Reader: Sarto’s Has Problems Beyond Its Chef

And the hits just keep coming for Jefferson Park, where many of the new buildings featured in Denver Fugly are located. Now, in the culmination of what may have been another fugly situation, veteran chef Brian Laird — think Barolo Grill, Sketch — is out at Sarto’s. But should the…

Reader: Keep Casa Bonita, and Bring Back the Denver Drumstick!

New owners are making plenty of improvements to Lamar Station, the new name for the center that Casa Bonita has anchored for over four decades. They’re adding a coffeeshop, two galleries and a brewpub, and looking for someone to run a year-round urban market. They’ve also signed that pink eatertainment…

Reader: We have a Soiled Dove — Why Not a Greedy Hamster?

What’s the weirdest name for a restaurant in Denver? We thought the Fractured Prune might take the prize when that doughnut chain rolled into town, but then the Belvedere closed — and we learned that downtown joint will be replaced by The Greedy Hamster. Says theFabulousMarkT: Well, we already have…

Reader: Get Ready for the Nerd Army at Dungeons & Drafts

On June 13, Manny and Melissa Garza, veterans of the D.C. intelligence community who’ve settled in Colorado, will host the grand opening of Dungeons & Drafts, a geek-themed bar and restaurant in Fort Collins. The new pub owners want to create a destination for nerds in Colorado who are looking…

Reader: Hello, Block & Larder — Jeremiah Tower Called From 1985!

Gretchen Kurtz recently reviewed Block & Larder, a four-month old spot in the Berkeley neighborhood brought to us by the Forgy brothers, who are also behind Freshcraft in LoDo. But is there another influence in the kitchen? Suggests Jeff: Jeremiah Tower called from 1985. He wants his Jackson Pollock squeeze-bottle sauced…

Reader: Isn’t This the Fifth Brewery Announced This Week?

Yes, another craft brewery is coming. This one is Little Machine, and Brett Williams, Mike Dunkly and Ben Chenard are gearing up to open later this year at 2924 West 20th Avenue, right by Sports Authority Field, an area definitely thirsty for craft beer — even in a town overflowing with…

Reader: Nice to See Both Recipes and Culinary Reveries

Spring is here, which means that the Boulder County Farmers’ Market has returned — and so have Juliet Wittman’s posts about what you can find there. On Saturday she picked up fennel from Eric Skokan’s Black Cat Farm, which inspired a recipe and some writing as lovely as the fresh…

Ken Arkind Creates a Poem Run at the State of Downtown 2015

At the State of Downtown 2015 breakfast briefing last month, the Denver Partnership rolled out a roster of impressive statistics, including the fact that Denver has seen the country’s “largest increase in residents with college degrees,” according to 2014 U.S. Census stats and has the “best commercial real estate market…

Reader: Ballpark Neighborhood Used to Smell Like Desperation…

Twenty years ago, Denver native — and now Westword managing editor — Jonathan Shikes snapped photos of under-construction Coors Field, going up just north of LoDo in an old warehouse area often called NoDough, given the lack of economic activity there. Today the Ballpark neighborhood is not just a go-to…