I’d gotten to know Bryan Dayton over the past few months through the Colorado Bartenders Guild, and last week his infectious enthusiasm for cocktails finally lured me up to Frasca. That’s the five-year-old restaurant started by Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson and Bobby Stuckey that’s earned rave reviews for Mackinnon-Patterson’s work in the…
Bryan Dayton has been behind the bar at Frasca, the legendary three-star restaurant, since the eatery was eight months old. But he’s been in Boulder a lot longer than that and is an expert on fake IDs, trail running, the dangers of a “dirty” martini and how important it is…
Bryan Dayton has been behind the bar at Frasca, the legendary three-star restaurant, since the eatery was eight months old. But he’s been in Boulder a lot longer than that, and is an expert on fake IDs, trail running, the dangers of a “dirty” martini, and how important it is…
Dear Keegan Gerhard, Thanks so much for hosting the Westword Mile High Chef Competition . You were a true professional, and everyone in the audience thought you did a great job of keeping the crowd informed — especially when I wasn’t talking over you. But then, I’m hardly the professional…
Nate Windham, cocktail and spirits specialist, created the bar program at Paragon Culinary School in Colorado Springs in 2003. He’s currently the head bartender at The Office@Blondies and a proud member of the Colorado Bartenders Guild. Earlier this month, he left his office at the Office to join his CoBG colleagues…
Nate Windham, cocktail and spirits specialist, created the bar program at Paragon Culinary School in Colorado Springs in 2003. He’s currently the head bartender at The Office@Blondies at 20 North Tejon Street in the Springs, and a proud member of the Colorado Bartenders Guild. Earlier this month, he left his…
Denver is really reaping the benefits of Harvest Week. Chefs aren’t the only ones doing wonders with local produce; bartenders have gotten into the act, too. Last night I had the most glorious smoked Colorado bass with heirloom tomatoes, green chile goat cheese, pepitas and peach dressing at one of…
I smell fall. I know the temperature is still in and out of the ’80s, but it’s Harvest Week in Denver and the scent of roasting green chiles fills the air, so fall must be just around the corner. I can’t wait for the cool nights and those marvelous mornings…
I HEART Harvest week. If there’s one week to go out to eat, it’s this one. The harvest menus available at your local independent restaurants are exceptional — and the cocktails are great, too. In fact, the cocktail in the above shot was so good that I actually forgot to…
I took my judging job seriously during the DeKuyper Mix Master Bartender Contest at Saturday’s Denver Food & Wine event, tasting eight cocktails. Really tasting eight cocktails, since these were complex concoctions (a DeKuyper product had to be part of the mix) that demanded my full attention. The ultimate victor:…
Don’t let the camera angle fool you. That’s a GIGANTIC margarita, made with well tequila and sweet and sour straight out of a gallon jug. Is it delicious? Nope. Not even close. But this venue has been serving these golden jugs for years. And the crowds can’t seem to get…
Holly Hartnett has been a fixture on Denver’s restaurant scene for a long time, working at Table 6 and its previous incarnation, the Beehive. Last October, she finally opened her own place, Venue, at 3609 West 32nd Avenue, and with that came a new set of challenges for Hartnett, including…
Judge Nancy Levine, at your service. The bartending competition will come to order! Bartending competitions are one of the many things I love about the spirit industry (you don’t see busboy competitions, do you?). And I particularly love judging them, watching bartenders perform their magic within the limitations of the…
It may be in the mid ’80s today, but it will be winter before we know it. So guess which patio I’m sitting on, enjoying the last of summer and a delightful peach, plum and nectarine infused martini?…
Anika Zappe is on a tear. Yes, she still has her band, Hemi Cuda, although its last show is coming sometime this year. “Had to make more time for cocktology,” she says. Zappe has been Root Down’s bar manager since the restaurant opened in December 2008, and the bar is…
The cocktails that the original Mad Men drank are back. Classic cocktails are the new, new thing — and the fact is, these old standards generally taste better than all those contemporary cocktails. They taste more like alcohol and less like bananas, pomegranates and apples; they taste more sophisticated. Depending…
This is part two of Nancy Levine’s interview with Sean Kenyon, the bar manager at Steuben’s. You can read the first part of Levine’s interview with Kenyon here. What do you think of bartending school? I am not a believer in generic bartending school as a way to get into…
What famous Wyoming bar is serving me a Jack and Coke — amidst all the brands and dead heads?…
It seems oxymoronic to call a guy covered in tattoos a geek, but when it comes to cocktails, Sean Kenyon is the biggest geek in town. He has taken his engineering coursework and applied it to the engineering of cocktails, with infusion experimentation and enhancements behind the bar a daily…
Ky Belk doesn’t judge who’s coming in the door at Elway’s in Cherry Creek. His best tip was a thousand bucks one night from a guy wearing a Green Bay Packers jersey. And while he won’t say it, I’m sure that some of the flashiest people at the bar have…
Sunday night at Campo de Fiori (300 Fillmore Street), a group of local restaurateurs and spirit-pushers hosted a kick-off party for Harvest Week, sponsored by DINR (the Denver Independent Network of Restaurants) and offering a taste of what to expect at this year’s event, which runs September 12-18. As David…
I’d heard that Colt &Gray, the new gastropub at 1553 Platte Street, was opening for lunch today, so on Saturday I made a reservation for 1 p.m. today using Open Table. But last night, I received the following voicemail message: “Hi, this is Nicole over at Colt &Gray…. Unfortunately, we…
