Some of the best holiday memories are made in the kitchen. The wafting aroma of ham and reheated Hawaiian rolls, the rush to make sure the cream of mushroom soup moistens that green bean casserole, the agonized sighs after reading the calorie count on the Sara Lee pie box. And,…
Gatsby’s has opened in the former home of the Wine Loft at 1527 Wazee Street. The speakeasy-style lounge is now offering a preliminary menu of “gourmet bites” and crafted cocktails — and that lineup will expand once the restaurant puts the finishing touches on its concept. See also: -Gatsby’s will…
Metro Denver lost some longtime institutions this year. Pagliacci’s.The Burnsley. Gabor’s. And now El Rancho, once a dining destination for tourists and Denver residents alike, a place so popular it had its own exit off I-70, is gone, too. See also: – Historic El Rancho Restaurant has new owners and…
Federal Boulevard is one of the most interesting stretches of pavement in the entire United States. The cultural and economic diversity represented in a few densely populated miles means that you can drive past looming Victorian mansions, the playground of the Denver Broncos, llanteros selling retread tires, Vietnamese seafood markets,…
Everyone and their brethren seemed to be celebrating the holidays at this culinary house of comedy, where the theatrics outshine the food. That said, there’s absolutely nothing with what these dynamic jokesters serve, although I’m especially sweet on the addictive fried rice, shaped in the form of heart. Can you…
In early February, Spuntino, the Highland restaurant and dessert palace overseen by betrothed couple John Broening (he’s the chef) and Yasmin Lozada-Hissom (she’s the pastry chef) will close for a week — maybe two — to undergo a major makeover, and when it reopens, guests will not only be treated…
This last year has brought us some terrible chain restaurant trends, including serving up sodium-soaked “healthy” meals; shrinking dessert sizes and charging the same prices; peddling fancy cocktails with more ingredients than a hair-relaxing solution; and restaurants labeling everything “natural.” But despite the obvious failures, 2012 also produced five trends…
Update, 4:50 p.m.: We heard from Carol Mrzlikar, one of the neighbors upset over the smoke emitted from Il Vicino’s wood-fired oven. Continue reading for her comments. Should the smoke emitted from a wood-burning pizza oven be considered air pollution? The neighbors of Il Vicino Wood Oven Pizza on South…
All this week, I’m featuring my favorite culinary stocking stuffers and presents for the fervent foodnik, cook and restaurant fiend in your life, including the indulgent hot chocolate and salted caramel marshmallows from Spuntino, and EatDenver’s gift that keeps on giving — the 2013 EatDenver dining deck. These are all…
No, I didn’t eat the gingerbread house, which is created from graham crackers by the chef, who spent more than forty hours on this project…but, like me, I betcha he was drinking margaritas and snacking on chips and salsa in between plastering his masterpiece with candy canes, icing and gumdrops…
Daniel Ramirez Gaetano’s 3760 Tejon Street 303-455-9852 www.gaetanositalian.com/ Part one of my interview with Daniel Ramirez, exec chef of Gaetano’s, ran yesterday; this is part two of our chat. Favorite food city in America: San Francisco is unrivaled when it comes to food diversity, and it’s also the home to…
This year has been an interesting and generally productive one for food trends, with global tastes well-established, house-made fruit and vegetable pickles all the rage, gourmet burgers and craft brews holding steady, and Peruvian and Thai fusion cuisine everywhere. But with the good comes the bad, and there are definitely…
Josh and Jen Wolkon and their talented crew put plenty of time and planning into Ace, the ping pong hall/bar/restaurant in a renovated 9,000 square foot garage next to Steuben’s, their second restaurant. (They opened the first, Vesta Dipping Grill, fifteen years ago.) And when Ace opened in August, it…
Cheers erupt from the back table. A thirty-something, slightly sweaty in dark jeans and collared shirt, pumps his fist, Tiger-style, celebrating a zinger that caught the corner and kept on going. High-fives are given, drinks are spilled — but in the rush of victory, no one cares, just as no…
Pottery and cuisine don’t have an obvious connection in American culture, but it’s common in Japan for people in the food business to also be interested in ceramics. It’s not as common for restaurant veterans to become fulltime artists — but that’s the course that Kazu Oba, a native of…
While restaurateurs in Denver are scrambling to open new spots before the end of the year — and the end of all that holiday business — the founders of 35-year-old Sweet Basil in Vail just opened Mountain Standard today. Mountain Standard — which is around the corner from Sweet Basil…
Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market’s choicest ingredients home with them and cook up a feast. “People, people, people:…
I like green chile as much as the next person — probably more — but this burrito, ordered with steak (non-existent), was swamped with the stuff, wasteful inches of it, and for all of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the green chile at this joint, it flat-out sucked, as did…
Daniel Ramirez Gaetano’s 3760 Tejon Street 303-455-9852 www.gaetanositalian.com/ This is part one of my interview with Daniel Ramirez, exec chef of Gaetano’s; part two of our chat will run tomorrow. Daniel Ramirez was just shy of twenty when he left Acapulco for Los Angeles to pursue a career in architecture…
Cost Plus World Market is usually a one-stop gift shop for foodies, but during the holiday season it becomes a wonderland of seasonal edibles, drinkables and everything to create and serve them, including winter-themed cookware and dishes that you’ll only use once a year. The prices are reasonable for imported…
The McRib has been resurrected for the holiday season, and Jenn Wohletz celebrated its reappearance yesterday in her Merry McRibness ode. But not everyone is celebrating its return (or another fast-food post on Cafe Society). See also: – Merry McRibness! A holiday poem -The McRib is back, and Denver’s got…
All this week, I’m featuring my favorite culinary stocking stuffers and presents for the fervent foodnik, cook and restaurant fiend in your life (yesterday’s pick was the indulgent hot chocolate and salted caramel marshmallows from Spuntino). These are all gifts that are available locally — and locally made or produced…
