Sip and shop at classes, craft fairs and markets this weekend

This weekend you can sip while you shop at assorted classes, craft fairs, tastings and markets — all guaranteed to get you in the holiday spirit. Or is that spirits? At 6 p.m. tonight, A Bottled Affair will host an open-house wine-tasting, where you can taste old- and new-world wines,…

25 most promising new restaurants of 2013

More than 200 restaurants have opened in metro Denver this year, with more hurrying to open their doors before the end of 2013. Some are updated versions of earlier restaurants, others are completely new. And while some are far too young to have been reviewed, they already look like they…

Dunkin’ Donuts opens today, Voodoo Doughnut tomorrow

Doughnuts are on a roll in metro Denver. Another Dunkin’ Donuts location opened at 4:30 a.m. this morning at 8775 Washington Street in Thornton, reviving some of the fever that hit town when two DD stores debuted on the same day in August. But the temperature — as well as…

Reader: Eggnog is the perfect way to consume cheap bourbon

Is everyone already full of holiday cheer? After Jenn Wohletz unwrapped her five worst X-mas foods — including everything from date nut balls to popcorn tins — defenders of Royal Dansk rose up in defense of the Danish cookies. And even eggnog got a pass from some readers. See also:Five…

Holiday treats at Trillium and Frasca; light shows around town

Hungry for the holidays? Businesses and restaurants around town are cooing up great deals. For example, Trillium will be featuring Aquavit, that Scandinavian spirit, throughout the week in honor of the Christmas season. The “water of life” js traditionally made from distilled grain or potatoes and flavored with spices such…

Thai Monkey Club: This place is hot!

You want it Thai hot?” the server asked when I ordered my kana moo krob. Incredulous, he repeated the question, practically begging me to reconsider. But I didn’t want to reconsider. I wanted my crispy pork with Chinese broccoli amped up to its maximum sweat-inducing capacity. At Thai Monkey Club,…

Guess where I’m drinking a strawberry-and-jalapeno margarita?

I celebrated a birthday yesterday, not at a fancy restaurant with Champagne and shavings of foie (or nibbling on scones and crumpets at the Brown Palace), but at a Mexican restaurant, a deliberate choice just to keep the “Midson is obsessed with Mexican food” sentiment going strong. The joint was…

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: foragers risotto

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…

First look: Western Daughters Butcher Shoppe opens Thursday in LoHi

Months ago, I had the pleasure of spending the day butchering a pig with Kate Kavanaugh and her fiance, Josh Curtiss, the two of whom have spent the last few years conceptualizing, cultivating and building Western Daughters Butcher Shoppe, a new-school, artisanal chop shop of saws, hatchets and butcher blocks,…

Photos: Westminster Brewing opens with cask ales and cheer

Westminster Brewing, located along a rural stretch of road between a subdivision and Highway 36, celebrated its grand opening last weekend, December 7-8, introducing a lineup of English-style cask ales and other beers to its neighbors. Westword’s Kenneth Hamblin III was there. You can see all of his photos in…

Reader: Burritos served soaking wet are disgusting

In Denver, breakfast burritos are the breakfast of champions — and just about everyone else, with drive-thru joints selling them on almost every corner, and vendors delivering them door-to-door in downtown office buildings. Still, some Denverites don’t appreciate breakfast burritos — or having to guess their origins. See also: Guess…

Beer, Bourdeaux and plenty of cheese tonight

Support the Prevent Child Abuse Colorado (PCA) initiative while sipping brews and shooting pool at the Wynkoop Brewing Company from 5 to 8 p.m tonight at the Pints for Prevention fundraiser. Tickets are $20 at the door and include one drink, appetizers and free pool; there will also be a…