Was it that long ago that Sputnik was ground zero for Denver’s outbreak of hipsterism? Were we really so young back then, when bearded men and yoga-panted ladies were perceived as a serious threat rather than an accepted occupying force? Back when Donald Trump was on TV in the boardroom…

Le Central is coming to the end, Le Grand is long gone — Heck, even Le Chateau on 14th Street has passed on. Traditional French cuisine, the mother of meals, is becoming hard to find in the heart of the city. My heart beats thick Béarnaise to the rhythm of…

From Park & Co. to P17 to Ace Eat Serve, a lot of my happy-hour adventures have taken place on East 17th Avenue. Coincidence? Conspiracy? Take a drive through Uptown and you’ll see for yourself the many bus tling patios and dining rooms, all filled with happy hours and their…

Ludicrous rent and breathtaking home prices have driven young creatives and professionals into the arms of Denver’s suburbs. A highway away from expensive coffee and fancy-pants bistros, these folks are making their own urban communities in the style they’ve been accustomed to back in the city. Little Edgewater feels like…

The Nickel lives at the foot of the Tramway Building on 14th Street, roosting in a place with more than a century of rich history. The building was erected in 1911, where the former home of territorial Governor John Evans once stood, and soon became the heart of the city’s streetcar system…

Western Europe? That’s so 2006, darling. Everyone’s thinking Scandinavia these days, thanks to Frozen, sexy Nordics cropping up all over pop culture, and the trickling infiltration of Scandinavian cuisine into American dining culture. The invaders have staked their claim in Denver for close to four years now at Chef Ryan…

Plonk! I went into Ace Eat Serve hoping for a nice casual meal, but soon feared that one of the hundreds of ping pong balls around would sail right into my drink. That didn’t happen, thanks to some deft wrist work, but Ace is definitely the place to expect the…

The Rio Grande margarita is a liquid Colorado landmark, along with Pike’s Peak and the Barrel Man. Frozen or on the rocks, it’s the drink that always comes up first in any discussion of the Colorado chain — including this one. Founded in 1986 as a party paradise in boozy…

When mild-mannered Bruce Banner was exposed to lethal gamma rays, he transformed into the Incredible Hulk, an uncontrollable mass of anger with an appetite for destruction. When Mary Nguyen was exposed to the changing tides on 17th Street and European bistro culture, she transformed Parallel 17 into P17, a neighborhood hangout…

Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant is so Boulder it hurts just a little. It’s fancy without calling attention to itself, well-decorated but not quite hip — and 100-percent vegetarian, natch. As a proud son of Boulder County, I don’t think this is at all a bad thing — I would never reject…

Forget about your prejudices. Put aside your previous bad experiences. In the ever-escalating happy hour arms race raging all over the state, what was once an excuse for cheap drinking has become fertile ground for culinary experimentation. And while nearly every restaurant of note offers a late-afternoon happy hour, not…

In the Logan’s Run-esque TAXI development, there’s a sanctuary from the demands of office and industry that offers more than the Sci-Fi movie’s menu of plankton and sea greens and protein from the sea. Fuel Cafe debuted along with the mixed-use development in 2008, opening to the public what could have…

The romance of train travel hasn’t disappeared just yet. The renewed and revitalized Union Station offers the Brief Encounter magic of a mid-century rail station, without having to climb into a train and spend countless hours next to a musty grandpa who gasps like a fish in his sleep. At…

Need a little zest in your life? Craving some pep in your step? Want to add a little “zip” to your daily “a-dee-do-dah?” Here’s a hint: Take the parts of your daily routine that bug you and spice them up, Cajun-style. Boring commute? Cajun-style. Unfulfilling relationships with your step-children? Cajun-style…

LoHi SteakBar is in an enviable position in Highland: by the standards of this ever-changing ‘hood, the modern steakhouse is an elder statesman, about to celebrate six years at 32nd Avenue and Tejon Street. But it’s also facing competition up and down the street, a quiet, polite battle that only…

On the NBC show Hannibal, the titular Dr. Lecter dazzles his dinner guests with an parade of effortless, elegantly crafted dishes made with, ahem, distinctive ingredients. The two-month old Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox doesn’t offer “long pig” on the menu, but it shares the show’s atmosphere of haute cuisine, lust, and music. It’s…

“Cinq a sept” is a winking French idiom for the happiest hours in a day — the evening time just after work and before dinner, to be filled with drinks, food and conversation…and maybe even a rendezvous with your lover. Happy hour is a little bit different in this country,…

The happy hour at Govnr’s Park Restaurant & Tavern cements its legend as a place of good times since 1976. A two-for-one drink special is the main draw here, much like at another long-running haunt,  Charlie Brown’s. But while that Capitol Hill spot trades on a sort of bygone elegance,…

Los Chingones is a restaurant made for happy hour: A big, beautiful rooftop patio, a location amidst the creative agencies and cultural hot spots around Ballpark and RiNo, and enough tequila to knock out a boutique ad shop for days. And as a Troy Guard venture, the food has proven…

Good news for fans of sunshine, happy hours and Lower48 Kitchen: Our pick for Best New Restaurant of 2014 just completed a renovation of its outdoor patio in time for summer to finally arrive. The restaurant at the corner of 21st and Lawrence streets is celebrating the opening by expanding its…