Ian Clark opened BRU Handbuilt Ales & Eats in Boulder in the summer of 2013, bringing his career as a chef and his passion for small-batch brewing together under one roof. But Clark has another passion that has threaded its way through his life in the kitchen, a passion that’s…
The Denver dining scene has seen a spate of closings lately, and the news just keeps coming. Gypsy House Cafe must vacate its space at 1279 Marion Street next month; word is the eclectic neighborhood spot will be replaced by a sushi restaurant — and the trademark mural outside will be…
Hawaii might be an island paradise, but when opportunity came knocking for Robert Juan, he didn’t hesitate to swap the ocean for the mountains. “I miss the sand and the sunrise on the beach,” says Juan, who joined Zengo as chef de cuisine this fall. “But if you have to…
The original Palm Restaurant was opened in New York City in 1926 by Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi, who lacked the money to decorate the place — so they gave steak dinners to artists in exchange for caricatures and portraits drawn directly onto the walls. Fast forward seventy years to…
Wow, just wow. Work Options for Women, a local nonprofit that trains impoverished women (and men) for jobs in the food-service industry, is a favorite cause for many local chefs, and last night’s “Mentors: A Night Out With Work Options for Women” quickly became a favorite fundraiser format for any…
Recent closings of longtime Denver restaurants — Le Central, Rosa Linda’s Mexican Cafe and Andre’s Confiserie Suisse last year; Jus Cookin’s and Trinity Grille just this month — have readers savoring other food memories. While there may be no tastier trip down memory lane than a visit to the Denver…
When it comes to the Mexican sandwiches known as tortas, I’m a serial monogamist. I’ll find a torteria — you know, the one with the best tortas ever — and faithfully stick with it, at least until my devotion is diverted by the promise of something even better. In my…
For twelve years, Gypsy House Café has been known almost as much for its Arabian Nights-style mural visible from East 13th Avenue as its Turkish coffee, Best of Denver award-winning hookah offerings and regular open-mic poetry readings. Its status as a home away from home for many in the Capitol Hill neighborhood —…
In all the meat frenzy that resulted from last year’s string of barbecue openings (we counted ten), one of our favorites got lost in the shuffle. Brewshine BBQ & Tap House had opened in late 2014 at 3109 Federal Boulevard with an outdoor barbecue pit that provided smoky depth to its…
The Slotted Spoon Meatball Eatery opened in the University Hills shopping center three years ago this month, bringing a new fast-casual concept to Denver: meatballs, and lots of them — meatballs on bread, meatballs on pasta, even meatballs on salads. But in a neighborhood where Beau Jo’s Pizza has remained…
We’ve been slurping up noodles in anticipation of the Best of Denver 2016, and last week stirred things up with our list of the ten best Asian noodle houses in town. With cold weather coming back to the metro area, we’re craving noodles again…and our readers have plenty of suggestions…
More than a year after Humble Pie closed its tiny Baker neighborhood shop, it’s now back in business with a new retail outlet: The Humble Pie Shop at 3550 East Colfax Avenue. The sleek space in an old auto garage is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and people are raving…
Denver’s restaurant business is booming, but the Denver dining scene has lost a few institutions over the past week. The Trinity Grille poured its last martini this past weekend after 33 years downtown, and Jus Cookin’s, a fried-chicken mainstay, called it quits just a year shy of its thirtieth birthday…
Gretchen Kurtz officially set down the fork and knife at the end of 2015, relinquishing her role as Westword’s restaurant critic to spend more time with her family. But she’s back this week with the newly revived Chef & Tell series, in which she talks with Amos Watts about his new…
One of our favorite food finds last summer was the South African specialties of Jozi’s Shebeen & Kitchen, which sold boerewors, bobotie and bunny chow from a weekend food shack at the BigWonderful. This year, Angus Hicks and his crew are back — and they’ve gone mobile — with a…
Nearly nine months after Lauren Roberts and Jennifer Byers took ownership of the veteran veggie restaurant, Watercourse Foods, a few changes have been made to the menu, the décor and the head chef. We stopped in to see what’s new, and what’s remained the same. Previously, the restaurant only served…
When Kyle and Angelique Moyer decided to open a craft beer bar on Fox Street, a name was immediately at hand: the Crafty Fox. And now the Moyers are set to open the Crafty Fox this weekend on the eastern edge of the Sunnyside neighborhood near what will soon be a…
“If you want to heat up any discussion, just mention green chile and Denver in the same sentence.” That’s how we started the piece introducing our latest list of the ten best spots in town for green chile, and proof soon poured in. Readers complained about the spelling of chile,…
Delaware-based Jake’s Hamburgers has changed its name twice in its 25-year history; once in 2010 to Jake’s Wayback Burgers and again in 2014 to simply Wayback Burgers. Along the way, the eatery has expanded from a single burger shack to a chain with more than 100 locations — including a…
The usual karaoke experience in Denver involves stumbling into some dim dive bar just before last call and wailing a few tunes in front of cringing strangers. Maybe you dragged a few friends along, but it’s hardly a social experience, but rather something akin to a round of Guitar Hero…
After 33 years downtown, the Trinity Grille closed last weekend; La Loma will soon leave the spot in Jefferson Park where it’s been perched for 34 years and move into the Trinity Grille spot. And other recent moves have readers wandering down memory lane. Recalling pre-mall downtown Denver, Laura says:…
We’ve all been witness to the incredible gastronomic shock wave that has shaken up the Denver dining scene over the past several years. But much of it began more than a decade ago, when a bold group of chefs and restaurateurs introduced upscale eateries that could hold their own in…
