Cafe Chihuahua is pregnant with possibilities

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…

Is Craig Claiborne really the Westword pot critic?

By 9 a.m. this morning, Westword pot critic William Breathes had received at least three e-mails asking how he felt about his “real identity” being outed in the New York Times today by Frank Bruni, the former Times restaurant critic turned columnist. In a piece titled “Colorado’s Marijuana Muddle,” Bruni…

A second Uber Sausage will open in early spring in LoHi

Late last week, we broke the news that Living the Sweet Life, a bakery in LoHi, had shuttered, but the space already has new occupants, namely a cartel of sausage slingers — they who own the Über Sausage, a diminutive frankfurter house on East Colfax that opened in 2011 across…

Sexy Pizza’s vegan options get us hot and bothered

Denver has plenty for the discerning plant-based diner, especially pizza. This town has so many good vegan pies that it’s getting increasingly tough to pick a favorite. One thing we know for sure: The vegan and vegetarian pizzas at Sexy Pizza are swoon-worthy, especially on that delectable, decadent, perfectly baked…

Alex Seidel and Paul Attardi part ways at Fruition

Just shy of a month ago, Paul Attardi, the familiar front-of-the-house face of Fruition, Alex Seidel’s (still) spellbinding restaurant on Sixth Avenue, parted ways with his sidekick after a ten-year business partnership. And now, what may very well be the best front-of-the-house job in a Denver restaurant is up for…

Reader: People born and raised in Denver deserve competence at restaurants, too

The discussion over Gretchen Kurtz’s review of Restaurant Fourteen Seventy-Two has demonstrated how passionately people care about Platt Park (however it’s spelled), why you shouldn’t eat Mexican food in Charleston, what constitutes low-country cuisine and other lessons of geography, including itsbootytime’s suggestion that “if I had to guess this critic…

The Desk on 13th acquired by the Space Creators

The Space Creators, a Denver-based real estate development and brokerage firm, has announced a new partnership with The Desk, a co-working cafe that opened last year in the space that once held Buffalo Exchange, at 230 East 13th Avenue. “It’s great news,” says Desk owner Kristian Barowsky, who co-owns the…

Guess where I’m eating pig’s ears?

There’s nothing quite like a basket of fried pig’s ears to start a conversation, although at this bar, which was recently given a major makeover, conversation is at the heart of the convivial vibe. The ears share menu space with Salisbury steak and perogies, too, making it every bit as…

Paul Reilly will open Beast + Bottle in the former Olivea space

“Celebrating now!” read the text from Paul Reilly, who just inked a deal to take over Olivéa, Stephanie Bonin and Keith Arnold’s beloved New American restaurant, which the couple, along with exec chef John Broening and pastry chef Yasmin Lozada-Hissom (the betrothed twosome now own Spuntino), opened three-and-a-half years ago…

First look: Smashburger unveils new design concept

Next year, Smashburger, the smashingly successful Colorado-based burger chain, will unleash sixty to seventy more locations, not just in Colorado, or nationally, but around the world, all of which will incorporate a new design concept that’s just been unveiled in Colorado, including the newest outpost at 6305 East Hampden, just…

Brendan’s now installed at 404 Broadway

The space at 404 Broadway has been in a state of flux for over a year. After a sixty-year run as Jerry Feld’s Club 404, it changed hands in December 2011 and reopened in February as the Denver Wheel Club 404, a bike-themed bar that rolled to a halt in…

Guess where I’m eating sopressata, asparagus and burrata?

We ordered a pizza, too, from the massive wood-fired oven, which is the focal point of this restaurant that also dispenses sopressata, burrata and asparagus, all on the same plate. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to a Guess Where post…