After my review meals at Mel’s Bar and Grill, I called Chad Clevenger to talk about my experiences while under his care. It wasn’t the sweetest conversation I’ve ever had, but it was enlightening. He’ll mark his one-year anniversary as the owner of Mel’s on August 1. He’d been looking…
We’d timed our exit as skillfully as possible, Laura and I. The bill was paid, the plates cleared, and we were sitting at our table at Mel’s Bar and Grill almost silently, our heads down, making just enough uncomfortable small talk to dissuade anyone from coming over and starting a…
Sometimes you wander into a neighborhood joint and find the stools occupied by a gaggle of sleepy, surly, set-in-their-ways regulars all too ready to give your sudden presence the dreaded stink-eye. “Who the fuck are you?” their silence and stares say, “and what the fuck are you doing in here?”…
I’ve been eating a lot of pizza lately. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve made two trips to Brooklyn M.C.’s for both pizzas and calzones, stopped by Famous for a slice, and one night, too lazy to think it through any further, Laura even called in an order to…
Man, it is a tough time to be a celebrity these days. They just seem to be dropping like flies. Michael Jackson? Dead. Walter Kronkite? Gone. Karl Malden? In the dirt. Even Mollie “The mere sight of my pussy drives him mad” Sugden (who played the inimitable Mrs. Slocombe on…
Sean Huggard, the former executive chef at Black Pearl (1529 South Pearl Street) and Encore (2550 East Colfax Avenue), hung up his whites on July 9, got hitched and is currently on his honeymoon. But he’ll return in plenty of time to open his own place, Newport’s, late this…
The sandwich: Meatloaf Sandwich What’s on it: Meatloaf, grilled onions, white American cheese, and BBQ sauce or ketchup on toasted sourdough bread. Where to get it: Delaney’s Deli (7007 West Alaska Drive, Lakewood, 303-936-3354) How much:$6.95 Meat Loaf. It was your mom’s fallback – for good or for bad -…
I had a pretty good turn-out for my first book signing at Katie Mullen’s a couple weeks ago. There was a good crowd, plenty of drinking, lots of laughs. Surprisingly, lots of people seemed to be very excited about finally getting their hands on a copy of my book (Cooking…
Q: What’s the highest rated television show in the history of everything? A: American Idol. Q: And who is the most high-profile judge on American Idol? A: Simon Cowell. That’s right. And if there’s one organization in the world that knows how to exploit celebrity (even if it happens to be “celebrity”…
Just what South Federal Boulevard needs: Another godforsaken taqueria. No, I’m serious, because if you ever read this space, then you know by now that the whole reason why I was born was to eat and breathe tacos, that my documented unwholesome addiction to carnitas, barbacoa and al pastor is…
As reported here last week, Toshi and Yazu Kizaki are expanding their empire on South Pearl Street. The brothers who own Sushi Den and Izakaya Den just slapped down over seven figures to buy the building at 1501 South Pearl, and plan to transform the longtime Seams Like Olde Times…
Without question, breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, although I rarely touch food in the morning (unless you count coffee with cream as a food group), so the all yolk-y eggs, bacon (and more bacon), ham (one slice is never enough), sausage (double that), fresh blueberry flapjacks, eggs…
Buca di Beppa is touting a new beginning — or “beggining,” if you look closely at the subject line — by sending a half-off coupon to prospective members of its club. You can’t use those coupons in downtown Denver, of course; the Buca location at 1400 Market Street has been…
Solera Restaurant & Wine Bar, 5410 East Colfax Avenue, is hosting a wine tasting happy hour tonight from 5 to 7 p.m. in the bar, which is as good a place as any to sip from a half dozen (or more) different South African wines, for $15 per person. (And…
Chopsticks China Bistro, the excellent Chinese restaurant whose name is a complete misnomer, insomuch that there is nothing remotely bistro-ish about it, is closing its location at 2990 West Mississippi Avenue in mid-August, only to open a few days later in the former Bourbon Street Pizza space at 5117 South…
We’d timed our exit as skillfully as possible, Laura and I. The bill was paid, the plates cleared, and we were sitting at our table at Mel’s Bar and Grill almost silently, our heads down, making just enough uncomfortable small talk to dissuade anyone from coming over and starting a…
There’s a new farmers’ market in the heart of downtown Denver. Three months ago, the spot at 15th and California streets that’s now home to Tiri’s Garden and the Tiri’s Garden Farmers’ Market was an empty asphalt lot, a plot of well-positioned real estate that seemed destined to remain vacant…
Lunch: There are all sorts of terrific lunch deals throughout our fine city, but every day, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the fine folks at Pollo Cabana, a great little Mexican joint at12131 East Iliff Avenue, dole out some of the best bargains around, including nine lunch specials for…
Sure, the plate could be Texas barbecue — if not for those french fries. It could be some fancy-pants dinner entrée — if not for that ugly tin cup in the corner (which, by the way, was filled with coarse-grain mustard). Yes, the above picture looks like it could be…
Today, amid the familiar tastes at Civic Center Eats, you’ll also find Karen Wee Lin Beckman and her Wee Bites Malaysian snack food. Beckman arrived in Denver via Australia, where she spent ten years, after being born and raised in Malaysia. “Of all the flavors I’ve tasted, I still think…
Starbucks is apparently feeling flush, or maybe they’re just trying to pass off their pastries to all those cynics (like me) who normally bypass the glass counter shelved with muffins, apple fritters, bagels, banana bread, oat bars and oatmeal cookies in favor of a good ‘ol cup of java. Either…
Yesterday afternoon, Denver’s best chefs rolled out the culinary red carpet and rubbed tongs with smitten admirers and other do-gooders who showed up in droves at Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation, a charity event that benefits anti-hunger organizations in Colorado and across the nation. The celebration was chef-chaired…
