Mail-in ballots, down for the count

“X” marks the drop. We can’t tell you when you’ll get that mail-in ballot you requested, and then requested again. But we can lay to rest another rumor making the rounds: that mail-in ballots are only counted if a vote looks close election day. “We count every ballot,” says Linda…

Via con dios, Via

The Ice House has swallowed another restaurant. Via Modern Tratteria & Bar has gone the way of Brasserie Rouge, Anita’s Crab Shack, and Cucina Cucina, which all occupied the same space in the Ice House at 1801 Wynkoop Street. Jason Sheehan raved about James Mazzio’s menu (he loved Brasserie Rouge,…

Sloppy Joes at McCain headquarters

Those wacky Republicans! The McCain-Palin Colorado campaign is hosting its seventh — and final — Iron Chef phone bank this evening, starting at 5 p.m. at the Centennial headquarters. This week’s special ingredient is “Sloppy Joes,” in honor of Joe the Plumber. Phone-bank participants are encouraged to bring homemade dishes…

Another chance to indulge: Indulge Wine Bar

Now you can indulge yourself in Highlands Ranch, since Indulge Wine Bar will open its doors at 4 p.m. today, and then stay open seven days a week — from 4-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, from 4 p.m.-midnight Friday, from 11 a.m.-midnight Saturday, and from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday. And the hours…

Getting baked in Boulder

Problem One: It’s 1:33 a.m, you’ve been studying all night, and you want a cookie. Solution: Boulder Baked Boulder Baked offers 24 varieties of cookies, including the Kona: a chocolate espresso, macadamia nut and coconut cookie. But this bakery doesn’t just sell cookies; it also has whole pies and simple…

A fall feast: Auguste in November

Auguste Escoffier woud be honored by the celebration in his honor. For all you hardcore food nerds, there’s an event coming up where you can seriously get your geek on. On November 9, the Colorado chapter of the American Institute of Wine and Food will celebrate the life and cooking…

Is Cantina Margarita on the rocks?

Have these drinks been chilled? When Jack Martinez, founder of the beloved Jack-n-Grill at 2524 Federal Boulevard, franchised his New Mexican restaurant concept to Anthony Javazon, the Jack-n-Grill at 16221 East 40th Avenue became a favorite stop for recalibrating the tastebuds after flying into DIA, and earned a Best of…

Sorry, Obama doesn’t run with the wolves

Wolves found no sanctuary at CSU Sunday. Barack Obama’s appearances in Denver and Fort Collins on October 26 set records for starstruck crowds and creative guesstimates of crowd size by reporters. But the Democratic presidential hopeful’s latest swing through our candidate-besieged state (you’d think we had ninety electoral votes here,…

Take a dip into history at the Wynkoop Brewing Co.

Gary Isaacs’s original photo for the Wynkoop proclaimed that Beer Is Food. The blow-out, twentieth anniversary celebration of the Wynkoop Brewing Co., 1634 18th Street, continues today with the after-party for the Gorilla Run and then, at 2 p.m., an amazing (and potentially very icky) stunt: a dive into a…

WaterCourse Foods no longer under wraps

No sooner had WaterCourse Foods moved from 13th Avenue into its new, bigger home at 837 East 17th Avenue than the building was suddenly covered with construction scaffolding and attendant crap. Obstacles like this are often enough to sink a restaurant, but WaterCourse continued to do a healthy — very…

From Tosh’s Hacienda to Kiva to Club Dynasty

Tosh’s Hacienda The flier for the S.O.S. — Sophisticated.On.Saturdays — party October 25 says that it will be held in the new Club Dynasty, located in the “old” Kiva Restaurant at 3090 Downing Street, with two floors of dance club and a spelling-impaired dress code: “no hats, white tees, do…

Some restaurants don’t need a bad economy to close

Yes, businesses are having a tough time right now, restaurants especially, but you can’t blame all closings on the bad economy. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of bad management. Or just a single bad decision (or lack thereof). That was the case with the downtown Denver Palomino, which the Denver…

Another round of Wynkoop stories

Adman Lew Cady sent in the following memory of the early days of the Wynkoop Brewing Co.: The night Rock Bottom opened, John Hickenlooper and I (and you) were there and I asked Hickenlooper what he was going to do now that there was a second brewpub in town. “Crush…

Sexy Pizza has the town hot and bothered

Since it opened in April, Sexy Pizza has gotten plenty of people seriously aroused. But it’s not easy to find satisfaction: The sign at 1018 East 11th Avenue still reads Pizza Vera, which was the name of the business that was there when Cayvan Khalatbari bought the place. “Well, I…

A very hoppy anniversary for the Wynkoop Brewing Co.

Gary Isaacs’s original photo for the Wynkoop proclaimed that Beer Is Food. After twenty years and many, many, many times twenty beers, memories tend to get a little foggy. Still, I have no problem recalling the day in October 1988 when the Wynkoop Brewing Co. opened its doors. The town…

If You Can Read This, You’re Following Close Enough

Does reading this blog make you hunger to write? Westword is expanding its Cafe coverage, and we’re looking for people with a passion for food and restaurants, as well as the ability to produce stylish and knowledgeable news and opinion pieces about the Denver dining scene. E-mail a cover letter…

Delicious design in Denver

Of the fifteen spaces honored in the 2008 Mayor’s Design Awards, several honorees are particularly delicious, because the buildings look just as good as the food created inside them. “Great cities are just as enriched by many discrete and beautifully designed projects as they are by large and bold civic…

Bartender Jared Boller, on the rocks

Jared Boller has a whole lotta shaking going on. When I first talked to Jared Boller for Bite Metwo weeks ago, it was because he was one of the multitude unexpectedly let go by Jim Sullivan during the synchronized closures of Nine75 and Ocean. Then the head bartender at Ocean,…

East Moon Asian Bistro opens in Westminster

East Moon Asian Bistro opens its doors tomorrow at 10431 Town Center in Westminster. It’s a new restaurant, but its owners are veterans in the business — they also have East Moon locations in Fort Collins and Longmont (and two related East Moons back East). And depending on who you…

Pouring on the high-fructose irony

“It’s made from corn. It doesn’t have artificial ingredients. Like sugar, it’s fine in moderation.” This from a new TV ad campaign extolling the virtues and relative safety of high-fructose corn syrup. One can only presume that members of the Lard Council must be licking their fatty chops in anticipation…