Candy Girls: Nothing Bundt Cakes

When the Candy Girls heard there was a new bakery in town crafting only bundt cakes, the first question that came to mind was this: What was its punny name? Because it is impossible to have a niche foodstuffs place and not find an appropriate pun for its name. It’s…

Get on the Red Trolley for some free cereal

March 7 is National Cereal Day, and in honor of this august holiday, the Red Trolley — already a delicious gelato and coffee shop — is adding a new cereal bar, with six homemade cereals and assorted toppings, all offered in a self-serve, bottomless-bowl fashion for $5. Carpenters, plumbers and electricians…

Give SAME Cafe a hand at benefit poker tournament

SAME Café, the subject of Westword’s February 26 cover story, is the beneficiary of the first annual SAME Café Ante-Up Charity Poker Tournament, which runs from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, March 6 at Cap City Tavern, 1247 Bannock Street. To sign up, call the café at 720-530-6853 or…

9th Avenue Grill bringing it all home

Chef Jessica Berry and her boyfriend, Zach Jones, marked the new year by opening a new restaurant, 9th Avenue Grill, in the space formerly occupied by Carmine’s Cucina.Jones grew up working at his dad’s restaurant, the Spitfire Grill; he met Berry while the two were both working for Lola. Together…

More quote/unquote Restaurant Week deals

First there was Denver Restaurant Week–a brilliant idea that boosted both the profile and the bank balances of many fine Denver restaurants.  Restaurant Week was such a good idea, in fact, that this year, when everyone is broke and every day is starting to look worse than the day before,…

Veggie Girl: O’s Steak and Seafood

Being a vegetarian sometimes means feeling like you’re always a bridesmaid and never the bride. Sure, that gnocchi entree is delicious, but meat eaters who go to to Italian restaurants get to order both primi pasta dishes and secondi meat dishes for a full three- or four-course meal. I’ve always…

Bombay Bowl comes to the Tech Center

The Denver Tech Center is full of movers and shakers who could probably use some sustenance to support them while they watch the market fall. Now they can find it, fast, at the Bombay Bowl. The fast-casual spot at 12023 East Arapahoe Road in Centennial opened on February 20. It’s…

Vella’s is no more

For decades, Vella’s Italian Restaurant served up decent, family-style fare at 3000 South Federal Boulevard, in the heart of a somewhat restaurant-starved neighborhood.But Vella’s recently closed up shop, and a sign on the building indicates the space is available…

Taste tests: Chocolate and the Yucatan

At 6:30 p.m. tonight, the Lab at Belmar kicks off the latest round of Taste Test, a series that “investigates the foods that we eat through a combination of history, science, anthropology and culinary arts,” according to the Lab’s Sarah Skeen. First up: “Taste Test: Chocolate,” William Poole, founder of…

More Chinese food, more Vietnamese food – all good news

This week’s review of Star Kitchen (2917 West Mississippi Avenue) ignores one very important part of the menu: namely, everything that isn’t dim sum. But the omission was deliberate because, given the choice between eating dim sum and eating almost anything else in the world, I’m going to go for…

The dim sum shines at Star Kitchen

For more photos of Star Kitchen’s dim sum, go to westword.com/slideshow I woke up to the sound of pigeons beating themselves against the porch eaves. It was sunny, ridiculously warm and clear, beautiful for Colorado in February. Global warming or whatever. The world was coming to an end, but in…

Breakfast King still rules Denver’s breakfast scene

Just a few minutes from one of the best Chinese breakfasts in Denver (Star Kitchen, reviewed this week) is one of the best breakfast joints in America: Breakfast King. And for a change, it ain’t just me singing the praises of this perfect greasy spoon at Santa Fe and Mississippi,…

New Belgium’s Sunshine Wheat gets canned

New Belgium Brewing, which began canning its signature Fat Tire amber ale last summer, will release a second aluminum-clad brew, Sunshine Wheat, in April or May. The move gives more credence to the growing popularity of canned craft beers – a trend that began in 2002 when the Oskar Blues…

Up Close: Star Kitchen

In this week’s Westword, on newsstands and online a little later today, Jason Sheehan discovers the dim-sum deliciousness of Star Kitchen (2917 West Mississippi; 303-936-0089). See Mark Manger’s photos at westword.com/slideshow…

Our Weekly Bread: Summerhill Market

The Sandwich: Italian Sub Where to get it: Summerhill Market (5614 East Cedar Avenue, 303-377-2979, www.mysummerhillmarket.com) What’s on it: Capicola, ham, salami, provolone, lettuce and tomatoes, mayo, oil and vinegar, roasted peppers and sweet merlot onions on a baguette. How much: $5.99 There are those who say size doesn’t matter…

Go help the Whole Planet

Say what you want about Whole Foods (or “whole paycheck,” as its also known), but at least some of your money is going to something worthy. Whole Foods created the Whole Planet Foundation in 2006 to create even better relations with the producers of its products in foreign countries. The…

Anthony Bourdain at an altweekly?

At a recent appearance in California, Anthony Bourdain revealed that the first article he ever wrote was supposed to appear in an alternative paper, the New York Press. According to the Santa Barbara Independent story: After finishing the op ed that would later inspire Kitchen Confidential, Bourdain remembered aloud how…

A taste of the Sudan at Restaurant 4580

Good food for a good cause: At 6:30 p.m. tonight, Restaurant 4580, the neighborhood place that Martin and Susan Hammer opened three years ago at 4580 Broadway in Boulder, will host a benefit for the Lost Girls of Sudan. CSAW supports eighteen of these refugees in Boulder, and will collect…

Breakfast on the other side of the world

I sat with my book and asked for tea. The host brought me a pot of fresh green tea, loose-leaf, still steeping. I opened my book, thinking I would have to wait for the first cart to come my way, but but the cart ladies, having spied me, descended like…

Amici’s has moved to Wheat Ridge

After years of serving up old-fashioned, red-sauce Italian at 53rd and Sheridan, Amici’s has made the leap into the 21st century with a new spot at 4330 Wadsworth Boulevard in Wheat Ridge. This address once belonged to Gemini Restaurant, but it’s barely recognizable. Gone is the high, peaked roof, as…

A few words with Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg

Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg is officially a very busy man. We all saw Rosenberg, the chef of Jax in Boulder, come out on top on Top Chef last week, and he’s been on the talk-show circuit ever since. I tried to get into the West End Tavern for the final-episode…

The List: On Broadway

Driving down Broadway to Bistro One (right), where chef Olav Peterson is whipping his kitchen into shape, I got to thinking about all the other good places that have popped up on this storied strip. Some of the best: 1) GB Fish and Chips, 1311 South Broadway.  Bikers and bums…