Taste tests: Chocolate and the Yucatan

At 6:30 p.m. tonight, the Lab at Belmar kicks off the latest round of Taste Test, a series that “investigates the foods that we eat through a combination of history, science, anthropology and culinary arts,” according to the Lab’s Sarah Skeen. First up: “Taste Test: Chocolate,” William Poole, founder of…

Anthony Bourdain at an altweekly?

At a recent appearance in California, Anthony Bourdain revealed that the first article he ever wrote was supposed to appear in an alternative paper, the New York Press. According to the Santa Barbara Independent story: After finishing the op ed that would later inspire Kitchen Confidential, Bourdain remembered aloud how…

Wake-Up Call: Journalism, Jared Polis-style

There has been plenty written about Jared Polis’s inane, inaccurate, insensitive slam at the Rocky Mountain News– “killed,” he said this weekend, by the new media. And there will be plenty more. Polis apologized yesterday. “I did not mean to offend nor to show anything less than a strong sense…

A taste of the Sudan at Restaurant 4580

Good food for a good cause: At 6:30 p.m. tonight, Restaurant 4580, the neighborhood place that Martin and Susan Hammer opened three years ago at 4580 Broadway in Boulder, will host a benefit for the Lost Girls of Sudan. CSAW supports eighteen of these refugees in Boulder, and will collect…

Wake-Up Call: Back-to-school special

Pablo would be a senior in college now. A senior in a private college, rather than a public university. Because while Pablo was a star student at West High School, he was also an illegal immigrant. His parents had come to the United States when he was just a boy,…

Tonight: Find a patio, a party — or both

Restaurants and bars all over town opened their patios Sunday — on the first of March! — to take advantage of the unseasonable temperatures. You can enjoy both the unbelievably balmy weather and incredible views from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight, March 3, at the Vistas at Park Meadows, where…

Get a free slice at My Pizza Peel

My Pizza Peel — and yes, that’s the real name (a pizza peel is the long-handled shovel used to pull a pie out of the oven) — opens today, right on the side of the Magnolia Hotel, at 1645 Stout Street, with a slogan on the sign that promises “A…

Wake-Up Call: Signs of the times

The Rocky Mountain News sign came off the Denver Newspaper Agency building (and how long will it have that name?) on Sunday. But this speedy erasing of the past didn’t extend to the Sunday Denver Post, which included numerous reminders of the two papers pairing to promote a charitable endeavors,…

Angel’s Sports Bar is with the angels

After three years, Angel’s is now with the angels, and its sprawling space at 1630 Federal Boulevard overlooking Invesco Field at Mile High has a “for lease” sign.Although it served Mexican food, Angel’s real draws were the company and the location. And this past August, it also had an amazing…

Someone’s in the Kitchen…with plenty of beer

Head to Boulder to toast the start of March, which is starting like a lamb. Monday, March 2, from 5:30 p.m. until close, the Kitchen (Upstairs), at 1039 Pearl Street in Boulder, will offer a three-course, prix fixe menu paired with beers from Boulevard Brewing Co., a Kansas City brewery…

Roll call: Restaurant openings and closings since January 1

We’re working hard to stay on top of the restaurant industry news — a challenging task in these uncertain times. Whenever we hear of restaurants opening or closing, we post it on this blog; now we’re going to start summarizing the action at the end of the month. And there’s…

Eat, drink and be scary this weekend

The big food news, of course, is the extension of Denver Restaurant Week, which started on February 21; 158 restaurants have signed on to continue their $52.80 deals through March 6. For all the info, go to www.denverrestaurant.week.com In Vail today, Bud Light presents Jo Jo’s Mardi Gras Band in…

Wake-Up Call: After a hundred years, the News goes fast

When the official news came down at noon yesterday that today would be the last day for the Rocky Mountain News, I was at a Colorado Press Association luncheon — in a painful bit of timing, the state’s newspapers are holding their annual convention in Denver this week — at…

Denver Post to add Rocky Mountain News voices

Almost two months ago, Michael Roberts offered an all-star list of five Rocky Mountain News staffers that he suggested the Denver Post hire should the News shut down.Now, with the News’s last day tomorrow, the Post has announced that it’s adding a handful of News employees, and three of them…

Mee Yee Lin is gone, but its former homes live on

Mee Yee Lin was once the town’s best dim sum restaurant. But then competitors — including the surprisingly good Super Star Asian — moved into the neighborhood, and Mee Yee Lin moved from its original home at 3090 West Alameda Avenue to a much bigger spot at 2295 South Chambers…

Wake-Up Call: The bell tolls for Joe Nacchio

Yesterday, with the news that the San Francisco Chronicle may go down, leaving the free Examiner the only real daily in SF, Phil Anschutz once again looked like the smartest guy in the room.Today, he’s also looking like the luckiest. Because before Anschutz bought the dying Examiner label and turned…

Maynard James Keenan and the bottle of the bands

Top Chef may be over, but you can still see stars — in person — when Maynard James Keenan, the frontman for Tool and Puscifer, and vintner Eric Glomski, his partner in Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, host a bottle-signing from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. tonight and again from 4:30 to 7:30…

Auld Dubliner now Marmalade Bar & Cafe

The Auld Dubliner, at 2796 South Broadway, closed just five weeks ago. Now owners Phillip and Lorri Donaghy, who also owned the Squealing Pig in Cherry Creek (which closed last month, too), have reopened the place as Marmalade Bar & Cafe. It’s open daily for breakfast at 7 a.m. and…

Wake-Up Call: Another contemporary art treasure in Denver

Michael Paglia posted the news first: Adam Lerner, head of the Laboratory of Art and Ideas in Lakewood, will take over as director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, replacing Cydney Payton, who exited last fall. And that’s not all: In revealing the hire yesterday, the MCA board also…

Turn on the TV: Top Chef finale tonight

Hosea Rosenberg, chef at Jax Fish House in Boulder, has made it to the final round of Bravo’s Top Chef; the winner will be revealed tonight on the season finale. Cheer the hometown favorite at West End Tavern, 926 Pearl Street in Boulder, where Rosenberg will be holding court alongside…