Have you purchased your tickets to DISH, Westword’s annual celebration of the Denver dining scene? More than forty of our favorite restaurants will be at Sculpture Park at the Denver Performing Arts Complex serving tasty bites; there will also be beverage samples from our beer sponsor, Stella Artois, and a special corner…
Johnny Ballen, co-owner of the Squeaky Bean downtown, has made fine dining an entertaining prospect, with amusements like found-object decorations and a cocktail shrine to departed celebrities enhancing the dining room — all while maintaining a respect for seasonal ingredients, along with partner/farmer Josh Olsen and chef Chris MacGillivray. And…
Some addresses just seem cursed — at least until something comes along to create a little buzz and lure the neighbors. Such is the case at 2200 South Broadway, which has seen the South Broadway Grill, Hades Bar & Grill, Zocalo and El Olvido come and go in recent years…
Colorado may be the “Napa Valley of craft beer,” but our three major sports venues have always been more like the Death Valley of craft beer: although you can find a can or a cup of something from a local independent brewer if you look hard enough at Mile High…
The end of summer is a time of change — and that means new menu items based on seasonal produce. That’s the case as Spuntino, Zengo and Honor Society. But at the latter two, even bigger changes are afoot, including major remodels, a new chef and a new downtown brunch…
No 67: Spaghetti Alla Carbonara at Spatola In a city ripe with takes on spaghetti alla carbonara, it’s refreshing to find a simple execution of the classic Italian dish at the newly-opened Spatola in the Highlands. After all, what’s not to like about a plate of beautiful pasta intertwined with…
Longtime chef Scott Durrah has a strong restaurant personality — and a strong tolerance for cannabis. He showed off both at last Saturday’s Simply Cooking demonstration that combined his love of food with his love of cannabis — and his love for partner Wanda James, with whom he runs Jezebel’s Southern Bistro…
Roaming Buffalo Bar-B-Que was a near-instant hit when it opened on South Downing in early 2015, earning our award for Best Barbecue this year, and selling out of smoked meats daily well before the dinner hour. Owners Coy and Rachael Webb are capitalizing on the success of their tiny eatery and…
Zoës Kitchen, a fast-casual Mediterran concept, keeps expanding its fleet in Colorado. A Union Station North neighborhood location opens today, August 24, at 1970 15th Street, suite 120; this will be the first Zoës in Denver proper and the fourth in the state following locations in Littleton, Fort Collins and Westminster that…
The 17th Annual Lafayette Peach Festival brought thousands of peaches and peach lovers to Lafayette on Saturday, August 20. Festival-goers lined up for nearly every conceivable form of the fruit, from smoothies and ice cream to grilled peaches and peach jam. The festival featured the bounty of the Palisade peach…
For longtime Coloradans, late summer means the beginning of the harvest bounty — in particular Western Slope peaches, Olathe corn, Pueblo chile peppers and Rocky Ford cantaloupe. While you can get these gifts of the earth from anywhere, our local versions are particular sweet and delicious. Rocky Ford’s cantaloupe growers,…
The Indian restaurant that opened last fall as Mr. India’s BBQ at 3157 West 38th Avenue is now closed. In its place is the second metro-area outpost of Biryani Pot, under new ownership. This continues the trend of biryani rice specialists coming to the metro area. The Denver Tech Center…
Move over, spaghetti and meatballs. As a native of Sicily, Francesco Spatola knows there’s more to Italian cuisine than red sauce and pasta. “Sicilian cuisine,” he explains, “is the result of the cultural overlapping of Greek, Spanish, French and Arabic cultures over thousands of years.” At Spatola, the restaurant and…
Get ready for a big bash at the Tavern Uptown. Last Thursday, the Denver Planning Board recommended that a PUD be approved allowing the redevelopment of the 500 block of East 17th Avenue — a revised redevelopment plan that now calls for maintaining the facade of the one-story Tavern building as…
While the loss of classic Italian eateries in the Highland and Sunnyside neighborhoods was punctuated by yesterday’s lamentable closing of Patsy’s after 95 years in business, there is some cause for celebration in north Denver. Despite issues with obtaining a cabaret license from the city, the Monkey Barrel is gearing…
The cheery husband-and-wife team that runs Kingman Estates Winery can’t stop smiling; after all, they just won two gold metals during the third annual Governor’s Cup Colorado Wine Competition in July. To add to the glory, their 2013 cabernet sauvignon was also chosen as one of the twelve wines to grace…
Jefferson Park Pub is a small neighborhood bar in one of the tiniest neighborhoods in Denver. Jefferson Park itself is a roughly 45-square-block residential enclave bordered by Speer to the north and Federal to the west. The Platte River cuts along its eastern border, and the southern border of the…
It’s easy to like Todd Usry, Garrett Wales and Meg Gill. All three are smart, approachable and passionate about beer. They all have a good sense of humor and firm handshakes. It’s even easier for some people to dislike their decisions, however. All three sold their breweries — Breckenridge Brewery…
Driving east along Colfax Avenue from downtown is a bit like journeying from Denver south through Central America. As you leave the modern, redeveloped blocks and head past Colorado Boulevard, the population thins and the scenery becomes a little more gritty. But diversity grows, with a patchwork quilt of international…
It’s all fun in the sun at the Skyline Beer Garden, which popped up this weekend in Skyline Park at 16th and Arapahoe streets. Hosted by the Downtown Denver Partnership, the tented space offers burgers, bratwursts and, most important, a dozen Colorado brews, plus plenty of activities — from putt-putt golf to…
Change and growth continue to define the neighborhood that new arrivals know as LoHi but that longtime Denver residents simply call the North Side. Most notable — for food and history buffs, at least — has been the steady loss of classic red-sauce joints that were the legacy of the…
Denver Beer Company, which helped kick off the city’s brewery surge when it opened on Platte Street in 2011, is taking its beer and its successful formula on the road: the company plans to open a third brewery and tasting room in a former car dealership in Olde Town Arvada…
