I asked the bartender to make her favorite specialty cocktail — and I got a very, very sweet, lemony vodka martini that I’m sure most women would love, but I did not. My fault, not the bartender’s. For our next course we switched to wine, and it turned into a…
Cafe Society dished up five Guess Where? contests last week, ranging from a still unidentified Christmas sweater-clad bottle of Maker’s Mark to a plate of Rocky Mountain oysters from the Fort Restaurant to a bourbon, basil and balsamic cocktail. For identifying that drink as coming from Cafe|Bar, Dave wins an…
For the last Chef and Tell interview of 2011, Lori Midson talked with Dana Rodriguez, the executive chef of Bistro Vendome, about everything from a Mexican girl making French food to her inspirational life story. The result left readers hungry to know more…and eat more…
Tahona Tequila Bistro, 1035 Pearl Street in Boulder, is offering Meal & Marg tonight — a deal that will deliver an appetizer, entree and blue agave margarita for just $18. For details, call 303-938-9600 or visit www.tahonaboulder.com. For information on dozens of culinary events around town, visit our online Food…
It was the year of the entrepreneur and the restaurateur,” says Jim Pittenger, owner of Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs. After six years of slinging sausages from street carts, he opened his own brick-and-mortar outpost at 2148 Larimer Street this past spring. And Pittenger has a point. By our count, close…
Growing up, I was a fat kid — things haven’t changed — and I looked forward to egg nog every Christmas. I would drink tons of the stuff — thinking, “It’s milk, so it’s good for you, right?” It wasn’t until years later, during one of my thinner periods, that…
Cafe Society is ho-ho-home for the holidays. The Westword office is closed until 8 a.m. Tuesday, December 27, and Cafe Society scribes will be off-duty — but still eating and drinking — until then. There’s plenty to savor in the posts below, though, and if you have a pressing concern,…
Christmas is a holiday for everyone — drunks, gamblers, cheats, kids, construction workers and, especially, foodies — because it’s a whole season devoted to edible hedonism. People are tacitly allowed — if not outright encouraged — to glut themselves on whatever takes their fancy at any time, everything from candy…
After working in the craft-beer industry for five years, writing about it for one and geek-ing out over it with fellow beer nerds for nearly a decade, I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like the past year in beer. The revolution is especially — and not surprisingly –…
Kelly Wooldridge, beverage director and sommelier at the recently opened Trillium, was still in high school when he felt the first stirrings of interest in professional bartending. “There was this guy, Willie Grandison, at the American Restaurant in Kansas City,” he explains. “This bartender had been there since the restaurant…
I was just sent this special, special gift by the fine folks at Maker’s Mark, and asked one of my favorite bartenders if he would mind modeling it. So far, it’s my favorite gift this season. Can you guess where I’m drinking? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct…
We’ll drink just about anything hot this time (and temperature) of the year, hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps (or some other sort of delicious liqueur) included. But there are a few cocktails on drink lists right now that make us clap our chilled hands with delight: Their warming qualities and…
What makes City, O’ City such a marvelous place to dine and drink? The location, right in the heart of downtown, the staff’s ability to make the best mocha latte I’ve had in quite a while, and the quirky-vegetarian treasures on the menu — notably the signature house-pickled vegetables. I…
There comes a moment every year — and it’s usually an alcohol-inspired moment during the holidays — when I, after a bottle or two of wine, declare that THIS year is the BEST YEAR EVER in Denver dining, and then commence to deliver a highly passionate, self-indulgent speech about why…
Forget chestnuts roasting on an open fire — get a load of this dish of Rocky Mountain oysters, a deep-fried Colorado delicacy. Nuts! Can you guess where I’m eating? And where are the best spots in town to find Rocky Mountain oysters, anyway? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first…
Dana Rodriguez Bistro Vendôme 1420 Larimer Street 303-825-3232 www.bistrovendôme.com This is part two of my interview with Dana Rodriguez, exec chef of Bistro Vendôme. Part one of that interview ran in this space yesterday. Favorite restaurant in America: Gramercy Tavern in New York. It’s a wonderful place with delicious, flavorful…
December means latkes to most of the people in this country who celebrate Hanukah (and even to many happy eaters who don’t), but the simple yet delicious — and infinitely variable — potato pancakes are pretty good the rest of the year as well. At least that’s what the owners…
As the end of the year approaches, owners are scrambling to finish restaurant projects. Last year, Lou’s Food Bar, Bittersweet and Aria all managed to get their doors open right before the start of 2011 — which meant they could also get tables booked for New Year’s Eve. Dozens of…
People are excited to see something, anything go in to Union Station, which has long been filled with nothing but potential. Union Station Alliance, which won the nod from RTD to redevelop the historic building, has big plans for a retail/restaurant mix underneath the hotel that will go on the…
Tonight is the longest night of the year, which means it’s your night to shine! Unleash your inner rock star at Markstar Karaoke at Interstate Kitchen & Bar, 901 West 10th Avenue; the weekly festivities (including drink specials, to give you some liquid courage) start at 10 p.m. For more…
It hasn’t been a good year for our economy, but it’s been a stellar year for the Denver restaurant scene, which continues to produce culinary heroes and push the envelope. I can’t even begin to guess how many meals I’ve eaten in restaurants over the past year, but I’m fairly…
The last review of 2011 took me back to Barolo Grill, where a year ago I had some very mediocre meals at soaring prices — which made me think that Barolo’s star was tarnished, and the legendary restaurant no longer lived up to its reputation. When I returned to Barolo…
