Two years ago, Leonard Cordova — founder of the homegrown Bubba Chinos chain and one of the Cordova family members claiming to hold the original, iconic green chile recipe that his grandmother, Stella Cordova, introduced at Chubby Burger Drive Inn more than four decades ago — had grand plans to…
Three and a half years ago, I moved to Denver because I wanted to work in restaurants. This city’s restaurant scene, I reasoned, was growing. It would afford opportunities to dig in and help build something, and when the city inevitably rose to culinary greatness, I could proudly say I…
On the rare occasion when someone else is footing the bill for dinner, it’s understandably tempting to choose a restaurant where you can ring up a big tab. But an expense-account dinner shouldn’t be just an excuse to drop a bunch of Benjamins on a flashy place — you should…
My last week in Denver was not really my last, since I have friends and family here who will draw me back to the Mile High City. But after three years of living off the local restaurant scene — first waiting tables and then writing about food — eating in…
It was just over five years ago that chef Alex Siedel and maitre d’ Paul Attardi joined forces to open Fruition in an intimate two-room space on East Sixth Avenue…
Delis are the ideal spot for a quick lunch: An efficient crew assembles sandwiches, salads and sides for those who have only a few minutes to grab a meal, wrapping everything in butcher paper or plastic and handing over a portable package. But while Denver delis are usually quick, they’re…
It was once perfectly acceptable to have a three-martini lunch in this country, but that practice has gone the way of fax machines and napping under your desk after a long, liquid lunch. Not every culture is so prudish, though: The Italians and French still like wine at their mid-day…
While Denver’s getting better and better at disguising the fact that it was once a cowtown with all the trappings of the Wild West, there are still a few holdover spots that provide a window into this state’s rough-and-tumble history. Here, in no particular order, are our five favorite spots…
My mom has only commanded a classroom since I was a teenager, but she’s always been a teacher at heart, and when I was a kid growing up in the southern suburbs of Denver, she’d devise elaborate lessons for my brother and me to carry out over summer break, packing…
Colorado has a rich (no pun intended) mining history, and when I was a kid growing up in the southern suburbs of Denver, my mom would devise elaborate lessons for my brother and me to carry out over summer break, packing us into the minivan for day or weekend trips…
Two years ago, Sean Kenyon bested a handful of international bartenders to take home $10,000 — and much respect for Colorado’s bartenders — for his work in the Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur competition in St. Maarten. Last year, Noah Heaney was the West Coast representative in the same contest,…
We’re not exactly avid cyclists here at Cafe Society, but we’re sold on B-Cycle, since the bike share basically takes all the annoying parts of riding around out of the equation by letting us check out and dock up without having to worry about finding a place to lock up…
Todd Regan took over the old Marrakesh address on Blake Street last year and quickly drew up plans to instill TD’s Dogs, a bar-focused hot dog and hamburger joint with a California theme…
By his own admission, Pizzeria Locale general manager Chris Donato had never worked in a kitchen before. But a few weeks ago, he was sitting at the bar with Jordan Wallace, the restaurant’s head pizzaiolo, and the pair hatched a scheme to teach Donato the ropes. “I said, ‘Wouldn’t it…
June starts tomorrow, ushering in the summer season for barbecuing, bobbing around in the pool on a raft and sipping boat drinks, preferably made with some sort of tropical fruit…
This week’s review took me to Ambria, the restaurant that opened on the 16th Street Mall last November and where, a few months ago, I had a near-perfect meal when the kitchen was under the control of Jeremy Kittelson. Shortly after that dinner, though, Kittelson was fired and Gabe Balenzuela…
Ambria, which opened last November, was on our short list of contenders for Best New Restaurant in the Best of Denver 2012 — until, just days after a marvelous meal there and a few weeks before the issue was going to press, chef/part-owner Jeremy Kittelson was fired, and partners Steve…
On a snowy February night, I ate one of the best meals I’d had in a long time at Ambria. I’d been excited to try this spot, which Steve Halliday opened last November in the former Ling & Louie’s in the Tabor Center; he’d brought in chef Jeremy Kittelson to…
Just in time for a long, sunny weekend, Denver’s about to get another ice cream parlor: Charlie’s Ice Cream Social, a ’30s and ’40s-themed soft-serve spot, will throw open its doors today, offering frozen treats to the Berkeley neighborhood…
Imbibe, an experience-oriented deal site that’s not related to the publication of the same name, was born of Casey Berry’s desire to help people get the most out of Denver. “You know that feeling you get when you find out about someplace new and you go there and it’s awesome?…
When Nancy Weagant gave up her three-decade dental career five years ago, she decided to head into the kitchen. “I grew up in San Francisco, and I watched my mom cook forever,” she says. “And I studied abroad in France and Italy. I just knew this is what I wanted…
Gabrielle Hamilton has been on top of the culinary world for the past couple of years. In 2011, she landed a James Beard Award for Best Chef in New York City for her simple fare at Prune, besting April Bloomfield, Wylie Dufresne, Michael Anthony and Michael White and quipping, charmingly,…
