The dishes of Dish: “build-a-bowl” menu at Crock Spot

The food truck row at Dish — Westword’s eighteenth annual food-and-drink event taking place in Sculpture Park at the Denver Performing Arts Complex next Thursday, September 6 — is full of stars this year: Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs, Comida, Mestizo’s, Waffle Brothers, Hey PB&J, Basic Kneads… And Crock Spot –…

Blue state v. red state: Which Colorado do you live in?

Colorado is a key swing state in the upcoming presidential election. In polls, Colorado looks like a toss-up between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, with leads shifting back and forth by the day — and which way the vote ultimately goes could decide the national outcome. By the numbers, though,…

Get a final scoop of jazz at Little Man tonight

The last of this summer’s Jazz Nights takes the stage at Little Man Ice Cream, 2620 16th Street, tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. Enjoy the shop’s ever-changing roster of ice cream flavors (and at least six sorbets) with a side of tunes — while you can…

To tip or not to tip? That’s up for debate.

Why Tip? By Josiah Hesse Last May, I was sitting in a bar in Spain, wondering why I was so relaxed. Beyond the typical high of travel — augmented by the Mediterranean lifestyle of beaches, naps and midday wine — I felt an ambiguous sense of peace in every bar…

Three juicy facts (and wines) to get you ready for National Cabernet Day

Just when you thought there couldn’t possibly be another day dedicated to the celebration of…well, anything, oenophiles around the country will raise filled-to-the-brim glasses to toast National Cabernet Day on Thursday. While it’s easy to dismiss these booze-filled events as just another excuse to tie one on, in truth they’re…

Tavern Mile High will be opening at Sports Authority Field

Denver’s football stadium doesn’t just have a new name and signage. Sometime soon after next week’s regular season home opener, it will also have its own Tavern: The Tavern Hospitality Group is in the process of creating Tavern Mile High at Sports Authority Field. “We met with the Broncos earlier…

Laura Shunk dishes out some tips for the new Cafe critic

In advance of Gretchen Kurtz’s debut next week as the new Cafe critic, we asked some of our previous restaurant reviewers to weigh in — and given their jobs, we do mean weigh in — with advice for our new newest critic. Kyle Wagner, our reviewer for close to a…

Guess where I’m eating an Italian hoagie?

In between doughnuts and bready sandwiches, it’s been a week of carb-overload, which is jacking up my healthy lifestyle. That last part? About my healthy lifestyle? File that with “Other Bullshit.” Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Guess…

Win a $50 gift certificate to A Taste of Colorado!

Update: The winners have been notified! Thanks. A Taste of Colorado will return to Civic Center Park this weekend for its twenty-ninth year of fun and serious food. Seriously: The Taste features more than sixty food vendors cooking and selling their fare. Interest in eating your way through Labor Day…

Zocalo is opening a second location on South Broadway

Zocalo has been serving up Mexican food and happy-hour margaritas for two years right off Broadway on Eleventh Avenue, and doing well enough that the owners are now adding a second location three miles further south on Broadway. “Thanks to all the support with the customers and everything, the business…

Kyle Wagner serves up some advice for our new Cafe critic

In advance of Gretchen Kurtz’s debut next week as the new Cafe critic, we asked some of our previous restaurant reviewers to weigh in — and given their jobs, we do mean weigh in — with advice for our new newest critic. Kyle Wagner, our reviewer for close to a…

Panera Bread’s cafe menu needs to rise to the level of its bread

When I’m walking into a Panera Bread , it’s hard for me to remember that I’m not headed into Starbucks. There’s the same wafting aroma of espresso and suburban MILF perfume; the same mellow, snoozy music; and the counter employees are so gleeful I wonder if they’ve been threatened by…

Guess where I’m eating a steak dinner?

I was on a mission for Indian food, but on the way there, experienced an abrupt craving for a (relatively) cheap steak, TVs and a bar that I knew wouldn’t be a see-and-be-seen scene. The singing kitchen staff and convivial bartender who fed me fruit were added bonuses. Can you…

World Cafe comes to an end in Boulder

The space at 946 Pearl Street in Boulder has gone through many incarnations over the past few years: It was a wine-making operation, then a wine bar called The Blending Cellar, which was bought and reopened as Cuvee — another wine bar that shuttered soon after. This June, the owner…