Bite Me

Which is good advice for anyone looking to get in at the bottom of this newest upswing in food and attitudes, and really the only rational advice to give any restaurateur: Do the best you can with every table, all the time.

Leftovers: Double props for Jennifer Jasinski this week. First, there was the Beard House thing; now her smilin' mug is in the "Top Tables" section of the June Bon Appétit. She's in the mix (obviously) for her work at Rioja, but the bar gets a bump, too, with its pomeginger cocktail named the best drink in Denver.

Tarbell and Cauley earn the next slot with the Oven, their "modern-day pizza parlor," and one of the desserts I didn't mention in my review, a homemade cinnamon doughnut with chocolate-espresso mousse. And Frasca rounds out the section, getting nods for both Bobby Stuckey's grape juice and Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson's grub.

Up in the hills (and far from the glare of the foodie spotlight), the Tivoli Deer in Kittredge has been sold to Dave Rodriguez, who's opened the Black Hat Cattle Company in the space, replacing Scandinavian fare with steaks. Also in Kittredge, the creekside spot that was once Dick's Hickory Dock is now Flaming River, with an emphasis on Mexican food rather than barbecue. And Cafe Prague has left Georgetown but reopened in Morrison. The reason for the move? "Business," says owner Thomas Stibral. "It was hard to survive with business only four months out of the year." But that hasn't stopped some of the old Cafe Prague crew from trying to make a go of things in Georgetown; the old space is now up and running as the New Prague Restaurant.