Ten years isn’t a long time, unless you’re in the restaurant business, in which case surviving a decade can seem like a monumental achievement. And with the rapid changes in Denver dining tastes and the explosion of hot new restaurant neighborhoods over the past few years, older eateries find themselves…
“We bartended together, as one, and it was amazing,” says Chad Michael George, who shared the win at Deuces!, a synchronized bartending competition held Tuesday at Star Bar, with Nick Touch. Paired bartenders were tasked with making the same drink — simultaneously. Four teams fought it out behind the bar,…
After years in northern California, veteran restaurateur Frank Jolley IV had a choice to make: open a restaurant there, or find a new place to set up shop. “I was 50-50 Healdsburg or Denver,” says Jolley, whose lengthy career includes everything from picking grapes in New Zealand to meeting Julia…
Stephen McCary Mizuna 225 East Seventh Avenue 303-832-4778 mizunadenver.com This is part two of my interview with Steve McCary, exec chef of Mizuna; part one of our chat ran yesterday. Most memorable meal you’ve ever had: A few years ago, Frank Bonanno and Jacqueline, his wife, took some of the…
In 2013, more than 250 restaurants opened in metro Denver, everything from ambitious crowd-pleasers like Old Major and Best of Denver winner Lower48 Kitchen to a smattering of out-of-state doughnut houses. While 2014 might not be quite on pace to top last year’s opening numbers, there’s been no shortage of…
A second location of popular breakfast and lunch joint Sassafras opened last week at 320 East Colfax Avenue, bringing its laid-back yet inventive Southern-inspired dishes to Capitol Hill, and closer to home for many of the restaurant’s devotees. See also: Southern breakfasts take center stage at Sassafras American Eatery, now…
Stephen McCary, the chet at Mizuna and subject of this week’s Chef and Tell interview, would love to see the words “molecular gastronomy” die. And this confession prompted several readers to serve up other culinary terms they’d like to see disappear: “nose to tail,” “chef driven,” “gastropub”, “farm to table,”…
The holiday weekend is upon us, and there are plenty of opportunities to start celebrating even before the Fourth of July. Here are three of our favorite deals today. See also: Corner Office bartender Nick Snyder wins local honors at Punch Kings…
Colorado is home to more than 200 breweries making thousands of craft beers for us to enjoy year-round. But summer is arguably the best time to enjoy a delicious craft beer in Colorado – even more so while soaking in the ambience of a brewery patio, whether it’s an intimate,…
In early March, Gozo finally opened on South Broadway. It’s an Italian-Spanish eatery — not that you’d know it from the name. It doesn’t serve aljotta (fish soup) or hobz biz-zejt (bread with tomatoes, anchovies, mint and cheese) or other staples from Gozo, an island in the Maltese archipelago. It…
When I go to the Boulder Farmers’ Market — as I did Saturday — a kind of madness possesses me. I purchase a handful of market bucks with my credit card (a useful feature; these bucks can be exchanged for anything at any vendor’s stall, and you’ll get your change…
Left Hand Brewing co-founder and president Eric Wallace was recognized last week as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the consumer products and services category, beating out two dozen other candidates. The award recognizes “extraordinary performance in leading successful innovative businesses, strong financial performance, and an endearing…
If you’ve tasted Teakoe iced tea at one of the various Colorado eateries that carry it: Illegal Pete’s, Larkburger, Hacienda Colorado, Woody Creek and more, then you’ve experienced how habit-forming small-batch iced tea can be — and now, Teakoe is putting its tea bags on the shelves of area gourmet…
“Once you’ve had a few beers, it’s hard to leave a German beer garden without making some friends,” says Patrick Crawford, who opened Denver Beer Co. with Charlie Berger in August 2011. In advance of that opening, Crawford and Berger had gone to Germany — and came back with the…
In his first-ever bartending competition, Nick Snyder of the Corner Office punched out a win at Cochon 555’s annual Punch Kings competition on June 28 at the Curtis Hotel. Originally a carnival of all things pork, Cochon 555 has expanded to include bartenders in the food-and-drink competition. See also: The…
Stephen McCary Mizuna 225 East Seventh Avenue 303-832-4778 mizunadenver.com This is part one of my interview with Steve McCary, exec chef of Mizuna; tune in tomorrow for part two of our chat. It’s mid-afternoon on a Tuesday, and Mizuna’s kitchen is already buzzing in preparation for dinner service. On the…
Craft beer trends have evolved quickly over the past five years, and just because a brewery has been around for a while doesn’t mean that its beers will keep selling forever. To keep up, and to stay relevant, some older breweries have cut poorly performing products from their lineups and…
Heading to the Western Slope this weekend? Remember to pack your ammo if you stop by Shooters Grill in Rifle, because the waitresses are packing at this restaurant. And so can you, because the Shooters Facebook page proclaims that the place is “open carry.” See also: Shooter’s Grill waitresses are…
Firenze a Tavola, the charming basement spot at Parisi, is hosting a five-course, Tuscan-inspired community-table meal at 6:30 p.m. tonight. And down the hill on the edge of LoHi, Lola will be introducing its $15, Wednesday-only Lolaburguesa & Cervesa deal. See also: Photos: Denver Taco Festival was the taco the…
Gozo 30 South Broadway 720-638-1462 Denver’s restaurant scene is flourishing, which means two things: It’s harder than ever to decide where to eat, and just as hard to know what your money will buy once you get there. For a recent review meal at Chai & Chai, the no-frills Indian-Arabian…
Denver bartenders Jason Patz and Allison Widdecombe, both of Williams & Graham, traveled to New York City last month for World Class U.S., a nationwide bartending competition. Considered the biggest and most celebrated mixology competition in America, World Class U.S. matched Patz and Widdecombe against thirteen other bartenders from across…
Westword’s Anthony Martin visited two urban farms and Denver Urban Homesteading, a farmer’s market in the heart of Santa Fe Boulevard’s warehouse district, and talked to farmers and retailers attempting to make a living from reclaimed land, small spaces and a Denver client base looking for alternatives to industrially produced…
