Arvada Grill is gone

The Arvada Grill at 5801 Olde Wadsworth Boulevard in Arvada has closed its doors.”Thank you to all who joined us!” is the only message offered on the restaurant’s website, www.arvadagrill.com. And the website of the parent company, the Fortis Group at www.fortisdenver.com, no longer lists the Arvada Grill, which chef…

How to create a great Irish bar

As I note in this week’s review of the Celtic Tavern, Denver doesn’t have a truly great Irish-American pub. But having spent some time working in good ones and a lot of time propping up the long oak in same, I have a few ideas on how to create a…

Pepper Blossom at Root Down

Wow. I can only hope that every bar I go to in 2009 will be half as well-designed as Root Down, a pure-genius revival of a ’50s service station. Though I’d originally heard that the restaurant was named after the Beastie Boys song, bartender Chine set me straight: It’s actually…

Irish eyes aren’t smiling on Delaney’s

On Sunday nights, the Celtic Tavern is closed and Delaney’s is open. On Mondays, Delaney’s goes dark and the Celtic handles any disappointed Delaney’s drinkers. Every other night of the week, though, these side-by-side theme bars, which already share owners, share the same crowds, as well — a Celtic concentration,…

Mezcal cabaret application decision due soon

After dueling meetings with business and neighborhood groups last week, Mezcal’s application for a cabaret license went before a hearing officer with the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses on Monday. Supporters of the application — which would allow owner Jesse Morreale to regularly feature live music, including mariachi bands…

Riding the Orient Express to Izakaya Den

Toshi Kizaki, who founded Sushi Den back in 1985 with his brother, Yasu, is currently in Japan meeting with vendors, fishmongers and a third brother, Koichi, who visits the markets daily to buy fish for Sushi Den and Izakaya Den (left). When Toshi returns later this month, he’ll bringing a few limited edition…

The Berkshire is going bananas over Elvis

Elvis may have left the building, but his appetite lives on at the Berkshire. In honor of what would have been the King’s 74th birthday tomorrow, the pork-pushing restaurant at 7352 East 29th Avenue is running a special Elvis promotion. From January 8-11, the Berkshire’s “The King” sandwich — peanut butter,…

The fighting Irish need to learn from the Italians

My review of the Celtic Tavern (which will be posted here later today) started an interesting conversation among some of the more Hibernian-leaning staff at the Westword office, chewing over why Denver seems incapable of opening and maintaining a decent Irish bar. (RIP, Duffy’s Shamrock.) This discussion immediately struck me…

Quiznos gets grilled in a Denver court

In September 2006, a mystery shopper visited the Pennsylvania Quiznos store owned by Rich Piotrowski and Ellen Blickman. At the time, Quiznos was in the midst of a major national advertising campaign targeting Subway, using commercials that claimed its Prime Rib Philly Cheeseteak sandwich had twice the meat of a…

Is it smart to like Subway?

The last time we saw Rick Rosner, the then-Denver bouncer/stripper who’d beaten all comers on an Omni IQ test, he was on the cover of Westword wearing roller skates, a loincloth and the question: “Is this the smartest man in America?” Two decades later, Rosner, now a TV writer, is the star of…

Video: Chef Frank Bonanno makes his Bones as a TV star

Here’s a video of 2008 Best Chef award-winner Frank Bonanno — of Mizuna, Luca D’Italia, Osteria Marco and the newly opened noodle bar Bones at 701 Grant Street — giving a tutorial on how to make Lobster and Edamame Ramen. The video-production quality ain’t exactly Rachel Ray yell-a-vision, but it…

The List: Jason Sheehan’s favorite meals in 2008

Last week, I digested a year’s worth of eating. To recap, here are my six best meals of 2008, in no particular order, and one in memorium addition: 1) Le Bernardin, Manhattan. Eight or nine or ten courses, with the menu personally chosen and assembled by Eric Ripert and wines…

Benihana celebrates 45 years on the cutting edge

That’s right, the Miami-based chain has been around since 1964, growing from one humble, four-seater restaurant to 62 Benihana restaurants, nine Haru restaurants, and 22 RA Sushi restaurants. Benihana is best known for its flashy way of preparing your food — and frankly, everything tastes better when a 500° skillet is the…

Update: Frasca’s move

n my recent blog on Frasca’s eventual move to a new building of its own from its current home at 1738 Pearl Street in Boulder, there was some confusion over where, exactly, that building will be. It will be constructed on the spot once occupied by Marisol Imports (where Jason Sheehan once took…

Red Robin just keeps bobbing along

Back in 1996, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers moved its national headquarters to Greenwood Village. And while other chains are scaling back (or disappearing altogether), those based in Denver seem to be doing fairly well. There’s Chipotle, of course, which is moving into London this year. And on Monday, Red Robin…

Another Star to shine in Broomfield

When we last checked up on Heaven Star, which the owners of Super Star Asian (the best dim sum joint in the city) are opening at 7600 West 120th Avenue in Broomfield, the opening date was slated for January 10. But last week the manager said that was looking soft,…

The Old Spaghetti Factory celebrates with $3 menu

The Old Spaghetti Factory celebrates its fortieth birthday this year, but instead of crying about middle age, the famous chain is throwing a party. On Tuesday, January 6, diners at all 37 locations nationwide, including the one in Denver, at 1215 18th Street, will offer full meals for around $3,…

Happy news year?

The first few weeks of the new year are generally a quiet time in the restaurant industry. Under normal economic conditions, this is a time for the bean-counters and accountants to put their heads together over the books and figure if the twin mercies of Christmas parties and New Year’s…

Milking It: Blueberry Monster Crunch

Blueberry Monster Crunch Disney Magic Selections Rating: One and a half spoons out of four Cereal description: Light-brown wheat and rice rectangles that curl slightly at the edges, like old papers found in a far corner of the attic. The bits are speckled with the occasional dark splotch, which may…

Twelverestaurant introduces its third menu

When I checked in with Jeff Osaka, chef/owner of twelverestaurant, last month, he told me that although he’d just opened his restaurant at 2233 Larimer in early November, he was already reducing the prices on his changing-monthly menu. (His concept of a dozen menus a year — each featuring seasonal…