America is obsessed with tacos. What in Mexico is considered an everyday snack, a working lunch, a late-evening indulgence or just a tortilla with leftovers on top has become the subject of nearly unlimited variations and convolutions (many complete with an eye-popping price tag) here in the United States. One…
Larimer Associates has a pretty good track record with refurbishing old establishments and turning them into new neighborhood hangouts: LoHi Steakbar, Billy’s Inn and Ernie’s Bar & Pizza come to mind, along with a considerable percentage of the dining square footage at Larimer Square. But the location at 3759 Lipan…
Five Points continues to be transformed before our eyes; the latest metamorphosis comes in the form of Birdcall, a sleek, modern chicken-sandwich shop from the founders of Park Burger. Birdcall opens tonight at 800 East 26th Avenue in the former home of Tom’s Home Cookin’, which closed in December 2015…
On a chilly December day in 2015, Mark Dym stood on the sidewalk outside his restaurant at 2129 Larimer Street watching workers take down the Marco’s Coal-Fired Pizzeria sign. The place wasn’t going out of business, but was instead changing its name to Racca’s Pizzeria Napoletana. That name change came…
Debbie Kuehn may not be the most recognizable name in the Denver culinary world, but everyone who lives or works downtown knows “the Cookie Lady,” who ran the Santa Fe Cookie Co. on the 16th Street Mall since 2008 and for years before that behind Duffy’s Shamrock and on the…
There’s been a little monkeying around with some monkey art that’s caused some friction between two Denver bars. Jimmy Nigg, owner of the Monkey Barrel at 4401 Tejon Street in Sunnyside, says the Monkey Bar, 1112 Santa Fe Drive, pilfered an image he commissioned and used it for their own…
Chef/restaurateur JW Lee, the owner of Menya Noodle Bar at 951 16th Street downtown, says his ramen shop serves an average of more than 400 customers a day. That’s a lot of noodles. But Lee isn’t resting easy; he just opened another downtown Menya at 1590 Little Raven Street. The…
One of Denver’s oldest and most esteemed Vietnamese bakeries will soon be serving banh mi sandwiches in a spot that exemplifies the new face of Denver. Vinh Xuong Bakery, owned by the Huynh family, will open its third location inside Zeppelin Station, a multi-use space slated to debut in late 2017…
Cafe Marmotte was opened by Mark Reggiannini and Mairen Reagan nearly two years ago at 290 South Downing Street, but the French cafe has been under new ownership since early spring. Maria Katsaros and her brother, Stratis, are now in charge of the eatery, which won our Best French Restaurant award this year…
American barbecue encompasses many regional variations, but even so, the confines of tradition make for a fairly narrow range of choices, especially in Denver’s smokehouses. Here, styles tend to be blurred, sides conform to picnicky favorites, and sauces are mostly of the tangy-sweet kind with varying levels of heat. But…
Beer is big business in Colorado — a business that can be a gateway to greater involvement in the community who’s supporting you by purchasing your beer. John Hickenlooper was one of the first to see the potential in the small-scale brewpub model when he opened Wynkoop Brewing Company in…
Hedge Row is the Kitchen restaurant group’s new concept: a casual, wood-fired eatery that will open Monday, July 10, at 100 Steele Street in Cherry Creek.
Just Be Kitchen (2364 15th Street), Denver’s only completely paleo restaurant, opened in April with chef Carrie Baird as the executive chef and partner. But Baird wasn’t in the kitchen very long. After taking some time off to pursue another opportunity, she’s emerged as the new executive chef at Bar…
Yesterday we celebrated the birth of our great nation, and today there’s no better follow-up than to commemorate the birthday of SPAM, one of America’s most exemplary food inventions. Sure, SPAM is kind of a mystery, a quivering pink block of meat in a can, but the processed meat —…
Something’s wrong with this picture of the Bourbon Grill, one of Denver’s most recognizable walk-up joints. There’s no line at the window, where typically all manner of char-grilled chicken platters and sandwiches sided with white rice, fries and egg rolls are served day and night to a steady stream of…
The name Kevin Taylor is one of the most recognizable in the Denver culinary scene, even with Restaurant Kevin Taylor three years gone. Theater-goers know the chef from Kevin Taylor’s at the Opera House, and those who have been in the city long enough look back fondly at shining stars…
Smokin’ Joe’s BBQ closed June 30 at the Streets at Southglenn, but the fire won’t be out for long at 6955 South York Street. Already Cub’s Q Barbeque has worked out a deal to take over the space, and could be smoking meats there by late July. Cub’s Q first…
The fast pace of Denver’s dining scene continues. Here’s our complete list of bar and restaurant openings and closings in the metro area in June 2017.
We’ve had plenty of exciting new openings in the Denver restaurant scene so far this year, but the fierce competition has led to the demise of old favorites and big names, too. The industry is shifting because of skyrocketing food and real estate costs as well as a labor shortage, and restaurateurs need to adapt or go under.
Karl Fallenius says he was working hundred-hour weeks in the period leading up to the closing of his Owlbear Barbecue stand at Finn’s Manor at 2927 Larimer Street. Shutting the place down at the height of its popularity turned out to be the right move, though, as he’s now nearly…
Last night, the Colorado Restaurant Association presented its annual Industry Spotlight Awards at the Stanley Marketplace. Among the award recipients were the owners of the Squeaky Bean, Johnny Ballen and Joshua Olsen, who were receiving the CRA’s Philanthropist Signature Dish Award in recognition of the work the two have done…
The sun is a blazing ball burning a hole in the blue Colorado sky. The temperature has lodged somewhere in the mid-90s, and the only nearby hope for relief from the heat streaming off the black asphalt of South Federal Boulevard is an air-conditioned shop that serves icy-cold treats. Bambu…
