Q: I recently moved to Castle Rock and wonder which local restaurants you can recommend. A: There are three restaurants I like in the shadow of the big rock. The Old Stone Church (210 3rd Street, 303-688-9000), in a decommissioned church, is a great choice for an à la carte…
Trying new restaurants is a lot like dating: Appearances can be very deceiving, you waste way too many nights on losers, and no matter how bad the experience, somebody still has to pick up the tab. But then you stumble upon Osaka Sushi, and suddenly all those bad dinner dates…
The end of an era: While Denver continues to net new sushi restaurants (see review, above), the area’s roster of Vietnamese restaurants has just decreased by one — and a big one. T-Wa Inn (555 South Federal Boulevard), Denver’s first Vietnamese restaurant and the place where many local diners were…
Q: Any suggestion for a hip, fun, moderately priced restaurant, preferably in LoDo, where I can take some out-of-town girlfriends? A: Amaze those girlfriends with the groovy, happenin’ Vesta Dipping Grill (1822 Blake Street, 303-296-1970). The snazzy, wraparound booths are perfect places to dish and dine. The innovative menu items…
Gag me with a spoon. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers — yes, there is such a thing — 190 million adults, or about 94 percent of the eighteen-and-over population, visit shopping malls every month. Since 1967, the number of shopping centers — including hundreds of “super-regional centers,”…
Boeing’s new headquarters may be decided by a food fight. “We’ve got chalupas. We’ve got tacos. We don’t need no stinkin’ mountains,” Ron Kirk, mayor of Dallas, boasted last week. So what did Denver do to battle the evil forces of chalupas and tacos (not to mention the Chicago-style hotdogs…
Q: Is there a Web site where I can buy berbere? A: The essential spice blend for Ethiopian cooking, berbere involves garlic, red pepper, fenugreek, coriander and cardamom in varying amounts, depending on the creator. But because of confusing and annoying trade-regulation problems in Ethiopia, several Ethiopian sites, including my…
On the surface, Micole has the makings of one pretentious piffle of a restaurant. To wit, a prix fixe menu in a town that expects its Bud and bowl of green to come with free chips and salsa; dishes that involve such precious ingredients as “fennel pollen,” 25-year-old balsamic and…
When you think of wine festivals in Colorado, Aspen and Vail usually come to mind: The grape-celebrating events in those towns have been around so long and have become so popular that Aspen’s Food & Wine Festival looks like spring break in Florida (well, it would if people wore their…
I first encountered truffles last summer — after reading about them, wondering about them, gazing at the listings in food catalogues and wincing at their cost, occasionally sprinkling some drops of truffle oil onto a dish of rice — when I spent a couple of weeks at a writers’ conference…
Q: I am looking for late-night, diner-type food in the Boulder area — something more like McCoys on Federal and less like Denny’s. Any ideas? A: You have a better chance of finding a Boulder restaurant that allows smoking than you do of discovering a cool, all-night diner. The Boulder…
When the U.S. Department of Agriculture gives in and recognizes cheese, bread, chocolate and wine as the four major food-pyramid groups, I’ll start breathing a little easier about my diet. And Swiss restaurateurs in this country might breathe a sigh of relief, too, because those four foods are intrinsic to…
A guy from the neighborhood recently walked into St. Killian’s Cheese Shop, at 3211 Lowell Boulevard, and set a two-liter bottle of Mountain Dew down on the counter. “What kind of cheese would go with this?” he asked, somewhat sheepishly. Ionah de Freitas didn’t bat an eye. “Brin d’Amour,” she…
Q: In Paris, I had chestnut ice cream a couple of times for dessert. It was fabulous, and I’ve been trying to find it here. Are there any local restaurants that serve chestnut ice cream? If not, do you know where I can find chestnut paste to make my own?…
It’s a good thing that it’s the nose and not the ears that are connected to your sense of taste — otherwise, you’d be unable to discern a single flavor at Campo de Fiori. The buzz started even before the restaurant opened three months ago. Elizabeth and Luigi Giordani founded…
John Hickenlooper’s next project: overseeing the hot-dog concession at Invesco Field at Mile High. Just kidding! As if Hickenlooper doesn’t have enough on his plate — what with the Wynkoop Brewing Company (1634 18th Street), and the Goosetown Tavern (3242 East Colfax Avenue), and the Wazee Supper Club (1600 15th…
Q: Can you tell me where the best German food is in the Denver area? A: This is an easy one, because there are only a few local restaurants that bill themselves as German. The best is Café Berlin (2005 East 17th Avenue, 303-377-5896), a cozy space that serves excellent…
Like most addicts, I always know where I’m likely to get my next fix. At any given moment, I can tell you exactly where the nearest dealer is, and I often plan my day around taking time out for a quick high. Of course, I could quit any time –…
Now that national chains have made coffee shops seem more homogenized than ultra-pasteurized creamer, many people are turning over a new leaf. As a result, in addition to Oaks & Berries and A Spot of Tea (see review above), the town suddenly has a dozen other places where you can…
Following chef James Mazzio through various restaurants over the past six years has been like flipping through the portfolio of a photographer who’s captured a rose from bud to blossom. Each exquisite frame echoes what’s gone before and hints at what beauty is yet to come. Right now, Mazzio is…
Not a Krispy Kreme doughnut in sight. Our March 29 Best of Denver 2001 issue never mentioned Krispy Kreme, and that alone made it special. Only an announcement that Jesus was this doughnut outlet’s franchise operator would justify the hullabaloo about the place, and even then, only for its Second…
Mark Monette, Flagstaff House: “It’s not real. I think it’s an invented thing. When I’m balancing taste, I go back to the things I know work well together.” Joe Schneider, Rhumba: “Never heard of it.” Andy Floyd, Cooking School of the Rockies: “It’s natural MSG. It’s in mushrooms, medium-rare meat,…
