Bubba Chinos serves up authentic “Chicano cuisine”

On a Friday night, the vibrant yellow building on Federal Boulevard that houses the original Bubba Chinos is packed. A tented stand in front of the place displays a maze of T-shirts; inside, a woman is hawking pirated DVDs. The adults socializing in the equally yellow, cement-floored lobby and dining…

Cordova’s Original Recipes does right by matriarch Stella

Stella Cordova had ten children and dozens of grandchildren — and Leonard Cordova isn’t the only one to build a business on her legacy. Three years ago, Leonard’s cousin Alex Cordova exported Chubby’s to Hawaii, doling out that same jalapeño gravy to islanders while learning to surf. But after Stella…

100 Favorite Dishes: Mais pizza from Pizzeria Locale

No. 69: Mais pizza from Pizzeria Locale “This is the oven that nearly bankrupted us,” says Lachlan MacKinnon-Patterson, peering into the behemoth Stefano Ferrara oven, a floor-to-ceiling labor of love, shipped direct from Italy, that’s constructed from volcanic rock culled from Mt. Vesuvius. It’s a stunning piece of craftsmanship that,…

A Hooters deal that really flies on Valentine’s Day

It’s 11:30 a.m. on Valentine’s Day, and I am the only patron at Hooters, that mammary mecca on Parker Road. With a big beer in front of me and a server with cleavage to match, I inquire about today’s special. It’s all about the wings: buy ten boneless or traditional…

Have a heart…shaped pizza from Mile High Pizza Pie

Mile High Pizza Pie, the downtown pizzeria currently hustling a 7.5-pound calzone that, should you successfully stuff it down your piehole, will likely cause your heart to stop, is offering a gentler, kinder Valentine’s Day pizza to make your heart beat faster. For the remainder of the day, the pie…

Top five foods that will not get you laid on Valentine’s Day

While my New Year’s resolution to try out the “Top five foods to get you laid on New Year’s Eve” proved less than fruitful, all my research did help me come up with the “Top five foods that will not get you laid.” Just in time for Valentine’s Day, here…

Guess where I’m eating?

It’s hard to find a bona fide bouillabaisse in this town, and while the bath of seafood in the above pic didn’t bowl me over, it was a valiant attempt — if not exactly ooh-la-la. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer…

Is the Tavern Downtown America’s best sports bar?

If you’ve ever sat on the 11,000 square-foot patio at the Tavern Downtown before a spring Rockies game, you know that it’s not a bad place to be, and according to Nightclub & Bar, a national bar management publication, it’s the best place for a sports fan to be in…

Top five dinners to serve your Internet date on Valentine’s Day

With Valentine’s Day upon us once again, love is in the air. Birds are tweeting, butterflies are floating on the gentle breeze, and Internet connections are blinking away as the lovelorn hit up their hard-working little modems and wireless routers to locate a date. Finding that date can be as…

100 Favorite Dishes: Curried split pea soup from Modmarket

No. 70: Curried split pea soup from Modmarket Laptop geeks? Everywhere. Colorado-centric surfaces, most of them reclaimed, recycled or re-purposed? Definitely. A futuristic, fashion-forward restaurant design? Yes, that, too. Bubbling brick-oven pizzas, housemade sparkling waters, organic iced teas and leafy salads mixed with good-looking, mostly organic ingredients? Check. A vegan,…

Smashburger makes Inc.‘s list of ten most promising franchises in 2011

Things have gone, uh, smashingly for Denver-based Smashburger since it first opened on Colorado Boulevard back in 2007, serving American classics that have won over many burger-hungry diners. The chain has readily expanded since then, opening close to one hundred additional outposts from sea to shining sea. It’s about to…

Guess where I’m eating?

Ever time I blow through the door at this, one of our favorite Denver restaurants, I fall completely head over heels for the menu, easily one of the most playful and provocative in the city, in part, thanks to the chef, who continues to push the culinary envelope, dropping bombshells…