I found myself wandering around the south ‘burbs last week, lost and chasing down a vague tip about some Vietnamese place in Parker that does killer pho and bahn xiao (kinda like a Vietnamese pizza — a rice-flour crepe covered in black bean sauce, sprouts, a little pork, maybe some…
Since it opened six months ago, Fuel has become not just a regular meeting spot for those with offices or business in the Taxi development but also a go-to destination for anyone who wants to see a project fueling Denver’s growing reputation as a hipster hangout. While owner/chef Bob Blair…
My dentist hits the button and slowly brings the chair back to vertical. “All right,” he says. “We’re done. How ya doing?” I nod, say something about being okay, all good, splendid. “Really done?” I ask. “That was…” Gross. Annoying. Disturbing. Double-gross. “…not so bad.” He smiles, turns half away…
I was driving a lot last week, bouncing between pho restaurants all over town, trying to decide which one was going to be my lucky number. There was the new(ish) Pho 7, at 10009 East Hampden Avenue in Aurora (in the former home of Istanbul Grill), where I still haven’t…
Sitting down for a late Sunday brunch on the patio at Hamburger Mary’s, I hear the cute boy next to me say, “My penis isn’t curved — in fact, it’s the only straight thing on me.” And instantly, I realize that I’m at the center of the universe for extraordinary…
Pho 99 serves a surprisingly authentic, working-class, streetside kind of pho that, while not exactly rare in Denver (what with its million numbered pho shops and half-million more unclassifiable Vietnamese restaurants), is not the most common iteration of the classic Vietnamese breakfast-lunch-dinner-midnight-snack food, either. Its focus on ingredients and plain…
The food doesn’t get any more local than at Gaia Bistro, especially in the summertime, when greenhouse gardens in the back yard yield produce for the table. And it only seems natural to eat out admidst the growing stuff — which is easy to do on the cozy patio at…
As the Democratic National Convention approaches, and the presidential election after that, everyone is thinking Oval Office politics — even beer makers. To “celebrate the last day in office of our current Commander in Chief and welcome in a new one,” Avery Brewing Company in Boulder has created Ale to…
Inside Pho 99, there are more fish than people – fish in tanks by the door, on the counter, by the register. This is a simple space — comfortable and open and bright, friendly but not much more than functional. People come to Pho 99 to eat, nothing more. Which…
South Pearl Street has a string of fine restaurants, including the legendary Sushi Den, but none is more astonishing than Sushi Den’s year-old sibling, Izakaya Den. The menu is an amazing mix of sushi, Japanese classics and fusion from around the world — and somehow it all works. The interior…
As this slide show demonstrates, the competition last Friday night was frothy and furious at Fluid Coffee Bar’s “Live to the Fullest Cup” fundraiser for local Novo coffee roaster Semeon Abay, who was recently diagnosed with advanced metastatic prostate cancer. Shots were pulled, milk was steamed and froth was sculpted…
Cap’n Crunch’s Home Run Crunch Quaker Oats Rating: Three and a half spoons out of four Cereal description: Home Run Crunch is dominated by the same corn-and-oat pieces that have been the foundation of original Cap’n Crunch since time immemorial — yellowish squares that do unimaginable mayhem to the roofs…
The Black Pearl marked its third anniversary last week with a big bash that proved this polished place hasn’t lost any of its luster. In fact, the restaurant has come into its own over the past few years, losing some of the self-consciousness that marked its early days and settling…
Can Juicy Lucy’s overcome the curse of 250 Josephine Street? Despite the fact that the address comes with a parking lot — a rarity in Cherry Creek — restaurants that take on this spot never seem to last too long. Papillon had a fairly long run here, but after that…
South Pearl Street is suddenly full of new restaurants — India’s Pearl, Izakaya Den, Gaia — but for patio dining it’s tough to beat Pearl Street Grill, the oldest surviving restaurant on the block, and a classic neighborhood joint, complete with a Bloody Mary bar on the weekends that you…
Billy’s Inn, at 4403 Lowell Boulevard, opened quietly last week — but don’t expect it to stay quiet for long. With a great location, smart menu (dinner only for now, but that will change) and big selection of tequilas, Billy’s — which was a northwest Denver mainstay for more than…
When the Candy Girls caught wind of a chocolate therapist in town, we knew this was something we were destined to investigate. Turns out Julie Pech is an author and lecturer living in Denver who has launched a career speaking to groups about the health benefits of chocolate. Additionally, once…
Get ready to get your drink on! The 7-Eleven convenience store franchise is getting up there in age, and tomorrow will commemorate its 81st year in business. Despite the fact that we think every day can be free Slurpee day (listen, I’m not going to fill my Super Big Gulp…
I’d been having such a good day. A full night’s sleep and then some — rare for me, insomniac that I am. Waking late, bumming around the house in sweatpants, in a rush to get precisely nowhere. First cigarette of the day and a mug of green tea on the…
While I messed up at Mona’s, at least I didn’t blow my cover until I went to pay for my last meal there. Which means that for at least for two full meals and nine-tenths of a third, I was still working under my normal, modest cloak of anonymity, still…
When I heard that the owners of the Candlelight Tavern had taken over the Kentucky Inn, it reminded me of The Parent Trap, the movie about identical twins who are separated shortly after birth when their parents divorce, meet as teens at summer camp, and begin plotting to reunite their…
No sooner does the level of my Great Divide Samurai bottle dip below the top of the label than Carol, the bartendress at the shiny-new Jonesy’s EatBar (400 East 20th Avenue), asks if I’d like another. It’s been less than five minutes since she served it to me. “Oh, I…
