Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: Dilled gravlax

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 the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market’s choicest ingredients home with them and cook up a feast. If you’ve been…

Guess where I’m eating red snapper tartare?

In the many, many times I’ve eaten at this innovative restaurant, I’ve never had a disappointing dish. In fact, just about everything that’s graced my plate has been a marvel, including the exquisite Hawaiian red snapper tartare. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first…

Hana Japanese Bistro gives orders with your order

Hana Japanese Bistro is the complete package — complete with instructions on how to eat there, too. During a recent meal at this six-month-old spot in Louisville, every dish came with a lesson plan. “Eat the hand rolls first,” our server advised as she dropped off a tray of sushi…

Reader: Bugged by cockroach discussion

Last month, the seafood hot pot at Da Lat rated a 100 Favorite Dishes designation. But when Heather Miller ordered it, the dish contained an unexpected ingredient: a cockroach. Lori Midson shared her cockroach story here , and the comments have been flying. Should the dish have been comped? The…

Tonight: Burgundy wine dinner at Mizuna

Mizuna, 225 East Seventh Avenue, will present a Burgundy wine dinner tonight with special guest Brett Zimmerman, master sommelier at Boulder Wine Merchant. Seats costs $120, call 303-832-4778 for more details. For information on dozens of culinary events around town, visit our online Food & Drink listings — and if…

Hana Japanese Bistro in Louisville is all-inclusive

Hana Japanese Bistro is the full package — complete with instructions. Every meal at this six-month-old spot in Louisville starts with warm towels and complimentary bowls of miso soup (a little dish of pickled vegetables or edamame often finds its way to your table, too). And on my most recent…

Kelly’s Superette checks out of Capitol Hill

Wayne Adams doesn’t like to talk about the ghosts, the apparitions dressed in seventeenth-century period garb that haunt the Capitol Hill corner store that’s been in his family for 38 years. “They get more active when you talk about it,” he says matter-of-factly, detailing the rows of Shurfine brand canned…

Escape to Catalonia tonight at Olivea’s regional dinner

Olivea, 719 East 17th Avenue, is hosting a special dinner tonight featuring a Catalonian tapas menu paired with wines of the same region. “Our regional series is for the more adventurous eater,” says Brooke Bishop, director of operations for Olivea and its sister restaurant, Duo. “We go more in-depth within…

La Playa Mexican Cafe brings Tex-Mex to Centennial

Israel Trevino has been trying to get back to Colorado since he left in 2000 and returned home to Texas, where he opened two outposts of La Playa Mexican Cafe in Harlingen and Austin. Those successful operations allowed him to explore possibilities for another location, and he settled on Centennial…

The vegan fare at Hops & Pie makes us jump for joy

Hops & Pie is an ideal neighborhood establishment: simply furnished, small enough to have a strong sense of intimacy — but with a big beer list. As a bonus, the kitchen offers not just several vegetarian options, but also vegan dishes. One look at the menu, and moving to the…

Guess where I’m eating a Reuben?

I spoke to a chef yesterday who lamented the dearth of good delis in Denver (he’s not the first). And while the anemic Reuben in the above snap doesn’t come from a deli, it gives us one more reason to hunger for better sandwiches in this city — sandwiches that…

Reader: Fast-food chain coverage doesn’t belong on Cafe Society

Yesterday, Jenn Wohletz offered her assessment of the new Chick-Fil-A desserts in the latest installment of Jenn in Chains, her semi-regular look at developments on the fast-food scene. She loved the brownie, lusted for the waffle fries (and the cute little ketchup packets)…but isn’t a fan of Chick-Fil-A’s politics, and…

Avery Beer Dinner at TAG pours out the pairings tonight

TAG, 1441 Larimer Street, is hosting a five-course dinner featuring Strasburg Game Birds this evening at 7 p.m. Each course will be paired with not one, but two beers from Avery Brewing. “We’re daring,” jokes TAG’s marketing director Susi Kim. “But seriously, Avery has such a great portfolio, and we…

Guess where I’m eating chilaquiles?

After a recent jaunt to L.A., where I soaked up Disneyland, the sun and the city’s restaurant scene, I arrived home just in time to have breakfast at one of my favorite suburban cafes. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to…