Empanadas may be small pockets of dough, but they’ve turned into big business for Christian Saber, the native of Buenos Aires who opened an empanada shop in Boulder nearly two years ago. When construction is completed by the end of the month, Rincon Argentino will have taken over an adjacent…
Under culinary director John Broening, the menu at Argyll Whisky Beer is full of temptations, from classic to contemporary pub fare. Still, I’m always drawn to the Scotch egg, which is coated with ground sausage, rolled in breadcrumbs and fried until golden. And I find it hard to resist a…
Argyll Whisky Beer 1035 East 17th Avenue 303-847-0850 Whiskey isn’t my drink of choice, but it was the night I walked into Argyll Whisky Beer. Sure, it had been that kind of day. But I was also in that kind of place, with lights resembling gas lanterns, plaid carpeting and…
With fall’s cooler weather, menus are changing around town. But there are other changes at local restaurants, too, including chefs moving on. Here’s a look at recent chef switches at a trio of restaurants I’ve reviewed — including Gozo, one of the most promising new spots this year. See also:…
Fans of Sushi Sasa may have wondered why it took chef-owner Wayne Conwell nine years to expand. But Glaze by Sasa, which I review this week, isn’t Conwell’s first foray outside of Sasa. It’s simply the most visible one. A year ago, Conwell teamed up with Epicurean Group to expand…
Glaze by Sasa 1160 Madison Street 720-387-7890 facebook.com/glazebysasa UPDATE: Glaze and Sasa have parted ways. In January, the restaurant announced it had parted with sushi chef Wayne Conwell. The restaurant will continue on as Glaze, with a new dining program to replace Conwell’s sushi and small plates program. We really…
Some restaurants remind me of Queen — not because they’re champions, but because they put cuisines together in unexpected ways, like the band’s melding of operatic melodies and heavy metal guitar riffs. On the surface, Glaze by Sasa, which I review this week, is one such restaurant. But the union…
People who want an easy life don’t go into the food industry. Hours are long, you’re on your feet all day, and margins are tight. So why does anyone do it? Some, like Erin Markham, owner of Saucy Noodle Ristorante — which I review this week — literally grew up…
Saucy Noodle Ristorante 727 South University Boulevard 303-733-6977 In August, just days after the owners of Lechuga’s, one of Denver’s oldtime Italian restaurants, sold their spot and retired, Saucy Noodle Ristorante celebrated a different kind of milestone: its fiftieth anniversary. Curious to see why the Noodle has survived when so…
Change is afoot at Pizzeria Locale, the fast-casual version of the Boulder pizzeria that debuted in Denver last year. In just two weeks, on October 5 a second store will open its doors on West 32nd Avenue in Highland — which is good news to Neapolitan pie and budino lovers,…
These days, healthy fast-casuals are sprouting faster than chia seeds. So if you want a quick, healthy meal and you’re tired of brown-bagging it, there’s no need to fight I-25 traffic to eat at LYFE Kitchen in Park Meadows, which I just reviewed. I recently popped in for lunch at…
LYFE Kitchen 8505 Park Meadows Center Drive, Lone Tree 303-706-9100 A meal at LYFE Kitchen isn’t just supposed to fill you up; it’s supposed to make you feel good. Founded three years ago in California by a pair of former McDonald’s executives and an investment banker, this rapidly expanding chain,…
People might think I choose what to review based on what I feel like eating. But many factors go into my decision — and what I want to eat is usually at the bottom of the list. With the frenetic pace of openings these days, there’s an endless number of…
The hazelnut-crusted prawns deserve to be the signature dish at Barolo Grill. Instead, it’s the braised duck, which has taken a few turns over the years — a little balsamic here, some Kalamata olives there — but remains a top seller. More than that, though, it’s a dish that draws…
Barolo Grill 3030 East Sixth Avenue 303-393-1040 If there was any doubt about the enduring popularity of Barolo Grill, one of Denver’s longest-running white-tablecloth establishments, it was erased one night as I stood in front of the hostess stand, waiting for the hostess to finish a phone call before showing…
I’ve written a hundred reviews since becoming the restaurant critic at Westword. To celebrate the occasion, I wanted to give a shout-out to the kitchens and teams that have made dining out so memorable over the past two years — not just for me, but for all of us who…
After eating Jon Robbins’ inspired French-North African fare at Bistro Barbès, I was hungry for more. Not just more of his upscale fusion, but more dishes such as the tagines and harira I came to love in Morocco, Algeria and France, a second home to many North African immigrants. Yesterday…
Summer-pea agnolotti: That’s just one of the dishes full of big flavors coming out of the kitchen at Bistro Barbes, the tiny restaurant that chef-owner Jon Robbins opened this past spring. Six pillows of fresh pasta arrived bathed in sauce the color of early-morning sunshine, described on the menu as…
Bistro Barbès 5021 East 28th Avenue 720-398-8085 It was early when we arrived at Bistro Barbès, a French-inspired 32-seater that opened this spring in the former home of Pary’s on 28th (and, before that, Satchel’s Market). Still, it would be another hour before guests outnumbered the good folks manning the…
When people find out what I do for a living, they always ask two things: 1) What’s your favorite restaurant? And 2) What’s it like to be a critic? I’ll save the answer to the first question for our 31st edition of Best Of Denver next spring. But with one…
Smart people spend lots of time studying what makes us eat too much. The scientific reason has to do with the complex ways that salty, fatty and sweet foods woo our brains into wanting more. But there’s a simple reason, too: their yum factor. If one characteristic — just plain…
Range covers a lot of territory. The restaurant opened this past spring in the new Renaissance Denver Downtown City Center Hotel, and so it’s designed to feed business travelers and offer solace to solo guests looking for a chance to unwind at the bar. But Range was also conceived as…
