What’s in store for the green movement? Ellie’s

Want to see what’s next in the green revolution? Head to Boulder, a hotbed for businesses specializing in natural and organic products (for more on that, see my Naturally Boulder blogs). That’s where the first Ellie’s Eco Home Store will debut tomorrow at 2545 Arapahoe Street — right by a…

So pho, so good at Pho 7

You can’t keep a good pho place down. A few days ago, I wrote about the temporary destruction of Pho 7 by two men, one silver BMW and too many action movies in “Talk about a cursed location!” When this spot at 10009 East Hampden Avenue in Aurora was home…

Cutting off the bartender at K’s China

“Would you like a lime with that?” Sounds like a missed a wild night at K’s China in Boulder last weekend. According to police reports, cops were called to the joint at 1325 Broadway because the owner of the joint was allegedly smashing glasses on the bar, and shattered glass…

New owners for Theorie

When they bought the site of The Real World: Denver series at 1920 Market Street (formerly B-52 Billiards), Shane Alexander and Josh Hawkinson had big plans for the ultra-swank nightclub and restaurant they planned to name Theörie. But the reality of running a restaurant proved much rougher than life on…

Veggie Girl: Lucile’s Creole Cafe

I’ve been trying to get to New Orleans for years. The first time, my road trip across America was cut short by an early start date for a new job. The next time I wanted to go was for my honeymoon, and we seriously considered New Orleans before I decided…

Going green, saving green at The Kitchen

In a town of environmentally-conscious restaurants, The Kitchen could be greenest of them all. And now it’s saving you some green, too. The homey restaurant at 1039 Pearl Street has a daily “tasting hour” from 5:30-6:30 p.m., with $5 wines and $2.50 beers complimenting an array of small bites. There’s…

WaterCourse makes a splash at the Aveda Academy

I recently caught up with Dan Landes, owner of WaterCourse Foods, City, O’ City and WaterCourse Bakery, to talk about his new joint, WaterCourse Cafe at the Aveda Academy, set to open November 17 at 17th and Market. He told me that the deal for the new cafe — which…

The Empire Lounge still has a way to go

It’s one of those things that has come to define a floor that’s actually concerned with the happiness and comfort of its guests, a little thing that shows a staff out for more than just tips and a night with no complaints. Fixing a wobbly table. True, a restaurant that…

Parisian at Brasserie Felix

I learned the joy of eating at the bar at Cafe des Artistes on the upper west side of Manhattan. I was in my early twenties, and Doug, an older colleague, insisted on buying me dinner every two to three weeks because he said he loved my stories of poverty,…

JD’s: It’ll do

When the It’ll Do Lounge closed its doors last year after 27 years in business, regulars wondered what would happen to the small structure at 2001 West 48th Avenue. Two months ago, JD’s Neighborhood Bar happened, and if Deb the bartendress’s word is as good as her Bloody Marys, business…

The real counter culture at Johnny’s Diner

This is my fear: Someday, this modern turn toward the glorification of quote/unquote regional American cuisine and New American and modern American fusion will destroy what little we have left of the true American cuisine. Someday, many years from now, some smart-ass food writer is going to start waxing metaphoric…

Pho 7: Talk about a cursed location!

This past Saturday night, Pho 7 was the scene of something out of a Michael Bay film, when some jackass — in the middle of a scrap with some other jackass literally hanging out of the driver’s side window of his car — drove his BMW right through the front…

If Daniel Young is good enough for Barack, he’s good enough for you

Plenty of good food for good causes this week. The Bartender’s Martini Miracle Ball, which benefits the Children’s Hospital Research Institute, will be at the Church nightclub, 1160 Lincoln Street, from 7:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. on Friday, November 14. Tickets are $100, but buy you four cocktails, live music from Boogielicious…

Hot food, hot topics at 8 Rivers

The new 8 Rivers, at 1550 Blake Street, is becoming a hot spot for politics as well as Caribbean cooking. Even before it officially opened on October 1, six weeks behind its original target, it hosted hungry and thirsty politicos — including Nancy Pelosi, Walter Mondale, Harry Reid, Ken Salazar…

TV or not TV? That’s no question for these chefs

Chef Hosea Rosenberg Bright knives, big city. The fifth season of Bravo’s Top Chef premieres tonight at 8 p.m. MST when seventeen chefs compete in Top Chef: New York. The lineup includes Melissa Harrison, sous chef at Centro Latin Kitchen & Refreshment Palace in Boulder, and Hosea Rosenberg, exec chef…

The Fainting Goat Stands Tall

At 11 a.m. today, The Fainting Goat will be standing tall — and open, at 846 Broadway, in the former home of Moon Time, and Minturn, and Basil’s, and the Parlour before that. The Parlour is the first incarnation that Mark Holland remembers, and the memory was enough to get…

It’s about Thyme: sampling the new chef at the Harvest House

Executive chef Dedric McGhee (left) and executive sous Paul Stickler make a meal at the Millennium Harvest House a stirring experience. The Millennium Harvest House is finally ready for this millennium, with executive chef Dedric McGhee and executive sous Paul Stickler now overseeing menu and food preparation at the hotel…

The Empire of my imagination

The Empire Lounge and Restaurant is no dinosaur, even if its inspiration dates back to the ’70s. At the front, on a Saturday night with an overfull house and spillover crowds starting to pack the bar, I’d been given a dinosaur — a large, plastic tyrannosaurus rex—and had felt less…

In hog heaven at Big Papa’s BBQ

After my recent Second Helping on Big Papa’s BBQ, one of my favorite barbecue joints, I received this missive from Big Papa himself: I’m glad you like my BBQ (particularly the baby backs). I’ll tell my mom that you think her potato salad recipe is bland. You should get to…

Amici’s Pizzeria taking over the old Gemini

For 28 years Amici’s Pizzeria has served up pizza and basic, red-sauce Italian to north Denver neighbors from its strip-mall location at 5330 Sheridan Boulevard. But come January 2009, it’ll have a brand-new address — in the old Gemini Restaurant space at 4300 Wadsworth Boulevard. Gemini, which managed to make…

Happy Birthday Dubbel Dutch

Happy Birthday to moo. Happy fifth birthday to Dubbel Dutch, a tiny store and deli at 4974 Lowell Boulevard that sells Dutch gift items like wooden shoes, as well as groceries and such specialty items as stroopwafels (syrup waffle), speculaasjes (windmill cookies), hagelslag (chocolate sprinkles), poffertjes (little pancakes), kaas (cheeses)…