As Westword’s Ask the Bartender columnist, I’ve talked with many bartenders for Cafe Society’s “Behind the Bar” series, posing numerous questions to Denver’s top bartenders…and often receiving the same answers: “I love chartreuse,” or “I’m really into smoked cocktails/barrel aging/bottled cocktails.” See also: A bartender by any other name…is still…
Nadine Donovan Old Major 3316 Tejon Street 720-420-0622 oldmajordenver.com This is part one of my interview with Nadine Donovan, pastry chef of Old Major; part two of our one-on-one will run tomorrow. It’s 11 a.m. on a Wednesday, four hours before Old Major opens for happy hour. Behind the transparent…
In A Federal Case, I’ll be eating my way up Federal Boulevard — south to north — within Denver city limits. I’ll be skipping the national chains and per-scoop Chinese joints, but otherwise I’ll report from every vinyl booth, walk-up window and bar stool where food is served. Here’s the…
The 16th Street Mall is full of great places to sit and watch the passing parade, but does it have many great places to eat? You can grab a sandwich — and even do good in the process, if you stop at the new Cafe 180 kiosk. But when a…
Oysters are like Crocs — you either like them or you don’t. But those plastic shoes will never be a thing of beauty, unlike oysters prepared the right way and served with a beautiful bottle of wine. Tonight Oceanaire Seafood Room will host an informative dinner that highlights both fruits…
UPDATE: We have a winner of our Chef & Brew Festival contest, in which we asked Cafe Society readers to answer this question: How many gallons of Tunnel of Trees IPA did TRVE brew during the month of October? Congrats to PerfectlyFlawed, whose guessed 150 gallons. The actual number is…
Last fall, the Lancer Lounge suddenly stopped pouring when it was seized by the State of Colorado. In Monopoly terms, this rundown dive bar on East Seventh Avenue was no Boardwalk, but to Frank Bonanno, it was as valuable as one of those highly-frequented reds (Illinois Avenue, perhaps?), given its…
Hops Grill and Brewery, a restaurant in Littleton that’s a link in a Florida-based chain, closed its doors yesterday. See also: Ska Brewing bottles (and cans) Modus IPA in Colorado; discontinues Ten Pin Porter…
Grist Brewing celebrated its grand opening on November 2 in Highlands Ranch, bringing some much-needed craft beer love to Denver’s south suburbs. In fact, Grist, founded by organic chemist Rob Kevwitch, is the first independently-owned craft brewery in Highlands Ranch — and the first in a wave of planned brewery…
It’s 5:30 p.m., and the scent of nightfall — the faint breeze of kitchen gusts — already permeates the air when I pull my car up to the meter. And inside twelve, Jeff Osaka’s Larimer Street restaurant, the smells grow more intense: Osaka and a brigade of chefs are concentrated…
When you think of snacking at Denver International Airport, you may think of Panda Express or Burger King. But according to the latest annual study by the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, DIA now has the healthiest airport food in the country, and tops the list for the first…
“We’ve always been a little fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants,” says Dave Thibodeau, co-founder of Durango’s Ska Brewing. “So, Modus was different. It was the most we had ever worked on a beer recipe and a style… It was the exact beer that we wanted to brew and it just blew up right out…
If chefs can crown corn chips with beef, chicken, carnitas and mock meat, then why not smoked oysters? That’s the unorthodox (and delicious) approach this kitchen takes with its nachos, a foreseeable addiction. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to a…
Govinda’s Garden has been a staple for Denver’s vegetarians for years. The eatery at the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, (perhaps) better known as the Hare Krishna movement, has gone through various incarnations, but always returns with its vegetarian buffet on Friday and Saturday nights. After changing its name to…
When it comes to good, old-fashioned fun, Punch Bowl Social knows how it’s done. After converting a 24,000 square-foot former big lots into a mecca of entertainment, Punch Bowl Social opened last year with three bars (punch a specialty); the Elevated Diner serving breakfast, lunch and dinner; a coffee spot…
The bobas in the above snap didn’t come from a bona fide Asian-style bubble teahouse. Instead, the fruity slushies and smoothies with their fat straws and soft tapioca pearls are blended at a timeworn restaurant that sizzles with steer. Can you guess where I’m drinking? Special bonus: Anyone who gives…
Chino Latino, the little tequila and taco shop owned by i-Fish, has closed. i-Fish, which is right next door, will turn the space into Little Fish, slated to open in January. See also: Jake Rand, formerly of Elway’s Downtown, opens i-Fish, a new downtown Pan-Asian restaurant…
The Bonefish Grill, a Florida-based seafood chain, just opened its latest metro location today in Lakewood. See also: Bonefish Grill is “polished casual,” and a pretty safe bet…
Last night, following the Denver Bacon and Beer Festival, eight local bartenders — Ryan Conklin (St. Ellie), Todd Mayville (Asti D’ Italia), Stuart Jensen (Green Russell), McLain Hedges (the Proper Pour), Kevin Burke (Colt & Gray), Melissa Durant (Acorn), Holland Rock-Garden (Roosevelt) and Anika Zappe (Star Bar) — gathered behind…
Cafe 180, a donation-based, pay-as-you-go restaurant in Englewood that’s been paying it forward, feeding anyone and everyone, independent of their financial situation, for the past three years, is bringing its charitable philosophies to a kiosk on the 16th Street Mall. Starting today, the kiosk, located near the D&F Clock Tower,…
Give a final farewell to the former Nathan’s Funtastic Fun at 3085 South Broadway. The one-time indoor amusement park in Englewood is slated to become a 4,580 square-foot Chick-Fil-A quick-service restaurant with drive-thru and outdoor seating — and that means the existing building will be demolished. If that ball room…
Let us give thanks for holiday dishes that appeal to everyone sitting around the table on Thanksgiving — carnivores and plant-based eaters alike. This week, a traditional side dish with a twist: instead of spinach, we’re using kale, and instead of cream, we’re using cashew cream. And believe us when…
