Top five uses for zucchini

Missoula, Montana, is a lovely town in the middle of nowhere with a population consisting primarily of cowpokes and carnivores. Yesterday, the two met in a standoff on the back porch of a house just outside of town, when a black bear paid a surprise visit to a local woman…

Today: Pueblo Chile and Frijoles Festival kicks off

Nothing says fall like roasting green chiles, and Pueblo is celebrating in style — plus adding beans to the mix with the annual Chile and Frijoles Festival, which starts today with a farmers’ market. Tomorrow, there’ll be a chile and salsa showdown; on Sunday, a jalapeno-eating contest. Get more information…

Top Chef Just Desserts: Nice guys don’t finish first

Dessert’s a funny thing in fancy restaurants these days. No more slices of cherry tart, chocolate cake or apple strudel unless they’re miniatures, deconstructed, flavored with something incongruous like curry, set on curlicues of sauce you have to sample with your finger because there’s not enough to get on a…

Guess where I’m eating….green chile?

Smother love: It’s easy being green in Denver in September, when the smell of roasting chiles overrides the odor of exhaust along Federal Boulevard, and the green chile at your favorite Mexican joint carries the heat of the new harvest. For the next several weeks, Cafe Society will feature some…

YouTube-inspired Double Rainbow beer has intense label

Trinity Brewing in Colorado Springs has released the label for its Double Rainbow saison and there’s only one way to describe it: “It’s so intense!” That’s right, the brewery is a beer — due to be tapped on October 24 as a dessert beer during a saison dinner — based…

Guess where I’m eating?

There’s nothing quite like sea urchin roe, which isn’t roe at all, but the female gonads from the prickly, spiny sea creature that dwells on the ocean floor. It’s creamy, like custard, the hue of flames and its pronounced oceanic, slightly sweet flavor makes for an insanely gratifying indulgence, especially…

Crimson & Gold Tavern should be open this weekend

When brothers Kevin and Craig Caldwell took over the former Aroma Cafe (and Pita Jungle before that) at 2017 South University Boulevard near the end of 2009, they’d hoped to reopen the spot as the Crimson & Gold Tavern in the spring. But in February, they were denied a liquor…

Hosts behaving badly at Gaia Bistro

It was a delightful Saturday morning on the sprawling front porch at Gaia Bistro, 1551 South Pearl Street. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and I was very much enjoying a savory crepe, stuffed full of succulent duck confit, creamy, decadent mornay and fluffy scrambled eggs. A friend was…

Last Night: Westword’s Dish party at Exdo Event Center

Dish, Westword’s annual party celebrating the local dining scene, went down last night at the Exdo Event Center, attracting dozens of local restaurateurs, bartenders, business types, hungry eaters and thirsty drinkers. Photographer Teal Nipp brings back these photos: Food Porn from Westword’s Dish. Here are some of the highlights:…

Part two: Chef and Tell with Roberto Diaz from Mezcal

Roberto Diaz Mezcal 3230 East Colfax Avenue 303-322-5219 www.mezcalcolorado.com This is part two of Lori Midson’s Q&A with Roberto Diaz, executive chef of Mezcal. To read part one of that interview, click here. What you’d like to see more of in Denver from a culinary standpoint: Mexican food for Mexicans…

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: Chicken liver pâté

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. Barb’s sister Mariah,…

Top five ways to eat like a foodie

With the advent of the interwebs (big ups to Al Gore), just about anyone who eats — and yaps about it — can now be classified as a “Food Expert,” or “foodie.” Everywhere around us are douchey tools and butter-laden ladies who think that they are far superior to mere…

Tonight: 8 Rivers Cafe rum tasting and dinner

As resort-goers probably know, Tommy Bahama makes beach-friendly clothing — and beach-friendly rum, too. You can taste what Tommy has to offer from 7 to 10 p.m. at 8 Rivers Cafe, 1550 Blake Street, which is presenting a four-course Tommy Bahama Rum Tasting and Dinner, along with live music by…

Queen of Sheba on Colfax offers a royal feast

Elissa and I studied the front of our menus for a moment, then looked up at the same time. “Uh, FEED each other?” she giggled. According to the history of Ethiopian food printed there, the proper way to enjoy a feast in that country is by linking arms and lovingly…

Tonight: The final dish on Dish

Cafe Society is off to Dish, Westword’s annual celebration of the Denver dining scene, which debuts tonight in its new location at the Exdo Events Center, 1399 35th Street. We hear there are a few general admission tickets left; they’re $40 at the door, with a portion of the proceeds…

Smashburger opens first location in downtown Denver

Dylan BurkhardtThe new Smashburger in the Tabor Center​ After a brief delay because of a thirteen-inch construction snafu, Smashburger finally has a downtown location, in the Tabor Center. This is the eleventh Smashburger in the metro area — but the homegrown chain, which got its start three years ago on…

Guess where I’m eating?

You don’t come to this joint for tacos — not because they’re not good, but because they’re superseded by the restaurant’s namesake — but the tacos, doused with salsa and judiciously sprinkled with Mexican queso, deserve their own star billing. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who…

Park Burger’s housemade veggie burger: No beef necessary

For a while, it seemed like a new gourmet burger joint was opening every few minutes in the metro area. Although they’re not as ubiquitous as Starbucks (yet), restaurants specializing in well-made burgers were clearly a big trend. The question — at least as far as this Veggie Girl is…