Food & Drink

Udi’s Café and Bar opened today on the B Concourse at Denver International Airport — the ninth location in this homegrown chain that emphasizes salads and sandwiches made with fresh, natural ingredients — and Udi’s artisan breads, baked fresh daily. And Udi’s has plenty of dough to spread around these…

He didn’t win in 2011, but Max MacKissock, chef and co-owner of the Squeaky Bean, has another opportunity to emerge victorious in Food & Wine magazine’s People’s Best New Chef battle — an award that MacKissock was also nominated for in 2011. See also: – An exclusive first look of…

Tater tots are one of my guilty pleasures, and these little suckers, dusted with Cajun spices, arrived crisp and hot, just like the weather that’s predicted for later this week. And so much for that blizzard, which failed to materialize on the same day that I was toasty inside the…

Cafe Society dished out five Guess Where? contest posts last week, ranging from a barrel-aged Manhattan from Central Bistro & Bar, to a bowl of Bahia-style shrimp stew from Jonesy’s, to a sandwich, whose innards included french fries…

Formulaic, oft-repeated recipes are not going to produce the kind of barbecue you buy from a dim, smoke-sputtering cart on the street, or the kind you eat at a charmingly tattered mom-and-pop barbecue joint. But if you want fast, moderately priced chicken, brisket and pork, accompanied by fixins with all…

Last week Jenn Wohletz served up a heaping helping of the appetizers she hates seeing at parties — including the dreaded queso dip. But some readers thought that Jenn’s list was the real party-pooper. See also: – Five appetizers I hate seeing — and eating — at parties – First…

A few weeks ago, when I interviewed Patxi Axpiroz, the chef-owner of Patxi’s Pizza, our conversation moved from pizza to balls — meatballs, of course, which are popping up on menus at several local restaurants, including Cafe Bar, Gaetanos, Slotted Spoon and Spuntino. Some of those meatballs are funky and…

Jon Robbins, the chef de cuisine at Mizuna, who shares the line with chef/owner Frank Bonanno, is departing that kitchen after four years to open his own. Robbins, whose last day cooking with Bonanno is March 9, is leaving to pursue a pop-up supper club called Gypsy Kitchen. See also:…

Announcement! We have a winner of our Meet the Masters contest, in which we asked Cafe Society readers to guess how many gluten-free margherita pizzas Marco’s at Inverness served during the month of February. The correct answer is 178. The person who came the closest to that number without going…

Suffice it to say that I eat out more than the general population, unless, of course, the general population can catalog more than 450 restaurant meals in a year — which is about the number of breakfasts, lunches and dinners that I stomached in 2012. Pathetic, isn’t it? But all…

On a recent visit to McDonald’s I spied a Hello Kitty toy in a Happy Meal, and I was almost inspired to order a kid’s meal myself. The McDonald’s Happy Meal was by far the most brilliant marketing idea to ever light up the golden arches — luring kids, and…

I like French fries, and I like sandwiches, and while there are some people who seemingly like French fries on their sandwiches, I haven’t quite embraced that combination…but I’m working on it. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to a Guess…

The long-promised remodel of McCormick’s Fish House & Bar in the Oxford Hotel was completed last month and celebrated at a pair of parties this week, where a few innovations were revealed in the legendary Cruise Room. We understood that the original marble floor was a hazard, and the replacement…

The Denver Department of Environmental Health is responsible for inspecting over 3,500 brick-and-mortar food establishments — as well as mobile food trucks and events. Some restaurateurs think that the department went too far in recent years, when the fines assessed eateries soared. And after a year of discussions between health…

This place is hot — especially since it makes a delicious barrel-aged Manhattan with St. George Breaking & Entering Bourbon. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to a Guess Where post is entered into a pool — and every week, we…