MiniBar opened in Cherry Creek nearly three years ago, when Bill Ward, the Denver club owner who once ran now-defunct Below Bar and Slim 7 in Larimer Square, picked up the space below the old Village Inn and installed a lounge…
Most of the Greek joints in Denver, as I note in this week’s review, are mediocre places where people yell “Opa!” — an expression of joy — despite the fact that the fare they’re serving is rather joyless. Given how vibrant Greek culture is, that just makes me sad. There…
The Bitter Bar may have made a name for itself from pouring championship-winning cocktails, but that doesn’t mean it’s not into other beverages, too. The Boulder-based cocktail bar and restaurant recently brewed up a collaboration with Avery Brewing Company, bringing a spiritous touch to the project…
If food is, indeed, the next rock-and-roll, as Ferran Adria once said, then Michael Pollan is certainly one of its superstars; the author and professor has made major inroads in how we all think about what goes into our body, using his body of work — which includes Botany of…
This week’s review took me to Axios Estiatorio, the restaurant Telly Topakas opened on Tennyson Street when Brasserie Felix closed last year. Royce Oliveira runs the kitchen here, and it was quickly obvious that the chef, who never trained in a Greek kitchen, wasn’t exactly interested in adhering strictly to…
It’s been almost two years since Bill Feid opened Billy’s Gourmet Hot Dogs in the Ballpark Neighborhood, vending wieners tricked out with the traditional stylings of Chicago, his hometown, in addition to dozens of other sausages and dogs with an array of toppings. Now, the owner is about to branch…
Here at Cafe Society, we’re meat fiends who subscribe to the adage “stop tofu abuse, eat foie gras,” so we don’t exactly spend tons of time seeking out sources of tofu. But if we’re going to buy bricks of silken soy beans, we’d prefer to get it locally, rather than…
It was a sad day for Francophiles in this city when Brasserie Felix shut its doors on Tennyson Street. The charming French bistro served, among other things, one of our favorite renditions of coq au vin. But when it folded, it left a prime piece of real estate on a…
Late last year, we learned that changes were in the works for a slot in Boulder’s Twenty Ninth Street development most recently home to Ruby’s Diner: Flatirons restaurateur Chris Dailey had picked up the space and was planning to build out StarLite Diner & Lounge…
Oskar Blues has expanded significantly since founder Dale Ketechis first started brewing in Longmont fifteen years ago — and his decision to can his beers in 2002 made a big mark on the craft brewing industry. This year, the brewery will embark on a new venture that it hopes will…
I fell in love with Greece while sitting at a rickety wooden table at a cafe in Corinth, picking at a brick of feta. My infatuation was initially superficial, of course; the country is beautiful viewed from the deck of a boat navigating around white islands on the royal-blue sea,…
As beer pairings go, few are more classic than the briny oyster and the heady stout; the two have been matched since the eighteenth century, when the beer was first made. Sometime in the early twentieth century, beermakers began crafting their stouts to pair with oysters — or using oysters…
When Louisville’s Viceroy of India changed over to Delhi Darbar, not much changed — the Indian restaurant served up the same menu as its predecessor, albeit under a different name. But even with a fresh moniker, the owners couldn’t make Indian food work in that location, and Delhi Darbar closed…
Over the last few months, I went from the worst shape of my life to the best while continuing to eat like a food critic. Don’t punch me in the face; instead, read how I did it in this series: As internet memes go, I really hope this one is…
While Denver is filled Mexican food outlets, restaurants that delve into the vast gastronomic offerings of the rest of Central and South America are in short supply. Still, there are some worthy spots specializing in the cuisine of Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, El Salvador and the islands of the…
In this interview, James Lee, one of the godfathers of Colorado cocktail culture, discusses the Pimms Cup that made him see the light, one thing he thinks bartenders absolutely have to measure, and the night he was called the worst bartender ever…
Glenfiddich, known for its single malt Scotch whisky, “has the spirit of a pioneer,” says Edinburgh native Mitch Bechard, the spirit’s national brand ambassador. “It was the first single malt marketed outside of Scotland, and we were laughed at when we did it.”…
The Daily Camera pulled out of its 119-year-old digs on Boulder’s Pearl Street in early 2011, but Los Angeles-based Karlin Real Estate, the group that purchased the building in 2010, had already begun planning a project that would raze the current structure and rebuild a mix of office and retail…
In the almost-six months since Vesta Dipping Grill and Steuben’s restaurateur Josh Wolkon and his cohorts — including wife Jen, Matt Selby, Brandon and Emily Biederman and Jeff Bustos — took over the old Storz Garage space next to Steuben’s, they’ve been busily drawing up plans to convert the address…
There have probably been a bazillion sandwich combinations invented since the first prescient human stuck filling between a couple of slices of bread, but only a handful of those have become icons of culture and cuisine. There’s the pastrami on rye, of course, which embodies the spirit of a New…
On owner Sergio Negrin’s insistence, my meal at Frijoles Colorado Cuban Cafe, the Lakewood restaurant I review this week, kicked off with a strong, sweet shot of Cuban coffee, an excellent way to start a meal. The Negrins are delightful hosts, and though their menu is modest, it offers a…
Yesterday may have been a day of indulgence for those of you who used Mardi Gras as an excuse to stuff yourself with pancakes and get sloshed on Hurricanes. But if you’re still going strong, you’ll want to know that today is probably the best arbitrary hedonistic holiday of the…
