Denver is ready for its close-up in Hick Town

John Hickenlooper didn’t even know he had a cousin named George until one day in 1991, when a fellow in town for the Denver International Film Festival went over to the Wynkoop Brewing Company for a beer. Hickenlooper isn’t a very common name, and those who carry it tend to…

Zpizza opens today in Greenwood Village

It’s too late to grab the free pizza that Zpizza was handing out last night, but you can buy a pie today, when Zpizza officially opens for business at 4940 South Yosemite in Greenwood Village. Lori Midson got a taste of the chain when she was in California a couple…

Wake-Up Call: Don’t touch that dial!

The tipster poured her story into my ear, a long, involved tale of bureaucrats behaving badly. “I’ll talk to the writers and see if we can get that in the paper,” I told her. “Oh, I don’t care about the paper,” she said. “I want it on TV.” Since I…

Biondi Santi tasting at Parisi tonight

Parisi, at 4401 Tennyson Street, hosts a wine-tasting and seminar on the wines of Biondi Santi, led by winemaker Luca Belingardi, at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 20. The price is $50 per person (and includes imported Tuscan salumi, cheeses and bread), and reservations are definitely required; call 303-561-0234. Cook Street,…

El Camino gets a surprise visit

On Saturday, El Camino could have been Swimclub 32 all over again when a parade in honor of Seamen on Hooker — an annual, nautically themed neighborhood party on the 2900-3100 blocks of Hooker Street — parked in front of the restaurant at 3628 West 32nd Avenue for a refreshing…

Recovery Room offers a sure-fire cure: Cheli’s chili

You can’t get Cheli’s chili in Chicago anymore — the Cheli’s Chili Bar there closed when Chris Chelios was traded to the Detroit Red Wings. You can get it in Michigan, of course; the hockey player has three Cheli’s Chili Bar restaurants around Detroit. And now you can get it…

Wake-Up Call: Here in Hick Town

George Hickenlooper has spent the last several months with Jack Abramoff, the jailed influence-peddler who’ll be the focus of his next film, which stars Kevin Spacey. For his last effort, the filmmaker used a much less experienced crew of actors: the staff of Denver mayor John Hickenlooper, who just happens…

Two wine-tastings uncork tonight

Two very different wine-tastings tonight.The Fort, at 19192 Highway 8 in Morrison, features more than forty wines from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. tonight; admission is $37, and includes the Fort’s appetizers. For reservations, call 303-697-4771.And down in Denver, Lala’s Wine Bar + Pizzeria,…

RSVP fast for Slow Food dinner at Il Posto

At Il Posto tonight, “A Slow Evening” will feature chef/owner Andrea Frizzi preparing a seasonal menu in honor of Slow Food Denver. Dinner is $65 per person (members of Slow Food Denver and/or Denver Independent Network of Restaurants), $75 others, and includes wine, tax and gratuity. For reservations, e-mail rsvp@slowfooddenver.org…

Let the breakfast burrito wars begin!

In this corner — weighing in at seven pounds (if you’re going for the official Big Burrito challenge, as Adam Richman did on a recent episode of Man v. Food), or a more reasonable pound or so, if you just want to grab a breakfast burrito when the place opens…

Wake-Up Call: All aboard for a wonky week

I’m looking over the Platte Valley at the sliver of the “Travel by Train” sign I can still on Union Station through pricy lofts and office buildings constructed over the last few years. And some day there will be a lot more of them, if current plans for the revelopment…

Big Papa’s getting bigger

Big Papa’s BBQ is about to get bigger. Andrew Besemer’s homegrown chain — which Jason Sheehan raved about a few years ago, earning himself a “This I Believe” slot raving about barbecue on National Public Radio — is about to get another link. Big Papa’s, which already has a store…

Wine dinners tonight at Frasca, Osteria Marco

Tonight at Frasca, 1738 Pearl Street in Boulder, winemaker Etienne Hugel will present the wines of Hugel & Fils at a Monday Night Wine Dinner devoted to the flavors of Alsace. Dinner is $45 per person, with optional wine pairings extra; for reservations, call 303-442-6966. Osteria Marco, 1453 Larimer Street,…

Cebiche space turning into Chavin

When Cebiche, the Peruvian restaurant at 2257 West 32nd Avenue, closed right after the start of the year, its phone message promised to announce a new location within a couple of weeks. Cebiche’s Sergio Iraola says he’s still looking for the perfect spot — and in the meantime, there’s some…

Steak Bar putting down stakes in Highland

When Jason Sheehan checked in with Joe Vostrejs a couple of weeks ago, he had high hopes that the LoHi Steak Bar that’s moving into 3200 Tejon Street — the old home of North Star Brewery — would be open in June. He just didn’t know when in June. “We…

Wake-Up Call: Back-to-school special

This morning, the 2009 class of North High School will rehearse for tomorrow’s graduation ceremonies at the Colorado Convention Center. The entire graduating class. That’s because on Tuesday, Denver Public Schools put a halt to North principal Ed Salem’s plan to prohibit about 50 out of 180 graduating seniors from…

Will Bachelorette get a pizza the action?

Don’t order in from the Denver Pizza Company tonight. Although that’s the purported business of The Bachelorette competitor Mark Huebner, described as a “pizza entrepreneur” from Denver in advance publicity for the show that kicks off Monday, there’s no such joint in town. Not yet. But then, it would be…

Make a pig of yourself this weekend

Go hog wild on Friday, May 15, when the Culinary School of the Rockies, 637 South Broadway in Boulder, offers “Pork on Pork: The Wide World of Bacon” from 5:30 to 9 p.m. The price for all the pig is $95; for more information, call 303-494-7988 or go to www.culinaryschoolrockies.com…

Drinking with Pete at Union Station

All aboard! Over the past few months a crew of chefs — “a band of misfits,” as Jamey Fader describes them, as remarkable for their appreciation of each other’s work as for their own considerable talents — have hosted a series of underground dinners for their biggest fans. The third…

Get a job! Jesse Morreale’s job fair

Jesse Morreale and his crew have close to a hundred positions to fill in their group of restaurants/bars —  Mezcal, Tambien, Rockbar, La Rumba, Sketch and a “new location,” which we’re guessing is that big front room at the First Avenue Hotel, right in front of Sketch. So in the…

Wake-Up Call: Ken Gordon starts the conversation

Ken Gordon was term-limited out of the Colorado Senate in 2008 — but he’s not going quietly. In fact, he’s started a new blog, where he offers this thesis: “I believe that the American people fundamentally misunderstand their form of government and their place in it.” As proof, he offers…