Two H Burgers close, two Smashburgers open — and burger fans unload a flood of opinions on what makes a good burger; whether Smashburger, Larkburger and the Cherry Cricket are over-rated; and if paying more than $10 for a burger makes you a dipshit. And the burger battles don’t end…
Since critic Gretchen Kurtz is on vacation this week, we decided to take regular readers of the Cafe review on a culinary trip of their own: to Federal Boulevard, where Mark Antonation has been eating his way up from the southern edge of Denver. Every Wednesday morning in A Federal…
Yesterday morning, six of us gathered around a communal table to participate in a session — a session that focused on the restaurant by the same name, specifically Session Kitchen, a new dining mecca from Beckenridge-Wynkoop that will open in late October in the former Izakaya Den space at 1518…
Jen Jasinski has not only survived the first three weeks of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters, but she was the big winner of last Wednesday’s “Sex, Murder and Greed” elimination challenge, when each chef had to create a dish based on one of those soap-opera themes, all judged by cast members…
While the guy next to me complained about the limited time to took for his ketchup and mustard to arrive at his little corner of the bar, I had no complaints whatsoever about my mussels bobbing in a fragrant panang curry. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone…
John Little Harman’s Eat & Drink 2900 East Second Avenue 303-388-7428 harmanscherrycreek.com This is part one of my interview with John Little, exec chef of Harman’s Eat & Drink; part two of our chat will run tomorrow. My mom was a pretty terrible cook,” laments John Little. “She worked all…
In A Federal Case, I’ll be eating my way up Federal Boulevard – south to north – within Denver city limits. I’ll be skipping the national chains and per-scoop Chinese joints, but otherwise I’ll report from every vinyl booth, walk-up window and bar stool where food is served. Here’s the…
While the homegrown Smashburger chain continues to rack up smashing stats, adding locations across the country as well as two more in the metro area (there are now 21 Smashburgers in Colorado), another attempt at creating a burger chain has gone flatter than a smashed patty. Both H Burger locations…
What does it take to convert a giant empty building in Longmont into a bustling supermarket? “It takes a village,” says Lucky’s Market founder Bo Sharon, with an appreciative sigh. “It takes a lot of intelligent people working very, very hard — 26,000 square feet is a big challenge.” The…
“We became chefs because we’re passionate about sharing food with our community and, to me, community is all-inclusive,” says Jensen Cummings, co-owner and chef of the Slotted Spoon Meatball Eatery. “We strive to inspire kids and families across all walks of life to come together through vibrant food, joyous laughter…
Twisters Burgers and Burritos, a New Mexico-to-Colorado transplant, offers red- and green-chile enthusiasts a chance to get their spicy sauce fixes, with red-draped enchiladas and green-smothered cheeseburgers. But as I dug into a burger and a double-smothered burrito at the Aurora location, it quickly became clear that this Twisters, at…
If I had an archway in my house, this is exactly what I would do with it, taking breaks only to drink the beers from this brewery and taproom that pours some of the best suds in the state. Can you guess where I’m drinking? Special bonus: Anyone who gives…
Johnny’s Diner had a long run in Aurora, but when a recent fire department inspection determined that the place needed a new fire suppression hood over the grill — a $3,000 repair — that was enough to convince the owner to decide to get out of the diner business altogether,…
Summer is a great time for burgers, and Smashburger, the homegrown chain that started in Denver in 2007 and now spans the country, recently opened two more stores in the area: at 965 South Hover Street in Longmont and 8100 West Crestline Avenue in Littleton. That makes a total of…
Fair food — fried, salty, sugary — took center stage at the Denver County Fair over the weekend, whether attendees were biting into big corn dogs or showing off their potentially prize-winning pies. The fair fare was the perfect complement to the quirky event, and Westword’s Brandon Marshall was at…
Last month, when I interviewed La Sandia chef Sergio Romo for my weekly chef and tell interview, he didn’t mince words when I prodded him about what defines Mexican cuisine: “People think of Mexican food as heavy and laden with calories, but that’s the Americanized version. Real Mexican food uses…
Westword restaurant critic Gretchen Kurtz may have seen the writing on the wall when she reviewed Cafe Berlin in October of last year. “If ever a place were in need of intervention by Restaurant: Impossible, this is it,” declared Kurtz. “At dinner the place can be so empty — as…
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with rice noodles in pad Thai — we love them — but sometimes you want something a little bit different. Spaghetti squash definitely fits that bill, and also hooks you up with an extra serving of vegetables. You can’t lose! See also: – Vegan pad Thai…
A sojourn to an Ethiopian restaurant is never a quick dinner, and at this Ethiopian restaurant, the service is notoriously slow-moving, but that’s because it’s a one-woman show, and what emerges from that woman’s kitchen is absolutely worth the wait. Patience: It’s a virtue. Can you guess where I’m eating?…
From the moment that Mary and Lisa Rogers opened Common Grounds in 1992, the coffeehouse at 3484 West 32nd Avenue was a neighborhood gathering place — even if the Highland neighborhood was far from the hot spot it is today. Today the area is so hot, in fact, that the…
Cafe Society served up five Guess Where? contests last week, ranging from a fleet of fantastic beers from River North Brewery to a bowl of chili from the newly reopened Hawt Dog & Sausage Eatery to a burrito smothered with green chile from an iconic Mexican institution…
You’ll have to get your bacon and eggs elsewhere this morning: Johnny’s Diner has closed in Aurora. During a recent Aurora Fire Department inspection, the owner of the decades-old joint was told he needed to replace the fire suppression hood over the grill — a $3,000 repair. That was enough,…
