Colorado’s 232 craft brewers employed 5,014 people and drove an economic engine worth $826 million last year, according to a study released Tuesday by the Colorado Brewers Guild. That’s up from 179 breweries, 4,493 jobs and $704 million the year before. In fact, the industry is growing so fast that…
I’ll give the guy who made this margarita an “A” for effort and attitude, but it was clear from the taste — or lack of it — that this may have been his first rodeo. Can you guess where I’m drinking? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer…
Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with a spacious kitchen. They often bring some of their market’s best ingredients home with them and cook up a feast, and when they’re not…
Robert Alfaro Atticus 1125 East Evans Avenue 720-459-8273 tabletotavern.com/atticus This is part one of my interview with Robert Alfaro, chef of Atticus; part two of our interview will run tomorrow. Most of us have childhood food memories: Lucky Charms, chocolate-chip cookies, flipping our first egg, cracking the shell of our…
In A Federal Case, I’ll be eating my way up Federal Boulevard — south to north — within Denver city limits. I’ll be skipping the national chains and per-scoop Chinese joints, but otherwise I’ll report from every vinyl booth, walk-up window and bar stool where food is served. Here’s the…
Where would you tell a tourist in Denver to eat? Last week, USA today advised foodies to try ten different spots — two of which (D Bar and Restaurant Kevin Taylor) are about to close; another two (Cherry Creek Farmers’ Market and Civic Center Eats) are out of season. And…
Mecca Grill 270 South Downing Street 303-722-4100 meccagrilldenver.com I’d heard the management had changed at Mecca Grill, a once-popular Lebanese restaurant in a tiny strip center in Washington Park, so I dropped by for dinner, curious to see if the new owner was going to give me a reason to…
Just under a year ago, Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson and Bobby Stuckey, co-owners of Frasca Food and Wine and the original Pizzeria Locale in Boulder, opened a second, more streamlined Pizzeria Locale in Denver in the former Il Vicino space at Sixth and Broadway. Then, late last year, Mackinnon-Patterson and Stuckey announced…
Colorado’s largest craft brewer, New Belgium, and one of its smallest, Black Shirt, both broke new ground in January when they began canning a pair of unusual beers. New Belgium’s offering was the tart Snapshot, one of the first canned beers using lactobacillius as a souring agent. Black Shirt rolled…
Beau Jo’s is going green. At all four locations of the local chain, you can charge your electric car while refueling yourself with a slice of Colorado-style pizza. See also: Mecca Grill is changing course from Lebanese to Moroccan cuisine…
Last year Mecca Grill was bought by a Moroccan family who had been looking at starting their own Moroccan restaurant. But rather than changing the name to something like Morocco Grill, the new owners decided to keep the name — and Mecca Grill’s Lebanese menu, at least for now. See…
As we recently reported, the Burger King outpost that reigned over the intersection at Sixth and Broadway for over 27 years suddenly closed a few weeks ago, with no notice of what would replace it. Yesterday, the Denver Business Journal reported that construction will break ground this week for the…
Earlier this morning, hundreds of chefs, restaurateurs, journalists and restaurant-industry groupies were eyeballing their computer screens and mobile phones, anxiously awaiting the news, which was live-streamed from the Publican in Chicago, announcing who would make it through to the James Beard Foundation’s finalists round, the nominees of which included seven…
Given Denver’s increasing proliferation of beef burger joints, it’s a welcome change to find an alternative, in this case a salmon burger that was as juicy as the gossip going on at the table behind me. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct…
Find of the week at Safeway: Jolly Rancher gelatin (never call it Jell-O), in the signature watermelon and green-apple flavors that still taste of childhood to many adults many decades beyond that. Jolly Rancher was founded in 1942 by Bill and Dorothy Harmsen, who sold the company to Hershey in…
The lineup at Denver Union Station, set to reopen this summer, is now complete. Last week, the development partners announced seven more restaurant and retail tenants, including an outpost of the Tattered Cover, two bars (one on the lovely mezzanine level, one in the former ticket booths), an ice cream…
Tonight Ocean Prime in Larimer Square will welcome Jonathan Honig of Honig Winery and Vineyards to talk about wine and meet with guests. For the occasion, new executive chef Eally Smith will serve up two specials that can be paired with Honig wines. See also: USA Today picks Denver’s top…
After a half-dozen years commanding the line at Beatrice & Woodsley, opening exec chef Pete List, whose impressive resume also includes gigs at the Empire in Louisville and the long-gone Papillon Cafe Cafe, has departed that kitchen, he says, to “spread my wings and explore new opportunities.” The decision to…
Today is St. Paddy’s Day and although celebrations started this weekend, there are still plenty of ways to mark the actual holiday. But for those of you who had your fill of all things green and booze-soaked, you’ll find much more civilized activities on the culinary calendar this week. Here’s…
St. Patrick’s Day celebrations started a couple of days early in Denver. St. Patrick’s Day Bikes and Beer, organized by Denver Coed Soccer, had bikers visiting three pubs, ending with a viewing party for the Rapids’ season opener at New York, and raised money for the adult soccer group. On…
DSTILL, a week-long celebration of artisan spirits, wrapped up this past weekend after panels, tours and the March 13 Showcase, a tasting featuring some fifty craft-spirits producers at the McNichols Building. Westword photographer Ken Hamblin was there to capture all the spirits, vendors and happy tasters, and brought back these…
Suffice it to say that I eat out more than the general population, unless, of course, the general population can catalogue more than 450 restaurant meals in a year — which is about the number of breakfasts, lunches and dinners that I stomached over the past year. Pathetic, isn’t it?…
