“The most innovative man in the world of food at the moment is Chipotle founder Steve Ells,” writes Jonathan Gold, the Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic at Westword’s sister paper, LA Weekly, in a profile of the CEO that ran in the Wall Street Journal late last week. That’s high praise…
Not surprisingly, the older I get, the more important family is to me. I’m well beyond my rebellious years, and the self-centered, booze-fueled, late-night haze of my twenties is fading fast. These days, my time is more meaningfully spent with loved ones, especially while cooking. Regrettably, my family and I…
All sakes start with rice and water, which are fermented in a process similar to that of brewing beer. But every toji — head sake brewer — has a different style, and rice polishing, additives and aging techniques all result in vastly different expressions of the spirit. Sake can be…
New Belgium Brewing releases its new winter seasonal, called Snow Day, today (and props to them for waiting until a part of the year when we can actually get snow to unveil a winter beer). Snow Day, a cross between a black IPA and a winter warmer, replaces 2 Below,…
He’s talked about it for months — and finally, after an endless hunting spree for the perfect space, salumi czar Mark DeNittis, who owns Il Mondo Vecchio, is opening Il Mondo Vecchio Mercato-Salumeria at 1284 South Pearl Street, in Washington Park…
This is our first official Veggie Girl revisit, but we felt a fresh look at City, O’ City was warranted, since the newly expanded restaurant also has a fresh new menu. While the wine/beer/tea/coffee lists are as impressive as ever, pizza doesn’t seem to be as much of a focus,…
If you like doughnuts — you know who you are — then you’ve undoubtedly popped dozens of these ridiculously addictive doughnut holes in your mouth. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Where am I drinking/eating posts is entered…
Pinche Taqueria, the brick-and-mortar version of the popular Pinche Tacos carts, made its debut on October 31 — the last in a potentially record-breaking roster of thirty-plus restaurants to open in a month. Here’s our restaurant roll call for October:…
In yet another burst of menu non-creativity, McDonald’s is introducing Chicken McBites: popcorn-style chicken micro-nuggets that will differ from Chicken McNuggets in that they are ostensibly made from actual cuts of chicken, rather than the bizarre breaded avian mash that gives McNuggets their superfluously spongy consistency. With this un-daring menu…
Today’s the day you can have a shipment of In-N-Out double-double burgers sent to your home in In-N-Out-deprived Colorado — if you’re willing to pay $50, plus shipping, for two of them. Deal, but no deal, says Devin: I love In-N-Out, but it is like a nice treat when I…
How awesome to forage for your own food, then turn it into a fabulous dinner. Tonight foraging expert Hank Shaw will tell you how to do it at Black Cat Restaurant, 1964 13th Street in Boulder, where he’ll be the headliner of the Hank Shaw Dinner and Book-Signing. The $65…
It was a trip to the bank, followed by a jaunt to a burger shack in San Diego, that convinced Terry Sandrin to open his own meat emporium. “I was at our local bank in Littleton last fall, and there was a couple who was grilling burgers outside in the…
Yesterday morning, sixty people huddled over rows of glasses in the new addition at The Mediterranean in Boulder, feverishly writing notes while sniffing and sipping. While they worked, a panel of master sommeliers highlighted comparisons and characteristics of wines from Burgundy, walking the group through tastes that compared village samples…
Do you like Fat Tire? How about Ranger IPA? If so, you’ll be getting more of both in February when New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins releases both beers in sixteen-ounce cans. The two beers will be the brewery’s first tallboys and they’ll be among the first to be produced…
Avery Brewing Company, which has outgrown the Boulder business park where it was founded eighteen years ago, has settled on a 5.6-acre spot in north Boulder, where it hopes to build a brand new beer compound. The location, at 4910 and 4920 Nautilus Court, would include a 30,000 square-foot brewery,…
It may be Halloween, but today also marks the opening (finally!) of Pinche Taqueria, Kevin Morrison’s taco-hustling brick-and-mortar — the follow-up to his taco wagon, which was one of the first mobile street food slingers to hit the streets of Denver…
Between sake tastings, chili and avocado competitions, and the Chefs Food & Wine Pairing Competition, Denver’s dining scene has a lot on its plate this week. Here’s a sampling of what’s on the menu:…
Over the last few months, I went from the worst shape of my life to the best while continuing to eat like a food critic. Don’t punch me in the face; instead, read how I did it in part three of this new series: I love booze. I try to…
No one’s saying you have to go meatless just because it’s Monday — but as an incentive to join the growing Meatless Monday movement, we’re featuring an animal-free recipe each week. This vegetable barley soup is beef-broth-free — but the cooking sherry and barley miso add a full-bodied flavor to…
On the same menu stamped with housemade pupusas, empanadas and Salvadorian enchiladas, you’ll find conch soup, creamed spaghetti and meatballs and chop suey, which our server swore was one of the kitchen’s best dishes. Maybe next time. In the meantime, can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who…
Cafe Society served up five Guess where? contests last week, ranging from a meaty Friday night dinner at Frasca to a still-unidentified avocado margarita to clam linguine at a relatively new strip-mall Italian joint. For correctly identifying the dish as coming from La Scala Trattoria , Erinlstilwell wins an EatDenver…
“I was really hoping you’d go on the Jason Sheehan diet: whiskey, cigarettes, and Lucky Charms,” writes Mantonat in response to the second installment of Bar Belle, Laura Shunk’s new series about how a food critic can indeed get fit. In last Monday’s installment, Shunk kicked gluten to the curb,…
