By our count, nearly 300 restaurants have opened in the metro area since January 1 — a big increase over 2010, when just over 200 concepts (many of them food trucks) joined the scene. This past year, we saw many of those food-truck entrepreneurs also pick up leases to brick-and-mortar…
When Frank and Dina Berta opened Frank’s Kitchen earlier this year, it quickly became part of the neighborhood, integrating into the community and picking up a crowd of regulars that use it as a go-to spot. Frank’s won’t be joining the festivities with its neighbors on New Year’s Eve –…
We’re in the home stretch of the holiday season, but we’ve still got one more big blow-out before the post-festivity depression sets in: that epic drink-fest that is New Year’s Eve. We fully acknowledge that by the time we ring in the new year, we’ll be too, um, happy to…
Jim Abajian and his wife, Patsorn, made their first connection over Thai food: they met at the Thai restaurant she ran in Washington, D.C. where Jim was a frequent customer. So when they moved to Golden, it didn’t take long for them to spot a gap in the market. “We…
Over the last few months, I went from the worst shape of my life to the best while continuing to eat like a food critic. Don’t punch me in the face; instead, read how I did it in part nine of this series: Try and guess what I ate for…
Out in the northwest suburbs for family events this holiday season, I was looking for a low-key place to unwind with some out-of-town relatives after all the feasting and present-wrapping concluded. Unwilling to settle for one of the strip-mall chain restaurants that are so prevalent on that side of town,…
It was the year of the entrepreneur and the restaurateur,” says Jim Pittenger, owner of Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs. After six years of slinging sausages from street carts, he opened his own brick-and-mortar outpost at 2148 Larimer Street this past spring. And Pittenger has a point. By our count, close…
Kelly Wooldridge, beverage director and sommelier at the recently opened Trillium, was still in high school when he felt the first stirrings of interest in professional bartending. “There was this guy, Willie Grandison, at the American Restaurant in Kansas City,” he explains. “This bartender had been there since the restaurant…
We’ll drink just about anything hot this time (and temperature) of the year, hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps (or some other sort of delicious liqueur) included. But there are a few cocktails on drink lists right now that make us clap our chilled hands with delight: Their warming qualities and…
There comes a moment every year — and it’s usually an alcohol-inspired moment during the holidays — when I, after a bottle or two of wine, declare that THIS year is the BEST YEAR EVER in Denver dining, and then commence to deliver a highly passionate, self-indulgent speech about why…
The last review of 2011 took me back to Barolo Grill, where a year ago I had some very mediocre meals at soaring prices — which made me think that Barolo’s star was tarnished, and the legendary restaurant no longer lived up to its reputation. When I returned to Barolo…
Three years ago, triplets Jill, Jessica and Jennifer Emich bowed out of Boulder’s restaurant scene when they sold Trilogy, their 13th Street wine bar; it became the now-closed B-Side Lounge. Since then, the sisters have worked together on several projects: running a catering company called Blissful Sisters, managing the Gold…
A year ago, after a series of lackluster meals at Barolo Grill, I begrudgingly paid a $200 tab and doubted that I’d ever return, concluding that Blair Taylor’s iconic restaurant was past its prime. “Barolo Grill,” I wrote, “needs to try a little harder to be Barolo Grill.”…
A year ago, news broke that home-grown burrito chain Chipotle was being scrutinized by the feds surrounding the company’s hiring of illegal immigrants, and that hundreds of employees would be laid off in Minnesota as a result. A few months later, the same fate would befall Chipotle’s outlets in Washington,…
‘Tis the season to get obliterated with family members and co-workers, and just in time for those special events, Food & Wine has released its list of the fifty best bars in the country. And while you’re sure to find it a useful guide if you’re headed out of state,…
Let me get that for you,” said the valet, smiling as he pulled open the door to the restaurant. Just across the threshold, an equally eager hostess collected our coats, handing me a claim check as she apologized profusely for not having a table immediately available for two reservation-less women…
Don’t let that “open” sign deceive you, because a peek through the windows at One Dollar Mexican, which owner Eric Alvarez just opened in September, tells a very different story. Everything has been stripped from the modest room: the cash register, the refrigerators, the snow cone machine and the sign…
Over the last few months, I went from the worst shape of my life to the best while continuing to eat like a food critic. Don’t punch me in the face; instead, read how I did it in part eight of this series: “Just hope you got your dad’s metabolism,”…
‘Tis the season to eat, drink and be merry, and many restaurants around town are packed on a nightly basis as a result. For that reason alone, you should probably make reservations before you head out to eat. But here’s more incentive: A number of restaurants are gearing up to…
Stranahan’s built its brand on its original Colorado Whiskey, which grew the company from a micro-distillery to an explosive phenomenon — and then resulted in Proximo Spirits buying Stranahan’s late last year. Over the years, though, Stranahan’s has mixed it up every so often and released special bottles from the…
Joshua Smith, who divides his bartending time between TAG and Williams & Graham, has been slinging drinks for all of his adult life, but his first foray into the profession was a bit of a fluke. “My dad used to be a chef, so I’d been in the kitchen for…
We’re suckers for a good brunch, that long, leisurely meal that usually involves copious amounts of food and hangover-killing cures — or enough daytime drinking to get a start on the next day’s hangover. Many restaurants try to lure the brunch bunch, but some definitely do it better than the…
