Chubby’s closing a sign of the times

First, the bad news: The Chubby’s at 4460 Morrison Road is the latest victim of a tanking economy.And now the good news: Everything inside is for sale — cheap — including a meat grinder that I’m coveting. And the better news: The original Chubby’s is still going strong. For a…

Sample the town’s liquid assets tonight

The “Soup for the Soul” fundraiser for Porter Hospice and St. Anthony Hospice that was snowed out two weeks ago has been rescheduled for 5:30 p.m. tonight at the Sheraton Downtown Hotel. Tickets issued for March 26 are still good, and they’re also for sale at $90 each at 303-715-7612…

Biker Jim is on a roll

I love hot dogs. In particular, hot dogs from a cart. In particularly particular, the weird, freak-ass dogs served by Biker Jim Pittenger at Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs in Skyline Park. And now comes word that Biker Jim has got himself a new cart (all custom, with its own exhaust…

D’Corazon will steal a little piece of your heart

To see more of D’Corazon, go to westword.com/slideshow. Since coming west almost a decade ago, I have developed a deep and meaningful relationship with Mexican food — a love affair with few disappointments, one of the most stable of my otherwise rather unstable life. I’m not saying I love tacos…

VeeV martini at Houston’s

Although I’m not normally a fan of national chains, I’d been waiting with bated breath for Houston’s to open in Cherry Creek, because I have fond memories of long, delicious lunches at its siblings in Arizona and California. But those lunches were a long time ago, and either I’ve changed…

Drown your sorrows in a Rio Grande margarita

At the Rio Grande last week, I watched a lawyer getting fired. There was no screaming, no tears, and it was all handled with reasonable decorum, a fairly civil proceeding between two bosses and the woman being canned, with another onlooker there as backup. But all I could keep thinking…

Primebar snaps up prime chef Max Mackissock

Yesterday, I reported that Primebar is taking up residence in early May in the former Palomino space at 1515 Arapahoe Street. I told you, too, that a Denver chef was having dinner last night with the top brass from Primebar about a possible exec chef position. And I promised I’d…

So long to the old 3 Sons

3 Sons has closed its original location at 2915 West 44th Avenue, in anticipation of a May move to 14805 West 64th Avenue in Arvada. Susan and Michael Scarafiotti bought the venerable old Italian joint in March 2004 — which means they weren’t responsible for the place back when Jason…

Bacaro making it green and lean

Expect to see some changes at Bacaro Venetian Taverna. Bacaro just marked its tenth birthday, and is overhauling both its menu — adding vegetarian and gluten-free meals — and its patio.After ten years, it was time to refresh Bacaro’s look, says general manager Corrado Fasano, who adds that the addition…

Hit the Sandlot on Opening Day

Baseball season is on tap, and so is the seasonal reappearance of Denver’s oddest brewpub, Blue Moon Brewing Co. @ the Sandlot, inside Coors Field. Why is it odd? Although the brewery itself – owned by a division of Coors — cranks out Blue Moon and some of the other…

Fork the recession! Get out and eat!

“Fork the recession!” That’s the word from the Colorado Restaurant Association, which today will launch a campaign designed to make us forget the lousy economy and instead “feed the recovery” by dining out at one of Colorado’s 10,500 eating establishments. For details, go to www.coloradorestaurant.com. Get “Happy on the Hill”…

Another little piece of my heart: D’Corazon

Here is a city where I can get breakfast burritos (delivered to the office, if necessary), tacos on almost every corner, decent (though never fantastic) green chile, the combined cuisines of Puebla and Michoacan and Chihuahua and the D.F., all without being assaulted for flaunting my literacy, without having to…

Vita ditches brunch and moves to lunch

Vita, winner of our Best Cocktail Menu in 2007, has one of the best views in Denver, which you can enjoy from both rooftop and street-side patios. But that wasn’t enough to draw the brunch crowds, even though next-door neighbor Lola keeps packing them in. So Vita is trying something…

Primebar poised for a May opening in the former Palomino space

Just got word that Primebar, a “new restaurant concept dedicated to fusing delectable dining with a sophisticated nightlife atmosphere” (according to the press release), is slated to open in the former Palomino space at 1515 Arapahoe Street in early May. Hungry for more, I just checked out Primebar’s website:Denver’s newest…

V.G. Burgers currently homeless as well as meatless

Two weeks ago, we reported the impending move of  V.G. Burgers to a new space at 1650 Broadway in Boulder.Well, the meatless, 100 percent plant-based emporium has closed its original home at 3267 28th Street, but perhaps a bit prematurely — because the new spot won’t be ready for a…

Coffee Spot: Aviano Coffee

Name: Aviano Coffee Where: 955 Lincoln Street (in the Beauvallon) Hours: 6:30 a.m.- 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.- 4 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Sunday Notes: Tall iron gate, Breggos in a glass case, marble tables, pastries and bagels, coffee by Intelligensia of Chicago, best blend El Diablo,…

Sip and slip into spring at Tamayo

Today from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Marczyk Fine Foods will host a wine tasting at Tamayo in Larimer Square. The focus is “sexy Spanish wines from sexy Spanish women winemakers,” and it’s billed as a ladies-only event — but the sexy Tamayo bar might be a good place for men…

IACP Conference Report: Chocolate Threesome

For those of you not yet hipped to the big foodie news in Denverlast week, the International Association of Culinary Professionals wasin town — a kind of traveling circus show of food writers, foodeditors, food pimps, chefs, authors, wine gurus and associatedtradesmen. And, of course, Jason Sheehan was embedded right…

Drinking with Pete (Marczyk) at Taste of Vail

Pete Marczyk, self-described “Hooch Hound” and owner of Marczyk Fine Foods (770 East 17th Avenue), took his “Drinking with Pete” series on the road over the weekend, to Taste of Vail. Watch the video above, and see the rest of his videos at marczykfinefoods.com…

Women rule the kitchen at Cafe Options

Women rule the world (or at least the kitchen) at Cafe Options, a new breakfast and lunch spot that opened last week at 1650 Curtis Street on the bottom level of the U.S. Bank Tower building. The cafe, a fast-casual concept courtesy of of Work Options for Women, a non-profit…

The Boulder Farmers’ Market gets a chilly start

It’s not easy weighing mesclun mix while wearing thick mittens. But that’s one of the things you learn to do when you live in this crazy state of Colorado. Saturday, April 4, was the first day of the state’s preeminent farmers’ market (rooted in Boulder, of course), a day when…