cooking’s newest trend: fusion. “Most of the time it’s throwing foods together from different cuisines, like an experiment to see if they work,” she said. “I don’t think the chefs actually sit down…

Book ’em: International restaurant reviewer and cookbook author Patricia Wells wasn’t originally scheduled to come to Denver on her book tour to promote Patricia Wells at Home in Provence ($40), but when she saw that Houston was on her itinerary, she called the publisher. “I asked them if I could…

Leaving a depressed Europe in the early 1900s, two groups of immigrants–one German, one Italian–found new homes in the high plains of southern Brazil, and soon they were reaping the benefits of the area’s fertile soil and rich grazing land. As a way of showing their appreciation for their new-found…

This sud’s for you: The Wynkoop Brewing Company is looking for a few good men…and women. The search is on for the 1997 “Beerdrinker of the Year.” What’s that? Your guess is as good as ours. Wynkoop, Denver’s first–and still biggest–brewpub, located at 1634 18th Street, is accepting beer drinkers’…

On a roll: You can smell the cinnamon from the street outside a modest home near the defunct Lowry Air Force Base, where single mom Minnie Rhodes bakes the most wonderful cinnamon rolls in Aurora–and maybe Colorado, and possibly the country. Butter-drenched–although Minnie will make them with less butter if…

When Robert Tournier opened his first Le Central in Santa Monica in 1978, the likes of Jane Fonda were beating down the doors to get at his affordable provincial French food. The place was so successful, Tournier says, that he envisioned popping into each major city in the country to…

If the beef in Kansas City always tastes like the beef at the Prime Rib Restaurant and Steak House, well, then, Kansas City, here I come. It would be cheaper, though, to revisit the Prime Rib. This smartly decorated eatery–done in the wine-tone colors and dark wood typical of many…

Pulling up steaks: The covered wagon in the parking lot at Emil-Lene’s Sirloin House (16000 Smith Road in Aurora) stood in an oval of gravel and browning grass like a beacon from the Old West–or at least the Old West of the 1950s, when this steakhouse opened its doors under…

Loopy. That’s the word New York Times food writer Bryan Miller used to describe the service he encountered at the handful of Denver restaurants he visited during a recent trip. Having visited hundreds of Denver restaurants over the past several years myself, I not only agree with that assessment, I…

Homegrown advantage: No one ever talks about “Denver-style pizza,” but after eating a few not-so-humble pies from local pizzerias recently, I’m convinced we have a few originals. Of course, everyone knows about Beau Jo’s (I ate at the original Beau Jo’s, the cavernous space at 1517 Miner Street in Idaho…