If you’ve been anywhere near the Denver Pavilions recently, then you know what an utter and complete construction zone clusterfuck it’s been. But it appears that the cone zones, yellow tape and dust bowls are finally coming to an end. And to celebrate that milestone — or as some would…
When I wandered through the first kitchen where I worked, very few things were clear. But I eventually learned how something showed up at the back door and ended up on a plate, as well as the hierarchy of the kitchen and the speed it takes to get ready for…
It’s not too late to make a reservation for tonight’s food and wine dinner at Frasca, the Boulder food shrine to all things brilliant. Tonight’s dinner, hosted by Kevin Pike of Terry Theise Estate Selections, is all about grower champagnes, often referred to as “farmer fizz,” according to Bobby Stuckey,…
As Bella, 1920 Market Street served upscale Italian fare. As B-52, it was bar chow. As the site of the Real World: Denver, the space served up mostly melodrama. But when new owners Shane Alexander and Josh Hawkinson took over the LoDo building and turned it into Theorie, they hoped…
I recently raved about Chili Verde — the new, kinda-upscale Pueblan restaurant at 3700 Tejon Street. Poblano crepes, perfect ceviche, all kinds of seafood — I loved the grub, the service, the room, everything about the place. The only thing that had me slightly concerned? The fact that the Yanez-Mota…
One of my favorite Denver restaurants just added blue plate specials to its menu, including shrimp and grits, which is the dish you see in the above photo. But while the addition of blue plates to the board just reinforces my unhealthy addiction to said restaurant, the fact that it…
If you’re looking for a quick lunch downtown, your options just got a hell of a lot tastier, thanks to Mike Winston and Bryan Hume, two cooks who worked the line together at Table 6, 609 Corona Street, before striking out on their own and opening Gastro Cart last week…
Thanksgiving is still two weeks away, but should you feel like tackling a turkey early (you know, just for practice), Dedric McGhee, exec chef of Thyme on the Creek, the in-house restaurant at the Millennium Harvest House in Boulder (and the former chef of El Monte Sagrado in Taos), offers…
Six months after it opened in the former home of the Squealin’ Pig at 2700 East Third Avenue, Robert Thompson’s starts serving lunch today. “We’ve been fortunate to have built some momentum lately and our customers have been requesting a moderately priced, high-quality lunch spot in Cherry Creek,” he explains…
To mark the fifth annual Denver International Wine Festival, set for November 12 and 13, Mayor John Hickenlooper has pronounced this Denver Wine Week. The festivities kick off today at Cilantro Fusion, the new restaurant at 1531 Stout Street, at an event sponsored by Loire Valley. The big tasting is…
Time to toast a dozen students at the University of Denver School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management, who have organized the first-ever DU Vin Festival Grand Tasting. The Grand Tasting runs from 2 to 6 p.m. today, in the HRTM Building at 2044 East Evans on the DU campus…
What you may have missed this week on Cafe Society while you were hanging on every last word of our hi-larious stories about the time we spent getting up close and personal with the regulars at Nob Hill Inn, which may very well be the best damn dive bar in…
Bastien’s Restaurant 3501 East Colfax Avenue., 303-322-0363. Bastien’s isn’t retro; the rest of the world is. Looking for the cocktail culture of the ´50s? Bastien’s has it. Early-´70s swinger swank? It has that, too. Bastien’s doesn’t change with the times; the times change around it. Like they say, even a…
In case any of the rest of you out there do need an excuse to come out and have a few drinks on a Wednesday night, we’ve invented one for you: the first-ever Cafe Society Contributors, Commenters, Readers and Sources Bachanal. Yeah, we’ve been doing this whole bloggity thing for…
Even though Keegan Gerhard and his wife, Lisa Bailey, opened D Bar Desserts, 1475 East 17th Avenue, just under two years ago, it took about two minutes for the sugar house to emerge as one of the city’s premiere dessert spots. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday,…
Like a good Jew-in-training, I’ve adopted a ritual of taking down a massive bowl of vermicelli noodles covered in pork before heading to my Intro to Judaism class. The eternal question, the one no rabbi can answer, is this: Who’s serving up the noodles?…
First, Michelle Obama caught the attention of carrot stalkers when she corralled a group of Washington, D.C., schoolkids to help her garden grow on the White House’s South Lawn; she also pimped her garden on Sesame Street. Then Spike Mendelsohn, burger wizard, former Top Chef Chicago contestant and the exec…
Yesterday I talked with Alex Gurevich about his plans for making pizzas at the former Mojitos/Mel’s/Montecito/Piscos/Dudley’s space at 1120 East Sixth Avenue, right smack in the middle of Sixth Avenue’s restaurant row. It sounded like good news. Despite some bad moves over the years, I think Gurevich is a good…
Our former Cafe Society intern just decided to chuck college in favor of a real education: as a sous chef. In Under Fire, he chronicles his daily trials and tribulations in the kitchen.A few days ago, I saw my chef talking to an older man with a funny-looking wicker basket. She called…
Westword and Drunk of the Week columnist Drew Bixby celebrated the release of Bixby’s book, Denver’s Best Dive Bar: Drinking and Diving in the Mile High City, at Club 404 on Thursday night. See Aaron Thackeray’s photos from the party on the slideshow page, and read about Drew’s ten favorite…
Westword writers recently covered a day at the Nob Hill Inn, a classic dive at 420 East Colfax Avenue, from open to close. Here’s Jason Sheehan’s nightcap to the project. Sitting at the bar, off-duty weekend bartender Randy Malone pointed out the regulars, the friends, the off-duty employees drinking away…
The SportsBook, a new nightclub, sports bar and restaurant whose menu is overseen by chef/restaurateur Michel Wahaltere (9th Door, MiniBAR, 5 Degrees), is holding its grand opening tonight with complimentary drinks and food from 7 to 9 p.m. In between grubbing on Wahaltere’s small plates and comfort foods, sports buffs…
