While this diminutive cafe is justifiably celebrated for its sandwiches, the soups, including a vibrant gazpacho bobbing with fresh berries, are equally as delicious. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Where am I drinking/eating posts is entered into…
Valentino Ujkic Trattoria Stella 3201 East Colfax Avenue 303-320-8635 http://trattoriastella.squarespace.com This is part two of my interview with Valentino Ujkic , executive chef of Trattoria Stella. Part one of that interview ran yesterday. Favorite restaurant in America: Kabob Cafe in Astoria, Queens. There’s no menu, no front-of-the-house staff and no…
While we finish compiling our Restaurant roll call for June — a compilation of all the openings and closings over the past month — Cafe Society has also been checking up on the status of some projects announced long ago. Botto Italian Grill, for example, which was originally supposed to…
How close is too close? How many falafel joints can a town, even a college town, support? The news that the family behind Udi’s had opened Pickled Lemon, a fast-casual Mediterranean concept, on the Hill in Boulder brought this from Rebecca: This concept sounds very familiar to Garbanzo’s. Isn’t there…
The Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York Street, will present a Grow Great Grub class tonight, as part of the Bonfils-Stanton Lecture Series; Gayla Trail will lead the discussion that starts at 7 p.m. The lecture costs $15 to $20 and pre-registration is required; call 720-865-3500 or visit www.botanicgardens.org. For information…
From brunch to beers to late- night desserts, June offered something for everyone. Whether you’re a vegetarian or a meat lover (or prefer a liquid diet), our photographers are ready to make you salivate with some of the best photos of the month. Be warned: don’t drool all over your…
When Jess Graber and George Stranahan founded Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey back in 2004, it was a micro-distillery crafting a very small run of the spirit culled entirely from Rocky Mountain barley and local water. But Stranahan’s has grown, and grown fast. Two years ago, it relocated from the Ballpark neighborhood…
Breckenridge Brewing is supposed to get its new canning today or tomorrow. The automatic system should enable Breckenridge, which merged its finances and operations with Wynkoop Brewing earlier this year, to package both company’s beers at a rate of at least 36 cans per minute — a significant upgrade from…
In this week’s Westword, I review Rackhouse Pub, the rough and refined restaurant that fronts the distillery for Stranahans Colorado Whiskey. The eatery serves up a board of classic pub fare, elevated to a finer level — and pairs it all with craft whiskey and local craft beer. Here’s a…
Several of the restaurants on Colorado Boulevard, across the street from the former University of Colorado Hospital, the land of which was recently purchased by a Florida developer, are suddenly becoming vacant. In the last month alone, a Spicy Pickle outpost, a Smiling Moose Deli plot and a Cava Greens…
Matt and Mike Casarez have their hands full running Crook’s Palace, the historic Black Hawk restaurant they opened in 2008 with a board of burgers and beer — and a commitment to making what they could in house. “I have a passion for food and so does my brother,” says…
I never tire of the lusty, spice-bombed food turned out at this addictive restaurant that always elevates my mood, and now that it’s increased its beer selection, showcasing more than a dozen brews that mirror its cuisine, I’m even more enamored. Guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives…
Like any other diner, sometimes plant-based eaters are looking for a nice sit-down meal, sometimes quick and casual grub, and sometimes we just want a place to kick back and relax with some craft beer, maybe play some skeeball or pool, and possibly sit down in a photo booth with…
Tickets for the Great American Beer Festival’s thirtieth edition go on sale to the general public tomorrow, and even at $60 a pop, the biggest beer fest in the world is still worth the price of admission. Although most things will be the same this year — both the good…
Valentino Ujkic Trattoria Stella 3201 East Colfax Avenue 303-320-8635 http://trattoriastella.squarespace.com This is part one of my interview with Valentino Ujkic, the executive chef of Trattoria Stella on East Colfax. Part two of our interview will run in this space tomorrow. Valentino Ujkic emerges from his open kitchen at Trattoria Stella…
What does Colorado taste like? Sunshine and cherries and whiskey, according to Marnie Ward, who created “Tree Line,” the winner of the inaugural Colorado Cocktail Contest. “I love to go to the farmers’ markets through the summer and find great fresh produce, grab something and make cocktails with it,” says…
Summer is hamburger season. (But then, what time of the year isn’t the right time for hamburgers?) Green-chile cheeeseburgers at the Steuben’s truck at Civic Center Eats. JCBs on the patio at My Brother’s Bar. A big burger for a growing boy in this Guess where? post yesterday. But sadly,…
Expo Recreation Center, 10955 East Exposition Avenue in Aurora, will be the site of a City of Aurora cooking class, Ice Cream for Grownups. Students (21 and up, only) will learn to make lemon ginger ice cream with caramel whiskey sauce, plus such other flavors as tiramisu, salted caramel with…
We just finished up the Colorado Cocktail Project, during which distillers and bartenders from across the state gave lectures, poured samples and, ultimately, created the ultimate Colorado Cocktail: the Tree Line, concocted by the Avenue Grill’s Marnie Ward, who bested nine other mixologists with her drink made with Leopold Bros…
“I had nothing to do with it, other than drinking at the bar last Tuesday night,” claims Jamey Fader, the culinary director of Big Red F, the Dave Query restaurant group that operates numerous dining dens in Denver and Boulder, including West End Tavern, Lola, Zolo Grill, Happy, Centro and…
Fourteen bartenders. Twenty minutes. One winner of an iPad. That was roughly the formula for the bartending competition Sunday night at Lola, sponsored by Don Julio. Using either Don Julio’s Reposado or Blanco, the participating bartenders made mini-cocktails, a concept that the tequila brand calls “Luxury Drops.” The winner, Dylan…
At the tender age of incredibly-awkward-teenager, I was packed, along with an econo-sized bottle of zit cream and my discman, into my family’s mini van for a summer road trip through the romantic Midwest. I was a terrible human to be around at that age, bitching about every stop along…
