Tavern Hospitality Group introduces its own stimulus package

“We recognize that times are tough for people in this current economic situation,” says Frank Schultz of the Tavern Hospitality Group. “A little has to go a long way. We felt compelled to offer guests a greater value for their dollar.” And so today THG will roll out the Tavern…

Under Fire: I made it through the first week!

Our former Cafe Society intern just decided to chuck college in favor of a real education: as a sous chef. In Under Fire, he chronicles his daily trials and tribulations in the kitchen. Saturday was the day of reckoning — but fortunately, no lives were lost. It was a long…

Under Fire: Hectic nothingness

For a workplace that’s notoriously hectic, it’s funny how little you feel you sometimes get done. In three hours I made tapenade and picked beet greens. We have a whole menu, and that’s all I manage to do? Well, it takes a while to pit approximately 73,000 Pincholine olives. Pitting…

Appetite for pig: Tyler Wiard’s winning pork recipe

In this week’s Chef and Tell interview with Tyler Wiard, the executive chef at Elway’s Cherry Creek, Wiard talks about his proudest moment as a chef — the day he won the National Pork award, and a cool $5,000 in cash, while competing against nearly two dozen other chefs in…

Cafe Society: Week in review

What you might have missed while hurling a No-Bake Love Cake in Sandra Lee’s face…Jason Sheehan asked readers what foods our fair city is missing.We gained a few, we lost a few: check out the restaurant roll call for August.We learned Sean Kenyon, bartender at Steuben’s, has had some very,…

Under Fire: No punchas hoy!

¿Ya punchas? No vato. No hoy. Yeah, it’s different not actually clocking into work. Not counting hours is both a little nerve racking and suspiciously liberating. You kinda just focus on tasks, and time just disappears; it’s over when the last mop is wrung out. But how I do or…

Guess where I’m eating?

 So, yeah, see those tacos in the above pic? You’ll NEVER guess where they came from. I was shocked speechless when I saw tacos — street tacos, mind you — on a bar menu that really has no business pimping tacos. No, this is a watering hole that by all…

Where there’s smoke, there’s Firehouse Subs

A month away from the fifteenth anniversary of the family business, Firehouse Subs CEO Robin Sorensen and his team were in their Thornton store this week after a tour of future Front Range locations, from Fort Collins to Highlands Ranch. I met them at 10060 Grant Street in Thornton, at…

The astounding BBQ problem of Andrew Novick

Andrew Novick is probably best known as a dude with a lot of stuff. The local electrical engineer and punk-rock trend-setter (he was a member of the legendary Denver band the Warlock Pinchers and co-owner with his wife, Janene, of the Asian pop culture boutique Gimme Gimme Pillow Toast) earned…

Sandra Lee’s ten worst dessert disasters

Love her or hate her, everyone will admit that Sandra Lee, the queen of Food Network’s Semi-Homemade domain, has made some seriously shitty food. We dug up her ten best dessert failures to share with you, along with some reader comments from the Food Network’s recipe site. If you have…

Bottomless mango mimosas at Argyll

Argyll, the gastropub that opened four months ago at 2700 East Third Avenue in Cherry Creek, has just released a new fall menu, featuring oatmeal buttermilk pancakes with boxties and maple bacon; fresh lump crab eggs Benedict with a horseradish hollandaise; french toast with chantilly whipped cream; and “housemade” corned…

It’s turkey leg time at the Taste of Colorado (woo-hoo!)

The Taste of Colorado kicks off today and continues through Monday, September 7 at Civic Center Park. And you know what that means: Turkey legs! Of course, readers of this blog want nothing to do with those, but you may be interested in the hot dog eating contest, cupcake tasting,…

Tonight: Pig out on lobster at the Berkshire

The Berkshire, 7352 East 29th Avenue, one of our favorite places for pig – and to pig out – is putting pork on the back-burner, at least for tonight. That’s because the Stapleton-based temple of swine is hosting its first Maine lobster bake with all the required fixings – corn…

Candy Girls: 5th Avenue

5th Avenue candy bars have been around since 1936, but we’ve yet to pull one off the shelf and indulge. The reason why is unclear, though we guess it has something to do with not having any idea what this candy is all about, from its providence to its flavor…

Cast your vote for the most delicious magazine cover of the year

So, the American Society of Magazine Editors is holding a little contest, and it’s the kind of contest that’ll make you hungry. Here’s the deal: See the half dozen food porn magazine covers above? It’s your job to vote for the porn that speaks to your stomach. The covers comprise…

Under Fire: Awaiting a wild weekend in the kitchen

Oh! The great culinary gods have bestowed upon me the most exciting of jobs to start my quest to sous chef stardom: inventory! I have seen many others do inventory, but I’ve never done it myself. But nothing captures the glory of a restaurant kitchen like counting how many boxes…

The Ten Worst Burger Ideas Ever

Ah, the burger. Labor Day grilling tradition, force of good and ease in the American diet. We take you for granted, burger. We assume that because you are a national culinary treasure that you are also unassailable, that you can be toyed with–unmercifully at times–and that you’ll still come out…

Part two: Chef and Tell with Tyler Wiard of Elway’s

This is part two of Lori Midson’s interview with Tyler Wiard, the executive chef at Elway’s Cherry Creek. You can read the first part of Midson’s interview with Wiard here. Proudest moment as a chef: When I won the National Pork Award in May of 2008. I had won the…

Tonight: a sea of Italian wines at Black Pearl

From 5 to 7 p.m. tonight, Black Pearl, the Platt Park hot spot at 1529 South Pearl Street, is hosting its first-Thursday-of-the-month summer sip series, an intimate wine and food gathering that will focus on Italian varietals chosen by general manager and sommelier Jeffrey Musat, paired with appetizers from exec…

The man behind that smash hit, Smashburger

You can’t talk about Colorado cheeseburgers — which I do in my reviews of Larkburger and the Counter — without talking about Smashburger, the Denver-based chain that’s exploding everywhere. Last Thursday I talked Smashburger with Tom Ryan, managing partner and chief concept officer at Consumer Capital Partners, the private equity…