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Subject: Denver
Introducing the complex, beautiful Brim Liski
Photo by Leah MaupinWe've just learned of a promising new group based here in Denver (with a connection to the Netherlands too, apparently). It's something of a local eclectic supergroup, comprising two members of other well-known and excellent acts that work in diverse styles. Mysterious, too -- they aren't revealing their identities to the public just yet (although if you're really into the Denver music scene, and squint hard at that picture, I bet you can figure it out). They're callin
October 8, 2009Denver magician teaches teens how to puke playing cards
When I was a kid the most awesome place in the mall was the magic/novelty shop. In addition to the rubber poop and hypnosis books, there was always some quirky middle-aged guy behind the counter demonstrating magic tricks to a crowd of boys age seven to thirteen. Well, like everything else, the new spot to see magic tricks is online. And one Denver-based magician named Jay has amassed a significant YouTube following by posting tutorial videos and hosting card-trick contests for his subscriber
October 9, 2009Top ten places to eat on 17th Avenue
When Olivea opened in May at 719 East 17th Avenue, it immediately earned a spot among the top ten restaurants on 17th Avenue, which has become a real restaurant row. Below, nine more places to brake for food along 17th.
October 9, 2009Kenny Be's Sign Language: Puff, the Magic Grease Monkey
Smokin' mechanics on duty In today's competitive economy, small businesses must offer more services to a wider range of consumers -- and this Denver mechanic is providing customers with the best of both worlds. Storefront signage states that all makes and models of auto mechanic specialist services are offered to drivers, while "tabacco" products, glass pipes and accessories are available to smokers. Additionally, by mixing the spelling of both the English word "tobacco" and the Spanish w
October 9, 2009And that makes five...gastropubs
Denver's apparently getting a fifth gastropub -- and that could give Jason Sheehan a major case of indigestion, as you know if you've been following his gastropub rants right here on Cafe Society. As we reported last month, Denver's three existing, self-proclaimed gastropubs -- Jonesy's, Argyll and Colt & Gray -- will soon be joined by Downtown Gastropub, one of three new spots that Tryst owner Paul Piciocchi is putting into the former Alto on 15th Street. And now comes news of SKYB
October 12, 2009Chef and Tell with Frank Bonanno of Luca, Mizuna, Osteria Marco and Bones
Lori MidsonFrank Bonanno in the kitchen of Luca d'Italia "Look, I see a lot of things in restaurants that I think are really unacceptable, and it pisses me off, because I think that Denver diners deserve a lot better than what a lot of places are doing, and if that view makes me seem too outspoken, that's okay with me." That's Frank Bonanno laying down the gauntlet. The Denver chef who raises eyebrows and turns heads as much for his brash honesty as for his unassailable cooking is in
October 14, 2009From the week of October 15, 2009
October 15, 2009Rob Drabkin to tour with Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam
Sounds like everything's turning up roses these days for el broski with the froski. For those in the cheap seats, we're referring to Mr. Rob Drabkin, the proud owner of Denver's most distinctive do. The singer-songwriter was just tapped to open seventeen dates on Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam's upcoming tour, which kicks off on Friday, November 20 in Indianapolis. Drabkin, who's also slated to perform at the Upland Music Festival alongside Soul Asylum and Jason Reeves next month, warmed up
October 14, 2009Hickenlooper finds more library funding -- by taking a chunk out of his homeless plan
Jeanne Faatz.Moments from now, Mayor John Hickenlooper will be meeting with the media to talk about a revision in his budget plan -- additional bucks to save the Byers library , which had been marked for closure, and keep other branches open for longer hours. And where is he getting the dough? Well, over a million is coming from homeless program funding that he announced mere weeks ago. Back then, City Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz was among the few politicos willing to oppose this feel-good
October 14, 2009Denver's top ten underutilized neighborhood business districts: The next hot 'hoods!
Denver Public LibraryIn 1986, before Highland Square was Highland Square I got into a conversation at a party this weekend about which neighborhood business district in Denver might emerge as the next cool place. Or, as real estate agents like to say, an "up-and-coming location." People who self-identify as urbanites spend a lot of time talking about this sort of thing. Which spots are getting a new coffee shop? What chain of old buildings would be perfect for a restaurant/bar? When the h
October 15, 2009Dive in to our dive-bar essay contest
Is this the best dive bar in Denver?Last week we asked for your favorite dive (among the nominees: El Chapultepec, Lancer Lounge, Squire, PS Lounge, BarBar, Berkeley, Charlie Brown's Lion's Lair). Now it's time to prove your devotion: Write a love letter/tribute to your favorite dive bar, professing sincere fidelity to its wood paneling and nicotine-stained ceiling tiles; its five-plays-for-a-buck jukebox and pain-med-dispensing vending machine; its stiff pours and loose staff that inspi
October 15, 2009Denver DJs Stupac, Ktone nominated for Southern Entertainment Awards
DJ Stupac splits his time between Denver and Dallas and will occasionally connect with Denver's DJ KTone for a mixtape every now and then. Apparently the folks down south are really enjoying their efforts. The 7th Annual Southern Entertainment Awards is going down on March 7, 2010 in Memphis, Tennessee, and DJ Stupac is nominated in six categories including Best Mixtape Duo/Team with DJ Ktone. Voting is happening right now at the Awards website and you can choose Stupac in these following cat
October 16, 2009Kenny Be's Sign Language: Capitalist wallows in luxury
Rolls Royce sightings are extremely scarce in Denver. After the first glimpse, the eye scans the immediate surroundings for tycoons, starlets and/or a gloved butler prepping his chamois for a loving buff. Seeing an unattended Rolls is even more rare. And, when that Silver Shadow sits before an open garage door, the eye is even busier casing the space for loosely anchored luxury items. With all that furtive glancing, the feverish passerby of this Montclair home can't miss the warning sign
October 16, 2009Aurora will have to wait for its Smashburger
Aurora was slated to get its very own Smashburger on Wednesday, October 21, but the opening of the store at 2630 South Parker Road has been delayed -- "a permitting issue that the landlord is working through," according to Julie Noyes, spokeswoman for the homegrown chain. When the Aurora outlet does open, it will be the ninth in the Denver area. Three more -- including a downtown Denver location -- are on tap for 2010. And in the meantime, Smashburger continues its march toward worldwide
October 19, 2009With development moratorium, do NW Denver NIMBYs have Councilman Garcia over a barrel?
Denver City Councilman Rick Garcia may be the elected official behind a moratorium being considered at city council tonight that would halt multi-unit development in northwest Denver. But are the real folks calling the shots the neighborhood activists Garcia represents? After all, the moratorium isn't what one would consider subtle and thoughtful civic policy. The bill would prohibit multi-unit development in a good chunk of the Berkeley and Highland neighborhoods starting on January 1,
October 19, 2009Solar-powered deliciousness coming to a Chipotle near you
Chipotle is going verde -- er, green. The Denver-based burrito chain plans to install solar panels in approximately 75 of its restaurants over the next year. Solar sites include Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and, of course, Denver. Chipotle says the restaurants were selected based on their electricity consumption, solar- power rebates from the local utility and access to sunlight. The intent is to reduce power consumption during peak hours of energy use, typically from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
October 20, 2009The city's rec center conundrum
City councilwoman Judy Montero worked up quite a sweat a couple weeks back over the planned privatization of the La Alma Recreation Center, comparing neighborhood reaction to the "Milagro Beanfield War." And she got her way: The city will continue to fund the rec center for a year while it solicits feedback from local residents.
October 20, 2009From the week of October 22, 2009
October 22, 2009Reel Riders
October 22, 2009Faces Forward
October 22, 2009Sci Times
October 22, 2009Tilted Kilt set to flip its skirt the week of November 2
The Tilted Kilt, a sports-bar chain popular enough to publish its own calendar, will start a new page the first week of November in Denver, when its latest location -- in the former ESPN Zone in the Tabor Center -- is now slated to open.
October 22, 2009Eating In: Finding the best market dinners
For obvious reasons, most of my meals are eaten out. Almost all of them involve me getting up off my indolent backside, putting on trousers, finding my sunglasses, grudgingly leaving the care of my mountain compound to the hundred monkey butlers I employ, finding my way to my autogyro and then descending on the city of Denver to nibble foie gras on toast points and dollops of beluga caviar off the tender fingers of virgins; to be amused by the capering antics of you baseball-hatted hoi p
October 22, 2009When cold and flu season hit, reach for chicken soup
Cold and flu season has arrived, and while there are vaccines and a multitude of drugs out there that will be used to combat these illnesses, doctors remain constant on one remedy: chicken soup. According to WebMD, doctors prefer milder, natural alternatives to treat cold and flu cases, with the exception of more severe cases when decongestants and antihistamines are necessary. Even in lower-risk swine flu cases, the Centers for Disease Control is urging patients to steer clear from Tami
October 23, 2009Top ten Italian restaurants in Denver
Denver has many great Italian restaurants. As I wrote this week, Mark & Isabella's is not one of them. Here are ten of my favorites: Il Posto (2011 East 17th Avenue, 303-394-0100). Il Posto has an excellent location, crammed between other bars and restaurants, their patios shoulder to shoulder. The concept is also interesting: a purely and unapologetically Italian trattoria with chalkboard menus, changed daily and almost always brilliant, an open kitchen and a dining room alive with bodi
October 23, 2009Here's a tip: Denver diners are the second best tippers in the nation, according to Zagat surveyors
Tim and Nina Zagat just dropped the 2010 edition of America's Top Restaurants (full disclosure: I edited the Colorado section), along with pages and pages of dining summations that sling stats culled from eaters who responded to Zagat's annual dining survey that, more or less, sums up the best and worst of each city. And survey says...
October 23, 2009Denver's own superhero, the Wall Creeper, unveils his manifesto
The Wall Creeper.It's been a while since we've heard from the Wall Creeper, Denver's very own, real-life superhero. Recently, however, the crime fighter sent me a manifesto out of the blue. Maybe he sensed the good citizens of this fine city were in distress, or maybe he needed to get something off his very mysterious chest. Either way, you can read the masked man's words in their entirety below.
October 23, 2009Ask the Critic: A great Italian restaurant is not just a matter of taste
Last week, we posted a list of Denver's ten best Italian restaurants -- in our (meaning my) not so humble opinion. This was followed almost immediately by a ruckus in the comments section over who, exactly, got to decide what "best" meant (again, me) and what qualified, say, Cafe Jordano to be on the same list as Frasca. The quote/unquote qualifications were precisely this: places I wanted to eat at during the time that I was writing the list. Places I remembered fondly enough that the mere
October 26, 2009SMA Solar to convert Denver into Sunny Island
Sunny Island isn't much of a vacation spot.You know the decision of a business to relocate is a big deal when the state's governor offers to serve as a de facto publicist, as Bill Ritter did yesterday during the announcement that the German firm SMA Solar Technology AG will be opening a plant in the Denver area that's expected to create 300 fulltime jobs. These workers will be making solar inverters that turn direct current from solar panels into alternating current: DC/AC, as opposed to
October 27, 2009Emily's Gourmet-to-Go is gone
After two owners, two locations -- first at 1555 Champa Street, then at 1543 Champa, in the circa 1889 Odd Fellows Hall (right) -- and one Best of Denver award, Emily's Gourmet-to-Go is finally a no-go. Chef/owner Victor Miller, whose soups had snagged the Best Soup award in the Best of Denver 1999, had sold his spot to the former owners of Vietnamese To Go in the Tabor Center -- but now they're all gone.
October 27, 2009Wake-Up Call: John Hickenlooper, Mayor of the (really) Mile High City
"Rocky Mountain High" is getting quite a work-out as national media outlets run stories on the booming medical marijuana business in Colorado. With both city and state officials talking about reining in the industry with new regulations, I put calls into both Governor Bill Ritter and Mayor John Hickenlooper on Monday, asking for their thoughts on this new, really green, really growing field. I'm still waiting to hear back from the governor's office. But Hickenlooper, who first came to th
October 28, 2009Stella Cordova is gone, but Chubby's endures
October 29, 2009The Skyline Surrender
October 29, 2009From the week of October 29, 2009
October 29, 2009How medical marijuana regulations could turn the wild West into the mild, mild West
October 29, 2009Freeloader: Win tickets to see Fu Manchu tonight at the Larimer Lounge
Update 11/02: Last week's Fu Manchu show, which was canceled due to the band's difficulty navigating the roads into Denver, has been rescheduled for Monday, November 9 at the Larimer Lounge. We'll have tickets up for grabs next Monday, so be sure to check back.Can't speak for the entire city, obviously, but the metro area roadways seem to be pretty decent right now. Although the winter conditions have prevented Combichrist from making its way to Denver, Fu Manchu is in route and ready to brin
November 2, 2009Gourmet hot dogs and sausages coming soon to Broadway and Larimer
Squeeze the sausagesJust got off the phone with Bill Feid, a Denver entrepreneur who's never done a restaurant, but has firm plans in place to open Billy's, a gourmet hot dog and sausage shack, at 2445 Larimer Street in mid-November. According to Feid, this isn't going to be your average dog house. Instead, he explains, his namesake joint will peddle "healthy, high-quality non-processed hot dogs and sausages" that are free of preservatives and light on the salt. "We're really going to try t
October 29, 2009The Denver housing market: All better now?
This beauty on South Franklin will only set you back $2.3 million.This week, we learned that in August, home prices in the Denver area rose for the sixth straight month, and the average was down just 1.9 percent from the same month last year. Given that catastrophes in the housing sector are largely responsible for our long-running recession, do the August digits mark a return to normalcy? Mark Trenka, president of the Denver Board of Realtors, doesn't try to sell this line -- but he sugg
October 30, 2009Train/Uncle Kracker show tonight postponed
Looks like the inclement weather we've been experiencing for the last 72-hours has forced yet another show to be postponed. As such, Train and Uncle Kracker fans expecting to see those two acts at the Ogden Theatre tonight don't have much to, uh, smile about right now. Evidently the roadways into Denver from Salt Lake City, where the group was slated to play last night, still aren't that passable. On the brightside, there's still tons going on tonight to entertain you and the temperature and
October 30, 2009Cafe Society: Week in review
Sausage kingWhat you might have missed this week on Cafe Society while you were counting the minutes to Zolo Southwestern Grill's 105 days of tequila. While we locals aren't pleased that the Rockies blew another season of baseball, we understand that not everyone is a fan of the purple and black (or any other Denver sports team color scheme, for that matter), which is why our listage of Denver's best bars at which to root for your favorite sports team should make all you Denver sports
October 30, 2009Guess where I'm eating?
It's like it comes with its own soup... Denver has about a million places where a man of little means can find himself a big-ass burrito swimming in some sort of chile. I wouldn't say that Denver was necessarily built on big burritos (because, as everyone knows, Denver was really built on moonshine, whores and the good fortune of old-timey prospectors), but burritos have been a fixture here for long enough that the burrito, rather than the odious Denver Omelet, ought to be the one food
November 2, 2009A clarion call to all Rocky Mountain a cappella groups
There's no denying that Denver's cachet as a top music city is quickly becoming recognized across the country, but in case any lingering doubts remain, we just received word that the Harmony Sweepstakes, one of the world's top a cappella music competitions, has once again chosen Denver for it's 2010 regional competition. The annual international competition routinely draws hundreds of the top vocal groups from around the world, who compete in musical styles ranging from pop and rock to gospel
November 3, 2009Kenny Be's Hip Tip: Denver 2026 Winter Olympics mascot
"Prebles" will be jumping at the chance to lure the 2026 Winter Games to Colorado. It'll be the fiftieth anniversary of the city's historic 1976 Olympic snub, and Denver no longer feels mousey about the future!
November 3, 2009Denver's top ten dive bars
The Rustic Tavern meets all the qualifications of a dive -- and then some.Sample one of Denver's best dive bars at 8 p.m. Thursday, November 5, when Club 404, 404 Broadway, hosts a launch party for Westword Drunk of the Week columnist Drew Bixby's Denver's Best Dive Bars: Drinking and Diving in the Mile High City. A true dive can't be manufactured. It can't show up one day on Colfax or Broadway and expect to possess the ethos of a joint that's served drinks through multiple wars and to m
November 4, 2009Westword's hunt for a pot critic makes the talk-show circuit
November 5, 2009From the week of November 5, 2009
November 5, 2009The Skylark doubles your pleasure with twenty beers
November 5, 2009Staffing Up: Goin' south at Mojitos
Bad name, worse timing, but still a good idea Buchi Cafe Cubano is a great Cuban restaurant. Step inside Cuba Cuba on a good night, and you need an oxygen tank (or a powerful constitution) because the air in the bar is like breathing muddled mint and rum. But while Denver has some Cuban restaurants, what this city does not have is enough Cuban restaurants -- because, really, no city can truly have enough until there is one every fifty feet or so, all serving Cuban coffee and sandwiche
November 4, 2009Denver Blogs: Broncos chalk-talk a good game
"A play? Actually, I'm just kinda doodling."No need to fear the local blogosphere. Following a massive breakdown of this Monday's Broncos-Steelers contest, Mile High Report's Steve Nichols predicts: "Denver wins (fingers crossed and nervous as Hell)." Right there with you, Steve. Alan Gottlieb at Education News Colorado says that a bad decision or two by Denver's school board could doom Colorado's chances to collect federal Race to the Top funds. The reward isn't good grades; it's cash!
November 6, 2009Do you have a passion for food and restaurants?
Does reading this blog make you hunger to write? Westword is expanding its Cafe Society coverage, and we're looking for a great freelance writer with a passion for food and restaurants, as well as the ability to produce stylish and knowledgeable news and opinion pieces about the Denver dining scene. This is not a restaurant critic position. We have one of those already, and Jason Sheehan's not going anywhere. A background in reporting is highly desirable. So are interviewing skills. An
November 6, 2009
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© 2009 Village Voice Media All rights reserved.