Get raw at Root Down tonight, free wine at Cured

Root Down, 1600 West 33rd Avenue, will offer its monthly Raw Food Dinner this evening from 6 to 10 p.m. Click here for the menu, which costs $39 per person, and call 303-993-4200 to RSVP, which is required. And if you’re in Boulder, don’t miss the free weekly wine tasting…

Garbanzo wants diners to feel good about Mediterranean food

Free falafel is a fine way to make friends. Alon Mor, the founder of Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill, makes sure that customers are handed deep-fried spiced garbanzo-bean fritters as soon as they walk in the door of one of his restaurants. He also has a “just ask” policy that allows them…

Larimer Associates inks a deal with Smashburger to lease the Samba Room space

It’s been nearly two years since the Samba Room, a Cuban restaurant chain based in Dallas, closed in Larimer Square, following a major water leak that dripped…and dripped into the Comedy Works space below. The chain’s parent company, E-Brands Restaurants, eventually filed for bankruptcy last year, leaving the two-level Larimer…

Pete’s Monkey Bar closes tonight

After two-and-half years, Pete Penzastadler is closing Pete’s Monkey Bar tonight with one last blowout. Penzastadler, who calls it “a fucking awesome run,” is closing the spot because he just needs to move on, he says…

Sushi Bay will open where the Hole closed

If you’ve been following this blog, then you’ve no doubt read about the endless parade of pizza joints that are sweeping across the Denver landscape: Toppings started slinging pies in LoDo last Friday; Right Coast Pizza began tossing dough two weeks ago in Wheat Ridge; and Fired Up will open…

Guess where I’m eating Korean barbecue?

A few weeks ago, when I was in L.A., I spent some time in Koreatown, where I pigged out on some amazing Korean barbecue and banchan — a parade of more than 25 at one restaurant. There are several Korean barbecue joints here, too, including the restaurant where the above…

Denver’s five best Japanese restaurants

While Denver is swimming in great options for sushi, we’re woefully short on Japanese joints that feature good versions of the broader culinary canon — and, in fact, we’d be stoked if a few more spots of this sort opened up, whether they’re restaurants serving up Japanese noodles like ramen…

Tuna-safe salad for a lunchtime staple on Meatless Monday

No one’s saying you have to go meatless just because it’s Monday — but as incentive to join the growing movement, every week we’re offering an animal-free recipe. This is a fast, easy substitute for tuna salad that requires no cooking and harms no fish. We served it up on…

Gary Lee’s Motor Club & Grub is now open…finally

When Gary Lee Bomar, a veteran of the Denver restaurant industry, took over a dilapidated garage on South Broadway almost a year ago, he planned to refurbish the space and build a bar and restaurant with a menu full of smoked meats and cheeses. And while his remodel was always…

Reader: Fast food sometimes hits the spot…especially on Mondays

Jenn Wohletz has been covering the fast-food beat in Jenn in Chains, and on Friday she served up “href=”http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2012/04/top_five_reasons_why_reviewing.php#Comments”>”Five reasons why reviewing isn’t the worst idea in the world.” And readers have some ideas of their own…

Kraine Station reaches the end of the line

Kraine Station — which was heralded just a few short months ago as a spot that would deliver authentic Ukrainian food to Denver — has closed, just like so many earlier occupants of 1434 Blake Street. Papi Sorrelis had taken over the spot from Jimmy Calanni, who briefly ran it…

Restaurants partner with AIA Colorado architects for Delicious Designs

April is Colorado Architecture Month, but the celebration isn’t limited to concrete and steel structures. The American Institute of Architecture’s Colorado branch has partnered with five local restaurants on Delicious Designs, to show how architecture affects “where we live, work, play… and even eat!” Desserts, specifically. Here’s the lineup:…

Attend the DrinkLocalWine Conference this Saturday…via Twitter

The fourth annual DrinkLocalWine Conference, which takes place tomorrow at the St. Cajetan’s Center, has sold out, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take part in the fun. Over the past three years, the Twitter Taste-off has become a popular part of the conference with nearly ten million “tweets” and…