Vesta Dipping Grill cookbook now on sale at a store near you

I have, in my grubby little hands, a copy of the just-published Vesta Dipping Grill cookbook, 151 pages of recipes (including chef Matt Selby’s fifty dipping sauces), hot food porn, biographies of Selby and owners Josh and Jen Wolkon (who also run Steuben’s) and a section on the “Vesta Vibe,”…

Six stellar Thanksgiving wines to savor on Turkey Day

You can try to deny it all you want, but Thanksgiving is a mere nine days away. That’s right: In exactly one week and two days, you’ll be up to your eyeballs in gravy, green bean casserole and drama. If your family is anything like mine, you’ll wise up and…

Guess where I’m eating?

Swamped with everything vegetarian, including tofu, the Thai green curry that hails from the kitchen of this swanky food temple is far different from what you’ll encounter at most Thai joints that litter Denver’s globalized streets. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct…

Sips and nibbles from the just-opened Oak at Fourteenth

Bryan Dayton first started talking about his own project six months ago, when he forewent an offer from then-beverage director James Lee at Happy’s Bitter Bar, 835 Walnut Street, to pursue his own project. He’d teamed up with chef Steve Redzikowski and beverage distributor Annie Polk, and the trio went…

Barolo Grill gets fragrant with its truffle festival: UPDATE

There was a time when diners desiring truffles would have to grab their specially trained pig or dog and hunt the ripe grounds of Italy or France. That, or fork over upwards of $2,200 a pound for white truffles. Luckily for Denver foodies, the bosses at Barolo Grill, 3030 East…

Zook’s Coffee and Ice Cream opens in the Denver Puppet Theater

After months of construction and permitting work, Zook’s Coffee and Ice Cream is finally open in the Denver Puppet Theater, the bright-yellow institution at 3156 West 38th Avenue. And just like the puppets that have long called the theater home, Zook’s is colorful, fun and designed for kids of all…

Urban Bourbon Slushie at Lala’s

I often wonder how my political science major and Spanish minor have played into my career. But Alexandra Parks, a bartender who’s now splitting her time between Lala’s Wine Bar and Frank Bonanno’s Green Russell, has no such concerns about her biochemistry degree. Although Parks looks more like head cheerleader…

Ask the Bartender: What’s the ideal Colorado cocktail?

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…

A new King Soopers brings booze to the party

Thanksgiving dinner isn’t complete without a big glass of wine, and King Soopers will open its first and only grocery/liquor store just in time to take advantage of that. The store, at 4600 Leetsdale Drive in Glendale, will roll out the shopping carts and slide open the automatic doors on…

Guess where I’m eating?

For years, this dark and moody restaurant — a playground for affluent singles and an absolute annoyance for those who have no desire to be pawed — has turned out the same short board of simple dishes, including an ambrosial rotisserie chicken, which used to be unassailable. But on a…

Oak at Fourteenth opens tonight in Boulder

“Things are starting to look pretty official,” says the caption under the Facebook photograph of the wooden sign hanging at Oak at Fourteenth, 1400 Pearl Street in Boulder. Official, indeed. After months of planning and renovations, the restaurant, a venture of Colorado Bartenders’ Guild president and Frasca Food & Wine…

The top four foods Glenn Beck should be hawking

Since Glenn Beck’s recent marketing genius includes plugging a kit of 3,792 freeze-dried gourmet entrees for the bargain price of $9,599.99 via foodinsurance.com (don’t sweat it, middle-classers, there’s a layaway plan for this), he and his fellow Tea Party patriots can rest easy when he’s elected overlord of the Northern…