When Larry Leith says his idea for Tokyo Joe’s — a fast-casual Japanese rice- and noodle-bowl joint– came out of nowhere (see review, page 50), he may be overlooking a Colorado mini-chain called Kokoro. Founded by Mareo Torito a full decade before Leith opened his first shop, Kokoro has specialized…
I witnessed the kind of chaos that would completely shatter any normal restaurant crew: dining rooms filled to double-capacity, lines stretching out the door, crowds waiting out on the sidewalks and absolutely no room to move on the floor. The Southlands outpost of Tokyo Joe’s is designed like a Ginza…
My meals at Tokyo Joe’s — which I review in the next issue — were among the least interesting things I found when I braved the wilds of the new Southlands development. The grand-opening festivities were like the Do Loung bridge sequence in Apocalypse Now, a crowded, freaked-out mess about…
I’ve been a fan of Ya Hala since it opened more than a year ago. I liked it when it was still just an ugly, stained cement bunker with the (often inaccurate) hours painted on its back; when I would drive by and see bums sprawled in the little half-alley…
While writing my review of Ya Hala (see page 47), I actually stopped halfway through and headed back to Colorado Boulevard to pick up a couple to-go orders of the unbelievably addictive baklava, because I only had a half-order at home and I knew that wasn’t going to be enough…
Chi is supposed to be part of everything that exists, a life force or spiritual energy, translated literally as “air” or “breath.” And Chi Bistro has certainly breathed new life into the old Las Margaritas space on Old South Gaylord. The Asian-influenced room, with its clean lines and minimalist design,…
When it comes to cooking, I have just one rule: Never fry bacon naked. Other than that, I’ve always done whatever works — but I might have to rethink things since my recent dinner at the Melting Pot, a fondue (translation: self-service) joint at 2707 West Main Street in Littleton…
I have seen many things at Pete’s Kitchen. I’ve witnessed fights and the first tentative, groping moments of new (and no doubt highly temporary) love affairs. I’ve eaten shoulder-to-shoulder with famous folk, sprung for dinner for bums and had a group of transvestites buy me pie. I’ve been there on…
On innumerable occasions, I’ve tried to enjoy baklava and managed not to do so, always finding it too sweet or too sticky or too spiked with rosewater, too goopy or too stiff. Finally, I’d gotten to the point where I’d assumed baklava was just not to my taste — like…
Sometimes these weekly missives are about time and the progression through it of a menu, a chef, an address. Sometimes they’re about history, which isn’t the same as time, because time is smooth and steady, and history is, well, bumpy. History is the story of peaks and jags in time,…
My visits to Venice Ristorante (see review) reminded me that I needed to stop by the sleek-and-shiny Via, just across the way at 1801 Wynkoop Street. The Momo brothers opened Via in the old home of Brasserie Rouge in August 2005, the same month Alessandro Carollo opened his new Venice…
The bar at Aix was intended more as a convivial place to wait for a table than a place where you’d hang out all night. Even so, I love to sit and sip in this lovely, calming space. And when I recently stopped by for a little boisson alcoolisée (that’s…
With the election less than two weeks away, gas prices are mysteriously plummeting — with no real change in the factors that were blamed for driving them up several months ago. In fact, things are looking worse, what with that maniac in Korea making nukes so that he can take…
The original New York Pizzeria on Leetsdale Boulevard — huddled among the liquor stores, taquerías and liquor stores — was a classic hole-in-the-wall. Seating was scant and the tile floors powdered with flour; orders were taken, processed and served at the wall-to-wall counter; and always hanging in the air was…
Sometimes these weekly missives are about time and the progression through it of a menu, a chef, an address. Sometimes they’re about history, which isn’t the same as time, because time is smooth and steady, and history is, well, bumpy. History is the story of peaks and jags in time,…
I checked out Buenos Aires Grill (see “Grill of My Dreams,” September 21) again on Wednesday — this time for lunch, which I’d somehow missed during my first whirlwind tour through owner Francis Carrera’s beautifully appointed Argentine fine- dining restaurant. And while almost everything I loved at dinner (bacalao and…
For a long time, restaurants have played a cruel game with diners, vacillating wildly between opposing schools of menu-writing theory. On one side are menus that seem compelled to describe in loving, verdant detail not only the basic ingredients in every dish, but the provenance of each ingredient — where…
Talk about a blast from the past, eh?” I’ve got Mel Master on the phone, and he’s talking about his own October surprise: the sudden signing of a contract for the space at 1120 East Sixth Avenue, which currently houses Piscos and originally was the home of Dudley’s, the restaurant…
My mother thinks I waste too much time hanging out in bars, but she doesn’t realize how much knowledge I gain by chatting up bartenders and resident barflies. At Cap City Tavern, for instance, I learned that if you put salt on your cocktail napkin, it will prevent the napkin…
There’s nothing like drinking when you’re already at a disadvantage. We recently hit Lime XS (730 East Sixth Avenue), the new, smaller iteration of Lime in Larimer Square, and after her first margarita, the saintly wife of the Redneck Liaison to the Institute of Drinking Studies remembered that she’d donated…
The guys behind the counter got my order wrong three times — but from past experience eating at the Taste of Philly on Colorado Boulevard in recent months, I knew that three attempts was about average for getting the correct order in the correct bag. The wait gave me plenty…
The kitchen had done an okay job cooking the fried chicken — but it had also slipped in some ginger, which I didn’t appreciate. Yes, the ginger had been mentioned on the menu, but not emphasized. At least, not enough. There should’ve been more warning. The menu description should have…
