Reader: Watch out for girls who drink Blue Moon and eat pudding cups

Cafe Society serves up a mixed menu: posts on restaurant openings, posts on restaurant closings, posts on bad customer behavior, posts on bad server behavior…and yesterday, Jenn Wohletz’s list “five things I’ve found in men’s refrigerators that made me not want to date them.” The comments have been pouring out…

Guess where I’m drinking this beet cocktail?

The world is divided between beet lovers and haters — and I definitely fall in the former category. I love the earthy, elemental taste of the root vegetable. And this beet cocktail, made with gin, Aperol, Canton Ginger Liqueur, lemon, mint and beets (of course), not only perfectly balances all…

Photos: Bocadillo, a groovy new Spanish-influenced sandwich shop, opens Tuesday

“We’re not chefs; we’re cooks,” insists Derek Dietz, the 23-year-old Philadelphia native who will open Bocadillo, a Spanish-influenced sandwich shop, tomorrow with partner Andrew Minhinnisk. “When we’re fifty, we can call ourselves chefs — that’s what we’re striving to become — but this restaurant is our playground, our secondary schooling,…

Guess where I’m drinking this Vieux Carré?

The Vieux Carré was invented in 1938 by Walter Bergeron at the Monteleone Hotel in New Orleans. It’s one of my favorite classic cocktails, a mix of rye, cognac, sweet vermouth, Benedictine and Peychaud’s and Angostura bitters. When made well, it’s a fantastic drink — when made poorly, it’s undrinkable…

Qdoba’s new coupon offers $6 entrees in Colorado

Qdoba Mexican Grill, which got its start in Colorado in 1995, has a present for its hometown fans: an unlimited $6 entrée coupon. The coupon reads: “Buy any entree for only $6 — use as many times as you’d like between now and July 8th.”…

Five reasons why the proposed NYC soda ban is a marvelous idea

If New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed ban on sugary drinks is enacted, it will give the health department the authority to slap fines on restaurants, movie theaters, food carts and sandwich shops that try to sell sodas larger than 16 ounces. Bad idea? Maybe on the surface –…

Guess where I’m drinking the worst Manhattan of my life?

When I ordered a Manhattan, I didn’t expect a great Manhattan, since this spot is more of a “watch soccer and drink beers” kinda bar. But how hard is it to pour bourbon (since the bar didn’t have rye, which I prefer), some sweet vermouth and a splash of bitters…

Hot Rocks Griller Challenge heats up Cherry Creek

The fourth annual Hot Rocks Griller Challenge at Elway’s Cherry Creek last night, a benefit for the Denver Health Foundation, was hot in more ways than one: hot in temperature, with the the late spring sun beating down during the first hour or so; hot in hotties who stripped down…

Popeyes’ Rip’n Chick’n is back — let ‘er rip!

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is the second-largest chicken-focused fast-food restaurant chain in the U.S. — and I have no idea why. Its fried chicken is moist, flavorful and has a warm, spicy bite. Its side dishes, while mass-produced, are actually good for what they are. And unlike its major competitor, Popeyes…

Round two with Pete Marczyk, chef-owner of Marczyk Fine Foods

Pete Marczyk Marczyk Fine Foods 770 East 17th Avenue, 303-894-9499 5100 East Colfax Avenue, 303-243-3355 www.marczykfinefoods.com This is part two of my interview with Pete Marczyk; read part one of Pete Marczyk’s interview Rules of conduct in your kitchen: Show up; try hard; think; keep making it better; and no…

Guess who’s coming for breakfast — it’s Dunkin’ Donuts!

Ever have a hankering for a dozen chocolate-iced Bismarks and an iced latte from Dunkin’ Donuts — and then realize that because you live in Denver, you can’t have them? Watching the occasional Dunkin’ Donuts advertisement on the telly just rubs sprinkles in the stummy wound. Right now, there are…

Reader: Civic Center Eats looks like the Nebraska State Fair!

It was just two years ago that Steuben’s Food Service became the very first food truck to roll into Civic Center Park, a ground-breaking, if not turf-smashing, development that rated a cover story in Westword. Today, of course, mobile food vendors are all over the city — and Civic Center…

The wurst is the best at Karl’s Deli in Centennial

It was once perfectly acceptable to have a three-martini lunch in this country, but that practice has gone the way of fax machines and napping under your desk after a long, liquid lunch. Not every culture is so prudish, though: The Italians and French still like wine at their mid-day…