Monday Night Wine Dinner at Frasca

Frasca Food and Wine will host the next round in its Monday Night Wine Dinner series tonight, when Andre Mack presents Mouton Noir wines. Admission is $50 and up; for more information, call 303-442-6966 or visit www.frascafoodandwine.com. For information on dozens of culinary events around town, visit our online Food…

Paxia, from the owners of Los Carboncitos, opens in Sunnyside

When we got wind that the León brothers — Ignacio, Roberto and Ceasar — were unleashing Paxia, a new Mexican restaurant in Sunnyside, we were overcome with fits and bursts of enthusiasm, hoots and hollers of joy, and an overwhelming urge to sling a sleeping bag over our shoulders and…

New Belgium Spoke plans a fall opening at DIA

Months ago, we got wind that another New Belgium-themed outlet would soon take flight at DIA, picking up a spot on Concourse A that would be a sibling of the New Belgium Hub that serves beer and burgers in the hinterlands of Concourse B…

Sake to me! We love Izakaya Den’s happy hour

Happy Place: Izakaya Den, 1518 South Pearl Street, 303-777-0691 Hours: Tuesday through Friday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The Deals: $5 hot or cold sake, cocktails, wines by the glass, and appetizers; two-for-one Kirin draft beers Were we happy? Flip the page to find out…

Guess where I’m eating?

Eating tacos at a joint whose menu mainly focuses on Italian food is usually not a good idea, but the Asian-inspired soft shell crab tacos at this relatively new restaurant seemed like a good idea at the time, if only because the owner/chef has Vietnamese blood running through her veins…

Denver Beer Co opens today, and seasonal beers are on the menu

Denver Beer Co doesn’t have a kitchen, but the city’s zoning inspectors may be tempted to double check. The brewery, which opens today on Platte Street, serves Kaffir Lime Wheat as fresh and nuanced as any chef’s signature appetizer, a rauschbier that smells and tastes like a plate of smoked…

The Village at Edgewater folds its tent

The Village at Edgewater, a “soft-play cafe” near Sloan’s Lake, quietly closed earlier this month, leaving behind a voice message thanking customers for the “pleasure” of serving them. The kid-friendly restaurant and community center had opened last year with a professed goal to “entertain, educate and empower parents and their…

Fish fry at Frank’s Kitchen

The Friday fish fry is a time-honored tradition in Catholicism — and though many religious rules have gone by the wayside, fried fish tastes so heavenly that we’re sticking by this one. And tonight, inspired by a recent shipment of Alaskan cod and flounder, Frank’s Kitchen, the new Whittier neighborhood…

Afternoon Tea at Ceylon Pearl store

Some traditions have lasted for centuries because they’re simply fabulous — like afternoon tea. Ceylon Pearl Tea, 7770 East Iliff Avenue, will host an afternoon tea from 3 to 6 p.m. with delicacies and a tea talk by Judy Williams. For more information, call 303-745-2800. For information on dozens of…

Denver’s five best lunches under $5

The stock market’s fluctuating wildly, economists are giving glum prognostications that run the gamut from double-dip recession to depression and, best of all, the politicians we put in charge of taking care of the greater good are just making things worse. So no time like the present for a cheap…

Second Helping: LoHi Steakbar

My meals at Westerkamps Steakhouse and Meat Market, which I review in this week’s Westword, unleashed a strange but insatiable craving for steak — cheap steak, like a griddled flatiron or hanger, preferably sided by a couple of eggs and a pile of potatoes. Which is how I found myself…

Denver Burger Battle: The meat of the matter in photos

Aside from the vegetarian burgers from Root Down, which, ironically, were the first to sell out, last night’s porny Denver Burger Battle was a carnivorous animal-style nirvana of bloody meat candy, bacon and foie gras. The sold-out soiree pitted twelve restaurants, all of which hustle burgers in one guise or…

Snarf’s closes a Boulder location

Snarf’s, the chain of sandwich shops that got its start in Boulder and is now taking a bite out of Denver, closed its location at 1310 College Avenue in Boulder last month. According to employees at the original location on Pearl Street, this Boulder outpost couldn’t draw enough customers to…

Round two with Brett Smith, exec chef of Zolo Grill

Brett Smith Zolo Grill 2525 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder 303-449-0444 www.zologrill.com This is part two of my interview with Brett Smith, the executive chef at Zolo Grill. Part one of my chat with Smith ran in this space yesterday. Favorite restaurant in America: My all-time favorite is a classic red-sauce Italian…