Denver’s restaurants are multiplying so rapidly that businesses are forced to take on staff members who clearly aren’t qualified, just so they have enough bodies to get the food out. I’m tired of being waited on by irritated eye-rollers who make it clear that they think their jobs are only…
Greasing the wheels: Although there’s no such thing as a free lunch, on January 2 there were free fries. To introduce its new, allegedly improved French fry, Burger King offered potatoes au gratis–over 15 million small orders of them–at its 7,600 (and counting) restaurants as part of a $70 million…
In this country, tapas translates to hors d’oeuvres at appetizer prices. And that’s fine, if you like eating little bits of food and then forking over large amounts of money. But on my visits to Denver’s oh-so-trendy tapas places, I’ve found that while most diners love the idea of tapas,…
Top of the Rockies: Denver wasn’t the only town inundated with tapas in 1997. The trend has spread nationwide–which makes Denver uncharacteristically hip for a change. Analyzing the fad a few months ago, the New York Times noted that restaurants have Americanized tapas in two divergent, but typically American, ways…
Every year while on dining duty, I discover stand-out dishes–some so good that I must return to their home restaurants on my own time to sample them again. And 1997 was no exception: I ate at 200 or so restaurants and enjoyed so much wonderful food that I had a…
They’ve got my number: The Web is the gift that keeps on giving. Because my reviews are archived there, they have a shelf life longer than a Christmas fruitcake. And so I’ve been getting e-mail all year about Rodizio, the Cheesecake Factory and several other of my less-than-favorite places. But…
In the “best scenery” category of Denver-area dining, the Flagstaff House Restaurant is the undisputed view master–and has been on top for decades. The grand place perched on Flagstaff Mountain overlooking Boulder began as a modest summer cabin, built by a Chicago teacher in 1929. From there it passed into…
Eggs-pensive: Where in town can you drop more on a meal than at the Flagstaff House? Why, at Beluga, the exclusive new club at 1523 Market Street, in the bottom floor of the same building that houses Tapas and the hopping Club Velvet (same owners for all three, as well…
‘Tis the season to eat tacos: Speaking of old favorites, a busboy (busman? busdude?) called to say that his employer, the Mexico City Lounge, at 2115 Larimer Street, is now open until 4 p.m. daily–and that means Mondays, too, when the place used to be closed. That also means that…
Another opening, another show-biz eatery. With all the big chains linking their way across Denver, I sometimes worry that these warehouse-sized “concept” restaurants are going to overwhelm the small, locally owned places that have already mastered the only important concept: good food. And that’s when I hurry to south Denver…
Book ’em: Trying to cook up gift ideas? The cookbook-publishing business is healthier than Microsoft, with thousands of new titles appearing over the past couple of years–to the point where there’s a cookbook for virtually every food item and there soon will be nothing new to write about. Cooking With…
This is a tale of two eateries. Maharaja and India’s share some owners, and their menus are identical. But that’s where the similarities end. The food served at these Indian restaurants is as different as McDonald’s is from Morton’s–with the classy India’s making hamburger of Maharaja. The decade-old India’s is…
Made in Japan: This week’s review restaurant, Domo (see above), bills itself as the only Japanese eatery in the Rocky Mountain region to serve authentic Japanese country cooking. But I know of at least one other: Matoi, at 11020 West Alameda Avenue in Lakewood, which dishes out nabemono in the…
When Gaku Homma came to the United States from Japan eighteen years ago, he took his rice balls everywhere. “I couldn’t eat white bread,” he says. “It gave me heartburn and hives. I couldn’t eat tomato-based sauces and soups. Spaghetti was a challenge.” It took a while for his stomach–and…
Low spirits: Sostanza at 1700 Wynkoop is closed until this Monday, December 1, while it serves out its seven-day suspension for liquor license violations. Except that the owners, Steve Owen and Don Betts, aren’t the ones who did the violating. That honor belongs to Sostanza’s former chef, Marco Casas, also…
Some people look forward to leaving the house and getting away from their families. At Greek restaurants, though, the whole family tends to work together. “We’re a team,” says Demetrios “Jimmy the Greek” Lemonidis, who owns Thia’s with his wife, Evanthia, and their children. “We’ve been cooking together in restaurant…
Not many people know how to make a demi-glace, or coulibiac, or osso buco, or banh trang. This is a good thing: It keeps down the number of folks who delude themselves into thinking they should open their own restaurants. But any idiot with a skillet can scramble an egg…
Good morning, Denver: Okay, where should you go for a good sit-down, cooked breakfast that’s available weekdays? Dixons Downtown Grill (1610 16th Street) does great egg dishes, many with a Southwestern bent and all reasonably priced and filling. If you’re starving, though, head over to Hotcakes (1400 East 18th Avenue)…
The Master plan: When Mel and Jane Master sold almost all of their interest in Bruno’s to Tom Mirabito (see review above), they got Bruno’s chef Frank Bonanno out of the deal and moved him over to Mel’s Bar and Grill, at 235 Fillmore Street, where he joined Tyler Wiard,…
One of my litmus tests of an American-Italian restaurant is its Caesar–even though the salad was actually invented in Mexico (albeit by an Italian) and worked its way across the border without ever going overseas. Ten years ago you couldn’t find a Caesar on most Italian menus here–much less in…
What native cuisine has been as bastardized in this country as Chinese food? Mexican, of course. One Coloradan remembers having her first through tenth margaritas–yes, in the same night–at the Riviera, an outpost at 4301 East Kentucky Avenue that’s served up some of southeast Denver’s best Mexican food for decades…
At first the food at Little Ollie’s tasted bland. By my second meal there, though, I started noticing a few flavors, albeit unfamiliar ones. Wait. Was that what broccoli tastes like? Was that what snow peas taste like? Ahhhhh. This was fresh food cooked true Chinese style, without the Americanized…
