In this week’s Behind the Bar interview, Ghost Plate & Tap consulting bartender Michelle Baldwin — who also goes by burlesque name Vivienne VaVoom — weighs in on punch, a party that warped the floors and the ladies’ organization that bonds over cocktails while doing good in its community…
As we anticipate the arrival of Colorado’s first Trader Joe’s, the California-based grocer with a cult-like following that’s allegedly building its first Colorado store somewhere in Boulder’s Twenty Ninth Street (three more Trader Joe’s stores are rumored for Denver), we thought we’d give you a taste of what we’re currently…
Late last year,Tony Pasquini was making changes to his 25-year-old chain of pizzerias, building out a Cherry Creek address, which opened in late January, and getting ready to ink a deal for a new spot on East Colfax. At the same time, he was quietly buying back his franchises, bringing…
We might be able to sate our sweet tooth with a piece of fruit in the summer, but in the dead of winter, nothing but a dessert made with plenty of cream and sugar will do. And with Valentine’s Day right around the corner. whether we’re drowning our romantic sorrows…
The words Pinche Tacos may be lettered across the food truck that Kevin Morrison revved up almost two years ago, but the irreverent name didn’t fly when he wanted to put a food cart on the 16th Street Mall. Or when he wanted to open a restaurant whose working name…
Gary Lee Bomar inked a deal on a dilapidated property at 176 South Broadway last year, intending to build a bar and restaurant that would serve up smoked meats and cheeses and also feature an expansive patio, which would frequently feature live music. Before the hammers started swinging, though, his…
Every time I visited Pinche Taqueria, which I review in this week’s Westword, it was packed. Even on a Monday night, the place felt like a party, complete with rounds of tequila shots. With Pinche Taqueria, Kevin Morrison has managed to capture the irreverent fun and delicious food of his…
After Kevin Morrison left Spicy Pickle, he pursued a very different kind of venture — he picked up a truck, gave it a naughty name and began hawking his own version of street tacos all over the city…
Gin may have come from genever, but you can’t really put the two in the same box, according to Jacob Grier, Portland-based bartender and brand representative for Bols Genever. “Genever is really its own category,” he explains. “We compare it to early tequila importers. They labeled the spirit ‘Mexican whiskey’…
We’ve seen a number of the area’s most successful food trucks cement permanent locations over the last year or so, inking deals on restaurant spaces that allow them to expand their mobile brands into fuller service (and often alcohol-supplemented) ventures. The latest to do so is Comida, a big, pink…
Fuck,” I whispered. My friend’s giggle urged me on. “Fuck. Fuck, fuck fuck,” I said, a little louder. She kept laughing, so I kept saying the word, applying it to our surroundings. “Fucking playground!” I shouted. “Fucking swing! Fucking ball! Fucking Anthony!” By now my friend was screaming with laughter,…
Mei Liu had always been a home cook, but a few years ago, she made her first foray into a professional kitchen, starting a small Chinese restaurant with a group of friends in Austin, Texas. Not long after, Mei, along with her daughter Grace, and son, Gary, drew up plans…
Over the last few months, Ernie Brooks has been building out a small hut at Streets at SouthGlenn, preparing to open Yo’Cheese, a walk-up shop that would turn out gourmet grilled cheese and tomato soup…
Bob Wilson graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in finance but wanted, he says, “to do something I was interested in — something I thought would be fun.” That’s why he went into wine: “I ended up working with a distributor with a goal to work at…
In this week’s behind the bar interview, Colt & Gray’s Kevin Burke weighs in on how he started bartending, his favorite spot to blind taste spirits and the Mustache Series…
Kelly McBride just opened My Sweet Bakery last April, selling her homemade pies, cakes, sticky buns and cookies, as well as coffee, out of a colorful storefront on 44th and Tennyson in the Berkeley neighborhood. The California Culinary Institute alum quickly amassed a following, despite the construction mess that made…
Whether our team makes it or not, Super Bowl weekend is always a wonderful time of year. Mostly because it’s an excuse to daytime drink on a Sunday while we munch down truly impressive quantities of bar snacks, which vastly enhances our viewing pleasure. The festivities wouldn’t be complete, either,…
There’s not much Cajun food in the Mile High City, a lack that Johanna Cooke started lamenting after her husband, a native of Louisiana native, first made gumbo for her back when they were dating. Since then, Cooke, who has worked in the food industry since she was fifteen –…
“I think for any business, five years is a big deal,” Andrea Frizzi, chef-owner of Il Posto, says. “For a restaurant, though, five years is a super big deal.” And that’s why today is “a super big deal” for the chef — on this day in 2007, Frizzi, a native…
Mercedes Mexican Restaurant is a home-grown chain that proliferated across the city, hawking $1.50 breakfast burritos, among other staples, from storefronts on University, Santa Fe and Sheridan…
A few years after Diane and Tom moved from Atlanta to Denver so that Tom could take a corporate job, they decided it was time to open a restaurant. But instead of building a fine dining spot, like the ones where Tom had worked in Georgia, they decided to create…
The space at 1434 Blake Street has gone through many incarnations since its days as CitySpirit. But its latest transformation could be its most interesting yet: It’s now a Ukrainian restaurant, Kraine Station. “This came about from the inspiration of my mother,” explains Papi Sorrelis. “I’ve been looking for an…
