Restaurants and Food Services

Reader: If drinkers toast the camera, you're not in a dive bar

Denver's great dive bars are disappearing -- but there are still many worthy of celebration, including Bar Bar (Carioca Cafe), which just won Best Dive Bar in the Best of Denver 2013. And there was stiff competition for that award, as evidenced by our list of the dozen best dive bars in Denver. That ... More >>

Chain Restaurant Consumers' Choice Award winners announced -- and local spots make the list

Technomic Inc. has released its inaugural list of Chain Restaurant Consumers' Choice Award honorees, winners, chosen from 115 fast-food, fast-casual and full-service restaurants, with the winners selected by consumers. So now for the two pressing questions: What, exactly, is Technomic, and which r ... More >>

Reader: The Denver cops have gay bars in their sights

Last Friday night, the Denver Police Department did an undercover operation, sending underage police cadets to liquor establishments across Denver where they tried to buy booze. And succeeded in the case of four bars (and numerous liquor stores), all of which were cited for selling to a minor. The ... More >>

Free sausage biscuits at Carl's Jr. this morning!

Remember Hardee's -- the fast-food stop with the oft-touted "Made from Scratch Biscuits?" It's okay if you don't, since Hardee's restaurants have yet to penetrate Colorado or the states to the west of us, so we only have Hardee's sloppy sibling, Carl's Jr., to pimp out Hardee's biscuits. And lucky f ... More >>

Olive Garden needs a new slogan -- bring on the bread and circuses!

Olive Garden just announced that it's ditching its fifteen-year-old slogan "When You're Here, You're Family" in favor of the simple "Go Olive Garden." While the old slogan was incredibly cheesy to the point of being disingenuous, at least the marketing folks put more than a cigarette break's worth o ... More >>

Reader: Randy Layman pours out some love for the cocktail scene

Do you want a shot of attitude with that beer? Laura Shunk's interview with Adam Hodak, the Green Russell bartender who doesn't think bartenders should be pretentious, hit a few people in their funny bones, not to mention wallets lightened by the cost of craft cocktails. The comments keep flowing o ... More >>

Bartending superstar Jim Meehan descends upon the Mile High City next week

We might all be Manhattan and martini connoisseurs now, but not even ten years ago, properly made classic cocktails were a lot more difficult to find not just in Denver, but in any city. And cocktail bars -- at least the trendy cocktail bars that keep proliferating today -- were virtually non-exist ... More >>

Dina Berta reveals five lessons learned after transitioning from restaurant journalist to restaurant owner

Mark MangerDina Berta traded the write stuff for the right stuff.​When Dina Berta made the jump from writing about restaurants to running a restaurant, she had one insight that helped prepare her for the road ahead: "I knew a little about the industry, and I knew it was a lot of work, but also ... More >>

Arby's offers up 64-cent roast beef sandwiches in Facebook shill

​Companies will do anything these days to get you to become their fan on Facebook. Free concert tickets? Check. Free donuts? Check. Deep discounts on sneakers? Check. Naturally, fast-food chains were way out in front of the trend, offering discounts to Facebook fans in exchange for them beamin ... More >>

Ralph's Maid-Rite finally lets the loose-meat sandwich loose on Denver

​More than eighty years after Maid-Rite got its start in Muscatine, Iowa, the chain has finally made it as far west as Denver, where Ralph's Maid-Rite Sports Diner opened last week in Littleton. Ralph's serves the loose-meat and breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches that are hallmarks of Maid-Ri ... More >>

There's a new street food cartel in town: the Food Truck Warriors -- and they're having a kickoff party on April 30

​Last September, Rich Wong and his partner, Sharyn Nissen, rolled out a food cart, named it Street Eats and began pimping everything from Hawaiian-style kalbi ribs and Peking barbecue pork buns to chicken and andouille sausage gumbo and wild boar dogs tricked-out with cranberries and apricots ... More >>

Truck stop: Meeting on mobile food vendors at the Downtown Denver Partnership tomorrow

The 16th Street Mall has food vendors, but no trucks.​As far as Brian Phetteplace can determine, the last time the city revised the rules for mobile food vendors -- at least the rules as they applied to downtown -- was back in 1996, long before anyone anticipated the current race of food truck ... More >>

TAG's Brian Melton loves the restaurant industry. Here's why

You can find Brian Melton behind the bar at TAG.​All the talk about "In the Weeds" inspired Brian Melton to send in this missive about the restaurant industry. It's our New Year's Eve gift for everyone in the business --and anyone out on the town tonight who benefits from exemplary workers in ... More >>

T.G.I. Friday's gets crafty with a New Belgium Brewing tasting party

​We knew rap had gone mainstream when Will Smith's The Fresh Prince of Bel Air began airing in 1990, and we know craft beer has done the same now that T.G.I. Friday's is pairing its new menu items with selected beers from New Belgium Brewing. On December 21, the casual dining chain will host ... More >>

Phony inspection scam out to shake down Colorado restaurants

​Bad enough when the real health inspector drops by a restaurant -- but a phony inspector? That's enough to get your temperature rising far above what's considered safe for the storage of food. Over the weekend, the Colorado Department of Public Safety sent word of a phony inspector scam:

We have a winner of Civic Center Park's new pavement feast name game contest

Lori Midson​If you've been following this blog, then you know that we announced a contest a few weeks ago, where we asked Cafe Society readers to suggest a name for the new street food pavement feast at Civic Center Park, which is already home to Tuesday's Civic Center Eats. The expanded gru ... More >>

Five Guys burgers tie with In-N-Out; McDonald's at the bottom of the McBarrel

Consumer Reports gives Five Guys a high-five.​Consumer Reports takes on fast-food burgers in its October issue, and the results aren't good for the world's burger behemoth. The magazine asked 28,000 subscribers for their opinion on fast-food burgers, and McDonald's came in last -- by a margin ... More >>

Colorado owner of Village Inn and Baker's Square gobbles up another chain

​A Denver-based restaurant operator is adding some burgers to its pie-centric portfolio for a cool $27.5 million. American Blue Ribbon Holdings LLC, which last year acquired the Village Inn and Baker's Square restaurant chains, last week bought the Ohio-based Max & Erma's out of bankruptcy.

Hemingway Daiquiri at the Capital Grille

Einstein's is liberating its chickens -- or maybe it's not

​The Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, which owns several bagel and coffee chains, including Einstein Bros, recently announced that it will start using cage-free eggs in its stores. "We're proud to be launching this initiative and believe that moving in this direction will help improve the tre ... More >>

Get ready for dueling dueling piano bars

Restaurant workers: This marijuana dispensary feels your pain

​As the owners of 8 Rivers, their fourth restaurant, Wanda James and Scott Durrah know the food business. And as the owners of Apothecary of Colorado, the medical marijuana dispensary they opened in December at 1730 Blake Street, just two blocks from their restaurant at 1550 Blake, they know t ... More >>

Join the club visiting Denver's best dives, starting at the 404

​ How do you know you're in a classic dive? It helps if the owner stands up and welcomes you to his place -- the place he's had for 58 years, and bought before he was old enough to own it legally. Jerry Feld bought the bar at 404 Broadway back in 1951, and he's run Club 404 ever since -- eve ... More >>

Catwalk in the Park

Riverfront Fashion brings style to the great outdoors.

CRA Hall of Famers: Tom Wilscam

This month, the Colorado Restaurant Association inducted three more people into its hall of fame, an honor bestowed on those who've had a huge impact on the Colorado restaurant world. We're profiling all three here on Cafe Society. First up is Tom Wilscam, who has his fingerprints on many institu ... More >>

Quiznos is the sandwich of choice for half-naked playmates

While Denver-born restaurant chain Chipotle is getting flak for its new ad campaign's distinct lack of cojones, the marketing for Quiznos Sub Shop, another local restaurant chain done (sorta) good, still shows a lot of balls. Or, to be more accurate in this particular case, a lot of boobs. The Pl ... More >>

Colorado restaurants should be cooking in 2009

Misery loves company, and if the National Restaurant Association's annual forecast -- released on Friday, December 19 -- is correct, Coloradans will still be getting out of the house and into restaurants in 2009. According to the 2009 Restaurant Industry Forecast, Colorado will place third in t ... More >>

Johnny Rockets franchisee lands in bankruptcy court

Nation's Restaurant News, the bible of the restaurant industry, has reported that David Giesen, who owns Steak Escape and Johnny Rockets franchises in Colorado, on Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. According to court filings, his Giesen Restaurant Enterprises LLC and Rocket Restaur ... More >>

Believe it or not, Ruby Tuesday has a good burger

Rocks, on the martini at the Capital Grille

If your bank account isn't on the rocks, the Capital Grille has just the holiday item for you: a $1,000 martini. But this drink, officially named the Share Our Strength Charity Martini, comes with a real twist: a white topaz and diamond caviar rope bracelet, a limited-edition, custom piece by des ... More >>

Jim Sullivan's former employees are on the line

Meet Us on Alameda ... But Not at Valverde Yacht Club

Apple Fries?

Burrito Bombshell

Burrito Bombshell

Chipotle Bags Brown Rice

Holiday Rush

Restaurants unwrap a few surprises.

Meat of the Matter

There’s good reason to call Denver a cow town.

Thai Basil

Suddenly, the big chains are looking better.

Sweet Basil Gin Rickey

Capital Grille

I Can See Clearly Now

Denver is a glass act.

Big Time

Taking the tube

Mr. Big

Welcome to McDonald's, where Steve Bigari is lovin' it.

Best Steakhouse

Capital Grille

Best Steakhouse

The Capital Grille

Drink of the Week

Stoli Doli

Best Tea

Tea Train

Best Place to Score With a Twenty-Something Whose Parents Still Pay the Rent

California Pizza Kitchen

Battle of the Bulges

Male strippers are the latest victims in the city's war on crack.

Gratuitous Behavior

Here's a tip for restaurateurs: Before you cut into your waitstaff's wages, check state regulations.