Josh Epps and Christina Smith, owners of the two Jelly Cafes in Denver (the original on Colfax Avenue and Jelly U near the University of Denver), live in the Berkeley neighborhood and wanted a family-friendly restaurant to take their kids for a reasonably priced dinner. The solution? They decided to…
Every holiday season brings consumers a big, mixed Santa bag of Christmas-themed nibbles and sips, and it’s pretty much a guarantee that at least a few of them are gonna be memorably good, while the rest will be the nightmare during Christmas. This year at least we have some better-sounding…
Basil Doc’s has been turning out pizza since 1996 under the direction of owner Mike Miller. While the Crestmoor location isn’t the original store (the first Basil Doc’s, near Washington Park, is still turning out pizzas), Miller is now focusing his attentions on the little spot tucked in a row…
With the year drawing to a close, it’s time to look back on the top trends of 2014. The most important — the one driving all the other trends — is sheer growth. More than 300 bars and restaurants flung open their doors this year in the metro area, enough…
A record number of restaurants opened in metro Denver in 2014. Although a few more could sneak in before the ball drops on 2015, last week we took a look back over the restaurant action of the past year and served up our Fifteen Best New Restaurants of Metro Denver…
Christmas has finally arrived and this week many in Denver will be celebrating with family and friends, but if you’re not feeling up for cooking for yours this week there are still plenty of options for eating out on Christmas and Christmas eve as well as a few other tasty…
This week in Cafe Society, Gretchen Kurtz was transported back to the Reagan years with hearty, unpretentious breakfasts at Sunrise Sunset. We spotted a doughnut shop that will soon open on South Colorado Boulevard called the Fractured Prune that has become our new frontrunner for the worst restaurant name in…
Denver has been an incubator for fast-casual restaurants ever since Chipotle made a big splash with its first store in the mid-’90s. But the evolution of the concept has gone far beyond burritos and sandwiches. Fast and casual doesn’t have to mean cheap and greasy. Quite a few eateries opened…
Food lesson for the day: Broasted is a trademarked word. Who knew? Apparently not the Forgy brothers, who just opened Block & Larder, which features “broasted rabbit” on its menu. But even though that rabbit is cooked in a pressure fryer built by the Broaster Company of Beloit, Wisconsin, you…
Hanukkah is in full swing and on the fourth day, we bring to you a veggie sandwich of latke proportions. Zaidy’s has been around as long as some natives can remember (29 years, to be precise), dishing up latkes, kugel, knishes, and more in Cherry Creek North. So to celebrate…
Butcher Chad Nelan has been working to perfect his sausage and cured meat recipes for the past two years, making it his sole focus over the past few months after leaving his job at Tony’s Market. His goal is to open his own company, Elevation Charcuterie and Artisan Meats, by…
Denver is rolling in doughnuts. Last year Dunkin’ Donuts made a big comeback in Colorado, and Voodoo Doughnut opened its first shop outside of Oregon smack-dab on East Colfax Avenue. And now we’re about to get another national name in the local market, albeit one of the worst names imaginable…
This weekend you can finally break out that ugly holiday sweater for a quartet of tasty events, including a holiday tea and a class on holiday spirits, as well as a market at Broken Shovels farm. Keep reading for the delicious details. See also: Block & Larder Is Roasting and…
Block & Larder just opened on Tennyson Street, featuring a chophouse-style menu from chef Lucas Forgy, who owns the place along with his brothers Jason and Aaron. Although the three brothers also own beer mecca Freshcraft, Block & Larder focuses more on the food and on cocktails than on craft…
A banner hanging outside Sunrise Sunset, which I review this week, proclaims, “We serve only Colorado farm-fresh eggs.” This got me thinking about eggs, because in the hundreds of conversations about sourcing I’ve had with chefs over the years, no one has ever waxed poetic about eggs. Local produce? Yes…
The Gravitas Development Group has been behind quite a few of Denver’s hottest restaurant projects this year. Gravitas is the company responsible for the shipping-container project at 2500 Larimer Street that houses Work & Class and Cart-Driver, and it also built out the neighboring spaces on Tennyson Street that are…
Doughnuts have become a big business in Denver since Dunkin’ Donuts made a comeback in Colorado and Voodoo Doughnut opened its first non-Oregon store on East Colfax last year. Now a new national player in the fried-dough game is coming to Denver — and it may just have the worst…
Sure, Rob and Karin Lawler know cheese. The Truffle Cheese Shop on 6th Avenue became a foodie destination with the two forces of the Lawler’s friendliness and their knowledge of good cheese and practices. But is it easier to go from being a cheesemonger to a dinnermonger than it is…
When Malissa and Scott Spero came back to the states after a year of teaching in Korea, they were ready for a change. Before the trip, Malissa had worked at the China Center at the University of Denver and Scott was a graphic design student. “We realized we could do…
This year may have set a record for new restaurant openings in metro Denver. Trendspotting became difficult, as so much volume led to multiple variations of almost anything good, whether it was fast-casual service, tiny dining rooms, fried chicken, wood-fired everything, restaurants with their own attached markets, or simple typographical…
While brunch has become a popular hipster meal, breakfast remains a meal for traditionalists. And it doesn’t get more traditional than at Sunrise Sunset, a three-decade-old, three-spot chain that Gretchen Kurtz visited for this week’s review. She found a lot to like at the Wheat Ridge location — but not…
Sure, you have a lot to do today — cook, shop, maybe even go to work. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have time for a beer. Or two. Or three. After all, when you down a local brew, you’re also supporting Colorado’s craft-beer industry. Keep reading for two of…
