The Rib House is open for business in Boulder

The Rib House, which got its start in Longmont, has opened the Boulder outlet we reported on two months ago  here on Cafe Society — and business is smoking. “It’s jamming today,” owner Tracy Webb told me. “It was a beautiful lunch. April 6 was our official opening, and April…

Veggie Girl: Lala’s Wine Bar + Pizzeria

When the weather starts to heat up, all I want is a nice patio, a great happy hour and some friends with which to enjoy the day. On a recent sunny afternoon, the patio at Lala’s Wine Bar + Pizzeria fit the bill perfectly. Since I’m eight-and-a-half months pregnant, happy…

Park Burger still on the back burner

When last I talked to Park Burger owner Jean Phillippe Failyau, he hoped to get his restaurant at 1890 South Pearl Street up and running in about a month. That was a month ago.I just got off the phone with Park Burger kitchen manager Brad Putrycus (formerly chef at Osteria…

Benny’s gets ready to open its drink deck

Back from Tucson, the land of cheese crisps but no green chile, I ran to Benny’s yesterday to get a late-lunch fix. Benny’s is a Denver institution that serves Colorado-style Mex to softball teams, book clubs, hatboys, party girls and anyone else who can escape their office on a Wednesday…

Do good when Dos Casas returns to Lola

I’m leaving for a girls weekend in New Orleans on April 30 and hoping to make it out of the Big Easy with no permanent tattoos and both kidneys, so I was trying to stay off the cocktail circuit for the rest of April. But there’s that COBG contest I’m…

Qdoba pulls the pepper on its chile verde

It’s no secret that we Westworders are seriously obsessed with green chile, which is why we could barely contain our enthusiasm when word hit the pavement back in early March that the executive decision-makers who oversee important things at Qdoba Mexican Grill, a homegrown chain headquartered in Wheat Ridge, planned…

Katie Mullen’s will be hot tonight

Katie Mullen’s, the Irish restaurant and bar at 1550 Court Place, opened two months ago, but it’s hosting a grand-opening party from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 23 that’s a benefit for Friends of the Denver Fire Department. Tickets are $25, and include cocktails and appetizers; for more…

Andrew Schutt takes his heavenly menu to new heights

The barbecue scene is smokin’. First I heard that Mike Frislie, ex of the late, lamented Bugling Bull Trading Post, has his hands in a new barbecue operation, The ‘Que, which just opened on Yosemite Street off Park Meadows Drive. Then I got word from my prime barbecue-and-doughnut pusher, Andrew…

Columbine Steak House keeps the home fires burning

See more photos of Columbine Steak House at westword.com/slideshow. It’s 1983, I’m ten years old — and it’s steak night at the Sheehan household. Steak nights didn’t happen very often at my house. But every now and again, Mom would go to the freezer and pull out a frost-rimed, plastic-wrapped…

White Sangria at Sketch

I love a challenge, and as soon as I saw the “limit 3 per customer” advisory on the menu for the Bar Sketch White Sangria ($7.50), I knew what I had to do. From the first sip, I knew I would not be taking on a traditional “sangria” made from…

Cowbobas is still mixing it up

Cowbobas looks like it could be that rare spiritual successor to the Columbine. It is a reversion to form — like Ford making its new Mustangs along the tried, true and beautiful body lines of its original muscle-car progenitors — but with lots of modern improvements and concessions to the…

Our Weekly Bread: Bourbon Grill

The sandwich: Bourbon chicken sandwich Where to get it: Bourbon Grill (1618 East Colfax Avenue, 303-355-3821) What’s on it: Bourbon chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo on a bun How much: $5.08 So, my sister called me this morning with a sandwich tip. Bourbon Grill, she said. Check it out, or miss…

Another bit of good news from Tin Star Cafe

Chef/owner Andrew Schutt has introduced a “new menu” — actually a reinforcement of the original menu — at his excellent barbecue and donut joint in Evergreen, Tin Star Cafe. When I reviewed Tin Star two years ago, I praised its excellent donuts (the apple fritters in particular) and excellent barbecue…

Delicious Designs: Eat this restaurant

Have you ever stood outside a restaurant late at night, hazily looked up at the edifice, and thought, Yeah, this place looks good enough to eat! Well, now you can!…kinda.April is Colorado Architecture Month, and the Colorado chapter of the American Institute of Architects has come up with quite the…

V.G. opens, veg-heads rejoice!

Some timely Earth Day news for you: V.G. Burgers, the vegetarian fast-food joint in Boulder, has completed its move, reopening two days ago at its new 1650 Broadway location. The store is open from 9 a.m.to 9 p.m. daily, and can be reached at 303-440-2400. …

Coffee Spot: Peet’s Coffee and Tea

Name: Peet’s Coffee and Tea Where: 2500 East Second Avenue (Cherry Creek North) Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m Monday-Friday, 6 a.m. – 8 p.m. Saturday, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Notes: Chairs for 32, Garuda blend earthy brew, North Cherry Creek, Clayton Lane chic, big windows lit well,…

Ask the readers: Cheese crisps in Colorado?

While Jason Sheehan is taking readers’ questions, I have one for readers: Is there a place in Colorado that serves cheese crisps? These thin, grilled quesadillas covered with melted cheese are staples at Mexican restaurants in Arizona. (I just had one at El Charro, a Tucson institution since 1922, and…

Mix it up at Trios Enoteca on Sunday

The state’s best mixologists will be pouring it on — and pouring out the drinks — Sunday, April 26, at the first Colorado Cocktail Classic competition, sponsored by the Colorado Bartenders Guild. Go to Trios Enoteca,1730 Wynkoop Street, at 6 p.m. to cheer on your favorite bartenders and enjoy some…

Breaking ground on Earth Day

Help the Colorado State Parks system today, April 22, by shopping at a local Sprouts Farmers Market.This is the final day of Sprouts’s “Stand Up for State Parks!” program, during which the Colorado markets will match $1, $2 or $5 donations made to Colorado State Parks. For information, go to…

Old fashioned steaks at old fashioned prices

If I were Proust, the smell of cheap steaks charring on an overworked grill would be my Madeleine — the trigger for a crashing flood of recall, of me in the warm comfort of boyhood. And walking past the back door of the Columbine Steak House, I get a whiff…