The mail-in ballot horror stories continue

Please, Mr. Postman. Polling places across Colorado report that the voting process is going smoothly. But there are still plenty of bumps in the road — and Mimi Kaupe just hit one of them. Since she’s working in California, she’d long ago applied to the Denver Election Division for a…

Paella as you go: where’s the rice nice in Denver?

A pal called in search of a place in town that serves paella. Our longtime favorite was at Don Quixote, but that Spanish spot at First and Federal quit tilting at windmills a decade ago. A couple of miles away at 1575 Boulder Street, Lola offers a Sunday night, family-style…

High on my Highland polling place

Keep your distance, media scum. I was the 26th person in line at 6:45. Another fifty people had arrived by the time the election workers at the Mile High United Way polling place at the edge of Highland started the countdown at 6:59: “Five, four, three, two, one… the polls…

Get out the vote. And get off my lawn

Va-va-va-vote! When I arrived home late last night, I found a flier under my doormat, “Vote for the Change We Need,” with a number to call to find my polling place today. Right above the mat, suspended from my doorknob, was a more elaborate hangtag, “Vote Obama,” with detailed information…

Geek in the Galley

I am a serious science fiction geek. And while, in the food world, I generally contain my geekery to zombie movie references, Starblazers jokes, Blade Runner allegories and a recent, minor obsession with the high-tone weirdness of molecular gastronomy, lately I’ve been thinking about some of the other foodie promises…

Looking for a good restaurant? You’re in the ballpark…

The Ballpark neighborhood is hot. Last week I raved about Marco’s Coal-Fired Pizza, at 2129 Larimer Street. And just up the street at 2233 Larimer, in the old home of Kokopelli’s (and Manny’s Smokehouse before that), the lower-cased twelve restaurant will open on Tuesday, November 4. The chef/owner is Jeff…

Doing what comes naturally at Naturally Boulder Days

On day two of Naturally Boulder Days 2008, the city’s fourth annual celebration of the $62 billlion natural-foods business, we put down the bread, ate all the chocolate and began with the real substance. Chef Ann Cooper offered the keynote, speaking about her passionate attempts to change the way children…

Boo! Denver procrastinators get a ballot break today

What are you waiting for? In Denver, early voting ends today at 7 p.m. at the thirteen early-voting locations (find them at www.denvervotes.org). It’s too late to request a mail-in ballot by mail or over the Internet — but you can still pick one up until 7 p.m. today at…

A dazzling deal at Dazzle

Where’s my bailout? It could be at Dazzle, 930 Lincoln Street, when Dazzle’s Halloween party will reward those in the most frightening financial situations. Before then, you’re invited to post your most horrifying utility bill, terrifying credit card balance, or unbelievably scary 401K loss (with personal info blacked out, of…

La Sandia is a room with a view — both inside and out

Placido Domingo and Richard Sandoval at the new La Sandia. La Sandia Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar opens to the public today, but it already got a workout last night, when hundreds of people flocked to the stylish space at the edge of the Vistas at Park Meadows. La Sandia…

A mystery whets our appetite for Twelve

There’s a mystery behind twelve, and it’s not why the restaurant opening November 4 in the Ballpark neighborhood, at 2233 Larimer Street, refuses to use capital letters. No, here’s the mystery: Who’s the man pretending to be the owner of twelve? Yesterday, I’d just finished perusing twelve’s press kit –…

Barack Obama’s shout-out to Michael Johnston and Mapleton

Michael Johnston at Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts. With less than a week before polling places close on November 4, the Barack Obama campaign spent more than $3 million on a thirty-minute prime-time infomercial last night. The feel-good address included moving clips of Obama’s speeches set to music and…

Painting by numbers never creates great art

Sean Rice was the first gallery owner to discover that the city had wiped out a wall of urban art. It was just before the Democratic National Convention hit town, and Denver’s graffiti cleanup crew, called out to deal with tagging in the Ballpark neighborhood, decided to give nearby Orange…

Naturally Boulder Days highlights an organic industry

Spreading the word: Justin Gold. There’s a $62 billion industry whose dirt-encrusted hands, good-intentioned heart and green-tinted soul reside in Boulder. Naturally Boulder Days 2008, which runs through October 30 at the St. Julien Hotel and Spa in Boulder, helps put a face to this growing movement. Naturally Boulder Days…

Fritangas out, La Parrallida coming in

Closed: Fritangas, a modest little Mexican joint at 2505 Federal Boulevard that had won a lot of fans with its authentic food. Coming: In the former home of Fritangas, yet another Mexican joint, Las Parrallida. The “grand opening banner” is up, but there’s no word on when it will open…

For each restaurant closing, three openings

Indulge Wine Bar For all the restaurateurs closing their joints and blaming the economy (see: Via), three times as many seem to be opening — this week, at least. On Monday, it was Indulge Wine Bar, which will be serving up two dozen vintages by the glass; lunch and dinner…

Marco’s Coal-Fired Pizza is hot!

Mark Dym plays with fire at Marco’s. On Wednesday night, I had a pizza. Doesn’t matter from where—let’s just say it was from a well-known chain, well-known for serving halfway-decent ingredients atop cardboard crusts to drunken frat boys, suburban families and, occasionally, lazy restaurant critics. Let’s just say the name…