Anika Zappe

Win admission for two to Toques and 'Tails on Thursday, May 23, at Casselman's (with winner)

Update: We have a winner of our Toques and 'Tails contest giveaway! Last week, we asked Cafe Society commenters to guess how many Culinary Connector tours owner Becky Creighton has conducted in Denver. Congrats to BSquared5280, who guessed 330 tours, the exact number. BSquared5280, we'll send you an ... More >>

Trends without end: Dining insiders offer predictions for 2013

Recipe: Punch Bowl Social's punch makes a splash in Food & Wine magazine

Apparently, the cocktail sphere is getting punched. Earlier this week, Food & Wine magazine pointed out, correctly, that prior to the popularity of the Manhattan, martini and mai tai, there was punch, which dates all the way back to the 17th century. See also: - Anika Zappe named bar manager of Pu ... More >>

Here it is! Punch Bowl - Social Food & Drink opens to the public on Saturday

After months -- hell, years! -- of waiting and watching, Punch Bowl - Social Food & Drink, Robert Thompson's 24,000-square-foot gastro-diner, coffee bar, lounge, bowling alley, ping-pong powerhouse, pool hall, marbles mecca, throwback video arcade and game hang (deck-shuffle, shuffleboard, darts, pi ... More >>

Denver and Boulder bartenders to battle it out at the Cognac Ferrand Master of Hospitality & Mountain Mixology competition at Colt & Gray

On Monday, November 5, Colt & Gray will be the stamping ground for a bartender's dream, especially those who have an affinity for cognac -- very good cognac. Six local cocktail magicians -- Melissa Durant (Green Russell); Carla Chang Sandoval (Hillstone Group); Anthony Giovanni (Gaetano's); Jason Pa ... More >>

Exclusive first look: the culinary creations at Punch Bowl - Social Food & Drink

There were about a dozen of us, all wrapped around a long narrow table, groaning. Sergio Romero, the exec chef of Le Grand Bistro and Oyster Bar, and the forthcoming Punch Bowl - Social Food & Drink, which opens next month in Baker, had decided to host a menu tasting -- a BIG menu tasting -- of some ... More >>

Exclusive first look: Punch Bowl - Social Food & Drink, opening at the end of October

This, says Robert Thompson, is the "most ambitious project I've seen in Denver in a long, long time, and I guarantee you that it's going to be worth it." "This" refers to Punch Bowl - Social Food & Drink, the 23,700-square-foot, 900-person-capacity gastro-diner, bowling alley, Ping-Pong hall, marb ... More >>

Anika Zappe: I'd like to see more crafted cocktails in average Joe places

In this interview, Anika Zappe, newly appointed beverage director for Le Grand Bistro & Oyster Bar and the upcoming Punch Bowl, weighs in on transitioning from beer-and-shot bars to craft cocktails, the drink that's brilliant unless the limes suck, and her most memorable night while managing a punk- ... More >>

The Colorado Bartenders Guild announces its newly elected board

To give the Colorado Bartenders Guild all the credit for Denver's flourishing cocktail culture would be wrong, says Sean Kenyon, owner of Williams & Graham and one of the founding members of this state's chapter. But it certainly helped. "We were officially chartered in February of 2008," he says, " ... More >>

Anika Zappe named bar manager of Punch Bowl Social, Le Grand Bistro & Oyster Bar and Argyll

It took two and a half years, but Robert Thompson, the restaurateur behind Le Grand Bistro & Oyster Bar, the former Argyll and Punch Bowl Social, finally got his wish: Anika Zappe, one of the most respected and high-profile bartenders in Denver, Thompson told me today, is now the beverage director f ... More >>

Ken Kodys' Campari Peppari takes top honors in last night's Campari-United States Bartenders' Guild competition

Ken Kodys is no stranger to victory. In 2009, the Boston native, who was then tending bar at Bacaro, in Boulder, created a memorable cocktail ironically called Amnesia that took the whole kit and caboodle in the DeKuyper Mix Master Bartender contest at the Denver Food & Wine Festival. Earlier this ... More >>

Mike Henderson: Be nice!

In this interview, Root Down bar manager Mike Henderson weighs in on the formation of the Colorado Bartenders Guild, counting to four and the rise of the beverage professional.

Weekend's best dance bets: Sebastian Ingrosso, Kraddy and more

This weekend's Dance Card is stacked once again. As always, if you feel like dancing, there's no shortage of places for you to get your groove on: DJ Craze and Kraddy return to the area for all you bass-lovers, and Sebastian Ingrosso, one-third of the legendary Swedish House Mafia, comprise this wee ... More >>

Denver's ten best new bars of 2011

This year was a banner year for new restaurants -- as we noted in this week's Year in Review, nearly 300 new places have opened since January 1. Dozens of them included bars, and many more new dives, cocktail lounges, pubs and piano bars gave us still more reasons to go out drinking. Here, in no pa ... More >>

Ask the Bartender: Meet Allie Geppert, Colorado Cocktail contestant

​Sean Kenyon knows how to pour out both drinks and advice. A third-generation bar man with almost 25 years behind the bar, he is a student of cocktail history, a United States Bartenders Guild-certified Spirits Professional and a BAR Ready graduate of the prestigious Beverage Alcohol Resource ... More >>

Unearthing the happy hour at Root Down

​Happy Place: Root Down, 1600 West 33rd Avenue, 303-993-4200 The Hours: Monday through Friday, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. The Deals: $3-5 select cocktails; $5 house wines and select draft beer; $3-5 food specials Were we happy? Flip the page.

Randall Layman's Tales of the Cocktail, last call

Randall Layman, a bartender at Vesta Dipping Grill, is just back from New Orleans, where he attended his first Tales of the Cocktail. We'll be printing his dispatches all week (read the first installment here).Taryn KapronicaThe Green Goddess​ Day five: Our last morning in New Orleans is prob ... More >>

Squeaky Bean's first anniversary party was all wet with top Denver chefs getting dunked for charity

Lori Midson Pageant contestant Max Mackissock strutted flowers​If you missed out on the Squeaky Bean's first anniversary party, yesterday's porkstravaganza and birthday bash that put the fun back in Monday, then you also missed Squeaky Bean owner Johnny Ballen baring his buttocks, exec chef M ... More >>

Tonight: Mixology, wine and beer

​For those who prefer pot of the stainless steel variety, there are several food-and-booze events today. Among them: Paul Dolan will pair his organic, biodynamic wines with food by the Denver FIVE's tastemakers at TAG, 1441 Larimer Street. The dinner runs from 5:30 to 9 p.m. and costs $75; ca ... More >>

Culinary calendar for the week ahead: Earth Day specials across the city

​The big news in food this week is Earth Day; you'll find a variety of Earth Day specials at various area restaurants, plus a screening of Food, Inc. on PBS to kick things off the night before. Here's a taste of what to expect: Monday, April 19: Dine out today at Dino's, 10040 West Colfax Av ... More >>

Tonight: Denver's top female chefs light the fire at Jax Fish House

Lori MidsonSheila Lucero, exec chef of Jax Fish House​"A few years ago, during a brainstorming session, I came up with an idea to create an all-female chef cooking event, something that would bring together some of the best female chefs in Denver," says Sheila Lucero, executive chef of Jax Fis ... More >>

Women and Wine

Sean Kenyon raises the B.A.R. at Domaine De Canton competition

Nancy LevineSean Kenyon takes top spot at Domaine De Canton competition​ Last night Domaine de Canton and brand ambassador Bryan Dayton of Frasca hosted the semifinalist round of the Domaine de Canton bartender competition at TAG. Beyond bragging rights, the winner of the competition won a tri ... More >>

No gin for you! Hendrick's contest postponed

​ The bad weather has put the Hendrick's Gin competition hosted by the Colorado Bartenders Guild at Lola tonight on ice. I was slated to be a judge, so I'm both relieved and disappointed by the postponement. The contest has been tentatively rescheduled for November 16. In the meantime, you m ... More >>

Amnesia wins the Mix Master Bartender contest, appropriately enough

Nancy LevineKen Kody, Mix Master​I took my judging job seriously during the DeKuyper Mix Master Bartender Contest at Saturday's Denver Food & Wine event, tasting eight cocktails. Really tasting eight cocktails, since these were complex concoctions (a DeKuyper product had to be part of the mix) ... More >>

A classic Denver Food & Wine Classic

Troy Guard's TAG hosts a Denver Food & Wine dinner tonight.​ The fifth annual Denver Food & Wine Classic kicked off last night, and it's bigger and better than ever this year -- in every way. "Art of the Cocktail and a Movie" brought several hundred people to the Quad at Metropolitan State C ... More >>

Cafe Society: Week in review

What you might have missed this week while eating peaches and honey with a steak knife...Anika Zappe, bartender at Root Down, told us about her favorite drinks and least favorite customers.Cheers!  We learned a second Toast location will open next month in Cherry Creek.Chef Mark Dym of Marco's ... More >>

Behind the bar at Root Down with Anika Zappe

​Anika Zappe is on a tear. Yes, she still has her band, Hemi Cuda, although its last show is coming sometime this year. "Had to make more time for cocktology," she says. Zappe has been Root Down's bar manager since the restaurant opened in December 2008, and the bar is doing great business. So ... More >>

Behind the Bar: Sean Kenyon of Steuben's

Lori MidsonSteuben's bartender Sean Kenyon with his wife, Heather​It seems oxymoronic to call a guy covered in tattoos a geek, but when it comes to cocktails, Sean Kenyon is the biggest geek in town. He has taken his engineering coursework and applied it to the engineering of cocktails, with i ... More >>

Taste of the Nation mixologists shake, stir and pour for a good cause

Lori MidsonHoney smoked peach cocktail from TAG's Jared Boller At last night's Taste of the Nation event at Mile High Station, nine Colorado mixologists muddled, shook, stirred, poured, begged, stole and offered bribes to the throngs of charitable party-goers who voted with dollar bills and tokens ... More >>

Stirring victory for Anika Zappe

colfaxavenue.comShe's #1: Anika ZappeMembers of the Colorado Bartenders Guild took first, second and third at the Bombay Sapphire regional cocktail competition on Tuesday night. Coming in third, Mike Henderson of TAG; second, Sean Kenyon of Steuben's and Vesta Dipping Grill. And in first place? A ... More >>

Mix it up at Trios Enoteca on Sunday

The state's best mixologists will be pouring it on -- and pouring out the drinks -- Sunday, April 26, at the first Colorado Cocktail Classic competition, sponsored by the Colorado Bartenders Guild. Go to Trios Enoteca,1730 Wynkoop Street, at 6 p.m. to cheer on your favorite bartenders and enjoy some ... More >>

Pepper Blossom at Root Down

Cheers! The winner of the 2008 Holiday Cocktail Competition

'Tis a pleasure to drink in Colorado. On Saturday morning, I awoke with visions of sugerplums -- and whipped cream, and gingerbread, and chocolate sprinkles -- still dancing in my head. Just a few hours earlier, I'd sampled the last of sixteen entrees in the 2008 Holiday Cocktail Competition. I was ... More >>

Seeing Pink

A new club caters to burlesque beauties and creative cocktails.

Moovers and Shakers 2007

Backbeat scribes sound off on their favorite local releases of the year.

Moovers and Shakers 2007

Backbeat scribes sound off on their favorite local releases of the year.

Hemi Cuda Is Back on the Streets

Karen Exley and Anika Zappe’s badass new album will drive you wild.

Club Scout

15th Street Tavern

Westword Music Showcase 2004

Fifty bands. Ten stages. Five bucks. Be there.

Backwash

Music everywhere: Music Lowdown 2002 and the Westword Music Showcase covered both the recording industry and live, in-the-flesh performances.

Backwash

Hemi Cuda's new CD is thick and tasty.

Drag City

Hemi Cuda likes the cars -- and the songs -- that go boom.

Feedback

Home, Sweet Home

The peak performances by Colorado artists in 1997.

Music Showcase, Take Three

Feedback

Getting Pretty Hectic