The Downtown Denver Partnership has revved up its vendor program on the 16th Street Mall, with more mobile food carts and expanded hours. But the new rules are threatening to drive some of the old carts away. “The working hours are supposed to be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m…
This city is overflowing with Mexican restaurants, everything from green chile joints to taco trucks to gringified burrito-mongers. And from the outside, Tarasco’s New Latin Cuisine, stuck in a South Federal Boulevard strip mall, doesn’t exactly stand out…
Skoops Ice Cream & More didn’t make our list of the best ice cream parlors in Denver, mostly because we gave precedence to spots that make their own ice cream…
A year and a half ago, award-winning bartender James Lee gave up his post as bar manager of the Bitter Bar and beverage director of the Big Red F restaurants to embark on a journey that took him first to Salida and then Denver, where he’s worked with Troy Guard,…
One side effect of being a restaurant critic is that you can’t help analyzing every bite that goes into your mouth. It’s automatic. At dinner I might be having a fascinating conversation about something very far from food, but under the surface my brain is still buzzing with passing thoughts…
Though Korean barbecue joints are everywhere, Korean fried chicken is surprisingly hard to come by in this town. So I was really excited to sing the praises of the glorious, crisp-skinned Korean fried chicken I’d found — at long last — at Al Bae Nae, a Korean street food place…
Ghost Plate & Tap has one of the most unique bar programs in the city, thanks mostly to the Coupe Bar, a second bar inside the restaurant where any local bartender can work a guest shift. And their cocktails often end up on the Ghost Plate’s regular drink list, where…
Three months after the Uptown Pasquini’s turned into a Serioz, the Denver Business Journal announced that Tony Pasquini had inked a deal on the old two-story Uptown building that most recently held J.R.’s Bar and Grill, making good on his plan to return to the neighborhood…
Someday, Patrick Creager and his wife, Ari Murdock, would like to open up a soda fountain. “I love the concept of a modern soda shop,” he explains. “I really delved in behind the bar at Olivea, and I found ways to incorporate fruits and vegetables and spices and herbs with…
Denver may have an abundance of Thai restaurants, but most of them serve food that’s a far cry from what you’ll actually find in that country, one of the best in the world for eating. If you know where to look though, you can find a handful of restaurants turning…
This week’s review took me to Phat Thai, the restaurant that chef Mark Fischer opened in Cherry Creek North, extending his empire east after opening the original Phat Thai in Carbondale, where he also has the excellent Six89. I wasn’t expecting Phat Thai to be authentic — the website and…
Last summer, the Four Seasons unveiled Level 3, a poolside bar open to the public once a week on Thursday nights, luring patrons to the deck with the promise of waterside drinks and a swanky “Miami vibe,” according to the hotel’s general manager, Thierry Kennel…
Three and a half years ago, I arrived back in the Mile High City with nothing but a crazy (to my parents, at least) plan to give up my cushy finance job and work, somehow, in the wine and restaurant industry. The ride’s been better than anything I could have…
After the grim green curry at Phat Thai, I decided to try Thai Monkey Club, a tiny spot that Kong Phom, a native of Thailand, opened in August on South Broadway. Unlike Phat Thai, Thai Monkey Club claims to serve authentic Thai cuisine, including some of that country’s most recognizable…
I never expected Phat Thai to be an authentic Thai restaurant. When Mark Fischer opened his spot in Cherry Creek in December, it was clear from the start that Phat Thai is not a Thai restaurant — in fact, the restaurant’s website says as much in capital letters. And as…
When Phat Thai went into Cherry Creek North last year, it took over an address that had seen a string of restaurant failures in a neighborhood that was on the verge of losing its dining edge…
When we noticed that a restaurant named Masala Xpress had set up shop in the Aurora Mall, our first hope was that it might be a quick-service outpost of Masalaa, the restaurant on South Parker Road that serves an all-vegetarian menu and landed our Best Vegetarian Indian Buffet award in…
I like to think I’m fairly equal-opportunity in my love of all things edible, but I’ve got a list of hard-wired obsessions, and I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about them, talking about them and searching for them. For instance, I’ll drive hours out of my way for…
In this interview, Noah Heaney, Big Red F beverage purchasing agent and bartender at Boulder’s Bitter Bar, weighs in on the business card takeaway, the most unconventional thank you he’s ever received and the places he finds a great experience, no matter who’s behind the bar…
Last week, when we crowned Denver’s ten best patios, we included Indulge Wine Bar, a spot deep in the heart of Highlands Ranch that, in addition to a sizable by-the-glass and bottle list, boasts a sweeping outdoor deck, complete with fire pits and excellent Front Range views. And that spot…
Kong Phom, a native of Thailand who has been in the States for thirty years, doesn’t waste time: It took just a few months after he opened Thai Monkey Club, a curry and noodle parlor, on South Broadway last year to ink a deal on a second spot…
It’s above 80 degrees right now in Denver, which means that for the past several hours, we’ve been doing nothing but daydreaming of our favorite patios, counting down the minutes until we can shut down the computers and head outside for a drink. Adding urgency to our mission is the…
