After chef Ian Kleinman left Go Fish Grille (see review), he returned to Golden, where he’s thrown in with Michael Chen, owner of the Hilltop Bistro, a new restaurant that opened mid-November in an old house at 1518 Washington Avenue that was once home to the Hilltop Cafe — where…
I became a fan of Williams Tavern the moment I saw the piece of paper hanging on a wall reading “Any tab left open will be closed and a 20% gratuity will be added.” That simple sign told me a number of things about the bar: 1. It’s had its…
Thank God there’s just over a week left until Christmas. The spirit has been beaten out of me by all the forced cheer on television and KOSI 101, in print ads and Internet pop-ups, at the Department of Commerce and even in my own holiday traditions. Don’t get me wrong:…
Finally, I feel like a true Coloradan. I’ve eaten at the Brown Palace. I’ve eaten at Casa Bonita (and lived to tell about it). And now I’ve eaten at The Fort. That’s the goddamn trifecta, isn’t it? So where do I get me one of them “Native” bumperstickers? When do…
In the September 18, 2003, installment of this column, titled “Luna Eclipse,” I detailed the fateful, drunken and calamitous last hours of Flow — the restaurant in the basement of the Luna Hotel at 1612 Wazee Street then helmed by one of Denver’s best young chefs, Duy Pham — and…
Tax audits, invasive surgery, DIA over the holidays. Sadly, although people try to avoid such horrors at all costs, it’s impossible. On my last trip to DIA, I stood in line for what seemed like a lifetime, only to have Mr. TSA ask me to take off my belt, shoes…
It’s that time of year when people walk around with a fearful look in their eyes, knowing they have only fifteen shopping days left until Christmas, will go to hell if they don’t get everyone the perfect gift and, worse, will never have sex again if they fail to find…
Reporter, huh?” Fred said, looking entirely uninterested. “Like, you work for the newspaper?” “Yeah,” I said, looking down at the Vesuvius of cigarette butts in the ashtray, the half-eaten cheeseburger and cold coffee in front of me, thinking how working was the last thing I was doing. “Something like that.”…
Long story short, I recovered. The tom kha soup at Yummy Yummy Tasty Thai (see review) did no lasting harm; in fact, within a few hours of that dreadful first taste, I’d returned to Pim Fitt’s Thai restaurant for another round of fried bananas and another dose of homemade coconut…
As I recall, the first place I used my fake ID was Marlowe’s. When you’re a teen, you’re either ignorant of the consequences of using a fake ID (jail, fines, etc.) or dim-witted enough that you don’t care about them. I was both. My faux ID was so bogus it…
Now, at 96 hours post-drunk, we have located the missing members of the Institute of Drinking Studies and pieced together most of what happened the other night. It started with the Head of Drinking Regrets and myself planning a simple evening of movies and sports on TV, with maybe a…
It’s an embarrassment, the amount of instant ramen noodle soup in my cupboard right now, from a variety of companies (Nissin, Maruchan, some off-brand called Ninja), in several preparations (both the cup and the brick, as well as a microwavable bowl) and a spread of flavors that all taste exactly…
Before it opened this Monday, I got a sneak preview of Rioja, chef Jennifer Jasinski’s new digs on Larimer Street, courtesy of local PR impresario John Imbergamo, who’s been handling “chef Jen” since her departure from Panzano earlier this year. The space — which co-opted some of its real estate…
I love the irony of a place that’s called La Fiesta Supper Club only being open for weekday lunches — and from just 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at that. My sources tell me that back in the day, La Fiesta was a real supper club (and before that, a…
For nearly half my life, I watched no TV. When I tell people that, a squint of fundamental distrust screws up their faces, and they look at me like I’ve got lobsters crawling out of my ears. They always treat me differently afterward — as though I’ve just admitted to…
t’s a good thing I can get a decent croque monsieur at Devil’s Food Bakery (see review). Not a fantastic croque monsieur, mind you (I’m not crazy about how the kitchen’s bechamel turns the house challah all spongy), but certainly decent, and with a side of excellent pommes frites. It’s…
Walking into Elway’s, I couldn’t help but recall one of my favorite expressions: “There’s only one ŒI’ in Œteam,’ but there are two in Œmartini.'” So I went right to the bar and ordered a Pomegranate Cosmo Martini ($8) made with Absolut Citron, POM Wonderful pomegranate juice and triple sec…
It must be weird when fame pays off, when you’re not just recognized for what you do well, but when that recognition translates into the kind of fast return that usually only comes in movies. There’s that scene of the Beatles in their hotel room, tumbling all over each other…
Like Denver as a food city, Sixth Avenue as a restaurant neighborhood always seems on the edge of becoming the next big thing. Its progression can be tracked the way die-hard fans follow a perpetually losing ball club — watching through the seasons as the roster is brought up and…
“You’ve got to try Fernet-Branca; it’s my new favorite drink,” said Ryan O’Brien, the knowledgeable, solicitous and darling bartender at Barolo Grill. “I’ve heard Sean Penn orders it by the case.” When my medical doctor prescribes drugs, I take them. So when my drink doctor gave his prescription, I drank…
We here at the Institute of Drinking Studies are always looking for new watering holes to grace with our presence, our stunted sense of “humor” and the inevitable sexual advances of certain members whom I would not trust alone in a room with Sister Inviolata of the Painfully Chaste. Since…
I never thought Mirepoix would make it. I didn’t believe that Bryan Moscatello and crew could squeeze Adega’s smart, beautiful cuisine into a JW Marriott corporate template; I kept seeing all that lovely food dying under the domes of room-service trays. And the fact that they were trading on the…
