Tonight: A chorus of wines and courses at Encore

At 6:30 p.m. tonight, Encore, at 2550 East Colfax Avenue, is hosting a party-on-the-patio winemaker dinner showcasing all carbon-neutral, organic and sustainable wines from Parducci and Paul Dolan Vineyards. The eight-course menu, created by exec chef Paul Reilly, is a smorgasbord of Colorado-inspired plates, including Colorado bass crudo with lemon…

Only in Denver: Making a case for Federal Boulevard

I have lived in quite a few places: Rochester and Buffalo, Tampa, Albuquerque and Denver. I’ve spent time in even more, on my own American Iliad that stretched from coast to coast and back again and saw me sleeping on the streets in Berkeley and Seattle, dining at the best…

Bowled over by Pho 95

We all watched as the little girl with the blue leotard and blonde hair staggered on the mats. We all watched as she stood there, staring blindly out into the crowd, glancing up at the uneven bars, furrowing her small brows. Everyone in the place was watching. The room was…

A conversation with Troy Guard of TAG

You’re the first person who’s asked for hot sauce since I opened,” says Troy Guard. The owner and executive chef of TAG, a three-month-old restaurant in Larimer Square, isn’t quite scolding me, but he’s made it perfectly clear that his steak tacos, a plate of which sits in front of…

A combo bar and barber? The Retro Room is a cut above

The combination of liquor licenses and life’s errands has always struck me as clever. In college, I used to frequent a laundromat with a full bar; while grocery shopping, I’ve been known to crack open a near beer while slugging down the aisles. If I wanted to drink during a…

Can Tho Pho is no substitute for Ha Noi Pho

There was a time when the pho shop at 1036 South Federal Boulevard was one of my favorites. I would go out of my way to have lunch there, skip out on meetings and blow off interviews just for an early dinner among the friends and neighbors who gathered in…

The Living Room is Broadway’s newest lounging pad

Padded bubble chairs, mild-mannered bartenders, cool crowds and an Enomatic Wine Serving System that allows oenophiles to taste eighteen wines by the ounce simply by swiping a card and pressing a button: say hello to the Living Room, the latest bar and restaurant to pop on Broadway — 1055 Broadway,…

Sam Taylor’s gets to the meatless of the matter

It’s hard to imagine anything more meaty than BBQ. It is a cuisine based entirely on the flesh of the pig, the cow and, in some cases, the chicken. So it’s no surprise that a BBQ joint owner might hang up on a sales rep trying to sell him vegan…

Hot dog! Biker Jim’s Wednesday and weekly specials

Just in case you’ve been living in between the bun and haven’t feasted your eyes on Biker Jim’s hot dog blog, this is just a little heads-up to let you know that every Wednesday, before lunch, Jim delivers a post all about the weird, wacky and wonderful dogs he’s doing…

Chef and Tell: Troy Guard from TAG

“You’re the first person who’s asked for hot sauce since I opened,” says Troy Guard. The owner and executive chef of TAG, a three-month-old restaurant in Larimer Square, isn’t quite scolding me, but he’s made it perfectly clear that his steak tacos, a plate of which sits in front of…

Our Weekly Bread: Gourmet Corner

The sandwich: # 9 panini What’s on it: Turkey, olives, olive oil, tomatoes, cheese, portabella mushrooms on panini How much: $7.49 Where to get it: Gourmet Corner, 830 17th Street, 650-291-6945 “Hungry?” the guy asked when I walked into Gourmet Corner, almost as if I’d have to be starving to…

Alto space snapped up

The space at 1320 15th Street occupied by Alto until the end of June has been leased by Paul Piciocchi, who owns Tryst and last fall bought Theorie, the club that was formerly the Real World: Denver home (and B-52 before that). No word yet on what will go into…

Mysteries of Sheehan’s Desk: Day 11

It’s funny. I’ve been writing about food for going on ten years now. I’ve won awards. I’ve written a book. And yet, the one piece of mine that’s actually been picked up and given wide (although unusual) distribution in national magazines and websites? The one I wrote about aliens–about the…

Chopsticks China Bistro won’t move until September

Chopsticks China Bistro, the great Szechuan Chinese on the corner of Federal and Mississippi, was supposed to pack up this month for a move to a tony new address at 5117 South Yosemite Street in Greenwood Village, but according to owner-chef David Lee, that didn’t quite happen. “We’re hoping to…

Pho and gymnastics at Pho 95

We all watched as the little girl with the blue leotard and blonde hair staggered on the mats. We all watched as she stood there, staring blindly out into the crowd, glancing up at the uneven bars, furrowing her small brows. Everyone in the place was watching. The room was…

Chili today, hot tomorrow

We’re hearing good things about Chili Verde, a new restaurant cooking up southern Mexican cuisine at 3700 Tejon Street. Good things, that is, about everything but its lack of alcohol — but that could change next month. Owner Eder Yanez-Mota has a liquor-license hearing with the Denver Department of Excise…

Guess where I’m eating?

It’s only Tuesday, and already we’ve seen a green chile smackdown between El Taco de Mexico and Santiago’s and a shout-out to all you vegheads for meatless verde recommendations that won’t make the PETA terrorists people pissed. And now, strictly by coincidence, comes the above photo of three rolled enchiladas…

Brio Tuscan Grille to open next week in Cherry Creek

The economy has slowed some restaurant projects and killed others, but Brio Tuscan Grille is right on track to open Wednesday, September 2 in the former (and much renovated) Macaroni Grill space at 2500 East First Avenue, in the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. Brio is brought to us by the…

Mysteries of Sheehan’s Desk: Day 10

Yesterday I wrote about my favorite gift from PETA. This one’s my second favorite. And yes, it is what it looks like: one of those little wind-up Easter chicks, only with its beak cut off, its eyes poked out and splashed in blood. Not real subtle, those PETA folks. But…

Behind the Bar: Ky Belk of Elway’s in Cherry Creek

Ky Belk doesn’t judge who’s coming in the door at Elway’s in Cherry Creek. His best tip was a thousand bucks one night from a guy wearing a Green Bay Packers jersey. And while he won’t say it, I’m sure that some of the flashiest people at the bar have…

Let the dough fly: There’s a pizza battle brewing at Belmar

There’s a pizza battle brewing at Belmar and Virgilio Urbano, the owner of Virgilio’s Pizzeria, which is across the street from Belmar at 7986 West Alameda Avenue in Lakewood, is right in the thick of it. Seems that Virgilio’s has been denied acceptance into Belmar’s Festival Italiano, the shopping district’s…