Until fairly recently, Denver’s culinary universe had a gaping black hole at the center that consistently swallowed the vain attempts of well-meaning chefs and barfed out scads of pretenders offering “Colorado-accented” Italian cuisine that rarely rose above the level of a tomato-and-mozzarella tamale with an Italian flag stuck in it…
Colorado, which hosts the annual Beerdrinker of the Year contest at the Wynkoop Brewing Company, could finally boast a home-state winner. Cody Christman, a Denver software engineer, is one of three finalists in the thirteenth installment of this prestigious contest. He is also the first Wynkoop regular to make it…
Super Star Asian may rate as the Best Dim Sum in Denver, but according to Chinese Restaurant News magazine, the Empress Dim Sum Seafood Restaurant — a more upscale, white-tablecloth joint located nearby at 2825 West Alameda Avenue — ranks as the sixth-best Chinese restaurant in America, far ahead of…
5:30 a.m.: My alarm starts ringing, but I have been up for a while already. It’s like Christmas for Jews. My brother Travis and Jed, my other roommate, emerge from their rooms and we hop in my car, then pick up my best friend, Micah. We’re on our way to…
As part of a Super Bowl promo, your neighborhood Denny’s is offering a free Grand Slam until 2 p.m. today (dine-in only). Run grab your breakfast, then come back to Cafe Society to read Tyler Nemkov’s review of his meal…
For 130 years, the town of Golden has been drinking at 1216 Washington Avenue. For the past 60, they’ve been calling it the Ace-Hi Tavern. For bartendress Wanda, regulars Ed and Mikey, and a cast of characters large enough to spoof a Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band poster eight…
If you think you’re the country’s best teen chef, it’s time to enter the Art Institute’s Best Teen Chef Competition. The contest is open to high schoolers graduating in 2009 with a GPA of 2.0 or better; applicants must sign an entry and release form by this Friday, February 6,…
Hannah Montana Multi-Grain Secret Identity Cereal Kellogg’s Rating: Two-and-a-half spoons out of four Cereal description: Corn-and-oat discs that resemble semi-flattened Crunchberries — a resemblance underscored by the light red and dark purple color scheme. Does that mean the real secret identity of Miley Stewart (the character Miley Cyrus plays in…
After my disastrous meals at Beaucoup Burrito, I thought it might be helpful to list for its owners, employees and customers six local fast-casual concepts that actually work. They are, in no particular order: Chipotle: Founder Steve Ells gets credit for inventing the entire fast-casual concept at his now-ubiquitous burrito…
Another Irish bar bites the dust. The Squealing Pig has shut its doors at 2700 East Third Avenue, and its phone number is disconnected. While the Pig wasn’t a classic Irish bar, as described by Jason Sheehan in How to Create a Great Irish Bar, and didn’t even come as…
“Here. Try this.” I handed over the small, green Jagermeister bottle and grinned. Because he’s a good sport (and, like me, completely susceptible to even the weakest sort of peer pressure), my comrade-in-arms Jonathan Shikes screwed off the top without question and made a move to drink the mystery fluid…
Radek Cerny, the celebrated chef of L’Atelier (located at 1739 Pearl Street in Boulder), plans to open his second Boulder restaurant within the month, recession be damned.Full Belly, which is going into 2779 Iris Avenue, will be a bistro-style place, Cerny says, and cheaper than L’Atelier, with dinner entrees averaging…
You know your Sunday will be filled with copious amounts of chips, dip, beer and maybe even a snack food stadium (if you’re so lucky), so why not start training for the big event now? A great place to start would be The Spicy Pickle at 1298 South Broadway. In…
What’s not to love about a Reese’s peanut butter cup product? Even when the effort is lazy, the end result is still delicious. Something about the saltiness of the peanut butter melting with the sweetness of the milk chocolate…home run every time. Even though we know it’s hard to improve…
(Read Jason Sheehan’s SPAM confession here.) All hail the SPAM king, ruler of all that is pink and meaty and rectangular. This year, the king is from Colorado Springs. Ron Pearman — 48-year-old Lockheed Martin engineer, father of four (soon to be five) and Colorado State Fair cook-off champ –…
Once again, SPAM — everyone’s favorite potted meat product — is in the news. And this time, there’s a Colorado hook: Ron Pearman of Colorado Springs won the grand prize in the Great American SPAM Championship. (Read Melanie Asmar’s interview with the champ here.) The contest, held at state and…
Word just came down that Dave Query — right in the middle getting his new noodle house project, Happy Noodle House, up and running in Boulder — has brought some new blood into the kitchen at Zolo Grill, his least press-pimped address, at 2525 Arapahoe Avenue in The Republic. Actually,…
It’s been a busy week in the world of burritos. Jason Sheehan reviewed the shaky Beaucoup Burrito, and spoke a little more about it here. In desperate need of an uplifting burrito story to erase the bad taste left by Sheehan’s description of the Beaucoup seafood burrito, I went out…
The Sandwich: The Emerson What’s on it: Ham and Swiss on focaccia bread, with choice of veggies. Where to get it: Earl’s Sandwich Parlor (1431 Ogden Street, 303-832-7411) How much: $6.85 This is the kind of place you’re thankful for if you live in the neighborhood, and never visit if…
The Southern Sun, a brewpub located at 627 South Broadway in Boulder, was on fire last week — and I don’t mean that in the “my-God-they’re-on-a-roll” way, or the “five-alarm-epic-battle-with-nature” way, either. Apparently, something (possibly a cigarette butt) caught fire in the recycling bins outside the restaurant — and since…
Fresh, salty chips, burning hot salsa and maybe the best vegetarian red chile in Denver — these are just a few of the reasons that I frequent Taqueria Patzcuaro at 2616 West 32nd Avenue. An even bigger draw, though, is the chile relleno burrito, an absolute genius invention that starts…
Today is the first full day of the gold-laced foodie function that is the Bon Appétit Culinary and Wine Focus. Hosted again by Beaver Creek, the event draws throngs of celebrities, chefs and celebrity chefs. Although you missed last night’s ‘Wine Dinner benefiting The Bright Future Foundation,” there are still loads…
