Happy hour is prime time for getting awesome deals on the bar bites doled out where the above pic was flashed. We love the jalapeno poppers wrapped with prosciutto, but the jumbo shrimp, lightly battered and fried and glistening with a sweet and spicy Thai glaze, gratifies our bellies, too…

I was longing for hot and sour soup and soup dumplings yesterday, but when I pulled into the parking lot of Chopsticks China Bistro, 5117 South Yosemite Street, one of my favorite joints to get both, the dining room was dark and the front door and windows had been plastered…

That was easy. Yesterday, we asked Cafe Society readers to guess the location of Olav Peterson’s new restaurant, scheduled to open in early December, and the only clue we gave was in the form of a black-and-white photo from way back when. But it was enough to generate several guesses,…

Tickets go on sale today for the Denver Celebrity Chef Tour, a star-studded squad of kitchen sorcerers, including Matt Selby (Vesta Dipping Grill and Steuben’s); Alex Seidel (Fruition and Fruition Farms); Eric Skokan (Black Cat, Boulder); and Michael Ginor, the co-founder and chef of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, all of…

The greaseless egg rolls, accompanied by leafy lettuce, cilantro and nuoc cham sauce, are just one of many stellar dishes at this Vietnamese restaurant that’s quickly becoming one of my favorite lunch stops in the city. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct…

Jay Spickelmier Japoix 975 Lincoln Street 303-861-2345 www.japoix.com This is part two of this week’s Chef and Tell. Read the rest of Lori Midson’s interview with Jay Spickelmier, executive chef of Japoix, here. Favorite restaurant in America: Osaki’s Sushi & Japanese Cuisine in Vail. I just feel at home when…

Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market’s choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. It all started,…

On Monday, we asked Cafe Society readers to guess the name of Olav Peterson’s new restaurant, which is called Bittersweet. Reader Evan didn’t waste much time coming up with the correct answer, and his prize is two seats to the Bittersweet soft opening dinner in December. Evan will be joined…

The name of the above cocktail is the same as a former longstanding Italian restaurant in Denver that served its last meal two years ago. Made with whiskey, honey and fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and garnished with a basil leaf and rope of red pepper, it’s not an Italian cocktail, but…

Jay Spickelmier Japoix 975 Lincoln Street 303-861-2345 www.japoix.com This is part one of Lori Midson’s interview with Jay Spickelmier, executive chef of Japoix. To read part two of that interview, check back here tomorrow. Jay Spickelmier is wrist-deep in a large, deep, flat-bottomed wooden bowl swelled with vinegared rice. It’s…

Yesterday, we invited Cafe Society readers to enter to win two seats to the soft opening of Olav Peterson’s new restaurant, which opens in December. We asked you to guess the name of that restaurant based on clues that were hidden in the story we wrote back in July announcing…

Four years ago, in 2006, Tom Coohill, the former Western regional chef and director of culinary standards for Levy Restaurants at the Pepsi Center, left the armpit that some people call Pittsburgh and moved to Denver. “My wife and I had a vision of moving out west — we’re both…

Last night, after a series of soft openings, Lon Symensma and his crew from ChoLon Modern Asian Bistro, which opens today at 1555 Blake Street, hosted a final party that flowed with wine, beer and champagne and strutted dishes from Symensma’s Asian-inspired menu. Everything that came out of Symensma’s state…

Smother love: It’s easy being green in Denver in September, when the smell of roasting chiles overrides the odor of exhaust along Federal Boulevard, and the green chile at your favorite Mexican joint carries the heat of the new harvest. For the next several weeks, Cafe Society will feature some…

Last month, we reported that Olav Peterson, the ex-executive chef of Bistro One, 1294 South Broadway, had vacated his gig there to open a new restaurant, which we now know will be unmasked in early December. But before Peterson’s new restaurant is unleashed to the public, he’s having a soft…

Den Deli and Seafood Market, at 1501 South Pearl Street, the third venture from Toshi and Yasu Kizaki, the brotherhood behind Sushi Den, 1487 South Pearl, and Izakaya Den, 1518 South Pearl, opened in December 2009 — but the bento boxes, ready-made sushi and brimming bowls of ramen, which we…

J’Shabu, the Aurora-based swish-swish Japanese restaurant at 2680 South Havana Street that former Westword restaurant critic Jason Sheehan raved about when he reviewed it in 2007 (it also garnered a Best of Denver award in 2010 for Best Japanese Restaurant), has gone dark. A phone call to the still-listed number…

It took about ten seconds for another chef and me to slurp down these oysters — and I’m certain we could have demolished another three dozen in the same amount of time. We were having lunch with a restaurateur, as well, but he admitted he didn’t like to suck. Or…

Culture on a stick. That’s the new concept that Hutch Phanichamnuay and his wife, Wattra Phairatphiboon, are bringing to the University of Denver neighborhood in November when they unleash Skew, a fast-casual joint at 2070 South University, located in the former Stick-e Star space, which closed earlier this year…

What, you think you won? There were some excellent comments submitted to our little Balistreri Harvest Party ticket giveaway, and to be honest, we wish we could hand out tickets to a whole slew of you for making us giggle until we spewed our wine, but we could only choose…