Guess where I’m eating?

Skewered meat: that most dangerous of foodstuffs. But at this restaurant, it’s absolutely worth the risk of losing an eye or getting into a tableside sword fight with your dining companion in order to get your mitts on the chicken kabobs, the schwarma, the hummus. Can you guess where I’m…

Beer and Cheer: Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Sierra Nevada Celebration is back with a zesty, tongue- tingling bang in 2009, bringing the full host of hops that had been missing from a couple of its previous incarnations. This is the holiday beer that should be in everyone’s fridge; it’s one that takes advantage of all the powerful…

La Baguette de Normandy: My lunch was better than your lunch

This is what I spent my afternoon doing. What about you? No, I didn’t bake that monster. I’m smart enough not to attempt anything of the sort. Rather, I found someone for whom breads, pastries and chocolates have been le raison d’etre for a quarter-century: Chef Michael Dupont. Dupont might’ve…

Up Close: Red Trolley

See more mouth-watering photos of Red Trolley, the subject of this week’s review, on the slideshow page…

Sticker me contagious

Oh, glorious flu season, that wonderful time of year when just glancing at a stranger on the bus can shock your body into shiver mode. Add the mix of holiday parties and alcohol-themed socializing to the mix — the kind where you accidentally sip from the same wine glass as…

Guess where I’m eating?

OOn these cold days, there’s nothing more warming than a big plate of pasta smothered with red sauce. But first, of course, you have to eat your greens — even if they’re swimming in gorgonzola dressing. Guess where I’m eating?Special bonus: Every Friday, anyone who gave the first correct answer…

Flip for the calendar girls at Jonesy’s EatBar

Some people can’t get enough of the mac-and-cheese fries at Jonesy’s EatBar and some people can’t get enough of the beer list, which is packed full of Colorado microbrews. But if you can’t get enough of the lovely ladies who work at Jonesy’s and the Horseshoe Lounge next door (both…

Free beer! Get Blitzen at the Rock Bottom tonight

Donner may have been Rudolph’s dad in the 1964 TV special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but Blitzen will be responsible for giving you a red nose when downtown’s Rock Bottom Brewery taps its venerable holiday seasonal beer at 6 p.m. tonight. Even better: Pints are free between 6 and 6:30…

Geek in the Galley: Single catalog Christmas spectacular!

“Laura!” “What?’ “Laura!” “What!” “We need to get rich. Like, immediately.” “Sounds good to me.” “No, seriously. Right now. We need money.” “Any particular reason, Jay?” Yes. One very particular reason. Because I just got the new ThinkGeek catalog in the mail and I want pretty much everything in it…

Chef and Tell part two: Michael Long of Opus

This is part two of my interview with Micheal Long, executive chef of Opus. To read part one of this interview, click here. Culinary inspirations: Norman Van Aken. I’m a south Florida guy, so when I came out of CIA in 1990 and moved back to Florida, Norman was definitely…

Party like a playboy at the Warwick

In December 1967, Denver’s Playboy Club opened at 1776 Grant Street. Today, the club is just a memory (one that leaves a smile on a certain generation of businessmen’s faces). The address now belongs to the Warwick Denver Hotel, which is celebrating the infamous former tenant with a special drink…

Tonight: A Big Night at Bacaro Venetian Taverna

Bacaro Venetian Taverna, 921 Pearl Street in Boulder, is throwing a big party at 6:30 p.m. tonight. At Bacaro’s Big Night, you’ll see Big Night; sample some of the food in the film, including the infamous Timballo (new Bacaro chef Fabio Flagiello acted as a consultant/culinary trainer on the movie…

Denver Ted’s still has a lot to learn about cheesesteaks

Red Trolley is a one-trick pony (an ice cream shop) trying to find other ways to make money (selling hot dogs, among other things) when the season isn’t right for ice cream — becoming all things to all people in a very deliberate and calculated way. Denver Ted’s is a…

On ice cream, Eric Ripert and Christmas trees

The restaurant world is full of one-trick ponies. It is, in a way, designed for them — built up like a machine made for repetitive specialization. Grill men are grill men. Chefs who do Italian are (generally) not capable of being pulled out of their element and told to make…

100 Favorite Dishes: Enchiladas from Taco House

As a countdown to the Best of Denver 2010, coming April 1, Cafe Society is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in Denver. Send your own nominations to cafe@westword.com. Number 86: Enchiladas from Taco House…

Beer and Cheer: Shiner Holiday Cheer

There are many more holiday beers on liquor store shelves this year, especially offerings from out-of-state brewers. Shiner Holiday Cheer was a nice surprise among them, not just because I hadn’t seen this beer in Colorado before, but because of its unusual pecan and spice flavors, which fill an important…

Do you have a table for the loneliest number?

Poor Reese Witherspoon. She was spotted recently dining solo at the trendy London eatery La Petite Maison. She’s obviously dealing with the stress of dating other movie stars and being rich and not knowing what to do about it. Still, when a person has no other choice than to dine…

Julie Powell books a different Denver appearance

Julie Powell, the author of Julie & Julia, canceled her big stage talk, but she’s still coming to town: She’s scheduled a last-minute event at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, December 10, at the LoDo Tattered Cover for her latest book. Here’s what Tattered has to say: Powell “thought cooking her way…

Wynkoop Brewing opens its taps to other microbreweries

According to Wynkoop Brewing Company’s spokesman Marty Jones, he’s been charged with “stretching out the already wonderful beer culture,” at the Wynkoop by “working closely with some other breweries, flying the flag a little higher.” What does all that actually mean? Just this: Starting today, Wynkoop will have a red…