Chef’s Challenge at Mile High Station tonight

The Next Culinary Voice: Chef’s Challenge goes down tonight from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Mile High Station, 2027 Old West Colfax Avenue. Mark DeNittis of the Rocky Mountain Institute of Meat, Jenna Johansen of Epicurean Catering, Matt Selby of Corner House and Elise Wiggins of Panzano will serve as…

Squash blossoms are flowering on menus across town

Squash blossoms are popping up all over — not just in gardens, but in restaurants. At Beast + Bottle, they make an unexpected topping for flatbread, and at Spuntino they’re stuffed with ricotta and fried. The sturdy flowers make an appearance at Tamayo, too, as part of the filling for…

FlapJacked — the healthy breakfast of (little) champions

Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, and Jennifer and David Bacon just made it the easiest, too. The Broomfield couple recognized that their five children love pancakes — but they didn’t love the kids’ crash from a sugar high an hour after those pancakes were gone…

Guess where I’m eating seafood kabobs?

The seafood kabobs at this Middle Eastern restaurant don’t quite stack up to the smooth, lemon-kissed hummus, but they’re a nice departure from the typical meat-heavy platters that strike most Mid East menus. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to a…

DISH ticket prices going up at midnight tonight — buy now!

Denver has evolved over the past twenty years — and so has DISH, Westword’s annual celebration of the metro Denver dining scene. On Sunday, September 22, DISH will return to the Sculpture Park at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, a stunning outdoor venue on the edge of downtown. And for…

Pho Real serving up the real thing in Littleton

Pho Real opened this month in the former home of Tres Jolie in Littleton — and for pho-lovers in the southern suburbs, it’s a very pretty sight. Photographer Danielle Lirette stopped in this week, and returned with this photographic taste of Pho Real. See also: Best Pho 2013: Pho Duy…

Guess where I’m eating a fantastic ham sandwich?

Even if the sandwiches sucked — and they most definitely don’t — I’d willingly spend every afternoon here if only to shoot the shit with the owner, whose infectious personality and humor can turn a horrific day into the best day ever. And if I can get one of his…

25 things you never knew about Steuben’s bartender Ryan Layman

As Westword’s Ask the Bartender columnist, I’ve talked with many bartenders for Cafe Society’s “Behind the Bar” series, posing numerous questions to Denver’s top bartenders…and often receiving the same answers: “I love chartreuse,” or “I’m really into smoked cocktails/barrel aging/bottled cocktails.” See also: A bartender by any other name…is still…

A second 9th Door will open in the Beauvallon

There are those who swear that the Beauvallon is cursed — that there may be no worse location to open a restaurant or bar — but Bill Kennedy, along with his business partners Dan Woodward and John Wang, are betting that the Beauvallon is ripe for a new tenant, specifically…

First look: Fresh Thymes Eatery opens in Boulder

Fresh Thymes Eatery is an anomaly in the dining scene: a community restaurant that had its community baked in before the doors even opened. “We expected to have 100 people in for our soft opening on Tuesday night, and 168 people came,” says Christine Ruch, owner and chef of the…

Happy McRibmas! Five fun-in-a-bun facts about the McDonald’s McRib

Today is McRibmas — one of the most important holidays on the calendar. That’s because the infamous, sauce-slathered, probably-mostly-pork sammie is now back on the McDonald’s menu — for a limited time, of course. The McRib enjoys a crazy cult following not at all unlike the devotion shown to some…