Fuel Cafe helps energize the RiNo neighborhood

It’s not quite spring, but there’s hope: Ramps and morels are on the menu. If the weather wasn’t so cold and rainy, the waiter could open the glass garage door that separates our table from the patio. Soon, he says. Beyond the patio and the parking lot, everything’s dark —…

Moe’s Original Bar B Que heading downtown

Moe’s Original Bar B Que is moving up Broadway. The ‘Bama-style barbeque chain that got its start in the Vail Valley came down to Denver two years ago, moving next to the Gothic at 3295 South Broadway. And as the photo above shows, a second Denver Moe’s — this one…

Ondo’s is serving up Spanish-style baguette sandwiches for lunch

Ondo’s, the tapas bar at 250 Steele Street that opened last fall, recently expanded its hours to include lunch. And the lunch menu — and the lunch menu only — features what owner Curt Steinbecker believes are the only authentic bocadillos in Denver. Steinbecker describes bocadillos as “Spanish-style, hot baguette…

Top ten places to Mex it up on Cinco de Mayo

A sunny Cinco de Mayo — what are you still doing inside on a computer? Below are ten places, listed in no particular order, where you can celebrate Cinco de Mayo and enjoy the weather. (And if you know of other good celebrations, please share them in the comments below.)…

Another taste of the Tasting Cafe

When the Rocky Mountain News folded in February 2009, food editor Marty Meitus’s job disappeared, too — so she approached the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infant and Children (WIC), administered by the Tri-County Health Department, with an idea for a pilot project: “a program in which the parents and…

Hi*Rise cooks up another reason to rise and shine

Breakfast burritos could be Denver’s official food, but Hi*Rise’s new breakfast sandwiches could give them a run for the money. “Breakfast burritos start the day for so many people,” says Doug Anderson, who opened Hi*Rise at 2162 Larimer Street in March 2009. “It became a challenge to see how we…

Guess where I’m drinking?

A beautiful patio looking over Denver and plenty of good tequila. What else do you need? Can you guess where I’m drinking? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Where am I drinking/eating posts is entered into a pool — and every Monday, we select…

Gold Hill Inn is open for the season

The Gold Hill Inn launched its 48th season last weekend, its first without longtime owner Frank Finn. Finn, who passed away last September, had owned and operated the former gold mining settlement-turned-fine-dining-and-lodging-establishment since 1960 with his wife and family. Management of the hotel and restaurant remains in the family, though…

Wheat Ridge considers banning patio smoking

Last night, at a study session of the Wheat Ridge City Council, members considered making significant revisions to the town’s smoking ordinance, including banning smoking on outdoor restaurant and bar patios. “The council provided staff direction to bring the ordinance forward to the regular council meeting,” says Heather Geyer, the…

Guess where I’m eating?

This could be the most politically incorrect sandwich in all of Colorado. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Where am I drinking/eating posts is entered into a pool — and every Monday, we select one lucky winner who’ll…

Greenpeace rates Colorado supermarket seafood

While Kroger is making efforts to improve its seafood sourcing practices, it is doing so at a “painfully slow pace,” according to a “supermarket scorecard” recently issued by Greenpeace. That King Soopers’s parent company might not be ultra-conscientious about where it gets its swordfish and orange roughy comes as less…

Fat people make you fat!

When you go out to eat, no matter how hard you fight, you may lose the battle of the bulge. That’s because if your server is overweight, you will order more food and like it, according to a new scientific study. The universities of British Columbia and Arizona, in conjunction…

Tamales by La Casita gets liquor license

The original Tamales by La Casita.Tamales by La Casita just got approved for a liquor license. No, not the original Tamales by La Casita at 3651 Navajo Street that’s owned by Paul Sandoval and his wife, state legislator Paula Sandoval, one of ten candidates vying for the District 1 Denver…

Wild Eggs is coming to Colorado

It’s not all bourbon and KFC. Kentucky may know a thing or two about food after all, and it’s bringing its know-how to Colorado. Wild Eggs, a Louisville-based breakfast super-mini-chain with Colorado roots is expanding into the state in the near future, according to the Denver Business Journal. The paper…

Freshii opens its second Colorado restaurant today

You better like brown rice and romaine lettuce. Freshii, the growing, Chicago-based fast/healthy food chain started by a former Oscar de la Renta public relations manager, opens in Republic Plaza today, bringing its wraps, rice noodles, organic oatmeal, and a multitude of other options to a broader cross-section of Coloradoans…

Colorado now taxing candy bars — unless they contain flour

As of May 1, soda pop and candy — “a preparation of sugar, honey, or other natural or artificial sweeteners in combination with chocolate, fruit, nuts, or other ingredients or flavoring in the form of bars, drops or pieces,” according to the Colorado Department of Revenue — are no longer…

Guess where I’m eating?

A traditional Scotch egg tucks a not-quite-hard-boiled egg inside a sausage casing — but from there, this brunch starter breaks with all traditions. Can you guess where I was eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Where am I drinking/eating posts is entered into…

Restaurant Roll Call for April

It’s time for our monthly round-up of restaurant opening-and-closing action — and there was plenty in April, much of it caffeine-fueled: RESTAURANTS/VENUES OPENING IN APRIL*: Abrusci’s, 300 Fillmore Street Backcountry Provisions, 1617 Wazee Street Bardo Coffee House, 238 South Broadway Big Game, 1631 Wazee Street Boulder Organic Pizza, 1175 Walnut…

Mercedes Mexican Restaurant opens a drive-thru on Santa Fe

There are several links in the homegrown Mercedes Mexican Restaurant chain around the metro area, but perhaps none more welcome than this new outpost, which occupies a former Taco Bell at 14th Avenue and Santa Fe Drive. Which means that not only does this Mercedes offer the same great $2…

SAME Cafe profile wins James Beard Foundation award

Jared Jacang Maher’s February 2009 Westword cover story on SAME Cafe just won a prestigious James Beard Foundation Award for newspaper feature writing about restaurants and/or chefs. The name of Brad and Libby Birky’s restaurant at 2023 East Colfax Avenue stands for So All May Eat, and speaks to the…