Laura Shunk

Curtis Park Creamery serves up Mexican comfort food in endless combinations

Photos: A Closer Look at Curtis Park Creamery

Reader: Should restaurants that have been reviewed be reviewed again?

Yesterday Gretchen Kurtz offered a taste of her review of the new Squeaky Bean that will be posted here later today: a look at the "eggplant & plum" appetizer that is one of the most difficult dishes to plate, according to exec chef Max MacKissock. But Steveville isn't hungering to learn more. "It ... More >>

Reader: Green chile is central to Denver's culinary culture

It's green chile season. In her advice for new Cafe critic Gretchen Kurtz, former restaurant reviewer Laura Shunk said that it was important to have a favorite green chile...and then served up her own: Chubby's. And while one commenter dissed the mean green, far more readers are fans of Colorado's ... More >>

New Cafe critic Gretchen Kurtz dishes up a few words on her philosophy

A presidential honeymoon lasts about 100 days. Having devoured well wishes and advice from Kyle Wagner, Laura Shunk, John Kessler and Jason Sheehan, I'm bracing myself for a honeymoon about 99 days shorter than that. I'm sure donning a thick skin will be hard -- possibly as hard as not shouting "Don ... More >>

Reader: Green chile is not inspiring, interesting or satisfying

We asked several of Westword's previous restaurant reviewers to offer advice for Gretchen Kurtz, our new Cafe critic, whose first review will be published next week. Laura Shunk, who left the job for a move to New York in June, came up with ten tips, including this one: 9. If you don't have an opin ... More >>

Reader: Laura Shunk's advice for the new critic was one of the best things she's written

How quickly we forget! Laura Shunk took a beating when she debuted as our restaurant reviewer two years ago, and some of those comments featured prominently in the advice that Shunk offered the next Westword critic, Gretchen Kurtz, in a piece posted yesterday. A piece that's winning raves.

Reader: Try constructive criticism for a change

Westword's next restaurant critic: food for thought

This week's Westword includes Laura Shunk's last review, of Fruition; earlier today, she posted her list of "Denver spots I'll miss most.." Since we announced a month ago that Laura was moving to New York, Westword has received a smorgasbord of applications for her food-writing job. And although E ... More >>

Tavern LoHi is coming to Highland, and hipsters panic over parking

I live in the belly of the beast, Denver's hottest restaurant neighborhood: Lower Highland, or LoHi, as developers have dubbed it. (In response, I refer to my particular block as SoLola -- south of Lola.) And with the news that Tavern Hospitality Group plans to put a Tavern LoHi here, the area isn't ... More >>

Reader: You're an idiot to drink and ride

The streets of Denver are filled with bicyclists -- some doing errands, some going to and from work, some out for recreation, and others seeking a drink. For that latter group, Laura Shunk served up a weekend B-Cycle bar tour that was "seriously cheap and disgusting," according to Bradman.

Reader: New reviewer should remember to bring a thesaurus

The news that Laura Shunk is moving to New York and opening up a slot for a new restaurant critic inspired many readers to suggest possible candidates -- including old restaurant critic Jason Sheehan, for example. Penny Parker. And two words: Dave. Barnes. "I think more reviews should be focused o ... More >>

Photos: Jim Meehan at Frasca Food and Wine

"I met Jim at the Gramercy Tavern," Frasca Food and Wine owner Bobby Stuckey explained by way of introduction to Jim Meehan, the star bartender who stopped into the Boulder restaurant last night to host a cocktail seminar and dinner. "He gave Danette [Stuckey, Bobby's wife] and me a really memorable ... More >>

Readers: Don't shake babies, and don't shake martinis and Manhattans

Laura Shunk issued a plea yesterday to local bartenders: Stop shaking your martinis and Manhattans. You don't shake babies, and you don't shake drinks. "There's a geeky, technical reason for stirring these drinks: Booze combined with booze blends without force (unlike citrus and booze, which needs ... More >>

Reader: The service at New Saigon isn't great, but the food is fantastic

Video: Chipotle's Grammy commercial with Willie Nelson doing Coldplay: What'd ya think?

Chipotle: It's all about going back to the start.​Ah, yes, Chipotle's new commercial, its first ever, apparently. Completely forgot about this until just now, actually. Last summer, our pal Laura Shunk wrote about this little moving picture on the Cafe Society blog. She dug it. Found it "quirk ... More >>

Reader: Park Meadows could use some new food spots

It's all about suburbia today. After reviewing Street Kitchen Asian Bistro, Laura Shunk went on a hunt for the "Five best places for lunch near the Tech Center," which inspired a number of suggestions -- some of them ethnic joints, which she'd said were in short supply in the southern 'burbs. The n ... More >>

Reader: Bitter over Bittersweet's exclusion from best new restaurants list

Close to 300 new restaurants opened in the metro area in 2011 -- by our count, at least, which you can see when our Restaurant roll call for 2011 is posted here later today. When Laura Shunk narrowed that big list down to the ten best new restaurants of last year, the complaints came quickly. Where ... More >>

Readers praise food writers Lori Midson and Laura Shunk

Reader: Bartender profiles pour out deserved praise -- another round!

​For the past two weeks, Laura Shunk has been going behind the bar every Friday to interview a local mixologist. First up was Brian Smith (above) at Pinche Taqueria; Joshua Smith of TAG and Williams & Graham was featured last Friday. And Brian M is ready for another round:

Reader: Wild Catch owner's prediction of reopening sounds like a fish story

​It's been a wild ride for Wild Catch, the new fishhouse that saw its chef/partner and most of its staff (above) walk out this weekend, leaving the place high and dry. Justin Brunson, an owner of Masterpiece Deli who joined with Taste owner Daniel Kulhman on the restaurant, told Lori Midson th ... More >>

Reader: Bar Belle and dieters dissing gluten do a disservice to those with celiac disease

​"I was really hoping you'd go on the Jason Sheehan diet: whiskey, cigarettes, and Lucky Charms," writes Mantonat in response to the second installment of Bar Belle, Laura Shunk's new series about how a food critic can indeed get fit. In last Monday's installment, Shunk kicked gluten to the c ... More >>

Reader: Sunday is a day of rest...and a pig roast and roasted Tuscan chicken

​Inspired by the parillada at Caminito Tango, last week Laura Shunk served up Denver's five best weekend-only restaurant specials.

Reader: Throwing a fit over Laura Shunk's plan to get fit

​What's a professional eater to do? After a year on the job, Cafe critic Laura Shunk found that she'd gained twenty pounds, and "I now had more rolls on my body than a pastry truck, more cottage cheese on my thighs than a breakfast buffet, more jelly in my belly than a raspberry jam-filled dou ... More >>

Readers: Split on the issue of charging for split plates

Laura Shunk just served up the "five things that should always be free at a restaurant," including the glass of water she requested after ordering a round of drinks. And while some readers added a few she'd missed -- chips and salsa at a Mexican restaurant, tea at a Chinese restaurant -- most were i ... More >>

Foodography: the Farm-to-Table Pavilion at GABF

Laura ShunkThe spread from Fruition.​At an extra $55 on top of the $60 you spend to get into the Great American Beer Festival, the additional cost for the ticket to the Farm-to-Table pavilion is a little hard to swallow. But each year we attend, we're more convinced that it's worth it: It's a ... More >>

Reader: Bourbon Chicken is the perfect food after drunken debauchery

​Just the 'fax, ma'am. Laura Shunk's recent visit to Bourbon Grill, a hole-in-the-wall on East Colfax, inspired this from Steve065: I haven't eaten there in years, but I have a soft spot for the bourbon chicken combo. Laura's right; it's perfect food after drunken debauchery. Which can be at ... More >>

Now open: Bubba Chinos on Colfax

Laura Shunk​Plans have been in the works for a Bubba Chinos to move into the old Fanny's flower store on East Colfax since late last year, when Leonard Cordova's expanding empire picked up the lease on the location. After a paint job and patio renovation, the place finally opened this month.

Letters: "Only God can free gay immigrants from this bondage, not the USA"

Food porn: NOMAD pop-up dinner with Ian Kleinman

Laura Shunk​Last Friday, Saturday and Sunday, crowds convened at Mona's on South Broadway after having received an email just hours earlier revealing where they were supposed to meet. They were greeted with Torrontes white wine, and they introduced themselves to one another. And once a sizeab ... More >>

Reader: Winston Churchill had the best martini recipe

​Because Encore, which pours the town's Best Martini, went on spring break the week it won that Best of Denver 2011 award, Laura Shunk served up four more of the town's best martinis. Which prompted this response from eldaveablo: No love for Herb's Hideout? Love the martinis there. It's been ... More >>

Reader: Let servers and bartenders get the kitchen crew's booze

​A couple of restaurants in town are now listing items that diners can order for the back-of-the-house, including a six-pack for the kitchen crew, in order to further enhance their meal. In a post about these new drink-list requests yesterday, Laura Shunk wondered if this trend was charming ... More >>

Reader: Fresh noodles put me pasta point of no return

​ After Laura Shunk received an e-mail from a national food pub working on a list of the best pastas around the country, she posted a piece spilling some of her own favorites, and asked readers for their own. And out poured some saucy suggestions -- Luca D'Italia, Rioja, Mizuna (fair warning: ... More >>

Think wine scores don't matter? Three ways to use them to help you drink better wine

​ Wow. Who knew that The Infinite Monkey Theorem (aka Denver's little winery that could) scoring Colorado's first 88-point Wine Spectator review would stir up so many passionate responses about the validity of wine reviews? Laura Shunk's scathing critique of most wine industry rags' random, s ... More >>

Reader: Why wine scores are like fast-forwarding porn

​Tart, pretentious, with a touch of bitterness. Comments have been pouring in regarding Laura Shunk's post about wine scores -- hooked to the Infinite Monkey Theorem's recent 88 from Wine Spectator. Comments about wine scores, about Colorado wines in general, about Infinite Monkey in particul ... More >>

Reader: Dump dill

​Weed it and weap. Laura Shunk championed dill on her recent list of five things we should see on menus more often, prompting this from Angry Taste, Bud: You lost me at number 1. Dill? Really? A weed that tastes so much like ass it takes pickling brine to take the shit flavor out of it and ... More >>

Two great dishes from the Fabrizio Iuli wine dinner Oak at Fourteenth

Laura Shunk​It was negative six degrees in Boulder two nights ago, but that didn't stop anyone from heading over to Oak at Fourteenth for the Fabrizio Iuli wine dinner, a five-course tasting event paired with all organic wines from Piedmont. The place was packed when we bellied up to the bar, ... More >>

Readers: Tiny buns, greasy burgers, and repeating lists

Just look at those tiny buns!​While comments about the ubiquitous butternut squash soup keep appearing, like the dish itself, at the end of Laura Shunk's Groundhog Day list of The Five Most Overdone Menu Items , a few notes about the equally ubiquitous sliders were particularly tasty: For exa ... More >>

Food porn: Shots from real Southeast Asian markets

Laura Shunk​When I ate at ChoLon Modern Asian Bistro for this week's Westword review, I was fascinated by how Lon Symensma and his partners, Jim and Alicia Deters, had reinterpreted the Southeast Asian market and turned it into a fine dining restaurant. And as I wrote the review, I referred fr ... More >>

Food and place porn: Pizzeria Locale's opening night

Laura Shunk​"There's no other style of pizza in the world that's as geeky as the Napolitano style," chef Lachlan MacKinnon-Patterson said last night, as the pace started to pick up at Pizzeria Locale during its first official dinner service. "And we're trying to do it exactly right." "Makes o ... More >>

Reader: Laura Shunk is a 2011 Julie & Julia

Mark MangerSachi Sushi turns out authentic Japanese food from its home in the Niwot Market.i​Laura Shunk's discovery of authentic ramen at Sachi Sushiin Niwot didn't thrill everyone. Tired of Drivel posted this: My new year's resolution is to give up reading the Westword every week in hopes t ... More >>

Unapologetic: The need for criticism in art and entertainment.

Mark MangerChef Brian Laird visits two fans at Barolo Grill.​Laura Shunk's recent review of Barolo Grill prompted dozens of responses -- some agreeing that Blair Taylor's iconic restaurant needed to try harder, but many more incensed with Shunk's criticism. After reading both the review and ... More >>

Reader: Love my front-of-the-house staff, love my food

​Laura Shunk's lament for the loss of the professional host inspired a few comments agreeing with her, as well as this from I Get It Now: OOOOHHHHH I get it now... see .... Shrunk is all about the Front of House staff... not the food y'all. She likes the host staff and wait staff... she like ... More >>

Hey, Backbeat is asleep for the holiday, here's a song about it

Play 'em off, Elvis.​There will be a few posts between now and next week, but we'll officially see you back here on Monday, December 27. To play you out, here are two versions of "Blue Christmas," as requested by Westword food critic Laura Shunk.

Reader: Laura Shunk's post-Barolo restaurant list was rude

​In her Barolo Grill review, Laura Shunk said that she could think of three dozen places in the area where she'd rather drop $200 on dinner for two. And then she put her mouth where her money was, and offered a list of those restaurants. There's been plenty of discussion about the names on t ... More >>

Reader: Laura Shunk's review lacks substance...unlike this biscuit

Mark MangerThis Denver Biscuit Company breakfast comes from the Atomic Cowboy kitchen.​While Jason Sheehan continues to stir up controversy from a thousand miles away ("sanctimonious prick" is among the labels recently slapped on him here), Laura Shunk is getting a grilling, too, for her recen ... More >>

Ask the reader: Where to find a gnarly breakfast?

Gnarly or not?​Man does not live by shred alone. As a public service, we're sharing this query from a reader: Goin skiing in colorado next week stopin in denver to get some breakfast!! What is a good spot to get some gnarly breakfast??????????????? Laura Shunk came up with this list of fiv ... More >>

Novo Coffee gives us a taste of its coffee cupping class

Laura Shunk​Novo Coffee sources and roasts some of our favorite coffee beans in town. Herb, Jake and Joe Brodsky (who went on to find Ninety Plus Coffee, a sourcing and distribution company), the father and sons behind the operation, spend a lot of time forging relationships, searching for be ... More >>

Tonight: Culinary Connectors Supper Club at Cafe Aion

​Cafe Aion, 1235 Pennsylvania Avenue in Boulder, joined the local dining scene early this year and earned a quick raved from Laura Shunk. Tonight, the restaurant will host the Culinary Connectors Supper Club at 6:30 p.m. tonight. Admission is $59; call 303-993-8131 to sign up and find more det ... More >>

Readers praise Westword's coverage of school-board member Andrea Merida

Readers sound off on our review of Cherry Creek institution Rodney's