The Arada Gebeya, one of the great spice markets of Africa, is located in central Addis Ababa. And now its namesake restaurant, Arada Ethiopian Restaurant, has brought the true flavor of Ethiopian cuisine to the center of Santa Fe Drive. The menu is simple but authentic, offering a dozen-odd... More >>
This is the kind of neighborhood joint that everyone ought to have in his neighborhood, a place thats both casually friendly and aggressively social, that serves both PBR on tap and super-call whiskey, and that offers the menus of both a champion barbecue restaurant and a decent... More >>
The menu at this classic 24/7 diner is frozen in the early ´70s -- long before mainstream American food began taking on influences from other corners of the globe. Like a culinary time capsule, the King still serves Coney Island hot dogs, chiliette (egg noodles slathered in red chili and... More >>
Chefs love the Cricket. Softball teams, musicians, Creekers, night creatures and neighbors all love the Cricket. Why? Because the Cherry Cricket is a classic burgers-and-beer kind of joint where the company is good, the coolers stocked and the burgers among the best in town. Great patio, too. More >>
The decor is extraordinarily kitschy-hip: half ultra-modern diner, half rumpus room. Like everything else at the Corner Office, the menu is heavy on style and designed to catch the eye first, dragging the rest of the sensorium along behind: individual scalloped casserole dishes of lobster... More >>
Specializing not just in Japanese food -- not just sushi or teriyaki or noodles served in Hello Kitty bowls -- but in the country food of rural northern Japan, Domo stands as a unique and stunning vision of a restaurant run by someone (chef and owner Gaku Homma, in this case) who knows exactly... More >>
Chef John Broening has defined a whole new neighborhood with his cooking at Duo -- New American comfort food with a touch of French genius. Weeknights are fairly tame in this Highland zip code, but come Saturday, Duo is loud and boisterous -- a guaranteed good time with good food. The front door... More >>
Every neighborhood needs a neighborhood restaurant, and in Cherry Creek, that neighborhood restaurant is Elways. Chef Tyler Wiard and his crew cook from a menu that speaks to the primal needs of Cherry Creekers: all steaks and swank and smarts. The room is sumptuous--not so much clubby as... More >>
Owners Alex Seidel and Paul Attardi say they're serving comfort food, but this is a different sort of comfort -- the comfort of history, of knowledge and practice, of a young chef who has already spent almost twenty years in kitchens and knows how to do all those things you read about in... More >>
Fish, chips, prawn chips, Cornish pasties, bikers, punks and soccer jerseys -- what more could you ask of a neighborhood chipper in Denver, Colorado? Owner Alex Stokeld has done a fine job of transforming this cement bunker of a space into a down-and-dirty fish joint, with picnic tables in the... More >>
Izakaya Den's menu is impossible, ridiculous, amazing, awe-inspiring and should never work in a million years, but somehow it does. At its core, it's a fusion menu. A Japanese-Mediterranean fusion menu (with hints of northern Spain and France and America shot through it like rogue strands of... More >>
As originally envisioned, Lola was going to be a comfy, Mexican-style beach joint. But while the bar/patio overlooking downtown boasts a vibe as close to the Baja as you’re going to find in Colorado (as well as a regular crowd of well-heeled yuppies and hipsters pouring down excellent... More >>
This small, family-friendly neighborhood cafe is warm and crowded during the day, crowded and loud after dark, with the big kitchen constantly at work banging out food that may not yet be ubiquitous in Denver, but certainly is sur de la frontera. The house specialty is huaraches: long,... More >>
Frank Bonanno doesn't cook anything that's not memorable. What's more, he's fearless. And Luca's menu is designed for gluttonous abandon, arranged for wild flights of pairing and sharing, set up in an attempt to make people eat the way the Italians do -- with several courses of small plates... More >>
Mizuna was chef/owner Frank Bonanno's first restaurant. Impeccably serviced by a thoroughly professional floor staff, Mizuna is a comfortable neighborhood spot that draws crowds (and these days, cooks) from across the country, all coming to taste the first, best expression of Bonanno's... More >>
Yes, My Brother's Bar has a fascinating history: oldest still-operating bar in Denver, Neal Cassady hang-out, yadda yadda, etc. Yes, in its current incarnation it's a beloved and anachronistic neighborhood institution that plays classical music, caters to a demographically mixed crowd of crusty... More >>
We're very lucky. As a matter of fact, we're the luckiest people in the whole USA, because this small, unprepossessing spot squashed into Tiffany Plaza is the only Oshima Ramen in America. Brought from Tokyo to the Rocky Mountain West by local noodle magnate Todd Imamura, this marks the... More >>
Hanging above the entrance to Osteria Marco is a brass pig. You could miss it if you weren't looking for it; as a matter of fact, you could easily miss the entire restaurant -- which is mostly below ground. But in that warm, welcoming basement space you'll find a gourmet wonderland of artisan... More >>
Chef Teri Rippetos little garden restaurant is a longtime favorite of Denvers better chefs, mostly because the place never, ever disappoints. From the entirely seasonal, garden-driven menu to the comforting service and plain-as-plaster dining room, Potager seems incapable of doing... More >>
Steuben's is named after a beloved Boston establishment opened by Josh Wolkon's great-uncles Max and Joe back in 1945; this Steuben's was brought to life over months and years by Wolkon, his wife, Jen, and chef Matt Selby, the same folks who brought us Vesta Dipping Grill. The place looks... More >>
Super Star has at least three menus, maybe four, listing dim sum during the day and dinner after that, with one version for Chinese-speaking customers and another for everyone else, and listing everything from siu mai to sharks fin soup. The dim sum offerings change every day, and every... More >>
Any way you slice it, Sushi Den is a top sushi spot in a crowded market. It's been a trendy destination for nearly twenty years. Why? Because this house believes in importing everything it can straight from the warm, bloody center of the sushi universe: the fish markets of Japan. The sushi crew... More >>
"Kokoro bebop" -- that's what chef Wayne Conwell's doing at the very hip, ultra-modern Sushi Sasa. "Kokoro" from the heart of traditional Japanese culture, "bebop" from his tendency to riff on and reinterpret Japanese soul food. More than that, he's adding to the canon of Japanese cuisine,... More >>
The menu at this strip-mall operation is a greatest-hits list of everything there is to love about street-level Mexican food, plus a few surprises (Mexican consomme?). But the best item is the torta: messy, dripping, delicious and offered in several variations, including the D.F., served... More >>
Tacos y Salsas is a tough place to miss – all the outposts of this growing local chain are as shiny and carnival-colored as their surroundings are gray and grim. The food at this taqueria-style spot shines just as bright, with excellent meats sliced and seared right in front of you. You can... More >>