Go help the Whole Planet

Say what you want about Whole Foods (or “whole paycheck,” as its also known), but at least some of your money is going to something worthy. Whole Foods created the Whole Planet Foundation in 2006 to create even better relations with the producers of its products in foreign countries. The…

A few words with Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg

Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg is officially a very busy man. We all saw Rosenberg, the chef of Jax in Boulder, come out on top on Top Chef last week, and he’s been on the talk-show circuit ever since. I tried to get into the West End Tavern for the final-episode…

Win a Prius by loving a burger

Ted’s Montana Grill wants you to prove how much you love its burgers. The company, which is running a decent meal promotion right now, has also started a contest to find its biggest burger fan. Ted’s Burger FANatic contest has simple rules: You find a way to show your undying…

Infinite Monkey Theorem Winery creates order from chaos

“I’ve got junkies sleeping outside my door,” Ben Parsons says, warning me to lock my car when I visit the Infinite Monkey Theorem Winery. “There are needles around here all the time.” Hmmm…sounds like a perfect place to make wine, I think. But as it turns out, it is. Because…

The Old Blinking Light grows its own … beef?

The restaurant garden is so trendy, the concept is almost becoming commonplace. Potager has a garden. So does Colterra. Bistro One and Root Down plan rooftop gardens this spring.But gardens have their limitations. In a garden, you can grow fruit, herbs and vegetables.You can rep these to the public, use…

Making vanilla to pay the bills: a talk with an ice cream alchemist

We live in a great food city. It’s not New York. It’s not San Francisco. And it shouldn’t be. Denver is more intimate and interconnected, with a culinary web stretching across the metro area. We have quirky shops, gourmet institutions, plenty of hole-in-the-wall joints and an active consumer base always…

Get some Sweet Action on Broadway

Do you long for baklava, adzuki red bean or garam masala ice cream? Your wait will end one week from Friday when Sweet Action Ice Cream opens at 52 Broadway. The space, formerly occupied by Fahrenheit Books, will be shared with Twisted Sol, the tattoo shop moving down from Capitol…

Two Spoons to bring soup and gelato to the masses

Two Spoons opened this month in the former location of Gelato Bacio, at 1021 Pearl Street in Boulder, and owner David Cohen, who for seventeen years has owned Spruce Confections, at 767 Pearl Street, is now serving up more joy by the gelato and soup spoon. “We make everything from…

Organixx is greener than a Prius — let’s hope the food tastes good

The website of Organixx, the new restaurant at 1520 Blake Street, offers this on its home page: “Sustainable, eco-friendly, reusable, recyclable, fair trade, natural, energy efficient, organic, local, green, low-impact, fresh. These are words that inspire us at Organixx.” Amazing: In a single sentence, there’s every possible key word used…

Manischewitz! Denverite competes in national cook-off

When I last talked with Deborah Leebove, daughter of Joyce Foster (the former city councilwoman who is now a state senator), she’d just reached the finals of the third annual Simply Manischewitz Cook-Off.And now Leebove, pictured here with her entry, elaborates on the experience: “I desperately wanted a new kitchen,” she…

Sexy Pizza’s sexy facelift

Back in October, I wrote about Sexy Pizza, a new pizza joint at 1018 East 11th Avenue that was enjoying good word-of-mouth for both its name and its pizzas. At the time, partner Kayvan Khalatbari told me that Sexy’s owners were planning some renovations that would make the name seem…

It’s Denver Cupcake Week for Lovely Confections Bakery

When the going gets tough, the tough sell cupcakes. Lovely Confections Bakery, located at 1489 Steele Street Unit C, started celebrating Denver Cupcake Week on February 21; it will run through this Friday. The bakery is marking its first anniversary by offering two cupcakes for $5.280 and one cupcake for…

A Twinkie-filled weekend at Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs

We’re almost two months into this new year, so it’s a good time to throw resolutions out the window. Resolve to stop by Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs this weekend for a free Hostess Twinkie or cupcake, which Steve’s will be handing out to patrons to mark the hot-dog joint’s third birthday.Last…

Big Red F ventures to Asia, by way of Happy Noodle House

I walked into Happy Noodle House at 835 Walnut Street in Boulder, looking for a little happy-hour joy. And I found it. Another one of Dave Query’s Big Red F Restaurant Group places, the noodle house has a clean, modern feel, with communal tables, warm hand towels, trays of condiments…

Get your hands on a Knork, the new way to eat

Let’s do a quick review of silverware. The fork? Too barbarian. The spoon? Too dainty. The knife? COME ON!!! Chopsticks? Too Asian. The spork? What is this, amateur hour? The Knork? Hell, yeah. A few days ago I got my hands on the newest technology in the gastro-mechanical-delivery-system science. The Knork…

Ted’s Montana Grill offers a ‘real deal’

Ted’s Montana Grill, the chain started by media-man Ted Turner seven years, is expanding the “Real Deal” it introduced last November to new lunch and dinner menus. “At Ted’s, we’re about real food for real people. During these challenging times, we want to give our guests a break as well…

Vert Kitchen opens in West Wash Park

After meeting in France (where they both attended culinary school), Noah Stephens and Emily Welch came back to Denver, where they just opened their own sandwich shop, Vert Kitchen. It’s only open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (and closed on Monday), has no liquor license — due to the…

The Rib House is moving to Boulder

Since Kevin Taylor’s Prima in Boulder closed in late 2007, its spot at One Boulder Plaza has housed only a “For Lease” sign. But now Tracy Webb, chef/owner of The Rib House, at 1920 South Coffman Street in Longmont, will turn this location into his second Rib House.Webb is from Kansas City…

Cure for the common cold: a ‘souper’ review

I feel like Michael Flatley is riverdancing on my head. When 30,000 college kids move back onto campus after winter break, the inevitable respiratory illnesses spread across campus faster than your everyday STD. (Please keep that movie running while reading this–it is the perfect soundtrack.) A nice, throbbing head cold gave me…

Make a pig of yourself at Merle’s

I finally got a chance to try Merle’s, the new American restaurant made out of that most American of businesses, an old shock-alignment place. Merle’s managers pimped their vinegar-based Carolina barbecue when I first talked to them, so I felt obligated to try the pork sandwich, topped with a traditional creamy…