Back in the day — and I’m talking way back in the day — there was only one word to describe a place where a stranger could stop, sit down and, for two bits or so, get something to eat. That word was “restaurant” — based on the word restaurer…
It has been a long time since I stood a shift in any kitchen. By my own (admittedly poor) accounting, it has been 2,650 days since I last picked up a knife, pulled on my whites or stood before a stove in any sort of professional capacity. I’ve missed it,…
Just got off the blower with Leigh Jones from Jonesy’s EatBar (a self-proclaimed gastropub that I loved despite the label when I reviewed it back in May), and she let me know that things are again changing over at her half-eponymous restaurant. Chef Matt Brown, who came on late last…
Back in the day–and I’m talking way back in the day–there was only one word to describe a place where a stranger could stop, sit down and, for a franc or two, get himself something to eat. That word was restaurant (based on the word restaurer and taken, like everything…
Last week in Ask the Critic, I was trying to help out a buddy (and frequent Cafe Society commenter) who was looking for a place to get some real Hong Kong-style roast goose — but either no one who frequents this little corner of the blogosphere knows where to find…
I love breakfast. It is, indisputably, one of my six favorite meals of the day. But I’ve always had a problem with breakfast, too: It generally doesn’t come with enough alcohol. Oh, sure. There are bloody Marys. The beautiful people have their mimosas and their straight champagne. And Irish coffee…
I want to make myself absolutely clear here: I hate the word “gastropub.” Just to be sure, I’m going to repeat that: I hate the word gastropub. Got it, everyone? The word. Words are my business. I take them very seriously. And as far as words go, gastropub is a…
Ben Ali, co-founder and namesake of Ben’s Chili Bowl in Washington, D.C., died Wednesday night at the age 82. Thursday morning, his joint — the one that he has run for 51 years with his wife, Virginia, and their extended family, the one that has fed everyone from politicians, actors…
When Olivea opened in May at 719 East 17th Avenue, it immediately earned a spot among the top ten restaurants on 17th Avenue, which has become a real restaurant row. Below, nine more places to brake for food along 17th…
Dylan Moore already runs a couple of this city’s most engaging restaurants: Deluxe at 30 South Broadway, one of the (very) few examples of intelligently designed, historical California cuisine done right in Denver, and right next door at 32 South Broadway, Delite, which offers a kind of Deluxe-lite menu (a…
Just got news from the Rocky Mountain BBQ Association that Mike McCrea of Big Mike’s BBQ, at 8751 Pearl Street in Thornton, died on Tuesday night. McCrea had been injured in a flash-over from a propane tank in late September and spent that Friday night in an ER in Grand…
A few days back, we talked about Kevin Taylor getting his catering operation up and running out of Palettes at the Denver Art Museum. Inside that blog, there were some questions about what had gone wrong with the launch of what was supposed to be his newest full-scale restaurant, Kevin…
Over the last few years, East 17th Avenue has seen some remarkable restaurant successes. The street has become one of Denver’s food hubs — a restaurant row on par with East Sixth Avenue and Larimer Street. Concepts that failed everywhere else in the city (dessert bars, upscale Vietnamese) or are…
Jesus…,” I said to no one in particular, dopey smile aimed down 17th Avenue, waddling a little as I cleared the doors of Olivea. “He is just so fucking good.” “So you liked dinner?” Laura asked, squeezing my hand. John Broening has had a dodgy run. Good times and bad,…
Just when you think everything that needs to be said has been, something goes and changes. In the case of my review of Olivea, it’s the menu. John Broening and his crew made the switch to a fall/winter menu just days after I finished my final review meal in their…
Eating John Broening’s food at Olivea made me think about his other kitchen — the one at Duo. Duo is…how do I even describe it without it coming out all wrong? For a guy like me — terminally overfed, always on the hunt, cruising Denver’s restaurant scene like a shark…
“Jesus,” I said to no one in particular, dopey smile aimed down 17th Avenue, waddling a little as I cleared the doors of Olivea. “He is just so fucking good…” John Broening keeps a relatively low profile, even though he frequently writes for the Denver Post food section. He doesn’t…
America is awesome. Not because of all the freedom. Not because we were the country that invented the atom bomb, democracy, Pong, lasers and the Colt revolver. Not even because we rule the world when it comes to the depth and weirdness of our 4 a.m. children’s television programming (yeah,…
When this Ask the Critic thing started, it was with a very simple conceit: that I would use this space to answer some of the myriad questions about the Denver food scene that come across my desk every week. Wait, “myriad” means “four,” right? No? Damn… Anyway, over the past…
If you read yesterday’s post about chef James Mazzio’s exit from Icehouse Tavern and the uh…unusual changes taking place there, you already have the background for this story. But for those of you who might’ve missed it (and are too lazy to click on the link above), here are the…
While I am not generally one for hyping the cause of vegetarian-this or vegan-that, there has always been something about the art (yes, art) of vegan and gluten-free baking that has tickled my geek bone. It’s the same instinct that makes me love the molecular gastronomy menu done by Ian…
No restaurant has ever come up with house-made potato chips that taste even close to as good as those I get out of a bag. Potato chips are one of the very few things in this world that have benefited from the industrialization of our food chain, that are better…
