Denver Restaurant Week has a record-breaking year

If you booked a table to cash in on the $52.80 prix fixe deals offered during Denver Restaurant Week (or, as TAG’s chef de cuisine, Jensen Cummings, more accurately put it, “Denver Restaurant Half-Month”), you helped create a banner year for the event. According to Visit Denver, the seven-year-old citywide…

Three major sommelier service don’ts

A few months ago, we ranted about four all-too-common restaurant wine service mistakes that drive us absolutely mad. And while it’s one thing to have a less-than-transcendental wine experience when there’s no trained sommelier on staff, it’s quite another to have one when there is. After a few recent wine-and-dine…

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: Spring has sprung pesto pasta

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. Whitney Aris, who…

The Kitchen [Next Door] will take sustainability seriously

Last Friday we got a first look at the The Kitchen [Next Door], the third in the growing family of restaurants that started seven years ago when The Kitchen sprang to life on the west end of Pearl Street in Boulder. Partners Kimbal Musk and Hugo Matheson will open their…

Readers: Suburbs versus city, SouthGlenn versus Wash Park

The closing of Tarbell’s and The Oven at the Streets at SouthGlenn continues to fuel a discussion of what kind of restaurants, exactly, will work in the suburbs, as opposed to the city. Here’s the take from b/art: Wow. We actually would drive to the Oven from the Wash Park…

Beer and Bikes, Bikes and Beer launches today at Star Bar

There’s nothing like a crisp, refreshing summer seasonal straight from the tap, especially after a hard bicycle ride. Every Wednesday through July 31, starting today, Star Bar hosts Beer and Bikes, Bikes and Beer, where participants can enjoy a freshly tapped keg of New Belgium’s new summer seasonal, Somersault; proceeds…

West African dishes and a family atmosphere are on the menu at African Grill

Residents of Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Senegal may speak different languages, live within different political systems and celebrate different traditions, but the people of West Africa are bound by their cuisine. They all rely on plantains, tomatoes, goat meat, cassava and peanut butter, combined and prepared in countless ways…

Review preview: African Grill and Bar

I love it when an unfamiliar cuisine forces me out of my comfort zone, sending me into a post-dinner frenzy of research as I try to understand a culture through what it eats. When I first sat down at African Grill and Bar, an Aurora restaurant that specializes in west…

The Tavern Littleton is now open on West Main Street

The Tavern Hospitality Group, which owns the six Tavern locations, the Soiled Dove Underground and Cowboy Lounge, has expanded its empire to Littleton. Yesterday, the Tavern Littleton opened its doors at 2589 West Main Street. This is a smaller version of the Tavern Downtown, which was named the best sports…

Rainy day pick-me-up: beef hearts and B3 at Colt & Gray

We’re optimistic that the clouds will break for good later this week, returning Denver to its typical sunny self. But until then, we’re combating our rainy day depression by doing what we always do: drowning our sorrows in a good meal and a good drink. If you’re feeling the same…

Guess where I’m eating?

While the burgers here have their legion of fans, I was far more impressed with the bowl of chili studded with onions, sprightly cilantro leaves, hominy, beef, assertive spices and swatches of cheddar. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the…

Tonight: Butcher Blocks and Lamb Hocks Disassembly Dinner at TAG

TAG will host the Butcher Blocks and Lamb Hocks disassembly dinner with Mark DeNittis tonight. The amazing event starts at 6 p.m. and costs $75; for more information, call 303-996-9985 or visit www.tag-restaurant.com. For information on dozens of culinary events around town, visit our online Food & Drink listings –…