Food & Drink

Los Carboncitas is a great Mexican restaurant, and one that actually focuses on the foods of Mexico, rather than Tex Mex or Colorado Mex or Den-Mex, as Gustavo Arellano calls the food at this town’s standard Mexican joints. So Laura Shunk was eager to try Paxia, the upscale sibling of…

It’s been a year since Andrew Casalini and his wife, Jen Dactano, opened Satchel’s on 6th, at 1710 East Sixth Avenue — a replacement for Satchel’s Market, the Park Hill market-turned-restaurant that they’d closed in the fall of 2010. Over the past twelve months, Casalini has worked hard to establish…

Midtown.That’s what Peter Kudla, the COO of Metropolitan Homes and the developer of Vallagio at Inverness, a suburban mini-sprawl of retailers, lofts and restaurants in Englewood, chose to call his development when it came to fruition last year. “It’s a unique dimension down here,” said Kudla, when I asked him…

Colorado legislators work hard, and apparently deserve a break today — with a catered lunch from McDonald’s, complete with the Ronald McDonald mascot. Representatives from America’s favorite Quarter Pounder-pimps will be visiting the State Capitol at 11:30 this morning to “highlight its economic impact on Colorado,” according to the announcement,…

Admittedly, a dish of noodles, tofu and vegetables isn’t what’s typically on my plate, but here, at this restaurant, I’ve discovered that the vegetarian dishes are every bit as good as the meat and seafood alternatives. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct…

Joe Troupe Lucky Pie Pizza & Tap House 1610 16th Street 303-825-1021 www.luckypiepizza.com This is part one of my interview with Joe Troupe, exec chef of Lucky Pie Pizza & Tap House. Part two of our chat will run in this space tomorrow. Unless you count shit on shingles, my…

A snowstorm might not be the best weather for a pig roast, but that didn’t prevent a crowd from descending on Boulder’s Oak at Fourteenth last night for the restaurant’s first quarterly pig roast, a new tradition that was slated to get off the ground the very week the six-month-old…

Close to 300 restaurants opened in the metro area last year, which made choosing the best for the Best of Denver 2012 was a daunting task. But in the end, Pinche Taqueria was the clear choice for Best New Restaurant. But many other worthy spots opened in 2011, and Laura…

Michelangelos Wine Bar, a cozy, comfy java hut and wine respite, where lattes, laptaps, live music and lambrusco all co-mingled, has closed at 1 Broadway. The website has gone black, and a hand-scrawled message on the front door thanks customers for their support over the years. No word on what…

When Chris Dailey took over the old Ruby’s Diner spot in Boulder’s Twenty-Ninth Street development, he planned to turn the space into his own diner in just a few short months. StarLite Diner & Lounge, he announced last year, would be ready by March 2012. Close: It opened today…

For months, we’ve been keeping an eye on the construction at Alameda Square, which lays claim to some of the best Asian markets and restaurants in the city, including Super Star Asian, which is undergoing an expansion, and Pacific Ocean, which is also enlarging its space. But it’s Pho Ta,…

Yesterday morning, three Buddhist monks appeared at Adrift to bless the new tiki bar, a ritual for co-owner Jay Dedrick, who has asked Buddhist monks to ceremonially bless all of his Denver restaurants, including his four Swing Thai joints. And last night, during an animated — very animated — friends-and-family…

Burger King issued a battle cry yesterday. In order to help boost its sluggish sales — the chain has slipped to third, behind McDonald’s and Wendy’s — the company rolled out the heavy artillery: ten new menu items, including specialty salads, chicken snack wraps, smoothies, flavored frozen coffee drinks, some…