From BBQ to BrewHa!Ha!, Thirteen Tastiest Events on the Culinary Calendar

Get in shape for the big holiday weekend at this week's culinary activities, which celebrate wine, beer and Colorado produce. Keep reading for the delicious details.

Monday, August 31 

Frasca Food and Wine will explore the women winemakers of Dressner & Rosenthal with guest Mike Joyce tonight. The weekly Monday Night Wine Dinners are $50 for a prix fixe, four-course meal with optional wine pairings priced from $40 to $50. For reservations and more information, call Frasca at 303-442-6966. 

Tuesday, September 1 

Today the Rio Grande restaurants are kicking off Rio Harvest Days, which will run through the end of September. The special, Colorado-inspired Harvest Days menu will feature locally-sourced ingredients such as Olathe corn, Rocky Ford melons and Palisade peaches. For more information, check out Rio's Facebook page. 

KEEN's Live Monumental party will roll into Upslope Brewing today. KEEN's 76 RV is on a two-month road trip with these main goals in mind: preserving public lands and celebrating the places where we play. The stopover at Upslope will give guests the opportunity to enjoy live music, party and sign a petition to create five new national monuments. For more information, check out keenfootwear.com/livemonumental. 

Wednesday, September 2

The Denver Art Museum and BRU Handbuilt Ales are teaming up for an "In Bloom" beer dinner inspired by the museum's In Bloom: Painting Flowers in the Age of Impressionism. The beer dinner will showcase the use of flowers in food; each dish will be paired with beers from Bru. The four-course dinner starts at 7 p.m. and runs $55 per person; for reservations and more information, call BRU at 720-638-5193 or click here. 

Brooks Winery, a practicing organic and bio-dynamic winery, will be pairing its wines with four courses cooked up the kitchen at Duo. There will be two seatings: one at 5:45 p.m. and one at 8 p.m. Reservations are $65 per person; make yours by calling Duo at 303-477-4141. You can view the menu here. 

Thursday, September 3 


BrewHa!Ha!, a month-long celebration of brewing and local brewer-culture, gets under way today with a Denver Public Library-inspired beer release at 3 p.m. at Denver Beer Co. There will also be “Kombucha With the City Librarian” from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Happy Leaf Kombucha. For a complete listing of events and businesses offering BrewHa!Ha! deals, visit denverlibrary.org.

ViewHouse in Centennial is turning one today and celebrating with one hell of a party. From 4 to 10 p.m. there will be live music, a Red Bull Freestyle Motocross Jam and food-and-drink specials. The Red Bull skydivers will be dropping in, and the bar will be showing the Denver and Arizona preseason game. For more information, click here.  

Diners and drinkers at La Biblioteca can meet the makers of Maestro Dobel tequila and enjoy some samples during the restaurant's Meet the Maker series from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight. A cocktail featuring the tequila will be offered all evening. For more information, call the restaurant at 720-904-0965.

Celebrate the end of summer at the Passport Closing Party today. For $25 you can enjoy unlimited signature cocktails from many of the purveyors participating in the Passport Program and dine at a variety of food trucks. You don't have to be a Passport holder to attend the soiree, which runs from 7 to 10 p.m. at the McNichols Building; purchase tickets here.  

Friday, September 4  

Colorado will roll out the 32nd annual Taste of Colorado today at Civic Center Park. The Labor Day weekend mainstay will offer up tastes from over fifty Colorado restaurants, free concerts from top national acts including Joan Jett and Kansas, arts and crafts, vendors, and activities for the whole family. The festivities kick off at 11:30 a.m. this morning and run to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, the gates open at 10:30 a.m. and close at 10 p.m.; on Monday, they will be open from 10:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. Bring cash for tasting tickets, which are $10 for fifteen. Head over to atasteofcolorado.com to check out the full schedule of events.   

Stoney's Bar and Grill will host the Samuel Adams Stein Hoisting Contest today at 7 p.m. If you think you can hoist a full liter stein longer than anyone else, head down to Stoney's and you could win a trip to Oktoberfest in Munich. For more information, visit the event's Facebook page.  

More than 20,000 people are expected to show for this year's Smokin' Brew BBQ in Parker. Over fifty teams will be competing for BBQ supremacy during this three-day competition at the Parker Arts Culture and Events Center.  Guests can dig into BBQ and wash it down with cold beer, all while enjoying live music, bingo with cash prizes, and more. Admission to the event is free and food can be purchased with tickets: one ticket for $1. The event will be smokin' from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. today, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. tomorrow, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. For more information, go to smokinbrewbbq.com.  

Gourmet on Gore returns to Vail for Labor Day weekend, featuring food, wine, beer and scenery, of course. The tenth annual culinary festival features open-air tastings with world-class wine, beer and spirits paired with special creations from the Vail Valley’s top restaurants. There will also be a variety of additional pairing events and outdoor activities throughout the weekend. A Tasting Tour kicks things off today, and Open-Air Tastings take place on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Brunch on Bridge Street closes the weekend on Monday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit gourmetongore.com.


For more Food & Drink events, go to our online calendar. If you know of an event that should be included in that calendar, send information to [email protected]. And watch for our Labor Day weekend calendar coming later this week.