Last year, Sean Yontz started thinking about moving on from his double-duty position as executive chef at Zenith and director of operations for Kevin Taylor’s four other eateries (jou jou, Restaurant Kevin Taylor, Palettes at the Denver Art Museum, and Boulder’s Dandelion). At about the same time, former Zenith sous…
When I was a child, my mother made plum dumplings every year around this time. It was always an occasion. My sister and brother-in-law came over to the house, along with other friends — most of them refugees from Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Austria who’d fled to London during the war…
Q: A close friend from New York just moved here and is dying for a great cannoli. Where can I find the best cannoli in town? A:When people want an authentic New York experience in Denver, I usually tell them to fuggedaboudit. But the cannoli at Santino’s on Downing (2390…
Next to the word “charming” in the dictionary, there should be a picture of Pesce Fresco. Everything about this bistro-style wine bar — from the small but well-chosen menu of contemporary dishes to the warm, comfy dining room to the large and well-chosen wine list — appeals to the senses…
The rest of the Story: Dazzle (930 Lincoln Street) scored big when it recently snagged both Donald Rossa and Jason Palmer from the Fourth Story (2955 East First Avenue). Rossa, who was Fourth Story’s general manager for about a year, is now part owner of Dazzle; Palmer, formerly the Fourth…
The Fourth Story opened to raves in March 1995 — but its kitchen must have come equipped with a revolving door. Original chef Terri Rippeto left after just three months to open Potager; her replacement, Steve Jaeckel, couldn’t cut the mustard. Jess Roybal took this eatery that sits atop the…
Q: A long time ago, you wrote about a Mexican restaurant that didn’t “own a can opener.” Do you remember what it was? A:That would be La Cueva (9742 East Colfax Avenue, Aurora, 303-367-1422), a mom-and-pop eatery that’s been serving up fresh salsas, fire-breathing green chile and the best refried…
Denny Kang thinks that size matters. “I don’t know why people in this area are so stingy with their fish,” says Kang, the owner of Fujiyama Grill & Sushi. “The pieces are much smaller here than you would get at a sushi bar in Japan, and they cost much more…
And the answer is: “As a food writer, you have that semi-precarious position of exposing your Absolute Favorite of All Time eatery to a wide audience, thereby making it ‘discovered,’ to the point at which it will be crammed, and you’ll have a tough time getting a table after dying…
It’s lunchtime at Fourmile, one of the state prisons in the Cañon City complex. We’re in a small room, at a table set with plastic cutlery and paper napkins. On one wall hangs a row of white chefs’ hats and jackets; against another there’s a table holding a watermelon carved…
Q: My girlfriend is Slovakian, and she wants to turn me on to Eastern European foods. Are there any local markets that have a good selection? A:I recently rediscovered the European Mart (5225 Leetsdale Drive, 303-321-7144), a small but packed-to-overflowing market offering such specialties as ajvar, a bittersweet spread made…
What color is green chile supposed to be? In the average Mexican restaurant in Denver, the answer would seem to be reddish or orange, maybe even an orange-greenish hue tending toward gray. Some bowls of green chile contain enough jalapeños to speckle them a vivid emerald, no matter the base…
Dining at Mile High Stadium was no picnic — if the hot dogs didn’t getcha, the bad sauerkraut would. But with its brand-spanking-new facilities, Invesco Field at Mile High, which opens this weekend, would seem to be in a perfect position to score with food fans by contracting with thirteen…
Q: A group of us from the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation will be coming through Denver in August en route to the jazz festival in Vail. We’re looking for some ‘real’ places to eat (not yuppie stuff). Where should we go for barbecue, burgers, steak? A:It’s always a good idea…
The sandwich board standing beside Brighton Boulevard, in one of the more, um, interesting parts of town, carried an irresistible message: The hand-lettered words “Billy Bob’s Big Ass Burgers” and an arrow pointing to the right. We turned, of course, swerving the minivan behind a Conoco station and pulling into…
In addition to Big Ass Burgers, Billy Bob’s Riverside Saloon offers a big-ass happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. on Fridays, when domestic beers are $1.50 each and, as one employee puts it, “anything goes.” Owner John O’Brien tries to surprise his bar’s clientele with an outrageous spread of…
Japanese rice-bowl joints are supposed to be fast, cheap and nutritious. If they were just fast and cheap, they’d be McDonald’s. If they were just fast and nutritious, they’d be Juice Stops. And if they were just cheap and nutritious, they’d be U-Pick berry farms. You get the picture: Remove…
I’ll drink to that: Surely it was just coincidence that the Pepsi Center and Los Troncos (730 East Sixth Avenue) both found themselves in danger of losing their liquor licenses — but it certainly was convenient for the budget-priced Los Troncos that the high-priced Pepsi Center’s liquor vendor, Levy Premium…
Q: I’m tired of not being able to get into the more popular sushi places like Sushi Den and Sushi Tazu. What else has an upscale atmosphere and great sushi? A:It’s true that Sushi Den (1487 South Pearl Street, 303-777-0826) and Sushi Tazu (300 Fillmore Street, 303-320-1672) are packed tighter…
When the woman in the little black dress spit a mouthful of Champagne at her date, everyone in Citrus Champagne and Vodka Lounge tensed up. Was she now going to slap him across the face? Throw her glass across the room? Shoot him and drop the gun on her way…
When Bella Ristorante opened at 1920 Market Street back in 1995, the Italian eatery was one of the most ambitious locally owned restaurants to venture into the Ballpark Neighborhood. The concept took off — in fact, Bella opened a southeast outpost (now located at 8770 East Arapahoe Road in Englewood)…
Q: I’m getting married in the fall. Who do you think makes the best wedding cakes? A:I haven’t been invited to enough weddings to have tested every wedding-cake bakery in town, but I did get to swoon over two incredible cakes recently. One was from Le Delice (250 Steele Street,…
