Just a few hours after returning from the James Beard Awards in Manhattan, sans medal, to Laura’s folk’s house in the Philadelphia suburbs, we found ourselves once again back in our rental car and hightailing it for the heart of the City of Brotherly Love. The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies…
Marisol, the author of The Lady, the Chef and the Courtesan, a sensual, romantic novel that comes complete with recipes, has left landlocked Denver for a stint as a celebrity chef. She’s sending daily missives from her temporary home: a cruise ship. Day One: After fifteen or so hours of…
So, yeah….As has already been announced, I tanked it at the James Beard Awards. Didn’t win, lost it in the clutch, came home empty-handed (again…). But you know what? That’s cool for a couple of different reasons. For one, it was just an honor to be nominated and blah blah…
Catering to the pre- and post-Rockies game crowd, the Tavern Downtown has a massive rooftop where the drinks are strong and the atmosphere is laid-back. From this vantage point, you can see any fights that might break out on Market Street, as well as any action over by Coors Field…
Five years ago, when Jason Sheehan had not yet worked at Westword a year, he won the James Beard Foundation award for reviewing — the biggest award around for a food critic. This year he was again a finalist for the prize, but at last night’s awards ceremony in New…
Tamayo may very well be the best place in Denver to watch a sunset. It’s certainly the best place in Denver to watch a sunset while shooting a flight of tequila. From the spacious rooftop deck of Richard Sandoval’s upscale Mexican restaurant at the edge of Larimer Square, you have…
I am not attempting to enter the heated debate on doughnut store superiority, but rather to present a fact: free doughnuts are the best doughnuts. Today Krispy Kreme is celebrating National Doughnut Day by giving each customer a complimentary doughnut of their choice. As an employee who patiently answered my…
“Melts on your tongue, pops in your mouth” First reactions: At first glance, the Pop Rocks Milk Chocolate Bar appears just like a Crunch bar. You can see what look like crunchy bits of rice buried inside the milk chocolate, but the truth of those innocent looking morsels soon becomes…
Party! Party! Since it’s attached to a popular nightspot, La Rumba’s patio isn’t open every day. But on sunny afternoons, it can be a pleasant urban oasis, a perfect spot to sip a mojito and marvel at all the construction still going on in this once-sleepy part of town. And…
A condensed version of Justin Warner’s letter about Jason Sheehan’s talents — or lack thereof — is published in the June 5 letters column. But the entire letter was so tasty that we present it here, uncut and unedited: Jason Sheehan: I write in regards to my disgust of your…
The night before the first Colfax Marathon in May 2006, we decided that we needed to go the distance ourselves — with some marathon drinking. And where better to show our support for the runners than from Mezcal’s patio, a sliver of sectioned-off sidewalk in the heart of the Bluebird…
With every meal we eat, we betray ourselves. Our politics and our personal history, our deepest longings, our most private loves and hates — all of this is laid bare every time we open our mouths and shove something in. Think about it. What beer do you drink when the…
Required summer reading for burger fans: Hamburger America, by George Motz, a canonical listing of the hundred hands-down greatest, most historic burgers served in the United States. While I am not usually one to pimp any sort of guidebook or top-whatever list (since they are generally compiled on the fly,…
Sweeter than honey, Zio Romolo’s Alley Bar is an absolute beehive of activity. Named after Tony Pasquini’s favorite uncle, it’s tucked beside the Pasquini’s location in Highland and is surprisingly comfortable, particularly considering this spot was once a working alleyway. The small space features a tin ceiling, an original Coca-Cola…
Even with mud season well under way in Summit County, the small smoking patio in front of Red Mountain Grill (703 East Anemone Trail in Dillon) still sports a snow shovel and other all-weather tools. Through scratched sunglass lenses, I squint at this peculiarity in the early evening sun, run…
I’m tired of sliders. Seriously, they were cool for about a minute two years ago when a few brave chefs decided to resurrect them as jewel-box examples of haute-gone-south lowbrow chic. Then they were amusing for a few months as everyone scrambled to add them. Kobe sliders. Barbecue sliders. Truffled…
We love the patio outside Maggiano’s in the Denver Pavilions, where the people-watching is almost as delicious as the happy-hour deals from 3-5:30 p.m. weekdays, including calamari fritte ($1.95), spaghetti & mini meatballs ($2.95) and chicken saltimbocca ($3.95). And both this location and Maggiano’s DTC are offering lighter, seasonal summer…
The newspapers? Chicago Tribunes. The tattered phone books? Chicagoland area directories. The game on the radio is the Cubs or the Bears and the tin stars in the display case are all replicas of Chicago police badges. Chicago is really less a restaurant than a small, cramped, cluttered and plastic-wrapped…
LoDo can sure get hectic when the Rockies are in town, but Venice Ristorante & Winebar not only has a nice patio where you can chill out, it serves gourmet grub and offers valet parking for just $6 — a deal, since that buys you a front-row seat for some…
Looking around the Westin ballroom Sunday night, I was overwhelmed by one thought: Restaurateurs in Denver are unbelievably generous. Two dozen chefs had volunteered their time, and their supplies, and their sous chefs, to cook up a storm at the 21st annual Taste of the Nation Share Our Strength benefit…
I can’t believe that this is twice in a single week that I have to stand up for people or institutions that I can’t stand simply because they are being attacked by people or institutions that I can stand even less. First it was Starbucks, the victim of an attack…
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