Food and Cooking

Live music at Big Mac & Little Lu's, a food truck party and more on this week's calendar

Making plans for Mother's Day? Big Mac & Little Lu's -- the seafood market and restaurant that recently opened at 2851 West 120th Avenue in Westminster -- is hosting live music, a "Jimmy Buffet-style" band, from 2 to 5 p.m. every Sunday in May. The shop is also offering stuffed lobster tail and cham ... More >>

Reader: Go ahead and slam daiquiris, but leave old-fashioneds alone

"There is a thin line between self-indulgence and being a dickhead, a line that any bartender could draw for you." That's how Jenn Wohletz started Friday's piece "five cocktails only a dickhead could love," and dozens of commenters -- bartenders included -- thought she definitely crossed that line w ... More >>

Guess where you're eating? At an EatDenver restaurant if you're Matt

Cafe Society served up four Guess Where? contests last week, ranging from an exquisite bloody Mary from The Squeaky Bean (thank God, it doesn't like like any of these), to a deep-dish pizza from Old Chicago, to a bowl of beautiful tomato soup streaked with olive oil.

Photos: Adelitas Cocina y Cantina is now cooking on South Broadway

Adelitas Cocina y Cantina -- a family-owned and -operated restaurant that focuses on traditional Mexican fare with a Michoacan focus -- just opened at 1294 South Broadway, in the space that had been Bistro One, then 3 Monkeys Cantina; it promises a family-friendly atmosphere during dining hours, wit ... More >>

Photos: South Denver Beer Festival kicks off beer season in Littleton's Clement Park

The brand-new South Denver Beer Fest kicked off the summer beer festival season in style over the weekend, as more than sixty breweries poured beers and ciders for adoring fans in the southern suburbs. The two-day extravaganza, in Littleton's Clement Park, was blessed with spring weather that was ju ... More >>

Five ways to taste Cinco de Mayo this weekend

Happy Friday! Don't drink too much at First Friday, because Cinco de Mayo is this Sunday. Here are five of the top food and drink celebrations going down around town -- and if you know of any other good Drinco de Mayo party/deals, post them in the comments section below. See also: - Cinco de Mayo ... More >>

Five cocktails only a dickhead would order

There is a thin line between self-indulgence and being a dickhead, a line that any bartender could draw for you. On especially busy nights at any watering hole, there is always at least one person who decides to order some outdated or ridiculous beverage that takes up valuable bartender time, makes ... More >>

Frank Bonanno's 47 points of good service

Service has been a big topic on Cafe Society this week, what with Jonathan Greschler getting the boot from Old Major for his apparent inability to connect with his former staff, despite the fact that guests adore him. "Jonathan is amazing with customers, but I just don't think he applied that same ... More >>

Panzano chef Elise Wiggins makes the most of Colorado lamb

See also: Can Triple M Bar's flock create a Colorado lamb comeback?

Colorado's beer festivals are becoming victims of their own success

Pho Lee: So pho, so good for this Greenwood Village restaurant

See also: A closer look at Pho Lee

Reader: Go to Costco if you don't like Opus's prices -- no one is making you go out

After Opus left Littleton last summer, it moved up to Cherry Creek, where it merged with Aria. Last week chef Sean McGaughey unveiled the new look and menu of Opus Restaurant & Aria Wine Bar at 250 Josephine, a location that has swallowed up many previous occupants. Can the Opus/Aria combination br ... More >>

Mint condition: Why does lamb go so well with a certain jelly?

Three hours south of Denver, a husband-and-wife team of ranchers are working hard to help reintroduce Colorado lamb to the meat-devouring public. As detailed in this week's cover story, "Counting Sheep," the Triple M Bar Ranch in Manzanola ships lamb to over a dozen restaurants and caterers, who use ... More >>

Author Michael Pollan on portion control, the future of food and fast food

This is part two of my interview with Michael Pollan, author of Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation; Food Rules: An Eater's Manual; The Omnivore's Dilemma; In Defense of Food; Second Nature; The Botany of Desire and A Place of My Own. Part one of Pollan's musings ran yesterday. Pollan will a ... More >>

Beau Jo's Pizza: After forty years, don't go changing....

I'm not at all sorry I missed being an adult in the 1970s. There were terrible fashion trends with bell bottom pants and clogs with heels, and worse hairstyles with that feathered look; the porn was all sweaty and hairy, and the food trends were...well, Irma Rombauer's Joy of Cooking came out and fo ... More >>

Colorado cuisine is a culinary rodeo: Libertarian and lawless

I was back in Denver for three weeks last month, during which I ate what was basically one continuous meal interspersed with brief lulls that occurred when I had to switch venues or go to sleep (which was sort of often, given the food comas and also the drowsiness that comes on after the day-drinkin ... More >>

Max MacKissock's new tasting menu sprouts at the Squeaky Bean

I love tasting menus, much the same way that I'm a proponent of communal tables and hanging my butt at the bar, which is where I prefer to eat. And if I can get a tasting menu at the bar, with wine pairings, even better. Yes, I like extended, evening-long meals, and, frankly, prefer them, especially ... More >>

Pouring craft beer, pulling Strings: Our restaurant roll call for April

Over two dozen eateries opened in metro Denver in April, everything from coffeehouses to second outposts for local breweries (Upslope and Renegade) to a third spot for Ali Baba to a tenth restaurant for Bonanno Concepts, Bonanno Brothers Pizzeria. But Denver also lost an institution: Strings closed ... More >>

Vietnam Grill serves up a surprising culinary lesson on Vietnamese cuisine

In A Federal Case, I'll be eating my way up Federal Boulevard -- south to north -- within Denver city limits. I'll be skipping the national chains and per-scoop Chinese joints, but otherwise I'll report from every vinyl booth, walk-up window and bar stool where food is served. Here's the report on t ... More >>

Keeping Colfax weird: Ten spots that give Denver's main street its culture and character

With the closure of Smiley's Laundromat and last month's bust and subsequent shuttering of Kitty's East, Colfax Avenue lost a little of its glittery seediness. Progress is a constant along this main drag, and has been for life of the city -- but still, Colfax isn't known for its betterment projects. ... More >>

May brings Maibocks, spring tappings and the start of beer-fest season

Salt Lake City-based Epic Brewing, which announced in January that it will build a 20,000-square-foot brewery and taphouse in Denver, updated its followers on social media this week with a couple of pictures and some potential opening dates. The Facebook pictures (like the one above) show the brewer ... More >>

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: rainbow shrimp and grits

Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them and cook up a feast. There's a huge difference betwe ... More >>

Denver's ten best spots for pho

Vietnamese soup is good food any time of the year, and always fun to accessorize with fresh vegetables and spicy sauces -- but on a cold day like today, a great bowl of pho is enough to bowl you over. Fortunately, in Denver our cup runneth over with pho spots. Here, in no particular order (until th ... More >>

McCormick's happy hour ranked No. 1 by USA Today

The current happy-hour menu at the McCormick's Fish House & Bar in the corner of the Oxford Hotel may not seem as much of a bargain as the legendary "cheap time" that denizens of LoDo remember so fondly, when every item -- including a big fat cheeseburger and fries -- was $1.99, but the chain's happ ... More >>

Chipotle is now pouring premium Patron margaritas

Drinking your lunch got easier at Chipotle yesterday, when the homegrown Colorado chain introduced premium Patrón margaritas in all 900 of its U.S. restaurants (out of 1,450 Chipotle locations total). Although margaritas were on the menu before this, they were made with a standard mix, and Mark Cru ... More >>

Pho and ramen: The differences will bowl you over

In last week's fantastic ode, former Westword food critic Laura Shunk joined the chorus of raves for Uncle. If you haven't been to this tiny noodle shop in Highland, by all means try it; we named it 2013's Best New Restaurant for a reason. But on nights when you don't feel like waiting for a table ... More >>

Reader: Old Major and Highland Tavern both lose the d-bag contest

During this weekend's good weather, people were packing every patio in LoHi, hanging out of every window in the neighborhood hangouts. But even last week, as the snow was falling, people crowded into Lower Highland to watch the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives episode featuring Highland Tavern, to fight ... More >>

Guess where you're eating? An an EatDenver restaurant if you're Calvin Locklear

Cafe Society dished up five Guess Where? contests last week, ranging from a fancy bourbon cocktail from Old Major, to a mound of guacamole pelted with bacon from Tamayo, to a cocktail called a "Pink Pony" trotting a mixture of Grey Goose Cherry Noir and ginger beer.

Author Irene Rawlings shares cast-iron recipes from Sisters on the Fly

Cast-iron cooking is an art unto itself, as any Sister on the Fly will tell you. And members of the nationwide sisterhood of adventurous women who caravan together in vintage trailers all over the U.S. spend a lot time perfecting their camp cuisine. Local author Irene Rawlings, a Sister herself, pu ... More >>

Winner update! Win two seats to the Walpurgis Prost beer dinner with chef Michael Long

Winner announcement: Congrats to Joey Murdah, who came the closest with his guess of 1,200 glasses of Dunkel. The actual number is 1,289. Tomorrow night, at 6:30 p.m., chef Michael Long, also a co-host on KEZW's The Main Course, will cook a German feast at Prost Brewing as part of the popular Chef ... More >>

Win free drinks and eats at the Justice League of Street Food soiree (updated with winner)

Update: Congratulations to kezzamcdezza! You've won free food and drinks at the Justice League of Street Food party. For details on how to claim your prize, check your e-mail. By the way, the correct answer is 29,568 ounces. Original post: Saturday's weather forecast looks positively balmy -- 75 de ... More >>

Photos: Sipping and sampling from Ace's 64 happy-hour cocktail combinations

The drink menu at Ace, this year's Best New Bar winner, features no shortage of cocktails -- 64 combinations, to be exact. Intrigued by the large number of options, we recently stopped by to sip and sample from Ace's new happy-hour menu, and bar manager Randy Layman was kind enough to serve up all 6 ... More >>

Photos: Root25 takes root in the Hyatt Regency in the DTC

A new restaurant has taken root on the second floor of the Hyatt Regency in the Tech Center. Root25 Taphouse & Kitchen is a big step up from the standard chain-hotel restaurant, with locally focused fare, barrel-aged cocktails and a healthy kid's menu. Partnering with such local vendors as Haystack ... More >>

Amerigo Delicatus: Iain Chisholm woos wows with his new-world Italian cuisine

See also: Behind the Scenes at Amerigo Delicatus

Today: Project Angel Heart's annual Dining Out for Life benefit

Over 300 Denver area restaurants will be participating in Dining Out for Life today. The annual fundraiser benefits Project Angel Heart, which provides life-sustaining meals for Coloradans suffering from illnesses. See also: - Racines is a Dining Out for Life lifer! - Dining Out for Life at Coohill ... More >>

Guess where I'm drinking a Pink Pony?

It's pretty amazing that a restaurant that's only been around for two years can seem like it's been there forever. But maybe that's just a hang over from all the hangovers I acquired drinking tequila in the former tenant of this space, back before lower Highland was known as LoHi. When I stopped by ... More >>

Want old-timey food? Black-Eyed Pea delivers that and old-timers, too

Every once in a while you really want a taste of some old-fashioned, old-time favorites (that someone else has to cook, and then clean up after) like pot roast, meatloaf, mashed potatoes made with actual potatoes, fried corn and squash casserole, chicken-fried everything...and even a nice plate of f ... More >>

Photos: Bonanno Brothers Pizzeria opening in Park Meadows Saturday

Bonanno Concepts will open its tenth restaurant this weekend -- and the first one outside of Denver: Bonanno Brothers Pizzeria in the Vistas at Park Meadows. With this new spot, chef/owner Frank Bonanno is paying homage to his New Jersey upbringing of slinging pies and folding pizza boxes, as well a ... More >>

Photos: Linger serves up international street food and $3 cocktails for Sunday brunch

With ingredients like sambar curry, lacinato kale and pickled jalapeños, Linger's new brunch menu allows you to travel the globe without dusting off your passport. No strangers to traditional eggs and bacon, chef/owner Justin Cucci and his team also incorporate Japanese, Indian, New Orleans and Me ... More >>

Zagat includes Colorado in two must-try national lists

Zagat recently released a guide to the fifty best plates of food in the United States as well as one on the best sources of caffeine in country. Denver makes both lists -- and rightfully so. the established eatery guide has rightfully included Denver on both lists. The legendary Buckhorn Exchange, 1 ... More >>

Amerigo Delicatus predicted the future with its emphasis on the pasta

Back at the start of 2013, with holiday parties and distracting indulgences of all kinds, you could easily have missed those lists of food trends likely to be hot in the new year. If so, look no further than Amerigo Delicatus Restaurant & Market, which wraps up one of the hot new trends in such a ... More >>

African Grill and Bar will add a second location

We've been enamored of African Grill since we first stumbled into this Aurora strip mall spot a couple of years ago. Not only does the restaurant serve up tasty, tomato-tinged jollof rice and pungent goat stew, it's also operated by some of the most hospitable owners we've ever encountered. Osei and ... More >>

With Uncle, Tommy Lee proves he knows how to use the old noodle...and make it new

The week before I arrived in the Mile High City for a spring vacation, Westword named Uncle the area's Best New Restaurant. That propelled Tommy Le's restaurant straight to the top of my tome-like list of must-visit spots that had opened since I moved away from this town nine months ago. I was curio ... More >>

The five best new breakfast spots in Denver

If breakfast means more to you than a cup (or three) of coffee, you're probably already acquainted with the pancakes, eggs and crepes at such perennial favorites as Gaia Bistro, Jelly, Snooze, Devil's Food and DJ's Berkeley Cafe. The latter's sibling restaurant, DJ's 9th Avenue Café, which opened i ... More >>

Five @ Five, Earth Day and more on the calendar this week

It's the sixth anniversary of the Denver Five -- a collaborative dining project from some of Denver's most reputable chefs. And the crew is celebrating tonight with a Five @ Five dinner featuring five paired courses from Matt Selby, Sean Yontz, Ian Kleinman, Kevin Morrison and Jorel Pierce. The loca ... More >>

Guess where I'm eating this green chile cheeseburger?

Who says you can't teach an old kitchen dog new tricks? This restaurant, which will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary in Denver in 2013, just added a half-dozen new items to its already massive menu, including a commendable green chile cheeseburger. Can you guess where I'm eating? Special bonus: ... More >>

Guess where you're eating? At an EatDenver restaurant if you're DavideCH

Cafe Society served up five Guess Where? contests last week, with dishes ranging from some picnic-worthy deviled eggs and excellent sizzling pork, to pretzel rolls at Govnr's Park, drunken noodles from J's Noodle Star on Federal and French macarons that would make anyone swoon.

Waffle Brothers Pub Style will open in Uptown in mid-May

Ron Dupen and his business partner John Power are building a mini waffle empire, capitalizing on the sweet or savory Belgian street food that, says Dupen, an Australian, is as American as apple pie. In mid-May, on the corner of Seventeenth Avenue and Lafayette, in Uptown, the two partners will open ... More >>

Wahoo's Fish Taco: No meat, no gluten, no problem

I have great sympathy for folks who can't digest gluten (as opposed to fakers who affect gluten allergies for attention), as well as those who can't or don't eat meat -- because they face very limited menu options if they dare to dine out. That makes Wahoo's Fish Taco a rare fish in the fast-food s ... More >>

Round two with Tommy Lee, exec chef of Uncle

Tommy Lee Uncle 2215 West 32nd Avenue 303-433-3263 uncledenver.tumblr.com This is part two of my interview with Tommy Lee, exec chef of Uncle; part one of our chat ran yesterday. What do you enjoy most about your craft? Like most cooks, I enjoy the creativity of coming up with new dishes, but the ... More >>