On Wednesday, I laid down my picks for the best new Colorado beers of 2011 — a group that had to meet certain qualifications to make the cut. Then, on Thursday, I posted pictures of seventeen new Colorado beer labels we’ll be seeing in 2012. Oskar Blues wasn’t on either…
As the year draws to a close, I look back fondly at the breast, er, best restaurant that I had the pleasure of visiting in 2011. Twin Peaks opened last month just outside of Colorado Mills, and it’s a worthy adversary to Denver’s already established breastaurants, Hooters and Tilted Kilt…
The more I travel, the more I’m impressed by the barmen and barwomen of Denver — many of the beer, wine and spirits professionals in our city can stand with any other bartender in the world. They’re professional and knowledgeable, and they pour some pretty awesome drinks. Without a doubt,…
It’s a new year, and 2012 should be another rich, full year of food, drink and, with any luck, a few more naked photos of Anthony Bourdain. It’s time to kick 2011 in the gnocchi and usher in a brand-new 365 days of fresh foodie resolutions. We all know that…
It’s been open for exactly 25 days — an infant — but Trillium, Ryan Leinonen’s Scandinavian restaurant in the Ballpark neighborhood, has already found its way onto one coveted roster — namely our “Ten Best New Restaurants in Denver” listacle. And tomorrow night, on New Year’s Eve, one Cafe Society…
Happy Place: Le Grand Bistro and Oyster Bar, 1512 Curtis Street, 303-534-1155. The Hours: Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. The Deals: $3 Trummer Pilsner and wines by the glass; $1.25 deep cove oysters; $7-$12 small plates. Were we happy? Flip the page to find out…
Bradford Heap, owner of Boulder’s Salt and Niwot’s Colterra, has had a busy end of the year. Not only has he been drawing up plans to launch a distillery with his bar manager, Evan Faber, he’s also launched a catering business — Bradford Heap Catering — that’s about to kick…
Of all the Mexican meals I had this past year — and there were dozens of them — this was by far the worst. Worse than Blue Bonnet, worse than anything you can possibly imagine. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer…
While a few new restaurants and bars are still scrambling to open before 2012 — and get some business on New Year’s Eve — other longtimers are calling it a night. The last Marie Callender’s restaurant in Colorado closed its doors last weekend, after 21 years at 51 West Dry…
For our Year in Review issue, we rounded up all the answers that Chef and Tell subjects had given when asked what they’d like to see less of in Denver/Boulder from a culinary standpoint:? The recap inspired this from Dave: I wish for less chefs to come off as total…
Learn something new about salumi at Il Mondo Vecchio, 1174 South Cherokee Street. From 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. today, it will present the latest installment of Loading Dock Fridays, with tours and tastings. For more information, call 303-744-6328 or go to www.mondovecchio.net. For information on dozens of culinary events around…
This year was a banner year for new restaurants — as we noted in this week’s Year in Review, nearly 300 new places have opened since January 1. Dozens of them included bars, and many more new dives, cocktail lounges, pubs and piano bars gave us still more reasons to…
Yesterday, we wrote about the five neighborhood liquor stores we head to when we’re stocking up for a boozey holiday such as, oh, New Year’s Eve. One that could have very well also made that list is Amendment XXI, the small shop at the edge of Highland that stocks a…
Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market’s choicest ingredients home with them and cook up a feast. Not that any…
There are plenty of places around Denver to drink good beer on New Year’s Eve, and that appears to be the main event this week as breweries, beer bars and beer-friendly restaurants are focusing on their 2012 celebrations. Look below for all the details…
The past twelve months have seen the release of some truly amazing canned and bottled beers in Colorado, and 2012 is shaping up to be quite a big year as well…
I love fresh peas immensely, but I’m definitely not a fan of frozen peas in a Panang curry. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Where am I drinking/eating posts is entered into a pool — and every Monday,…
When Trillium, Ryan Leinonen’s highly anticipated Scandinavian restaurant, opened a few weeks ago in the Ballpark neighborhood, the accolades began almost immediately, which was good news for Leinonen. “I want to have one of the top five restaurants in Denver,” he told me during a pre-opening interview. We recently spotted…
As we’ve discovered in our weekly Chef and Tell interviews, Denver’s kitchen commanders are, if nothing else, unapologetically opinionated. We pepper them with dozens of questions, and sometimes their answers are salty — especially their responses to what they’d like to see less of in Denver from a culinary perspective…
By our count, nearly 300 restaurants have opened in the metro area since January 1 — a big increase over 2010, when just over 200 concepts (many of them food trucks) joined the scene. This past year, we saw many of those food-truck entrepreneurs also pick up leases to brick-and-mortar…
A river of alcohol was running through Cafe Society yesterday, with Laura Shunk offering her list of neighborhood liquor stores, Swirl Girl suggesting five bottles of bubbly for New Year’s Eve, and Colorado Beer Man Jonathan Shikes serving up his “ten best Colorado beers of 2011.”…
Celebrate the final days of 2011 tonight at Sip Fine Wine & Spirits, 1920 Market Street, where you can enjoy free wine tastings from 4 to 7 p.m. For more info, call 303-298-9463. For information on dozens of culinary events around town, visit our online Food & Drink listings –…
