Marilyn Megenity has done such a fantastic job turning the Mercury Cafe, 2199 California Street, into a creative community outlet — offering dancing, live music, poetry slams, solstice celebrations, eco-friendly festivals and much more — that it’s easy to forget that the Merc is also, well, a cafe. With coffee…
Bryan Dayton is gearing up to rewrite the vodka martini-heavy drink list at Madison Street, and we can’t wait to see what the bartender has in store. In the meantime, there’s at least one cocktail already on the roster that we hope he considers keeping (and if he is going…
American Craft Beer Week is a beer drinker’s paradise, a week that celebrates small (and a few not-so-small) independent brewers around the country. There are a huge number of events going on this year in the Denver/Boulder area — not to mention the rest of the state — so not…
Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market’s choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. Rhubarb season is…
Wayne Conwell Sushi Sasa 2401 Fifteenth Street 303-433-7272 www.sushisasadenver.com This is part one of my interview with Wayne Conwell, executive chef/owner of Sushi Sasa. Part two of this interview will run tomorrow on the Cafe Society blog. While his toddling friends were chowing down on burgers and pizza, Wayne Conwell…
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…
When Laura Shunk recently visited Green Russell, our Best Contemporary Cocktail Bar in the Best of Denver 2011, she discovered that the subterreanean speakeasy not only has a new menu, but someone new in the kitchen, too: legendary local chef Sean Kelly. Turns out that just-as-legendary restaurateur Frank Bonanno, who’d…
Denver’s food-truck scene was already revving up before the The Great Food Truck Race landed in town this past weekend, and the contrast between the out-of-town characters, including the grilled-cheese whizzes behind Roxy’s, and our homegrown crews had Denverites hungering for more. As Jason said: I’ve always found that one…
Aria will host Dueling Cuisine: Science vs. Art, as chefs Michael Long and Ian Kleinman face off and prepare a four-course feast. Each course will feature on ingredient with two preparations by each chef. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. and costs $89; for more info, call 303-377-4012. For information…
How was everything?” The server was looking at me expectantly, eyes flicking to the half-eaten plate of spaghetti, thick noodles lying listless in a lumpy tomato sauce that was beginning to separate, orange grease coagulating on the surface. I looked up. “Fine,” I said, giving the restaurant code word for…
I’m not sure I’ve ever been more excited for a place to open than I was for Green Russell. I’m a fan of the cocktail movement, even with all of its occasionally snob-tastic and overpriced nuances, and a sexy cocktail den, with pre-Prohibition libations and aloof, attractive bartenders spilling facts…
Frank Bonanno has built a formidable empire in Denver over the last decade, expanding out from his original spot, Mizuna, into Luca d’Italia, Osteria Marco and Bones. Last year, the restaurateur gave the city two new concepts: Green Russell, a speakeasy in Larimer Square, and Lou’s Food Bar, a roadhouse…
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…
Along with all the usual suspects offering Tuesday night taco deals in this town, you can add a less conventional spot: Row 14 just announced Taco Tuesdays, when it will add a board of tortilla-wrapped meats and salsas to its usual list of charcuterie, brandade fritters and duck crepes…
Breckenridge Brewing is hitting the airwaves with a TV campaign spoofing the big boys of the industry and the gimmicks that they use to sell beer. The four Truth in Beervertising ads feature Breckenridge head brewer Bob Harrington delivering one-liners in a deadpan voice that skewers the cold-indicator systems used…
The news that Cafe Berlin is moving to the 16th Street Mall reminded us that it was time to check in on the status of another longtime German restaurant, Chinook Tavern. When the Georg family closed their restaurant at 265 Detroit Street back in June 2008, they promised that Chinoook…
Justin Brunson is one of the busiest chefs in Denver right now. Masterpiece Deli, with which we have a serious love affair, is applying for a liquor license, Brunson is prowling to open a second Masterpiece Deli location, and while Lechon, a pig-centric restaurant project between Brunson and Ben Parsons,…
Upslope Brewing has a big summer on tap. The Boulder brewery has just tripled the size of its taproom — a grand reopening party takes place on Thursday, May 12 — and will add a fourth canned beer, Upslope Craft Lager, to its all-can lineup in the next two weeks…
The combination of beer and pizza is one of our favorite pastimes here at Cafe Society headquarters — and here, where the above snap was flashed, both ring in cheap during happy hour. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the…
I spent the past weekend preparing for summertime fun and frolic, and that means just one thing: vodka. Vodka not just in my glass, but vodka in my food. Summer is a great time to brown-bag both a beverage and a meal, and these libation-licious dishes are some of my…
Cafe Berlin just vacated its spot on 14th Street for the 16th Street Mall, saying it couldn’t move forward in a space so close to Civic Center. But another restaurant is ready to give that location a go: Belvedere Restaurant just landed its liquor license…
Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines: The Great American Food Truck Race descended on Denver this past weekend, bringing lots of food and fun, as well as comments like this from Kay Ryan: Uhmm… try not to use the term, “paddy wagon,” which originated from a time when the Irish…
