Readers: Lowry Beer Garden? We’ll drink to that!

The news that Joe Vostrejs and Larimer Associates plan to put the Lowry Beer Garden — a nearly 8,000-square-foot bar, authentic beer garden and pavilion — into the Hangar 2 project (which will also have a dozen restaurants in its dining district) had beer fans raising their steins in thanks…

Stout Month at Vine Street, Mountain Sun and Southern Sun

Dark winter days just cry out for a thick, potent beer to help pass the time — which is why, every February, Vine Street Pub & (Brewery) (1700 Vine Street, 303-388-2337), Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery (1535 Pearl Street, Boulder, 303-546-0886) and Southern Sun Brewery (627 South Broadway, Boulder, 303-543-0886)…

Coohills makes itself at home in LoDo

Before Tom and Diane Coohill moved to Denver a few years ago, Tom ran a couple of fine-dining French restaurants in Atlanta that garnered considerable praise. But when he decided to plunge back into restaurant ownership in this city, though, the economy encouraged him to scale back his ambitions a…

Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que opens a Boulder outlet

Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que first fired up the pit more than ten years ago, when three Alabama natives — Mike Fernandez, Ben Gilbert and Jeff Kennedy — made their way to Vail and set up a restaurant to hawk the food they grew up eating. Since then, Moe’s has proliferated, and…

Two craft beer radio shows will go head to head in Denver

The hosts of what had been Denver’s only craft beer radio show have gone their separate ways, an amicable split that has nevertheless created a somewhat awkward situation: two craft beer radio shows, both airing at the same time on the same day. Gary Valliere, the creator and co-host of…

Bring it! Trader Joe’s product watch: Jalapeno blue cornbread mix

As we anticipate the arrival of Colorado’s first Trader Joe’s, the California-based grocer with a cult-like following that’s allegedly building its first Colorado store somewhere in Boulder’s Twenty Ninth Street (three more Trader Joe’s stores are rumored for Denver, including one at Eighth and Colorado Boulevard), we thought we’d give…

Guess where I’m drinking?

“We’ve been playing around quite a bit with our cocktail program — and definitely improving it,” says the bartender who poured me the rye and Fernet mix in the above snap, a delicious, potent cocktail that could have easily multiplied into more. Can you guess where I’m drinking? Special bonus:…

Sushi Den architects share plans for the South Pearl project

This month started with major action on South Pearl Street — including a very involved deal that calls for the Wynkoop/Breckenridge group that had owned Pearl Street Grill to swap that space at 1477 South Pearl with Izakaya Den, at 1518 South Pearl, one of three restaurants in the eating…

Brewery Dinner at TAG

TAG, 1441 Larimer Street, is kicking off its 2012 series of brewery dinners tonight with Tommyknocker Brewery and Colorado’s Best Beef Company serving up five courses; the menu will include venison tartare and ribeye. Call 303-996-9985 or go to www.tag-restaurant.com. For information on dozens of culinary events around town, visit…

Coohills is a safe standby for those special-ish occasions

In the final hours before the Christmas-gift exchange, while family members made one last trip to the liquor store and put the finishing bows on their packages, I was at my computer, listlessly clicking through Open Table. I’d done most of my shopping but still had one pair left to…

Ginger Johnson: “What do women want from beer?”

What do women want from beer? That’s a question Ginger Johnson, owner of Women Enjoying Beer, has been pursuing for three years as she researches and educates consumers and producers around the country. “I was invited to speak at the Craft Brewers Conference in 2009, and that’s what really launched…