Laurent Mechin Jill’s Restaurant/St. Julien Hotel 900 Walnu t Street, Boulder 720-406-7399 Laurent Mechin moved to Boulder six years ago to take a job as executive chef and culinary director at Jill’s Restaurant, which also serves as the kitchen for the St Julien Hotel. Mechin’s French upbringing and training are…
Brian Laird spent so many years running a high-end Italian kitchen, he got good at explaining why spaghetti and meatballs wasn’t on the menu. Today Laird co-owns Sarto’s, an Italian eatery that he opened with Taylor and Kajsa Swallow in Jefferson Park last fall, and he now finds himself explaining…
On the calendar, there are special days dedicated to almost everything: National Go Skate Day, National Margarita Day, National Bacon Day. And today we celebrate one of the more tasty days of dedication — National Clam Chowder Day! To celebrate, Jax in Lodo will be offering $7 bowls of New England clam…
When Gretchen Kurtz reviewed Brazen in January, she was wowed by the West Highland eatery’s chef counter and the “unpretentious, seasonally inspired” dishes of chef Lance Barto. Not only did we include Brazen in our list of the Fifteen Best New Restaurants in Denver for 2014, but the restaurant also…
You’ve got the first two meals of the day covered: breakfast is a cup of Greek yogurt and a coffee and lunch is being catered by your office. But between the bad weather, the overtime you’ve been working and all of the kids’ school activities, dinner somehow got lost in…
Your Name Here Brazen 4450 W. 38th Ave. 720-638-1242 The scene is always the same. A guest at a bar gives a bartender poetic license to concoct a drink that he thinks the guest will like. It could be a shot, or something more refined, but it always ends like…
The menu at the new Zoe Ma Ma, which opened last month right by Union Station, features some of the most comforting home-style Chinese food in Denver, with warming bowls of housemade noodles buried in braised beef and savory sauce, Chinese chicken-and-rice soup, and dumplings, bao buns and meatballs made…
At the end of the week, we’ll post our Restaurant Roll Call for February, a compendium of the openings and closings over the past month. There’s been plenty of action on the local drinking and dining scene — including last call for the Rustic Tavern, a fixture on our Ten…
The snowstorm that swept through Denver over the weekend didn’t quite live up to the dire predictions that had residents clearing grocery-store shelves in advance of the weather, but more cold temperatures and snow are in the forecast for the next several days, making the tease of mild, sunny days…
Work Options for Women is hosting its monthly cooking class at Cafe Options today from 6 to 8 p.m. Chef Justin Cucci, chef/owner of Root Down and Linger, will return as the guest instructor, bringing the same “field to fork” mentality that has made his restaurants so popular to lessons…
Girl Scout cookie season is upon us, threatening our will power and our waistlines. If you’ve already maxed out on Thin Mints, Samoas and other annual favorites but are still craving sweets, Grimaldi’s Coal Brick-Oven Pizzeria in the Denver Pavilions has just what you need: the pizza kitchen’s creamy cheesecakes…
Restaurants participating in Denver Restaurant Week just made it through the first weekend of the ten-day stretch of $30 deals that kicked off on Friday. And even with the blast of winter weather, some spots received more reservation requests than they could handle. Since it wouldn’t be practical to add…
There’s never an end to the profusion of food, drink and accessories that cause a double-take, followed by an audible “WTF?!” The latest parade of fascinating eats, sips and gear includes some that aren’t too whacked-out, like Trader Joe’s new pretzel bagels and sweet Sriracha bacon jerky, the good news…
For sale: a couple of venerable brewery locations with deep roots in Colorado craft beer history. In Denver, Breckenridge Brewery is selling its landmark location at 471 Kalamath Street, an address that shares a name with one of the brewery’s beers. The large property includes 42,000-square-feet of space and comes…
Stem Ciders has released a line of bottled ciders, which makes available for the first time a range of products from the Denver-based cidery. The 750-ml bottles are on shelves now in liquor stores across the metro area, and can also be purchased in Stem’s tap room, at 2811 Walnut…
At most restaurants, chicken skin either stays on the chicken or ends up in the trash along with potato peels, cilantro stems and carrot tops. But leave it to enterprising and creative kitchens to figure out a way to make a few extra bucks from a food product that has…
Alex Seidel worked on his concept for Mercantile Dining & Provision for three years before he finally opening the combination restaurant/market/bar in the renovated Union Station in September. Gretchen Kurtz just reviewed Mercantile, and says it’s a definite winner. Seidel’s new place is three times as big as Fruition, the…
Sarah Amorese fell in love with chocolate when she lived in Amsterdam. “My boss used to bring Belgian chocolates back to the office,” she told us. “And my husband — boyfriend at the time — and I did a lot of business trips through Europe. We used to visit every…
Don’t let the snow hold you hostage in your house this week. Get out of the kitchen and out to some of the great culinary events around town, which include classes and lectures with top chefs, a celebration of National Clam Chowder Day and an attempt to create the world’s…
OPENING THIS WEEK* Avery Brewing Company Restaurant and Tap Room, 4910 Nautilus Court, Boulder Balageru Restaurant & Bar, 5707 East Colfax Avenue Gathering Grounds Cafe & Board Games, 8923 East Union Avenue, Greenwood Village Goldspot Brewing (Saturday), 4970 Lowell Boulevard NOLA Voodoo Tavern and Perks, 2231 Bruce Randolph Avenue Organic Sandwich…
For years, Sputnik has been a local favorite in the South Broadway neighborhood. By day, patrons come for coffee, food and a relaxed environment to work or meet friends. By night, drinks at the bar and late night eats become the desired accouterments. While the menu has a generous helping…
Our restaurant critic Gretchen Kurtz reviewed Kings BBQ last July, noting that its off-the-beaten-path location in Lakewood was a good sign. Of the smokehouse’s brisket, she professed true affection: ” That dish was love spelled m-e-a-t, with the chewy black edges called bark, the telltale pink smoke ring, and chunks…
