Ototo Food and Wine Bar opens for Sunday brunch

Ototo Food and Wine Bar, the not-so-Japanese sibling of Sushi Den and Izakaya Den, is now serving Sunday brunch. The menu features such standard brunch fare as bagels with lox and steak and eggs, as well as more innovative offerings, including duck confit. And whenever possible, every dish features ingredients…

Now open: The Kitchen [Next Door]

At 11 a.m. today, after months of redesign and a last-minute delay due to construction, the Kitchen [Next Door] opened its doors, and welcomed a line of Boulder residents eager to try the pub-inspired addition to a Pearl Street family of eateries…

Cuba Cuba Sandwicheria opens in Boulder

“Opening Cuba Cuba as a 23-year-old punk and creating something that, even after ten years, people still enjoy, is my biggest accomplishment,” said Enrique Socarras, the executive chef of Cuba Cuba, when I interviewed him earlier this year. Socarras and his sister, Kristy, opened Cuba Cuba in 2001, and while…

Five Colorado wines (finally!) worth drinking by the case

Have you ever gotten the impression that Colorado wines kinda suck? If you’re really, really honest with yourself, you probably answered yes – and you’re not the only person who feels that way. A glance at the wine list of many of Denver’s top-rated dining destinations routinely reveals fewer Colorado-based…

Guess where I’m eating?

There are some people who have a mad crush on corned beef hash straight from the can. I can’t stand the stench of the stuff, much less stomach it, which is why I’m always on the hunt for scratch-made hash. I found one at the restaurant where the above snap…

Vietnam Grill goes for a liquor license

Vietnam Grill has been slinging pho and spring rolls from its Federal Boulevard strip mall spot for a few years, but now the eatery is hoping to add alcoholic pairings to the menu. The restaurant just applied for its liquor license, and if all goes according to plan, it’ll add…

Strings hosts Spanish wine-tasting to benefit MaxFund

No one really needs an excuse to taste delicious Spanish wine, but just in case: The proceeds from tonight’s Spanish Wine Tasting at Strings will benefit the no-kill animal shelter MaxFund. The event runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and admission is $35 at the door; for more details, call…

Lechuga’s in northwest Denver is famous for its canolis

During weekday lunch at Lechuga’s, the sliver of space connecting the restaurant to the lounge is packed. In that narrow hallway, cops bump into tattooed misanthropes and old men from the neighborhood go head to head with packs of teenagers, all eyes on the display case at the counter. White…

My last supper at the Squeaky Bean…in photos

On Sunday afternoon, following brunch service, the Squeaky Bean, one of our favorite restaurants on the planet, closed — not because the joint was in the toilet, or the entire kitchen crew walked out, or owner Johnny Ballen told one too many bad bean jokes. That had nothing to do…

Now open: Nanna’s Teas

When El Gordo Loco shuttered soon after opening in Lower Highland, Karen Renz, owner of Park Hill-based Nanna’s Teas, picked up the lease to open a second outpost of her shop. But there was a twist: In addition to dozens of varieties of loose-leaf teas, Renz also planned to serve…

Ask the bartender: Meet Evan Faber, Colorado Cocktail contestant

Sean Kenyon knows how to pour out both drinks and advice. A third-generation bar man with almost 25 years behind the bar, he is a student of cocktail history, a United States Bartenders Guild-certified Spirits Professional and a BAR Ready graduate of the prestigious Beverage Alcohol Resource Program. You can…

Brown Dog Pizza liquor-license hearing today

Brown Dog Pizza, an outfit out of Telluride, wants to put a pizzeria into a former auto-repair shop at 1001 South Gaylord Street — and supporters and opponents alike have their engines running for today’s liquor-license hearing. It’s set for 6 p.m. at the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Building, 201…

Shout-out to food trucks and food carts: We need your info!

We’re revving up a special project here at Cafe Society headquarters, one that will remain a closely guarded secret for the time being, but we can tell you this much: It involves Denver’s street-food scene. And we need your help to get it off and rolling: If you own or…

Photos: Great Divide 17th anniversary party, 6/11/11

A few thousand of Great Divide Brewing’s closest friends came to a street party on Saturday, June 11, 2011 outside of the brewery at 22nd and Arapahoe for its seventeenth birthday celebration. “We like to close the street down so we can have a bigger party, and not just because…

Guess where I’m drinking?

There’s nothing better than a duo of jumbo-size liquid libations — and a beer shooter — to start your Sunday morning off right, especially when you get to enjoy them on the sun-beamed patio of a sidewalk cafe in one of Denver’s most vibrant ‘hoods. Can you guess where I’m…