Food & Drink

The menu at Beast + Bottle, the ever-packed restaurant launched this spring by brother-and-sister duo Paul and Aileen Reilly, is surprising in many ways. For starters, the menu features an abundance of unfamiliar ingredients and cooking terms, as I note in this week’s review. Then there’s the fact that the…

Andrew Knowlton, the appointed “Foodest” at Bon Appetit magazine — and the guy who named Boulder America’s Foodiest Town in 2010 — has just released his listacle of the country’s fifty Best New Restaurant nominees, and two Denver restaurants — their names won’t surprise you — made the cut. See…

It wasn’t exactly cold yesterday, but it was chilly enough that I gravitated toward of bowl of chili smacked with chipotle peppers — and it was a damn good rendition, especially given the fact that the menu favors frankfurters. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives…

Denver is definitely in need of more good barbecue, so I was eager to visit Southern Hospitality BBQ, the upscale barbecue restaurant that opened last October in the very renovated old St. Elmo Hotel building. This joint came with a smoking back-story: The original was opened in Manhattan in 2007…

UPDATE: We have a winner of our Ballpark Plates contest, in which we asked Cafe Society readers to answer this question: How many “bites” of gazpacho did Trillium sell during last year’s Ballpark Plates? Congrats to Sinnney85, who guessed 284; the actual number is 299. Skinney85, we’ll send you an…

Colin Mallet Sassafras American Eatery 2637 West 26h Avenue 303-433-0080 sassafrasamericaneatery.com This is part two of my interview with Colin Mallet, chef of Sassafras; part one of our chat ran yesterday.. Describe the biggest challenges facing Denver chefs: The amount of competition is enormous. There are so many new restaurants…

News broke this week that a professor at Maastricht University in the Netherlands had created the world’s first test-tube burger. Tasters gave the burger — which was mixed with salt, egg powder, bread crumbs, beetroot juice and saffron for taste and visual enhancement — a big “meh, it’s okay.” But…

Jonah Munson, the exec chef of the two locations of the Walnut Room, has a lot on his plate. Including dealing with naysayers who wonder why a pizza place — even a pizza place with two addresses — has an exec chef in the first place. See also: – Justin…

Like many writers, I’m an introvert — drawn to written rather than spoken words. My hunch is that Paul and Aileen Reilly, the brother-sister duo behind Beast + Bottle, have the opposite temperament. I say this based on admittedly circumstantial evidence: Paul’s ease and openness with me, a stranger, over…

Booze-heavy patios aren’t the only outdoor alternatives. Consider Steam Espresso Bar, a near-perfect coffee shop with a sprawling, inviting patio as well as a “back yard” that feels more like a scene out of The Secret Garden than a place to step out and take phone calls. See also: -…

Update: Read the winner below. “Are giant bears walking through downtown Colorado Springs?” asked a nitwitted FoxNews anchor last week, after video of the dumpster-diving bruin outside of the Edelweiss German Restaurant in Colorado Springs aired for the umpteenth time on the network. And Fox wasn’t alone; the schnitzel-hunting bear…

I slept for more than twelve hours after draining these beers (and quite a few more), lulled to slumber by the sounds of Simon and Garfunkel and John Denver — the same mellow artists that this taproom chose to play on a lazy afternoon. Can you guess where I’m drinking?…

Eating won’t be the only entertainment at some new spots opening in Denver. As our Backbeat blog reports, two bars opening in the coming months will offer not just food and drinks, but live shows — and that’s music to our ears. The Monkey Barrel will open on Platte Street…

Colin Mallet Sassafras American Eatery 2637 West 26h Avenue 303-433-0080 sassafrasamericaneatery.com This is part one of my interview with Colin Mallet, chef of Sassafras; part two of our chat will run tomorrow. “Hey, I’ll be back in a sec. I’ve got a fire to put out,” says Colin Mallet, who…

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…

Why should LoHi have all the fun? Last month chef Lance Barto left the kitchen at Linger to help open The Social in Castle Pines — where residents welcomed him with open arms. And open mouths. See also: – Photos: The Social opens in Castle Pines – Lance Barto departs…