America’s Most Wanted: The criminal cereal-mascot edition

Attention Cereal Eaters: The following ten cereal mascots are wanted by the authorities for a variety of criminal activities. They are fugitives from justice and currently at-large. United States law enforcement agencies encourage the community to assist in the fight against crime by overcoming the three key elements that inhibit…

Tonight: Beer pairing dinner at Second Home Kitchen & Bar

Right on the heels of your lingering Great American Beer Festival hangover comes tonight’s beer and food pairing dinner at Second Home Kitchen & Bar, the comfort food restaurant inside the JW Marriott at 150 Clayton Lane. The dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. and includes four courses, all paired with…

Mangiamo Pronto! could be opening pronto

Mangiamo Pronto!, which is taking over the former LoDo home of Common Grounds at 1607 17th Street (the coffeehouse moved across the intersection), looks like it should be opening pronto — perhaps even this week. The sign’s up, the doorway’s painted — and the liquor license is secured…

Old Chub Chicken: Beer today, gone tomorrow

The Great American Beer Festival ended Saturday night, leaving behind many hangovers, almost as many awards (including a surprise win for Aurora’s Dry Dock), and some very fond memories of the new Farm to Table Pavilion, a 2009 innovation that had local chefs pair farm-to-table Colorado foods with local beers…

New Belgium’s on a bike

Here’s another example why the folks at New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins are some of the coolest beer cats around. As 5280 first reported, for the last installment of its summer “bike-in movie” series last Wednesday, New Belgium, makers of celebrated Fat Tire Amber Ale, unveiled “I’m on a…

Guess where I’m eating?

We’d spent the day riding in southeastern Colorado, in a region of the country that produces more beef than any other region. So it only made sense that beef was what was for dinner. Beef, Mexican-style, and plenty of beers, all served up in a room that had just the…

Ask the Critic: Beating a dead horse

My last Ask the Critic was all about changing seasons and foods we were looking forward to either A) making at home or B) having Denver’s chefs add to their menus once the cold weather settled in permanently. There were a lot of very interesting comments, a lot of wonderful…

The week’s culinary calendar

Here’s a sample of the week’s culinary events to whet your appetite; for much, much more, look at our Food and Drink listings in the online calendar. Monday, September 28: Alba introduces Mezzo Mondays, when all bottles of wine are half-price starting at 5:30 p.m. Visit www.albaboulder.com. Tuesday, September 29,…

Guess where I’m eating?

Last week, while corrupting indoctrinating our new Cafe Society intern, we ordered a pizza. But because we were trying to impress a smart Johnson & Wales University student with more extracurricular activities to her credit than Gordon Ramsey has kitchen disasters, we asked the pizza dude from a nearby pie…

Colorado cleans up at the Great American Beer Festival

It really shouldn’t come as a surprise that Colorado was the top winning state during this year’s Great American Beer Festival, which wrapped up on September 26: after all, the hundred or so brewers here make the best beer in the world. What was a surprise were the breweries that…

Chopsticks China Bistro opening slated for Wednesday

We’ve been waiting patiently for Chopsticks China Bistro to unveil its new space at 5117 South Yosemite Street — and it now looks as though there’s a definitive opening date on the calendar. Owner-chef David Lee and his crew are aiming to open up the new spot on Wednesday, September…

Under Fire: No buyer’s remorse

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. I am now a month into my quest of sous chefdom, but I feelt like I just…

Hey, cupcake! A letter to Keegan Gerhard

Dear Keegan Gerhard, Thanks so much for hosting the Westword Mile High Chef Competition . You were a true professional, and everyone in the audience thought you did a great job of keeping the crowd informed — especially when I wasn’t talking over you. But then, I’m hardly the professional…

Milking It: Total Cinnamon Crunch

Total Cinnamon Crunch General Mills Rating: Two spoons out of four Cereal description: Ridged squares that look as if they’ve been toasted and sprinkled with cinnamon — although that last ingredient appears on the roster after a slew of other items. Some of the things in line in front of…

Free donut holes and coffee on Panzano’s patio

You could have a Pop-Tart or one of those cinnamon rolls with orange frosting that the Pillsbury Dough Boy pimps — or you could chuck all that and join the downtown fray at Panzano, 909 17th Street, which is giving away 1,000 hot, fresh zeppole (that’s Italian for “doughnuts”) and…

Under Fire: Good enough isn’t good enough

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. I quickly grabbed the oven door and flung it open, doing a close inspection of the chicken…

Jason Sheehan’s State of the Plate

For the past week, I’ve been collecting answers to an impromptu poll dealing with the current state of Denver’s restaurant scene. It tracked the way that people are feeling right now about their city’s food and restaurants, and played a little with their expectations for the future. It discussed what…

Cafe Society: Week in review

What you might have missed this week on Cafe Society while shoving chicken wings down your throat…Carnivorous anti-vegetarian Jason Sheehan trots out the city’s top cow temples in his Denver’s Ten Best Steakhouses roundup.At Dish, the Westword Menu Affair, Argyll Gastropub executive chef Sergio Romero and Jay Spickelmier, the exec…

Great American Beer Festival Q&A: Healdsburg Beer Company

The Great American Beer Festival, the nation’s largest, staggers into the Colorado Convention Center this weekend. Last year, 46,000 attendees sampled nearly 3,000 beers, and this year’s Fest is already sold out. Check Cafe Society through the week for survival tactics and beer recommendations from some of the breweries bringing…

For the sweet freaks: Living the Sweet Life Grand Opening

For those of you who can’t get through a weekend without a full-bore sugar IV, may I humbly present Living the Sweet Life, a new cake, pie and cupcake shop celebrating its grand opening this weekend at 1535 Central Street, right next to Masterpiece Deli. What’s that you say? Denver…