Word just came down that Root Down, the new field-to-fork, small plates restaurant that’s recycled an old service station at1600 West 33rd Avenue, has an official opening set for Friday, December 19. And owner Justin Cucci should have no problem making that date, because the restaurant had to secure its certificate of…
2 Below New Belgium Brewery Fort Collins Argh, no matter how hard I try, I just can’t get into the beers from New Belgium Brewery. Fat Tire, Mothership Wit, 1554, 2 Below Ale: I’ve tried them — repeatedly — in an effort to figure out what I’m missing, and what…
The 24/7 cafeteria at Children’s Hospital has long been known for its pancakes, which survived the trip from the old facility in central Denver out to the new Children’s campus in Aurora. Years ago, Westword columnist Marty Jones flipped over the flapjacks in his Consumed column; just this fall, renowned restaurateur Frank Bonanno (of…
The Grand Lux Cafe at 8401 Park Meadows Drive is big — big concept, big menu, big space. And now, according to a court filing, it has a big bill due at the state: Colorado has hit the restaurant in Arapahoe County with a $16,014 tax lien for failure to…
Le Central, the restaurant at 112 East Eighth Avenue, has billed itself as the Affordable French Restaurant since it opened close to thirty years ago. And now it’s getting even more affordable, introducing an incredible happy hour deal today that will run from 3-5 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. The lineup includes super-French…
Hotel restaurants have always been a sort of safe haven in the food industry. For operators, a hotel restaurant seems like a sound investment, given the captive audience and the chance to piggyback on expenses. For employees, a hotel restaurant looks like a middle ground between the freedom and penury…
The first time I stepped into Elway’s Downtown at the Ritz-Carlton, I immediately wanted to turn around, get in my car and drive somewhere more my speed: some greasy taquería, perhaps, a dive bar where I could get into an argument with a midget about Irish versus Scotch whiskey, even…
Money’s tight, times are hard, here’s your fucking Christmas card. Given all the bad news, I’m having trouble getting in the holiday spirit this year — so I’m making an effort to get out of the house and spend time with friends rather than stay at home fretting. Still, even…
The Cherry Cricket (2641 East Second Avenue) — formerly Duffy’s Cherry Cricket and, before that, Mary Zimmerman’s Bar — didn’t always have a door guy checking IDs and stamping hands at 5:30 p.m., or a forty-minute wait for a table on a Tuesday night, or a national reputation for serving…
Elway’s Downtown (see review, page 41) sells luxury — fat steaks and lobster tails, murderously expensive ports and oysters from the raw bar, all cloaked in the trappings of a retro-nouvelle design meant to invoke those heavy, serious steakhouses of yore while still keeping the dining room approachable enough that…
Fisher Clark Deli 723 South University Boulevard 303-722-2091 Spanish Ham and Cheese Serrano ham, chorizo, manchego cheese, arugula, pear and onion jam on focaccia bread $8.95 Yeah, nine bucks is a lot to spend on a sandwich, so Fisher Clark is a place I only go to occasionally…
Back when this city was so concerned with being lean and green, I wondered what that health-conscious program would do to the proper preparation of Rocky Mountain oysters, Colorado’s unofficial state food (as seen on the Let’s Talk Colorado tourism page, which I took to task for its general incoherence in…
Yesterday, a Denver jury convicted Phuong Van Dang of attempted first-degree assault on a peace officer, attempted aggravated robbery and a whole one-from-column-A, one-from-column-B menu of other charges connected to an incident last fall at Ha Noi Pho, at 1036 South Federal Boulevard. Dang was armed with a shotgun and wearing a mask…
Over a year after he closed the well-reviewed but poorly performing Sketch Food & Wine in Cherry Creek, it looks like restaurateur/developer Jesse Morreale is reviving the concept — or at least the name — on Broadway. Morreale bought the historic, decrepit and partially vacant 1st Avenue Hotel building at…
The Salvation Army has teamed up with area schools to put a creative twist on the classic canned-food drive with CANstruction. I vividly remember canned- food drives in elementary and middle school; how I’d make a parent take me to Costco to get that last case of Top Ramen for a food drive just so our…
We’ve known about the delights of Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey for a couple of years now, awarding it Best Colorado Distillery in 2007 and enjoying its warming company on other occasions. But now Men’s Journal has named Stranahan’s one of its favorites as well, including it on the magazine’s list of…
When last we saw Robert Thompson, he’d closed Brasserie Rouge, was out of Atomic Cowboy, and was selling B-52 Billiards (which would become the Real World: Denver House, then Theorie). He moved on to Chicago, where he’s now co-owner of Seasoned Development — a restaurant company that just leased 5,500 space at 1433…
Black is the new black, forty is the new thirty, and you know what? Winter is the new summer. Yeah, you heard me. Effin A. I didn’t grow up with a barbecue grill in the back yard (well, there was technically a grill, but it was more of a spider…
Elway’s — the original Elway’s — spawned this second location, which opened in January. The Ritz management, its F&B people and chef de cuisine Ben Davison all spent time poking around the kitchen and dining room of the Cherry Creek restaurant. In one of those quirks of synchronicity that I…
The idea — letting people pay what they can (or want to) for a meal — sounded crazy from the start, but SAME Cafe just keeps going. And growing, having recently expanded into the storefront next to its original home at 2023 East Colfax. And the restaurant just rated a story in…
On Wednesday nights, Aix (our Best Taste of Provence) is now offering ‘Rebel or Submit’ dinners in addition to its regular menu. The rules are relatively simple: If you Rebel, you choose your meal; if you Submit, Aix chooses your meal. With the Rebel option, you get a number of salad, side and entree options. Submit, and the kitchen…
Maybe it’s because I’m landlocked that I wonder about the magic of the sea, the rush of the waves and soft sand between my toes. Now, don’t go trying to take away my Colorado native pass, because I love my mountains! But when I drift away, I usually end up on…
