Black Russian Stewart’s 1899 Saloon VFW Post #1 955 Bannock Street 303-571-5659 As we walked into Stewart’s, one of the many older men at the bar turned around and said, “The girls are here. What kind of music do you girls like?” I hoped this was a rhetorical question, since…
This time last year, I was taking complaint calls about my review of Max Burgerworks, which had opened a few months before at the corner of 15th and Lawrence streets. Because the principals involved in its founding were Greg Waldbaum and Gerard Rudofsky from Zaidy’s, Denver’s preeminent Jewish deli, Max’s…
Last Labor Day weekend, after spending several hours wandering around in the sun eating lukewarm shrimp cocktails and cheesecake on a stick at the Taste of Colorado, I stopped by Somethin’ Else, the place that Sean Kelly was putting into the very same spot where his last restaurant, Clair de…
Thanksgiving is a distant memory, Christmas is done, and the holiday season — in all its shlocky glitz and sweetness — is nearly over. All that’s left to do is bid a final farewell to the year gone by, to turn our backs on the little victories and larger defeats…
Forget the Fourth of July. New Year’s Eve is responsible for more explosive events than any other day of the year. On December 31, the best relationship can detonate under the must-have-the-most-meaningful-time-ever pressures; a simple drive to the mountains can burst in a collision with a junior-varsity drinker. Fortunately, you…
Sometimes just a small, evil influence can tip a night over to the Dark Side. And while the Dark Side may appear more powerful, a bar will not hesitate to throw Darth Vader — or anyone associated with him — out of the place at the drop of a hat…
When I was young, Christmas in the Sheehan household was a fairly predictable event. It began about 4 a.m., or whatever godawful hour my brother Brendan and I would drag our parents out of bed for our annual living-room reenactment of the battle of Thermopylae, with Mom and Dad playing…
Hey, fat man. You’ve got some explaining to do. I was just looking over last year’s letter to you, and I realized that I got nothing I asked for. Zip. Zilch. Not one Christmas wish fulfilled, not one humble request granted. What’s that all about? It’s not like I was…
‘Tis the season to drink hot toddies, fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. I love the holiday season, and Larimer Square has always been one of my favorite places to get in the spirit. It’s at the epicenter of my winter memories: When I was a kid,…
For the record, I want to state that Vail Resorts’ big loss in its first quarter had nothing to do with my being there a few weeks ago. In fact, I’m pretty sure that had the Head of Drinking Regrets and I visited a few days earlier, Vail would have…
Larry Herz is happy. Walking the floor of Go Fish Grille on a Saturday night, he’s in his element — an industry veteran working a crowded house — and he’s got an energy that arcs off him like sparks. He moves between tables, chatting, checking up, floating, dodging. He back-pedals…
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…
