Seven goes dark in Boulder

It looks as though Seven Eurobar (which had, at some point in its brief history, become just “Seven” or, occasionally, “Seven on Pearl”) has gone dark at 1035 Pearl Street in Boulder.  No one is picking up the phone (even though the voicemail still encourages callers to leave reservation requests)…

Always drink Colorado

Booze, glorious booze. Last night the fine folks from the Denver Independent Network of Restaurants (DINR), the Colorado Wine Board, the Colorado Brewers Guild and the Colorado Distillers Guild held a Colorado wine-, beer- and spirits-tasting event that packed the Walker Fine Art Gallery with more than sixty different wines,…

Ask the Critic: Can’t always get what you want

I did a reading last week at the Tattered Cover and it was nice — drew a good crowd, met some nice people, signed a lot of copies of Cooking Dirty.  During the event, I paused briefly in my witty, stream-of-consciousness banter about kitchens and cooks and all the dirty…

Two Edgewater joints go dark

Well, that sucks. Just called Johnie’s Bar-B-Cue, the new, late-night smokehouse at 5280 West 25th Avenue in Edgewater, only to get a voicemail greeting announcing the following: Thank you for calling Johnie’s Bar-B-cue. At this time we are sad to announce the closing of Johnie’s Bar-B-Que due to issues with…

Denver’s best Caesar salad award goes to…

Last night I witnessed the Greatest Caesar Salad competition, an annual battle of the romaine hosted by the Colorado Chapter of the American Institute of Wine and Food, that pitted seven local restaurants — Squeaky Bean, Root Down, Campo de Fiori, Marco’s Coal-Fired Pizza, Opus, Black Pearl and Izakaya Den…

Smashburger’s a smash

Nation’s Restaurant News, the bible of the food-industry world, has just named Smashburger, a homegrown burger joint that rated our Best Local Chain in the Best of Denver 2008, a 2009 Hot Concept. “We are both honored and humbled to receive this prestigious award from Nation’s Restaurant News,” Tom Ryan,…

Milking It: Apple Jacks Gliders

Apple Jacks Gliders Kellogg’s Rating: Three spoons out of four Cereal description: Corn, wheat and oat flour provides the foundation for this crunchy treat, but the colors of the pieces, which include “limited edition” gliders (a.k.a. puffy triangles with a whole in the middle) along with the familiar bespeckled doughnuts,…

Tonight at Lola: The Denver Five roll out the first of five dinners

Keegan Gerhard (D Bar Desserts), Troy Guard (TAG), Tyler Wiard (Elway’s in Cherry Creek) and Matt Selby (Vesta Dipping Grill and Steuben’s) will join host chef Jamey Fader at Lola, 1575 Boulder Street, tonight at 6 p.m., when all five chefs will convene in Fader’s home kitchen to prepare a…

Cafe Society: Week in review

What you might have missed this week while you were high on sugar in Littleton…The critic wanted to know: where’s the best late-night non-diner food in the city?Sober and not-so-sober observations from the Taste of the Nation.The Cherry Cricket grew by one patio and diners can’t get enough.We said goodbye…

Sunday’s Caesar salad battle tosses competitors

Seven Denver restaurants – Squeaky Bean, Izakaya Den, Root Down, Opus, Encore, Campo de Fiori and Marco’s Coal-Fired Pizza – are fighting for the Caesar salad crown in this year’s Greatest Caesar Salad Competition, a no-holds-barred smackdown that gets tossing at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 26 at the Magnolia…

Second Snooze set to rise Friday, July 31

Friday, July 31st at 9 a.m.–that’s the opening that Snooze owner Jon Schlegel is promising for the second location of his two-unit breakfast empire. “I don’t know if you’ve peeked inside,” Schlegel said to me this morning (I have), “but it’s so close.” And man, it better be.  Because while the public…

The List: Where are they now?

As mentioned briefly in this week’s review of Mel’s in Greenwood Village, the original Mel’s (the one in Cherry Creek that closed last year) was one of Denver’s premier training houses — a place where it sometimes seems an entire generation of local chefs did their time before moving on…

Downtown Littleton is high on sugar

When it comes to sugar, downtown Littleton is on a high. On Main street alone, there’s the relatively new Lola’s Sugar Rush (2490 West Main Street), which would make Augustus Gloop go bat shit. The town’s main drag also houses the Chocolate Therapist (2560 West Main Street), a confectionery run…

Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill plans fifth Denver location

Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill, a Centennial fast-casual concept restaurant with four stores, plans to open a fifth location at the Cherry Creek Hotel, 600 South Colorado Boulevard, according to a sign hanging on a fence in front of the hotel, which is being completely renovated. A Panera Bread outlet will also…

Summer Brew Fest on tap tonight

Over 22 breweries and 70 different beers are on tap at the Summer Brew Fest, which comes down tonight at Mile High Station, 2027 West Lower Colfax Avenue. The indoor/outdoor event begins at 7 p.m. for general admission ticket holders ($30 in advance; $35 at the door) and at 6…

Meet your meat at Fogo de Chao

Fogo de Chao (pronounced fo-go dee shoun), the Brazilian churrascaria at 1513 Wynkoop Street, just three blocks down the street from Rodizio Grill, Denver’s first Brazilian steakhouse at 1801 Wynkoop Street, opens tonight for dinner, but last night, I got a sneak peek of the meat of the matter and…

Candy Girls: Icicle Pop

This cool-looking candy seemed like just what we needed on a hot day.  Distributed by Kid’s Brands, the Icicle Pop does its best to invoke the brand Popsicle without actually using it.  The familiar shape and colors in the logo make it clear that this double lollipop is designed to…

Guess where I’m eating?

Call me weird, but there’s something about the word “pupusa” that makes it sound like a furry animal whose head you want to cuddle in your lap and stroke. In fact, I’ll bet you anything that at least five people reading this post today will have a bunny, dog, cat,…

Crested Butte Land and Trust Food and Wine Festival uncorks today

The first day of the four-day Crested Butte Land Trust Food and Wine Festival uncorks today. And unlike some local food and wine festivals where our homegrown chefs are snubbed, the Crested Butte powwow, which includes wine seminars, wine walks, chef dinners, grand tastings and gourmet picnics, parades four of…