Tucked into a booth at Benny’s Restaurante y Tequila Bar, we were a couple of beers into our late brunch Saturday when we spotted Benny Armas, whose namesake restaurant has become such an integral part of Denver’s dining scene. Benny’s recently opened a new patio on the Grant Street side…
We miss American Costume Company, our go-to spot for all our party and costume needs until the longtime LoDo business closed its doors last year. But we’re optimistic about what’s happening to its former home. After many, many months of renovation, it looks like the Blake Street Vault will be…
Two weeks ago, we made the sad discovery on a sweltering Monday that Moon Time, Westword’s regular watering hole at 846 Broadway, was closed — reportedly for HVAC work. And the job must not be going too well, because a sign still on the door today notes that Moon Time…
Cocoa Krispies Choconilla Kellogg’s Rating: Two and a half spoons out of four Cereal description: Puffed rice kernels — half of them a deep brown, the rest a light tan color. The latter are identical in hue to standard Rice Krispies, which aren’t vanilla-flavored. So what gives? Couldn’t spring for…
Jason Sheehan is no fan of Hell’s Kitchen, but he watches it. And now he’s playing it, as he describes here. Now on to the final week: Here’s a sampling of my old kitchen playlists. Bear in mind that my time on the line is now far enough in the…
We found this mysterious pack of Wild Cherry M&M’s tucked away in the wrong box at our local Walgreens. There didn’t seem to be a display of them, and a search for like packages proved fruitless. We also haven’t run across them in any other stores, leaving us wondering about…
Brasserie Felix just opened at 3901 Tennyson Street, and it’s exactly what owners owners Danielle Diller and Gilles Fabre promised: a solidly 2/3 brasserie, offering two meals a day plus brunches on the weekends. That’s just the latest French place ot open. Over at 375 South Pearl Street, Café Etoile…
We card under 40. Did you hear about Washington governor Chris Gregoire? She and her staff went to a bar in downtown Olympia called Hannah’s, and the man checking the door said that the 61-year-old couldn’t get in without an ID. Even after Gregoire’s staff told the bouncer that she…
Like everyone else in the world, I am a big fan of potato chips – particularly Lay’s, especially since they started doing all their chips in non-trans-fat sunflower oil, which gives them a kind of smoothly nutty flavor that I find completely addictive. This week, when I went to my…
I didn’t technically jump into a swimming pool full of whiskey Wednesday afternoon, although I drank from one – and my head hurts almost as much as if I had cannonballed off the diving board. No, what I did was attend a little party thrown by Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey (2405…
Three things to enjoy on a hot summer night at Marco’s Coal-Fired Pizza on Larimer Street: The excellent, thin-crust pizza, the very powerful air-conditioning, and a good view of the incredible changes on this 2100 block of what was once Denver’s skid row. Sure, there are still pawn shops, but…
The first time I saw Keegan Gerhard, it was on TV. That was also the second place I saw him. And the tenth, fiftieth and hundredth. Given Gerhard’s ubiquitous star status, there was a time — like, right up until last week, maybe — when a man (like me) could’ve…
Last week, after I’d finished my review of D Bar, I called chef-owner Keegan Gerhard to ask the Food Network star a few questions. First and foremost: How the hell did he end up in Denver? “That’s funny,” he replied. “That’s a result of a few things, really.” And then…
No OGs, new Gs or dirtballs allowed. No sluts, sports fanatics or dudes who love the sight of their own pectorals. Definitely no one coming straight from the gym. You clowns are not welcome at Lucky Strike Lanes (500 16th Street), at least not according to the dress code —…
After my time at D Bar Desserts, I wanted to revisit another dessert bar. One major problem: Though Denver has seen a few dedicated dessert bars open, it has also seen just about all of them close soon after. Remember Emogene and how fast that nascent chain tanked? Though the…
Mick Rosacci’s favorite sandwich at Tony’s Market, where he is head chef, is the Italian Sub, which comes with mortadella, capicola, two kinds of salami, provolone, oil, vinegar, lettuce, tomato and peppers on artisan bread. “That one makes me crazy!” he says. But like a lot of people, Mick has…
Earlier this week, a jalapeno pepper in southwest Colorado tested positive for salmonella. That finding gave particular weight to the testimony that Representative Diana DeGette, vice-chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, gave today before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture at a hearing to discuss…
The town of Olathe’s population will swell 1400 percent on Saturday, August 2, when it hosts the annual Olathe Sweet Corn Festival. But you don”t have to head to Olathe to enjoy sweet corn — Colorado annually produces more than 130 million pounds of it, and it’s now in local…
The first time I saw Keegan Gerhard in person was at the James Beard Awards in early June. He was cooking the final course for the awards dinner — a dessert, natch, of smoked cherries and chocolate that involved super-call scotch as a main ingredient — and because my table…
There’s sad news on Market Street — and it’s not the closing of Buca de Beppo. No, six blocks away at 2019 Market, the space occupied by Mori Japanese Restaurant is flying a rain-soaked, “temporarily closed for renovation” sign. More telling, though is the sign on the other side of…
Just heard from Leigh Jones regarding Jonesy’s EatBar, which took over the space that once held her Dish Bistro at 400 East 20th Avenue. While Dish was definitely a bistro — a small, informal restaurant serving wine — Jones says the new joint is absolutely a gastropub: a neighborhood bar…
Yes, Jen Jasinski’s segment on The Early Show was on awfully early — 6:30 a.m. last Saturday, July 26, when the Rioja/Bistro Vendome chef/owner was cooking live in the New York studio of the CBS show. But better late than never — because you can still catch Chef Jen in…
