The Eight Tastiest Events on the Culinary Calendar, May 1-5

Happy May Day, everyone! In lieu of protesting the corrupt capitalist culture and celebrating the proletariat, we present for your consideration: a pair of trivia nights, a pair of pizza events, and the return of a slew of food trucks, a meal mark of spring. Have a tasty week, and…

Reader: Denver Doesn’t Need to Import More Southern Restaurants

Southern food is big in Denver right now. But with all the local eateries frying up chicken and stirring grits, does this city need outsiders entering the scene? The folks behind Tupelo Honey do; the chain that got its start in Asheville, North Carolina, will open its first location west of the Mississippi right behind Union Station on May 2. But readers have mixed feelings about the fact that it’s landing here.

Denver’s Lost Restaurants: A Chef Recalls Her Time at Cafe Promenade

This week’s feature story, “Disappearing Denver: Looking Back at Buildings We’ve Lost,” reminisces about old favorites — from the Tabor Grand Opera House to Celebrity Sport Center — that shaped Denver’s architecture and entertainment scene before giving way to the forces of modernization. Restaurants too, have come and gone, as a…

The Park Tavern Reopens Today After Extensive Remodel

The Park Tavern & Restaurant at 931 East 11th Avenue has been slowly getting an overhaul both inside and out. After completing as much of the work as possible while keeping at least part of the twenty-year-old restaurant and bar open, owner Louie Belegratis closed the place for most of April…

Bannock Street Garage Loves Its Golden Triangle Neighbors

If you don’t pay attention, you might miss the Bannock Street Garage, or just think it’s an actual garage. The building was a car repair shop for years prior to becoming a bar, and the large garage doors and smallish sign could easily fool a person as to what goes…

First Look: El Five Rises High Above Lower Highland

Chef/restaurateur Justin Cucci doesn’t do subtle. From the “gastro-brothel” excess of Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox to the reclaimed mortuary mish-mash of Linger, Cucci’s restaurants turn unlikely spaces into full-on barrages of all of the senses. His newest, El Five, is no exception, converting the fifth floor of a LoHi office building…

First Look: Sushi Cup Brings Poke and Sushi to Governors Park

Now is just the right time for a restaurant like Sushi Cup. Andrew Castillo, who just opened the newest addition to the Governors Park food collective on East Seventh Avenue, was looking for a new opportunity to follow his passion just as the poke trend started heating up in Denver…

Thach Tran on Vietnamese Markets, Disastrous Lobster Prep, and Stella’s on 16th

Thach Tran is the executive chef at Stella’s on 16th, a marketplace restaurant that opened downtown in January. This is his account of the journey that led him to this point, a tale that starts at a pho restaurant in Vietnam, detours through an obsession with hand-pulled noodles, stops at a lucky stint helping co-owner Toshi Kizaki wash and scale fish at Sushi Den, and includes a disastrous episode at the James Beard House.

Nine Unique Ice Cream Sandwiches to Try in Denver

There’s something uniquely Denver about seventy-degree spring days that can quickly turn into rain or snow. We never wait for a permanent break in the weather before heading for our favorite ice cream shops — even with the threat of cold temperatures or a little spring snow. When we want…

Remembering Matthew Lackey, Arcana’s Opening Chef

Matthew Lackey was the opening executive chef at Arcana, the subject of this week’s restaurant review by Gretchen Kurtz. Lackey passed away on April 10, 2017, after a rock-climbing accident at Mount Princeton. He was no longer with Arcana, having parted ways only weeks after the Boulder restaurant’s February 2016…

Colt & Gray Closes Temporarily After Kitchen Walkout

A familiar favorite on Platte Street at the foot of the 16th Street pedestrian bridge will be closed for the next several days. Colt & Gray has temporarily shut down dinner service to hire new staff after a walkout by several members of the kitchen crew. The restaurant released the following…

First Look: Just Be Kitchen Now Cooking Up Paleo Breakfast and Lunch

Just Be Kitchen, the paleo breakfast and lunch eatery from founder Jennifer Peters and chef/co-owner Carrie Baird, opened today at 2364 15th Street, just a few months after the two took possession of the space formerly occupied by Mona’s. Just Be offers gluten-free, grain-free options in a fast-casual setting. The…