Guess where I’m drinking this spicy margarita?

It’s strange drinking a margarita in a space that used to bake bagels, and I’m guessing some of the staff are leftovers, because it took forever to get a margarita — just like it used to take forever to get a bagel sandwich. Can you guess where I’m drinking? Special…

Reader: There’s a lot to be said for cheap, fast and tasty

Business Insider recently served up a list of the most popular fast-food chains in the U.S., put together by food-industry research firm Technomic; McDonald’s rated the number-one slot. And in her own analysis of that fast food list, Jenn Wohletz confessed to having contributed to the financial health of some…

Uncork some fun at one of these wine events

Unwined — a two-day alternative wine-tasting geared towards a younger scene — begins tomorrow at the EXDO Event Center, 1399 35th Street. In addition to unlimited samples of wine, there will be a variety of food trucks and DJs spinning tunes. The party starts at 7 p.m. and tickets cost…

Cafe Society has a new commenting platform

Today Cafe Society (and all the other Westword blogs) rolled out a new user profile platform dubbed My Voice Nation. Your voice in our comments section will now be amplified through a fancy new commenting program called Lifefyre (“live fire”). Read all about it below. (And forgive us any glitches…

Photos: Il Vicino opens a gelateria and coffeehouse

Il Vicino, which opened on South Gaylord Street last week, now has a sibling gelateria and coffeehouse. Veloce officially opened yesterday on the front patio, and is serving a half-dozen flavors of Little Man Ice Cream, including classic pistachio and the more unusual mango-habenero…

Has Chicken Kabob flown the coop?

For the past four days, Chicken Kabob — the fast-casual Persian joint that Foad Aftahi opened last fall at 9678 East Arapahoe Road in Greenwood Village — has been mysteriously closed. The phone mailbox is full, and there’s no message posted on the place to indicate Chicken Kabob’s status –…

Downtown Sheraton puts homegrown, organic mint in its mojitos

Already the biggest hotel downtown, the Sheraton Downtown Denver Hotel is now one of the greenest as well. This past spring, the Sheraton received the Watts to Water award for “Greatest Improvement in Efficiency,” as well as an Xcel Energy “Management Systems Achievement” award, thanks to the efforts of its…

Ocean Prime introduces happy hour on the half shell today

Plunge into Ocean Prime between 4 and 7 p.m. today, and you’ll find oysters Rockefeller and French rosé that may actually be in your price range. The Larimer Square restaurant has just introduced “Half Off the Half Shell Oyster Thursday,” when $9 nets you four fried Goosepoint oysters from Washington…

Guess where I’m eating a patty melt?

It’s been years since I’ve indulged in a patty melt, but earlier this week, the urge hit. That — and a Dr. Brown’s black cherry soda — hit the spot. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Guess Where…

Dushanbe Tea Festival will be steeped in culture

When Sara and Lenny Martinelli first took over the Dushanbe Teahouse fourteen years, Sara knew a lot about herbs, but little about tea — and the internet, she points out, “was a baby then.” So she decided to invite an expert to teach a workshop. But as she started making…

Round two with Bentley Folse, exec chef of Finley’s Pub

Bentley Folse Finley’s Pub 375 South Pearl Street 303-282-4790 www.finleysdenver.com Part one of my interview with Bentley Folse, exec chef of Finley’s Pub, ran yesterday; this is part two. Favorite restaurant in America: Both Clancy’s and Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. Clancy’s is a quaint little neighborhood place that’s a…

Fire on the Mountain makes a sustainable impression in Highland

Fire on the Mountain came into Denver determined to make a difference. Owners Andrea West and Craig Oberlink followed the lead of the restaurant’s three counterparts in Portland, Oregon, and decided to create their wing joint/bar with sustainability in mind. “We had this amazing opportunity to start as a blank…

Billy’s Gourmet Hot Dogs is coming to Colfax

The space once occupied by Office Depot at 600 East Colfax Avenue will be getting a makeover this summer. Hampton Partners, the investment firm responsible for Argonaut’s facelift, is heading up a development there that will not only include a new Office Depot, but a third (and two-story) Billy’s Gourmet…

How Wynkoop Brewing almost wasn’t the oldest brewpub in Colorado

The Wynkoop Brewing Company is Colorado’s oldest brewpub. But it almost wasn’t. In the spring of 1988, John Hickenlooper and his business partners took out an ad in a homebrewer publication promising the public that “Colorado’s first brewpub,” as they were calling it, would open for business on August 4…

The Humble Pie Store will open in August in Baker

There’s more going on in Baker than the drama between the city and El Diablo and Sketch, the two restaurants owned by Jesse Morreale that are indefinitely shuttered after the city walloped the building with notice-to-vacate signs, citing safety issues. Just a few blocks way, at 300 Elati Street, Tamara…

Guess where I’m eating a ham, pineapple and al pastor alambre?

The best alambres I’ve found in Denver hail from Los Carbincitos, which is not where I ate this pineapple, ham and al pastor alambre that definitely doesn’t rival Los Carboncitos. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Guess Where…

Four Denver restaurants that deliver stellar wine service

Last week we ruffled a few feathers (and piqued some serious ire for not naming names) with our post on a recent spate of rather unfortunate Denver restaurant-based wine service fails. And while that handful of experiences ran the gamut from mildly annoying to straight-up shitshow, we can confidently report…