Beer Calendar: New Brews, a GABF Winner and Pumpkins

Tickets go on sale tomorrow for the third annual Denver Bacon and Beer Festival, which will run from 2:30 to 5 p.m. November 16 at the Curtis Hotel. This year’s event will feature eighteen breweries and more than 25 restaurants; one beer-bacon team will be crowned Best in Show win…

Brunch at Lola is a LoHi Tradition

After celebrating a monumental ten years in LoHi earlier this year, Lola has become one of the staples in the Denver restaurant scene. Passing by, it’s easy to forget how good it really is. I’m here to tell you it’s time to give Lola a fresh look. A crowd pleaser…

Reader: The Pizza Here Is Inferior Compared to Every Other City

Denver is home to many fast-casual chains, including a couple that that focus on pizza: Pizzeria Locale (brought to us by the folks at Frasca in a partnership with Chipotle founder Steve Ells) and Live Basil (from the Smashburger team). Homegrown mini-chain Modmarket is emphasizing its pizza, too, and now…

Flatirons Food Film Festival Gets Rolling Tonight

The Flatirons Food Film Festival is much more than a food-centric film showcase. The five-day festival will feature five nights of food related films, unique meals, workshops and discussions about the art, politics and science of food. See also: Five Bakery-Cafes in Denver Where You’ll Want to Sit for Hours…

Aurora Restaurant Roundup: Catfish King and K BBQ

Aurora’s restaurant scene may not be on the cutting edge of national food trends or garnering acclaim for its food “concepts” and bar “programs,” but the sprawling city has long been an international zone for cuisines not common in Denver. Competition is fierce and multiple restaurants come and go in…

Chipotle Endorses Proposition 105 Requiring Labeling of GMOs in Colorado

In a statement released today, Chipotle is officially asking Colorado voters to check “Yes” on Proposition 105, the ballot initiative that would require food that has been genetically modified or treated with genetically modified material to be labeled, “Produced With Genetic Engineering.” Although Chipotle — and other restaurants — would…

Dine in a Teepee or Drink by a Fire at Forest Room 5

There’s something about the approach of winter that makes me want to be outdoors as much as possible, and fortunately this fall, Mother Nature has acquiesced to my desires with outdoor-friendly temperatures. Last week, my craving brought me to Forest Room 5 and its unique woodsy patio. See also: Hear…

Park Burger in RiNo/Ballpark Will Be the Biggest Yet

Jean-Philippe Failyau is about to open his biggest Park Burger yet, this one in the RiNo/Ballpark neighborhood, with a beefed-up bar lineup and hours — and live music. Frank Bonanno’s one-time right-hand man created his first Park Burger in Platt Park five years ago, then added a Park Burger in…

Polished Tavern Serves Grandma’s Cooking Under Disco Lights

Sitting alone at the bar early on a Tuesday evening probably isn’t how the management at Polished Tavern envisions guests experiencing the full impact of the place. But I’m not the only one going solo; a few other single drinkers and diners occupy other bar stools, while one or two…

Lala’s Celebrates Women Winemakers Tonight

Lala’s Wine Bar + Pizzeria, which has become a fixture in the Governor’s Park neighborhood, is hosting a wine event featuring an all-women wine-maker lineup tonight. You can sample six wines made by women while enjoying snacks from the Lala’s kitchen. Admission is $10; call Lala’s at 303-861-9463. See also:…

Highland Pacific Restaurant & Oyster Bar Closed for Renovations

Residents of West Highland will have to get their oyster fix in another part of town; the windows at the Highland Pacific Restaurant and Oyster Bar are covered with paper and the phone isn’t being answered. A message on the the neighborhood seafood joint’s Facebook page, though, assures us that…

Session Kitchen Bartender Haylee Ortiz Creates a Teargarden

Teargarden at Session Kitchen 1518 South Pearl Street 720-763-3387 When Session Kitchen reformatted its cocktail program last month, lead bartender Haylee Ortiz was charged with the task of creating a specific cocktail. Her guidelines: it must be a sipping cocktail that suggested flowers, and it must contain mezcal. Ortiz, who…

Fast-Casual Pizza Chains Vie for a Slice of the Denver Market

Restaurateurs around Denver are really hoping you’ll get on board with their fast-casual pizza concepts; time and money are being spent perfecting dough recipes, building health-conscious angles, and firing up custom ovens to blister crusts in the amount of time it takes you to swipe a debit card. Businesses are…

Five Recent Food Developments That Probably Won’t Work

Food companies pair creativity with marketability — along with a little luck — to score “the next big thing” in food trends. There are some amazing ideas for new foods and drinks out there, but at the same time, some new products never really take off. Some aren’t appealing to…