Pasquini’s is the place you went with your band just before you made it big, where you and your girlfriend ate every Friday night when you were still poor and in love. It’s the place you remember from college — the one where everyone went to celebrate the end of…
Jon Schlegel is standing outside the door of his restaurant, Snooze, wondering where the people are. I’m sitting at the counter inside, sipping my coffee and filling in all the little boxes of the Saturday crossword puzzle with dirty words. And I’m wondering the same thing. It’s two in the…
Even as I was checking a few last details for my review of Snooze , owner Jon Schlegel was making changes to his menu. “It’s an evolving process,” he said when I got him on the phone last week. “You know, I’ve seen these breakfast places with like forty, fifty…
In the summer, sitting on a patio drinking a martini is the adult equivalent of going to the pool as a kid. The first sip always gives me the same delicious feeling I had as a child when the lifeguard screamed, “Adult swim is over! Kids can re-enter the pool!”…
Those of you at the Thin Man (2015 East 17th Avenue) two Fridays ago had no idea you were witnessing a momentous emergency session of the Institute of Drinking Studies. The scene harked back to Cold War Europe, where plans and plots were made in back hallways — which is…
Before they got smart and brought Zaidy’s back downtown — the original deli had opened on 14th Street almost two decades ago before hightailing it to Cherry Creek in 1992 — the owners filled this space in Writer Square with Max Burgerworks, an upscale, overpriced burger joint that was out…
It had taken me almost four years to get here, to this small, comfortable storefront surrounded by taquerías and art galleries, in just the right area for catching hungry adventurers looking for an interesting dinner on a Saturday night. Arada Restaurant has scratchy tablecloths and no silverware; serves strong, sweet,…
There are many things a chef needs to know that aren’t taught in cooking school. How to survive the heat, how to write a menu that’ll sell, how to speak Spanish. Spanish is a big one: When a newly minted chef goes out into the world, he’ll find that a…
The Rooftop Lounge at Tamayo is one of the most pleasant places in town to grab a cocktail — both for the view and for the margaritas. When I took my first sip of the peculiar yet tasty China Poblana ($10), made with Jose Cuervo Tradicional, fresh tangerine juice and…
I am happy to announce that a new bar, The Tavern Lowry (7401 East First Avenue), has broken the record for the largest-ever Institute of Drinking Studies bar tab — and this despite the conspicuous absence of a few members. The Tavern had been open only a few days when…
When I reviewed Frisco’s in April 2005, I was impressed by a couple of things. For starters, the crew’s resumés included some big-time names (Batali, Bastianich, Le Bernardin and Capital Grille) that seemed totally out of place on the still-virginal landscape of Belmar. And then there was the concept: a…
Why in the hell would you eat that?” I get asked that a lot. Most often by my wife. “No, I mean seriously, Jay. Whole fish and sea bugs and chicken ass — why?” Because they’re good, I tell her (or anyone else who corners me with The Question). But…
There are many reasons that I’m so cuckoo for the Cocoa Puffs of ethnic and peasant cuisines, and one is my theory that cuisine constitutes the genetics of civilization. Imagine a slice of pizza. A really good slice of pizza — perfect New York-style thin crust, fresh mozzarella, maybe a…
Behind the velvet ropes: When I lived in New York, I loved making up stories that would get me past the bouncer at a crowded bar. In a city full of professional doormen, I quickly learned that “My friend is inside and has my keys” only worked if they were…
I do a lot of ragging on Texas, especially this time of year, when temperatures there range between the levels of Saudi Arabia, Hell (not that those places are dissimilar) and 576 Kelvin. Saudi Arabia and Hell are actually a lot nicer than Texas, since they have what’s called a…
Back in December 2003, when I reviewed Thai Basil II in this same location, it was a little like falling in love. There was that first blush of excitement over finding something new, the desire to explore everything it had to offer, and the absolute conviction that it could do…
Dinner at Mel’s on Monday night for Gael Greene (see “Sex and the City”) and about fifty of her dearest admirers. Was it a good time? Tough to say. For starters, the median age in the room (not counting press) was ancient, and most of the diners were rushing the…
Some of the best meals I’ve had — the most surprising, often the most memorable — have come on nights when the last thing in the world I wanted to do was eat out; nights when I just wanted to sit in front of the TV in boxer shorts and…
I wound up reviewing Guadalajara (see review) after a couple of meals went completely to pieces. Both were at Corridor 44, the six-month-old champagne bar in Larimer Square, and they were so awful and uncomfortable and mind-bogglingly bad that, after the second disastrous visit, I realized I couldn’t review the…
When I booked our wedding festivities in Beaver Creek, I had thought it was the setting for one of the greatest movies of all time, Dumb and Dumber. The morning of our departure, I tore open the Netflix envelope holding said movie, popped it in the DVD player and fast-forwarded…
While Guadalajara (see review, page 47) captures the authentic flavors of Mexico’s southern latitudes, Santiago’s has a mortal lock on quick-and-cheap Mexican street food. The local chain (it started decades ago with just one outlet and now boasts more than twenty locations scattered across the metro area, with satellites as…
At the table behind me, two girls are talking about Jesus. In front of me is a plate of chicken-fried steak that could send me to meet him real soon. It’s the third chicken-fried steak I’ve eaten in less than 24 hours. I have the meat sweats. My heart is…
