Yard House sells to…owner of Olive Garden?

Former local boy Steele Platt has made very, very good: Darden Restaurants — an Orlando-based company that operates Olive Garden and Red Lobster, among other chains — announced today that it has agreed to buy Yard House USA Inc. for $585 million — cash, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. There…

Fire closes Pho Saigon on Belleview

Until this afternoon, southeast Denver had an abundance of restaurants named Pho Saigon — but that was before Pho Saigon Le at 8101 East Belleview Avenue caught fire. According to Channel 7, a blaze burned through the roof of the restaurant, and neighboring businesses in the strip mall were evacuated…

Bubba Chinos opens downtown tomorrow

Green chile, meet cheeseburger. Downtown Denver, meet Bubba Chinos. The latest location in the chain started by Leonard Cordova, grandson of the late Stella Cordova of the original Chubby’s, will open tomorrow at 1361 Court Place, just steps from City Hall. And first-day customers will receive free chile cheese fries…

Patio season is in full swing with two more opening

New patios are popping up all over town this summer. Star Bar introduced its outdoor “Bar Port” last month, complete with a draft system and a tiki theme. A half-dozen blocks and a world away, Edge at the Four Seazons unveiled its renovated patio in late June. Elway’s Downtown plans…

Ten Colorado beer labels you’ll be seeing soon

You could spend a small fortune keeping up with every Colorado beer release over the course of a year — believe me, I know. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t at least try a couple of them. In the old days — like, three years ago — beer releases were…

Tavern Platt Park should sprout next spring

All systems are go for Tavern Platt Park, which will transform the former home of India’s Pearl (and Lola, Micole and Greens before that) at 1475 South Pearl Street. Tavern Hospitality Group, which bought the building, had a hearing with the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses on July 2…

Guess where I’m eating a tongue-numbing panang curry?

I’m not sure which is more blistering: the pavement or this panang curry, which packs more heat than a desert sky in July. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Guess Where posts is entered into a pool –…

Five discontinued fast-food items I want back

It never fails: Just when I become emotionally — and occasionally physically — attached to a certain fast-food item, the corporate overlords snatch it away like fiendish villains in a Joss Whedon movie (or one of his TV shows that hasn’t been cancelled prematurely). Okay, so some items don’t sell…

Reader: City attacks local businesses, rather than help them

Two prominent restaurateurs are involved in very public spats with the city. Frank Bonanno, owner of Osteria Marco, among other restaurants, admits he can be a “dick.” Especially when fighting the Denver Department of Environmental Health: posting missives on his blog aimed at Danica Lee, the department’s food program manager…

El Diablo and Sketch are closed…for now

El Diablo does not look like this tonight. There are no crowds. In fact, the restaurant is closed, as is Sketch, its sibling next door. Very early yesterday morning, the city slapped the entire First Avenue Hotel building with notices to vacate the premise — immediately…

Photos: A new Beehive buzzes in Boulder

The second iteration of Beehive, chef/owner Janice Henning’s pared-down, seasonal foods showcase, opened yesterday in Boulder. The slim space that once housed Saxy’s Cafe now looks rustic yet serene, with stark white furniture and whimsical jar lights dangling overhead…

Guess where I’m eating a summery watermelon salad?

Ah, summer…and watermelon…and arugula…and goat cheese. Four of my favorite things, and this salad? It’s my new go-to for roughage. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Guess Where posts is entered into a pool — and every Monday,…

Four truly upsetting restaurant wine service fails

There’s nothing more delicious than an evening spent in the company of friends, enjoying the magical experience that is the simultaneous consumption of inspired cuisine and grape-based libations — otherwise known as food and wine. Layer on top of that the fact that we can enjoy these heavenly events at…