Laura Shunk

After a year and a half on Broadway, Crimson Canary closes in Baker

Crimson Canary, the "Boss Italian" restaurant in Baker that Interstate Kitchen & Bar owners Andre and Aaron Lobato (they're also brothers) and Joey Newman opened in the fall of 2011, ceased singing on Saturday night after a final dinner service. See also: - Best Fried Calamari - 2012 Crimson Canar ... More >>

Five chicken sandwiches to eat in Denver while you're boycotting Chick-fil-A

Odds are good that "chicken" isn't the first thing most people think of when they consider a sandwich. After all, there are so many other kinds of sammies that get higher billing: pastrami and Italian sandwiches, turkey and egg salad, meatball, roast beef and BLTs. Even peanut butter and jelly. But ... More >>

Reader: I think you missed the bigger picture on climate change

Reader: Review of Red Robin, a hamburger chain, is not okay

Jenn Wohletz is on the chain gang -- and last week reviewed Red Robin's Burger Works, a homegrown concept from the Greenwood Village-based chain that debuted at the Shops at Northfield Stapleton last November. But not everyone enjoyed the culinary history lesson.

Reader: I'll miss thinking Laura Shunk might be sitting next to me...

Along with her last review, of Fruition, last week outgoing Cafe critic Laura Shunk served up her list of "Denver spots I'll miss most." Colt & Gray and other bars in LoHi figured prominently.

Fruition is hot (in more ways than one)....

Laura Shunk, who chose Fruition for a farewell dinner with her parents and a last review in this week's Westword, isn't the only one who considers that restaurant a go-to spot. Foodies from Chicago who've eaten around the world focused on Fruition as their number-one dining destination in Denver, an ... More >>

Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill: Hail fellow, well-Med!

Colorado is the birthplace of a number of popular chains, including Noodles & Company, Smashburger and that golden child, Chipotle Mexican Grill; we're definitely ahead of the curve when it comes to the growing fast-casual movement. And also when it comes to the growing group of fast-casual chains ... More >>

Five reasons why reviewing chain restaurants isn't the worst idea in the world

Since the recent introduction of Jenn in Chains my reviews/commentaries on what's what in the realm of chain restaurants, I've gotten a slew of questions from readers, friends and complete strangers on my Facebook page about why I'm giving time and attention to chain restaurants. Questions like "Why ... More >>

Reader: Second Home is home to cougar- and cub-hunting, too

After service flubs detracted from the excellent food Laura Shunk discusses in herrecent review of Charcoal, she lamented about poor service in general around town. But there are also many restaurants that do things right, and she highlighted a quintet of them in "Five examples of great service in D ... More >>

Reader: Give the Palace Arms a hand for its service!

After lamenting the lack of good service at many Denver restaurants, Laura Shunk served up five examples of restaurants that do service right, everything from Frasca Food and Wine to Frijoles Colorado Cuban Cafe. Readers were quick to add a few favorites, including the most royal restaurant of them ... More >>

Reader: Panning Paxia -- are you crazy?

Los Carboncitas is a great Mexican restaurant, and one that actually focuses on the foods of Mexico, rather than Tex Mex or Colorado Mex or Den-Mex, as Gustavo Arellano calls the food at this town's standard Mexican joints. So Laura Shunk was eager to try Paxia, the upscale sibling of Los Carboncita ... More >>

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 >>

Reader: Best restaurant list a good guide for Friday date nights

Pinche Taqueria won our Best New Restaurant designation in the Best of Denver 2012; Laura Shunk discussed her pick here. But as she looked over the list of eateries that had opened in 2011, and assessed how they were holding up, she revised our late December list of Denver's ten best new restaurants ... More >>

Reader: If you don't like Highland patios, stick to Taco Bell

It's still March, but it's patio weather. Every coffeehouse, bar and restaurant in town with even a scrap of sidewalk is putting out chairs and tables, so that diners can grab a few minutes (or more) of sun while enjoying a few beers and maybe some grub. In honor of the early arrival of patio weath ... More >>

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 >>

Reader: Serve up more Denver desserts, please!

Sweet...and sour. Laura Shunk just served up her list of Denver's ten best dessert spots -- including the churros she raved about in this week's review of Pinche Taqueria. But for some readers, it was definitely not enough of a good thing:

Reader: Colorado ski companies deserve better, Mother Nature!

Reader: "Big money draws thieves as much as a cow patty draws flies"

Reader: Tebow on your Year in Review cover was a bad call

Reader: The gang's all beer in Colorado

A river of alcohol was running through Cafe Society yesterday, with Laura Shunk offering her list of neighborhood liquor stores, Swirl Girl suggesting five bottles of bubbly for New Year's Eve, and Colorado Beer Man Jonathan Shikes serving up his "ten best Colorado beers of 2011."

Reader: Is $9 too much to pay for a cocktail?

​On the Thursday before Christmas, Laura Shunk highlighted five festive cocktails that don't include hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps, including the Figgy's Manhattan at Steuben's, which is made by combining Wild Turkey 81, Carpano Antica vermouth and Navan vanilla liqueur and infusing t ... More >>

Reader: Locanda del Borgo is in a state of reddiness

Locanda del Borgo​Inspired by her visit to Mama Sannino's, Laura Shunk served up a list of Denver's five best neighborhood Italian restaurants. Which inspired fond memories of Fratelli's and Valente's from some readers, as well as a slap from another for skipping Cafe Jordano. And then there ... More >>

Readers: Write about fireplaces without proper photos, and you could get burned!

Jim Wills​Brrr! As the temperature plummeted last week, Laura Shunk quickly pulled together a warming list of "Denver's five best restaurant fireplaces", including the one at Barolo Grill (above). But because we wanted to post that list in time to heat up that night's dinner reservations, we ... More >>

Reader: Palace Arms should be embraced over Inverness

Inside the venerable Palace Arms.​After reviewing Edge, the restaurant in the fancy-pants new Four Seasons, Laura Shunk served up "Denver's five best hotel restaurants." Edge didn't make the list. Nor did Palace Arms in the Brown Palace, a second snub for the venerable hotel that has hosted ... More >>

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 >>

Reader: Justin Cucci is a true groundbreaker, pardon the pun

Root Down​For the last few weeks, Laura Shunk has been writing about local restaurant gardens and what the chefs are doing with the fruit of their labors. And while the snow may have put those plots -- and the series itself -- in the deep freeze, the story on Justin Cucci, owner of Root Down ... More >>

Reader: Black Cat's Eric Skokan knows how to raise a crop of cooking fans

Kirsten Boyer​Gardeners 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 >>

Reader: Is it any wonder Colorado people can't stand anything from Texas?

​Twin Peaks is coming to Colorado, the Texas-based chain proudly announced yesterday, bringing baseball, beer and boobs, as Laura Shunk reported here. That post prompted this from bizzygeek: Thanks for the heads up CS Editors! While you're at it, are there any new McDonald's locations spring ... More >>

Reader: "The 'long instrumental interlude' was 'Sun God' off Zonoscope, and it was awesome"

When Cut Copy was here a few nights ago, the Australian outfit transformed the Ogden into a sweaty discotheque. Everybody in the house dancing with complete abandon until the "set ended anti-climactically after a long instrumental interlude," as Laura Shunk puts it in her review. According to Joey B ... More >>

Reader: Is Westword endorsing Spring 44? Or Sean Kenyon?

Mark MangerSean Kenyon pouring Spring 44 vodka.​Virtually unknown after Prohibition, vodka long ago passed gin as the country's most popular clear spirit, and then moved up to become the country's most popular spirit, period -- partly because of its neutral flavor, partly because of the smart ... More >>

Reader: Ice cream? Your love of all things Frasca is ridiculous

It's going to be hot today, perfect weather for some ice cream. Andrew HydeIce cream at Frasca Food & Wine.​It's already hot in the comments section of Laura Shunk's "Denver's five best spots for ice cream" post, where readers are melting for Sweet Action, giving Liks the deep freeze and, in ... More >>

Reader: The people of Denver deserve better than Westword

Mark MangerLou's Food Bar opened in late December in northwest Denver.​The comments just keep coming about Laura Shunk's review of Lou's Food Bar -- although often the comments have less to do with Lou's than they do with its owner, Frank Bonanno, or the Denver food scene in general, or Westwo ... More >>

Letters: "Just about every Denver mayor in recent memory has been a sock puppet for crooks"

Reader: The best French fries are at Vesta, not Jonesy's...or McDonald's

​For decades, Westword readers have voted for McDonald's as the spot where you can find the Best French Fries. That's just one of the many reasons why the annual Best of Denver issues always emphasize our editorial picks. Another reason: The readers generally pick Taco Bell for Best Taco. Demo ... More >>

Reader: Enough with the food porn! Enough with the "People's Republic"!

Lori MidsonDoes looking at food porn make you hot?​People love looking at food. Food they might possibly make for dinner, food they'll never get close to -- like this "Altitude-high food porn from the Taste of Vail." That's why pictures of food are often labeled "porn," as in Laura Shunk's "F ... More >>

Reader: Skip Frasca and stick to Chuck E Cheese when you're taking kids to dinner

The friendly crew at Frasca Food and Wine.​Westword staff writer Joel Warner recently had a big night out with his wife and three-year-old son -- not at Chipotle, their regular family haunt, but at Frasca Food and Wine, which just won Best Front of the House in the Best of Denver 2011 (as it h ... More >>

Letters: "I don't bother with Carmine's anymore"

Letters: The Flagstaff House helped me propose to my wife

Reader: Chefs should listen to people who like things, including dill

​Defenders of dill rose up yesterday to defend the noble herb (not to mention the blue cheese dressing at Steuben's), which Laura Shunk had listed as one of the five things she'd like to see more often on menus. But we'll give the last word -- for now -- to Mantonat, who puts dill in a lovely ... More >>

Reader: With Brian Laird going to Russo's, things are looking up in the southern suburbs

Lori MidsonThe interior of Russo's Kitchen Tavern..​Yesterday, a reader wondered if the restaurant-packed Berkeley neighborhood in northwest Denver was suffering from too much of a good thing. But the revelation that Brian Laird was heading south to Russo's Kitchen Tavern, one of several r ... More >>

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 >>

Gaia Bistro on track for adding dinner service mid-month

Laura ShunkGet duck crepes after dark at Gaia Bistro.​Last month, we reported that Gaia Bistro had obtained a liquor license and was working on adding dinner hours to augment its very popular breakfast and lunch. Today, restaurant co-owner Jon Edwards confirms that as soon as his staff is ful ... More >>

Letters: Scum of the Earth Church is punk in name only

Laura Shunk's story begins with Chipotle Mexican Grill

Will the real Laura Shunk please stand up?​Early this month, Jason Sheehan gave Chipotle Mexican Grill a glowing review in the Seattle Weekly, our partner publication where he now works -- and where the haters haven't stopped rolling their eyes and asking why he'd bother writing about such a u ... More >>

Readers: Laura Shunk's meal memories inspire ire

Danny Cordova at the original Chubby's.​Cafe Society writers are serving up some of their favorite meal memories of 2010 on the blog this week. Laura Shunk led this trip down memory lane with her "Top Five Meal Memories," which included tasty reminders of meals both near and far. The latter i ... More >>

Letters: Readers attack and defend the Highlands Mommies

Spit or swallow: comment of the week

Today's comment of the day blurs the line between sex and food​We 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 >>

Readers praise Kurt Ottaway and Euclid Hall

Letters: Patti Cramer brought a "twinkle" to all

The week in Cafe Society bloggery: PETA, the Avenue Grill's Andrew Lubatty, MEAT, picnic packing and Chiptole's Steve Ells's new TV gig

​Our favorite tables scraps of the week from the Cafe Society blog: 1. The fact that Coors Field made Peta's list of the country's most vegetarian-friendly ballparks, coming in at number five on their annual list, made the rest of us darksiders swear to eat steaks, cheeseburgers, bratwursts a ... More >>