When Tao Tao Noodle Bar, a stellar Chinese joint in Aurora famed for its xiao long bao, mysteriously shuttered in March of this year, the space, which has seen its share of restaurants, sat vacant for quite a while, but late last month, it reopened as El Rico Dicho Menuderia…
If you like the unmistakable taste of whiskey, then you’ll love this beer, a Russian Imperial stout aged in whiskey barrels in a local tap room that continues to rack up awards for its craft brews. Can you guess where I’m drinking? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct…
Chef Rachel Kesley, the kitchen magician at WaterCourse Foods, doesn’t get to deviate from the menu all that often — so when she does get the chance, you know it’s going to be a meal to remember. This past Friday’s harvest dinner was inspired by pinots from the Pacific Northwest…
Although Denver diners are obsessed with green chile, red chile has its fans, too. As Gretchen Kurtz notes, “Red chile has an even deeper, more intriguing flavor, as fruits and vegetables left to reach their fully ripe potential tend to do.” She couldn’t get the Curtis Park Creamery, which she…
Cafe Society served up three Guess Where? contests last week, ranging from a still-unidentified bowl of pork-studded posole from a new restaurant (with an old name), to another yet-to-be-identified mound of chilled lentils from a new Ethiopian restaurant to a plate of seaworthy seared scallops from a restaurant that’s occupied…
Thank God for beer and big pretzels, because the rest of the food at this suds-centric chain really makes me wonder why anyone would ever want to eat here. But judging from the crowds — and the incredulously long waits for a table — I’m clearly in the minority. Can…
“Sad, but excited.” That’s how chef Jensen Cummings, who’s helmed the kitchen at Row 14 since July of last year, describes his forthcoming departure. Cummings is leaving Row 14 at the end of this year, he reveals, to concentrate on Slotted Spoon Meatball Eatery — his ballsy new shop devoted…
One of the biggest misconceptions about vegan food is that it requires a bunch of weird ingredients to make something taste good — as well as a lot of time and complicated steps. This dish will show how untrue that is. It’s quick, easy and will give you a whole…
On Wednesday, the Populist, a restaurant from Jonathan Power and Noah Price, the duo behind Crema Coffee House, will open its doors on Upper Larimer, its debut arguably one of this year’s most anticipated restaurant openings. But there is nothing remotely splashy about the Populist, which, at this point, is…
‘Tis the season of decadence at Barolo Grill, Blair Taylor’s lovely Italian restaurant in Cherry Creek North that, each year, bestows truffles upon Denver diners during its two-week truffle festival, an annual tribute to fresh black Burgundy truffles and the fall harvest of the coveted — and far more expensive…
There are two species of cooks: those who have baking down to a science, and those who are absolutely flummoxed by anything that has to do with measurements, piping, spring form pans or docking. Jen Bush, who just opened Lucky’s Bakehouse and Creamery, in Boulder, is the former, a pedigreed…
Announcement: We have a winner of our First Bite Boulder contest. Congrats to Chris, who guessed 38,818. The actual number is 40,265. There’s no shortage of upcoming food-centric events around the city, but autumn signals the arrival of one of our favorite restaurant celebrations: First Bite Boulder, a week-long eating…
Tomorrow morning a line will start forming early outside of Mona’s Restaurant, the incredibly popular breakfast/lunch joint in the Platte Valley. But owners Linda and Garen Austin have never been able to recreate the success of this spot. And last month, their third attempt at a Mona’s, this one just…
With Christmas ads filling the airtime vacated by campaign commercials, the holidays must be upon us. But it doesn’t have to be Santa season for a server to ask if you want a Christmas tree. In New Mexico, where folks are even crazier about chile than we are, diners can…
I keep threatening to break up with Top Chef, the Bravo reality show that pits “cheftestants” (Bravo’s word, not mine) against one another in a string of often ridiculous challenges and theatrically contrived snippets that force the chefs to look into a camera and say really stupid shit — things…
We’ve all heard the myth — the one that stipulates that because we live in a land-locked state, we’re too far from the deep blue sea to procure great fish. The sea scallops in the above snap prove otherwise. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives…
Cafe Byblos Mediterranean Grill opened quietly at the end of October, and we dropped in this week for a quick look at the place. According to owner Sam Khechen, his wife, Roya Khajeaian, did all interior design work, and his father-in law, Abbas Khajeaian, is the artist behind all the…
With the passage of Amendment 64 — which legalizes recreational marijuana in the state of Colorado — I know I’m not the only one looking forward to the vast array and variety of weed-infused edibles that one day we’ll be able to prepare at home — and maybe even order…
Could there really be any confusion between Strange Brewing Company, a two-year-old microbrewery in Denver, and Strange Brew Beer & Wine Making Supplies, a shop in Marlboro, Massachusetts? That’s what the shop’s attorneys think, and they recently sent a letter to Strange Brewing warning that “your continued operation of a…
The lovely weather we’ve been experiencing this week is apparently coming to end this weekend, which, for me, means a warm bowl of soup, and the posole at this Mexican joint is exactly what I’d like to have in front of me when the flakes begin to fall. Can you…
Hideaway Kitchen + Bar may be tucked in an out-of-the-way location in Genesee, behind the Chart House, but locals have had no trouble finding it since it opened on November 1. “It’s going really well, with no promotion at all,” says executive chef Michael Powers. And he expects things to…
When 86-year-old newspaper columnist Marilyn Hagerty wrote her now-famous review of a North Dakota Olive Garden back in March, I wouldn’t say that her story changed the path of restaurant reviews everywhere — or even anywhere. But it did give food writers, myself included, an appreciation for the fact that…
