Jezebel’s opens today in LoHi

Over a year after Wanda James and Scott Durrah closed 8 Rivers in LoDo and returned to Highland, home of Denver’s original 8 Rivers and also the couple’s own home, they’re finally ready to open Jezebel’s in the corner space at 3301 Tejon Street. Those who enter that space will…

Trends without end: Dining insiders offer predictions for 2013

What will be the big culinary trends in 2013? As we prepare for a new year in gastronomy, we posed that question to dozens of people in the local food business, everyone from chefs and pastry magicians to restaurant brokers and PR consultants, from brewers and grape gurus to brokers…

At 4G’s on Federal, the food is not the topic of conversation

In A Federal Case, I’ll be eating my way up Federal Boulevard — south to north — within Denver city limits. I’ll skip 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 my second…

Lil’ Devils is taking a bite out of the former Barker Lounge

Broadway continues to be one of the town’s fastest-evolving areas, with the three blocks south of First Avenue seeing incredible changes in 2012. After numerous delays, Gary Lee’s Motor Club & Grub finally opened this spring; after even more months in the planning, Punch Bowl – Social Food & Drink…

Year in Review: Red Star Deli lost its star chef

This week’s Westword has no fresh restaurant review, since the issue is devoted to a look back at 2012 — the big stories, the small triumphs — as well as predictions of culinary trends to watch for in the new year. I’ve reviewed sixteen spots since I joined the Cafe…

Fat Sully’s to take a slice of South Broadway

The website for Fat Sully’s asks you to “stay tuned” for a “sexy new website coming soon.” But that’s not all that’s coming soon. Fat Sully’s, which started as an offshoot of Atomic Cowboy, working out of the same space at 3237 East Colfax Avenue, is about to bring its…

Reader: So little time, so many choices on Federal

Mark Antonation has an ambitious resolution for 2013: He’s eating his way through Denver city limits along Federal Boulevard, from the southern border to the northern, and blogging about it for Cafe Society in “A Federal Case.” But he got off to a rough start, when he found that the…

Olivea, one of Denver’s top restaurants, is closing in mid-January

After nearly four years on Seventeenth Avenue’s Restaurant Row, Olivea, the intimate Mediterranean restaurant owned by husband-and-wife duo Stephanie Bonin and Keith Arnold, who also oversee Duo in Highland, will close in mid-January. The couple, who opened Olivea in May 2009, are moving to the East Coast in June. See…

Avoid your family! Eat at Boston Market for the holidays

Some of the best holiday memories are made in the kitchen. The wafting aroma of ham and reheated Hawaiian rolls, the rush to make sure the cream of mushroom soup moistens that green bean casserole, the agonized sighs after reading the calorie count on the Sara Lee pie box. And,…

Gatsby’s is now pouring in LoDo, Cru at DIA

Gatsby’s has opened in the former home of the Wine Loft at 1527 Wazee Street. The speakeasy-style lounge is now offering a preliminary menu of “gourmet bites” and crafted cocktails — and that lineup will expand once the restaurant puts the finishing touches on its concept. See also: -Gatsby’s will…

El Rancho rides off into the sunset

Metro Denver lost some longtime institutions this year. Pagliacci’s.The Burnsley. Gabor’s. And now El Rancho, once a dining destination for tourists and Denver residents alike, a place so popular it had its own exit off I-70, is gone, too. See also: – Historic El Rancho Restaurant has new owners and…

A Federal Case: Eating my way up the boulevard

Federal Boulevard is one of the most interesting stretches of pavement in the entire United States. The cultural and economic diversity represented in a few densely populated miles means that you can drive past looming Victorian mansions, the playground of the Denver Broncos, llanteros selling retread tires, Vietnamese seafood markets,…