Wolfie’s Bites the Dust

Say so long to Wolfie’s Neighborhood Bistro, which never had a chance to grow long in the tooth. For a relatively brief time, it occupied the space at 1135 Bannock Street that had been home to Bambino’s, an Italian joint that many people remember fondly. Not so Wolfie’s. There’s a…

I’ll Be Seeing You — But Not at Isle of Singapore

Another day, another dolour. We just learned that Isle of Singapore, which Jason Sheehan loved when he first reviewedit in 2002 (when the photo above was taken), and fell in love with again just last year, has floated away from its home at 2022 South University. In its place: Jason’s…

North Star Has Gone South

Sad news in northwest Denver. On July 31, North Star Brewing Company, the restaurant, bar and microbrewery at 3200 Tejon Street, pulled its last pint. As of Friday morning, Kyle Carstens’s beer-and-tater-tot joint was dark, the shades pulled on all the windows, the neon off. I’d called the place twice…

A Trip to Brooklyn — Via Brooklyn M.C.’s Pizzeria

This spot sets itself up as one of those straight-outta-the-boroughs New York pizza joints the minute you walk through the door, and even before that, the minute you hear the name: Brooklyn M.C.’s Pizzeria. Like a fat kid picked on his whole life, suddenly coming back, junior year of high…

Mile High Hopes for Vienna Beef

When I first noticed the sign for Mile High Vienna Beef, painted on the red-brick side of a storefront at Third and Santa Fe, I almost inadvertently steered my car into the building. My love of Vienna Beef is storied and strong, and the notion of a purveyor of such…

Colorado Tourism Office: Come See Our Twin Peaks!

Let’s talk major mountains! The Colorado Tourism Office is currently running ads for its godawful “Let’s Talk Colorado” campaign on the page six section of the New York Post website — an address well-known for featuring shots of busty celebrities. Last week, the buy resulted in the perfect juxtaposition of…

Exhibit Dedicated to the Late Mark Travis

As art critic Michael Paglia wrote so eloquently here, artist Mark Travis lived hard, following an uncompromising set of ideals. When he died late last year, he was working on a show for Space Gallery, at 765 Santa Fe Drive, which was designed to coincide with the Democratic National Convention…

Benny’s Opens New Patio

Tucked into a booth at Benny’s Restaurante y Tequila Bar, we were a couple of beers into our late brunch Saturday when we spotted Benny Armas, whose namesake restaurant has become such an integral part of Denver’s dining scene. Benny’s recently opened a new patio on the Grant Street side…

The Sun’s Shining on This CU Student — in Israel

Last fall, Toby Lewis had barely had time to catch her breath after returning to Boulder from the U.S. Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C., last fall when her advisor on the project, Mike Brandemuehl, and fellow University of Colorado engineering professor Hy Brown presented her with an opportunity she couldn’t…

Coming Soon: Blake Street Vault

We miss American Costume Company, our go-to spot for all our party and costume needs until the longtime LoDo business closed its doors last year. But we’re optimistic about what’s happening to its former home. After many, many months of renovation, it looks like the Blake Street Vault will be…

Two Bodies by the Platte, No Reason to Panic

The first body was found on June 25, the morning of Bike to Work day, stalling — and stunning — many bikers pedaling along the Platte, who wound up taking a detour as the body was fished out of the river.. Then on Sunday, July 27, a jogger running in…

Not Quite a Full Moon Time

Two weeks ago, we made the sad discovery on a sweltering Monday that Moon Time, Westword’s regular watering hole at 846 Broadway, was closed — reportedly for HVAC work. And the job must not be going too well, because a sign still on the door today notes that Moon Time…

More Blowhards on Carbon Offsets and the Wray Windmill

On Friday, August 1, the Rocky Mountain News published its fourth piece in a week on the wind turbine in Wray that’s part of the DNC’s carbon offsets program. An op-ed essay from Russell Simon, the communications manager for the Carbonfund.org foundation in Washington, D.C., it was also the third…

Phamaly Actress Lucy Roucis Recovers From Parkinson’s Surgery

“I can do anything now that I’ve done this.” Actress Lucy Roucis (shown at right as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), was calling me from Cleveland after her surgery last Monday for Parkinson’s, a procedure that involved implanting electrodes into her brain. Three days later, pacemakers…

Week Five in Hell’s Kitchen: Ballroom Blitz

Jason Sheehan is no fan of Hell’s Kitchen, but he watches it. And now he’s playing it, as he describes here. Now on to the final week: Here’s a sampling of my old kitchen playlists. Bear in mind that my time on the line is now far enough in the…

Jamie Horton Comes Through for Modern Muse

Last night saw an outpouring of support for Modern Muse, as longtime Denver Center Theatre Company favorite Jamie Horton returned to town and reprised several of his favorite roles—with the help of John Hutton, Kathy Brady and Randy Moore—at a benefit for the theater company at the Kenneth King Performing…

A Toast to French Restaurants

Brasserie Felix just opened at 3901 Tennyson Street, and it’s exactly what owners owners Danielle Diller and Gilles Fabre promised: a solidly 2/3 brasserie, offering two meals a day plus brunches on the weekends. That’s just the latest French place ot open. Over at 375 South Pearl Street, Café Etoile…

Governor Ritter for Vice President?

Washington Post op-ed columnist Michael Gerson gives a shout-out to Colorado governor Bill Ritter today, in a column that notes how two governors in battleground states — Ritter and Tim Kaine of Virginia — spent time as Catholic lay missionarie, and then coinsiders how the two might play as vice-presidential…

See and Be Seen at Racines

Forget about the upcoming Democratic National Convention. Breakfast at Racines this morning was the real DPC — Denver Power Convention. Chew on this! Over a single hour, our spy spotted the following lineup (not necessarily together): Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce honcho Joe Blake; Dem power-broker Howard Gelt; uber developer…

I Drink, Therefore I Am….Pissed Off

We card under 40. Did you hear about Washington governor Chris Gregoire? She and her staff went to a bar in downtown Olympia called Hannah’s, and the man checking the door said that the 61-year-old couldn’t get in without an ID. Even after Gregoire’s staff told the bouncer that she…

Actress Lucy Roucis: Surgery, Sex and Courage

Lucy Roucis, a regular with Phamaly (Physically Handicapped Amateur Musical Actor’s League)both as a performer and an acting coach, has Parkinson’s. Although she’s a radiant performer, over the years you could clearly see her problems — and the involuntary shaking — escalating. On Monday, Lucy finally had the brain surgery…

Potato Shortage? Let the Chips Fall Where They May

Like everyone else in the world, I am a big fan of potato chips – particularly Lay’s, especially since they started doing all their chips in non-trans-fat sunflower oil, which gives them a kind of smoothly nutty flavor that I find completely addictive. This week, when I went to my…