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Blogs
May 17, 2012
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 >>
Blogs
April 5, 2012
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 >>
Blogs
April 4, 2012
Reader: Best new restaurant list doesn't show well for Denver
Close to 300 restaurants opened in the metro area last year, which made choosing the best for the Best of Denver 2012 was a daunting task. But in the end, Pinche Taqueria was the clear choice for Best New Restaurant. But many other worthy spots opened in 2011, and Laura Shunk served up nine more in ... More >>
Blogs
March 16, 2012
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 >>
News
March 15, 2012
Reader: The service at New Saigon isn't great, but the food is fantastic
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 >>
Blogs
February 23, 2012
Caminito Tango closes and Tresca Trattoria will take its place
Tresca Trattoria is next up in a frequently changing space.Given the recent history of the space at 3555 West 38th Avenue, it's not surprising that Argentinean restaurant Caminito Tango has closed its doors. It opened last May, following Viejo Domingo, which lasted just under a year. Playa de ... More >>
Blogs
February 12, 2012
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 >>
News
February 2, 2012
Reader: Colorado ski companies deserve better, Mother Nature!
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 >>
Blogs
January 13, 2012
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 >>
Blogs
January 3, 2012
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 >>
News
December 22, 2011
Readers praise food writers Lori Midson and Laura Shunk
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 >>
Blogs
December 20, 2011
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:
Blogs
November 22, 2011
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 >>
Blogs
November 4, 2011
Reader: Peanut butter is best enjoyed at home, like this...
The price of peanut butter is going sky-high, and this week Cafe Society served up "Ten ways to enjoy newly decadent peanut butter," including the Fool's Gold that was an Elvis favorite at the long-defunct Colorado Mine Company, and the Peanut Butter Crunch at the one-year-old Edge, which Lau ... More >>
Blogs
October 31, 2011
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 >>
Blogs
October 28, 2011
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.
Blogs
October 19, 2011
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 >>
Blogs
October 13, 2011
Reader: Black Cat's Eric Skokan knows how to raise a crop of cooking fans
Kirsten BoyerGardeners along the Front Range are harvesting the fruits of their labors -- and those gardeners include many local restaurateurs, who are supplying much of the produce for their own kitchens. Laura Shunk is currently profiling these chef/farmers, and her post on the Black Cat's ... More >>
Blogs
October 10, 2011
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 >>
Blogs
September 30, 2011
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 >>
Blogs
August 2, 2011
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 >>
Blogs
June 22, 2011
Now open: Bubba Chinos on Colfax
Laura ShunkPlans 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.
News
May 19, 2011
Letters: "Just about every Denver mayor in recent memory has been a sock puppet for crooks"
Laura ShunkPlans 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.
News
May 12, 2011
Letters: "Only God can free gay immigrants from this bondage, not the USA"
Laura ShunkPlans 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.
Blogs
April 25, 2011
Food porn: NOMAD pop-up dinner with Ian Kleinman
Laura ShunkLast 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 >>
Blogs
April 4, 2011
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 >>
Blogs
March 23, 2011
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 >>
Blogs
March 16, 2011
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 >>
Blogs
February 22, 2011
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 >>
Blogs
February 18, 2011
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 >>
News
February 17, 2011
Letters: The Flagstaff House helped me propose to my wife
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 >>
Blogs
February 10, 2011
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 >>
Blogs
February 10, 2011
Two great dishes from the Fabrizio Iuli wine dinner Oak at Fourteenth
Laura ShunkIt 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 >>
Blogs
February 4, 2011
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 >>
Blogs
February 3, 2011
Food porn: Shots from real Southeast Asian markets
Laura ShunkWhen 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 >>
Blogs
January 26, 2011
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 >>
Blogs
January 25, 2011
Reader: Illegals are the backbone of the food industry
A recent immigration-status audit in Minnesota resulted in the Chipotle operations there letting a number of employees go. "Let me be clear, if it were up to us, we would keep all these people," Chris Arnold, director of public relations at the Denver-based Chipotle told Laura Shunk. "They're ... More >>
Blogs
January 10, 2011
Reader: Laura Shunk is a 2011 Julie & Julia
Mark MangerSachi Sushi turns out authentic Japanese food from its home in the Niwot Market.iLaura 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 >>
News
December 30, 2010
Letters: Scum of the Earth Church is punk in name only
Mark MangerSachi Sushi turns out authentic Japanese food from its home in the Niwot Market.iLaura 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 >>
Blogs
December 30, 2010
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 >>
Blogs
December 29, 2010
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 >>
Blogs
December 23, 2010
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.
Blogs
December 20, 2010
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 >>
Blogs
December 13, 2010
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 >>
Blogs
December 3, 2010
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 >>
Blogs
December 3, 2010
Novo Coffee gives us a taste of its coffee cupping class
Laura ShunkNovo 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 >>
Blogs
December 3, 2010
Spit or swallow: comment of the week
Today's comment of the day blurs the line between sex and foodWe enjoy reading your comments here on Cafe Society, soaking up the compliments, laughing off the insults and pondering the insights. Sometimes, though, one comment stands out, and we like to acknowledge its specialness with a lit ... More >>
Blogs
October 12, 2010
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 >>
News
September 30, 2010
Readers praise Westword's coverage of school-board member Andrea Merida
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 >>
News
August 19, 2010
Readers sound off on our review of Cherry Creek institution Rodney's
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 >>
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