It's that time of year again, when chefs from all over the country send out e-mails begging their loyal customers to nominate them for a James Beard Foundation Award, otherwise known as the "Oscars of the food universe." And it's your opportunity to nominate Colorado's crop of talent for one of the coveted awards, which include Best Southwest Chef, Outstanding Restaurateur and Rising Star Chef of the Year.
In local brew news, the Wynkoop Brewing Company plans to make a special beer in January to coincide with John Hickenlooper's inauguration as Colorado's governor. Whatever it is, it had better provide jobs -- or else.
Q Worldly Barbecue and Lounge, the subterranean house of smoked pig, international sauces, corn fritters and live blues bands, shuttered last Sunday after two and half years in Cherry Creek, while Cilantro Fusion, a Mexican joint downtown, went dark, too.
In this week's Chef and Tell interview, Black Cat executive chef Eric Skokan dished on cooking for kids, the demise of burrata and his ever-growing farm in Niwot. He did not, however, mention kelp, or Yelp, but eater.com, consumerist.com and gawker.com all did.
For proof that the cupcake trend is far from wearing out its welcome, look no further than Rosie Cakes, a new cupcake rig that hit the road running in September, after the woman behind the wheel, Rosie Desjardins, gave up a gig go-go dancing in Hollywood to unleash a cupcake-mobile on Denver.
There are times when nothing hits the spot -- nothing will do -- but a hot dog. As we contended when we researched the best veggie hot dog you'll ever put in your mouth, nobody does a veggie hot dog like LightLife's Smart Dogs brand. And that's exactly what you'll find at Steve's Snappin' Dogs.
Just in time for stocking stuffer season, ThinkGeek created My First Bacon, an adorable, fuzzy hunk of meat that says, "I'm bacon!" when squeezed. And yes, it's actually available for purchase.
The owners of Marczyk Fine Foods, who have run their upscale neighborhood market on Seventeenth Avenue for eight years, are planning to open a second, similar location in the vacant Fairfax Ace Hardware at Colfax Avenue and Fairfax Street.
Kevin Morrison, who owns the Pinche Tacos wagon, is building a brick-and-mortar joint on the corner of Colfax and York, which will open in the spring of next year. "The menu will be an expanded version of the wagon, with shrimp cocktail, a few appetizers and salads and ceviche on the weekends, but the focus will still be on tacos," says Morrison.
