Vail’s Sweet Basil restaurant produces some beautiful dishes, like their signature cauliflower and black truffle bisque, crispy veal sweetbreads and Greek yogurt cheesecake with honey-poached blueberries. And on November 20, owners Kevin Clair and Matt Morgan, with executive chef Paul Anders, will spill their sweet, savory and spicy secrets in…

We’ve all heard (or made up our own) the pejorative nicknames for Taco Bell. Taco Hell, Taco Fail, Toxic Hell, Taco Smell, Tizzle Bizzle, Baco Tell, Think Inside Your Buns, and Get The Runs From the Border are just a few off the top. It might seem like all of…

McDonald’s is trying to kill us with 1830 milligrams of sodium at a time, most of which may be in the form of some seriously over-applied sauce. I was eager to try the new CBO — Cheddar, bacon and onion — Angus burger and chicken sandwiches, because I’m enthusiastic about…

Sonic has again graced the fast-food dining public with its deep-fried cheesecake bites –or, as I call them, “Thousands of years of tradition stuffed into a greasy paper bag with a side of strawberry sauce.” Couple an order of those with one of Sonic’s new Hickory Flatmelt sandwiches crammed with…

With the passage of Amendment 64 — which legalizes recreational marijuana in the state of Colorado — I know I’m not the only one looking forward to the vast array and variety of weed-infused edibles that one day we’ll be able to prepare at home — and maybe even order…

When 86-year-old newspaper columnist Marilyn Hagerty wrote her now-famous review of a North Dakota Olive Garden back in March, I wouldn’t say that her story changed the path of restaurant reviews everywhere — or even anywhere. But it did give food writers, myself included, an appreciation for the fact that…

The holidays bring out the very best in fast food restaurants (and sometimes in their customers who can be more easily shamed into not behaving like dingleberries in long lines), especially when it comes to seasonal drinks and desserts of the minty, eggnoggy and gingerbread-y type that we don’t have…

I made my first foray into sushi at the relatively ripe age of twenty (I don’t count the gobs of bad California rolls that I squished down before that), and it was an instant, passionate love affair akin to the greatest romances of all time. Romeo and Juliet, Bogey and…

For all of the menu items that Burger King has come up with over the years, the Whopper has survived as a staple for good reason: The signature grilled hamburger tastes about as close as fast-food customers are gonna get to a flame-broiled, backyard burger. And even when ingredients are…

The generous, if opportunistic, folks at the California Pizza Kitchen at Park Meadows are offering costumed youngsters a free meal on Wednesday, October 31, so if you have no interest in cooking tomorrow, this deal could be just the trick you need to treat yourself to. See also: -California Pizza…

No kidding: Denny’s is introducing a special menu inspired by the upcoming movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. When I first heard this, I thought it was a joke. After all, watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy constituted ten hours of my life that I would never get back;…

Colorado is home to the highest number of Google searches for Halloween treats, according to NBC’s Today; fortunately, the Centennial State has plenty of places to get our sugar rush. And we just acquired one more: A second Rocket Fizz Soda Pop & Candy Shop (the original is at 1512…

Is the idea of eating insects for protein — rather than as part of a reality-TV show contest –really that weird anymore? John Beers of Chapul Cricket Bars doesn’t think so, and he’s on a mission to change hearts and minds — by chirping about the health and environmental benefits…

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…

Nothing says “Halloween is here!” like skeletal Hello Kitty tins filled with sour-orange, bone-shaped candies. Sure, the candies themselves are nothing more than boring Sweet Tarts, but this time of year, it’s all about the presentation. Sugarlicious, a sweet shop in Cherry Creek, not only has great Halloween atmosphere, but…

Of all the things on the planet to get people’s knickers in a twist, this week it happens to be Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Several public schools in California, New Mexico and Illinois have banned these spicy red snacks, claiming they are unhealthy, germy, messy, addictive and salty. Sure, a tiny…

I had never eaten at aBonefish Grill, and I as I lurked the menu online on the way to the restaurant, I was unimpressed with what I saw: grilled meats and seafood that seemed pretty typical of any American seafood/steakhouse. These days our food-centric culture tends to steer diners toward…

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 of time…

The seasonal, pumpkin-flavored coffees and baked goods at Starbucks are my favorite part of fall, and so I head over to my neighborhood Starbucks early — and often — to get pumpkin spice lattes, slabs of fragrant pumpkin bread dotted with roasted pumpkin seeds, and iced pumpkin scones. But this…