We can almost taste that Detroit-style pizza now: Michigan natives and friends Jeff Smokevitch and Giles Flanagin have fired up the ovens and are just about ready to open Blue Pan Pizza at 3930 West 32nd Avenue. The new eatery has been several years in the making; Smokevitch started Brown Dog…
Chicken is seldom my protein preference when I’m dining out; it’s just such an everyday meat without personality or pop. Kids eat a lot of chicken — when they’re not eating other bland foods like white bread, juice in a box and orange crackers shaped like fish. Fried chicken, when…
The Centennial Tavern at Jonesy’s closed on the last day of May after several months in business under that name — and several years as Jonesy’s Eatbar before that. Or did it? Regulars and fans of the relaxed, neighborhood bar and kitchen will be delighted to know that the tavern isn’t quite…
Nocturne, River North’s newest jazz and supper club, launched the summer version of its Renditions dinner and music series last Thursday with a set from the Tom Gershwin Quintet and a matching tasting menu from chef Dustin Beckner, with accompanying beverages from sommelier Scott Mattson, who owns Nocturne with his…
It’s hard to put my finger on exactly what Wild Eggs, on the edge of Washington Park West, is trying to be: a strip-mall chic, neighborhood breakfast joint or a modern art gallery devoted entirely to egg photos. I had been expecting just another franchise with decent food with a…
When Wonderbowl moved into a space next door to longtime favorite Pho Duy last year, it seemed an odd cozying-up. After all, the owners of Wonderbowl also run Pho Duy 6 in Broomfield. Still, flirting with the new noodle house on Federal Boulevard was a titillating experience that yielded some…
The 1400 block of Larimer Street is one of Denver’s oldest areas, but a hundred years after the city’s founding, it had sunk to Skid Row Status. Enter developer and historic preservationist Dana Crawford, who turned things around. This summer Larimer Square is celebrating its fiftieth birthday with a host…
After more than twenty years serving fresh and vibrant Thai food to Englewood neighbors and Swedish Medical Center workers, Taste of Thailand has moved to a new location at the corner of South Broadway and Evans Avenue. Owners Noy and Richard Farrell promise the same traditional cuisine peppered with herbs…
Despite the seemingly unstoppable rain, warm weather is quickly approaching and before we know it, sandals will replace rain boots and we’ll start complaining about the heat and lusting for rain. While ramen and pho really hit the spot when it’s cold and gloomy out, why should we compromise our…
As Denver has shaken off its roots as a steak-loving cowtown, top chefs have branched out, serving new-American, farm-to-table, nose-to-tail fare that feels more urgent and creative. But steakhouses themselves aren’t passe; the interpretation of them is. And it’s precisely that interpretation that the Summit Steakhouse, which I review this…
Since we dished up our 2015 list of the ten best green chiles in Denver two weeks ago, there’s been a fiery discussion over which spot serves the best green chile — and the debate has jhgggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhffffumped state lines, since many readers claim that that the path to a good bowl of…
Grandma’s House is an unusual place — and it’s not just the old-lady decor. Founder Matthew Fuerst calls Grandma’s House a “collective brewery” because he gives would-be brewery owners and breweries-in-planning a chance to try out their recipes on his brewing system and then have the beers they create served…
Denver is reaching saturation point with burger bars, so restaurant groups looking to expand their beefy footprints are heading for the suburbs. Two established hamburger joints in Denver just announced that they’ll be putting outposts in Arvada and Greenwood Village. Concept Restaurant Group, owner of Ignite Burgers & Lounge in…
No. 33: Farrotto Piccolo at Basta Chef Kelly Whitaker cooks almost everything at his intimate but lively Italian restaurant Basta in the same wood-burning oven where round after round of Neapolitan pizzas are also baked. A tricky, hands-on dish like risotto seems an unlikely choice for oven roasting, especially when…
John Skogstad, who owns the whimsical and beguiling eatery Beatrice & Woodsley and the slightly more lurid and sultry Mario’s Double Daughter’s Salotto in LoDo (and the Two-Fisted Mario’s pizza joint next door), is at work on a new concept destined for 1310 Pearl Street, next door to the Denver Ted’s cheesesteak shop…
The first fern bar opened more than four decades ago, but the concept could be making a comeback here in Denver, where there’s plenty of talk about them. In fact, tonight’s Mixed Taste at the Holiday Event Center is “Fern Bars & George Orwell,” featuring Nicola Twilley of ediblegeography.com, and Helen…
This week Gretchen Kurtz reviews the Summit Steakhouse, an Aurora institution that opened back in 1977 and today has a new owner and a new chef. Those changes made her wonder if the Summit had become more of a contemporary steakhouse; it hasn’t. But a meal here can still be…
Humboldt, the Uptown eatery run by Concept Restaurants, received a little extra attention this week when President Bill Clinton and U2 frontman Bono dropped in for lunch on Monday. A representative for Humboldt said the visit from Clinton and daughter Chelsea had been previously arranged — and that the Secret…
Blue skies and warm sun greeted lunch-goers at Civic Center Eats yesterday, where more than thirty trucks, trailers and carts served everything from Chinese-Mexican tacos to tater tots stuffed with bacon and cheddar. And while most of the attendees huddled under patio umbrellas for shade while enjoying their meals, there…
As we noted here yesterday, the response to our list of the Ten Best Green Chiles in Denver has been fast and furious — mostly furious. Too much yuppie bullshit, and no Chubby’s? And then there’s the really hot debate over New Mexico verde versus Colorado green chile. Can you…
If you’re young enough to associate phone calls with FaceTime and restaurants with mixologists and communal tables, you might find the Summit Steakhouse a bit of a living-history museum. Founded in Aurora in 1977, the sprawling 9,000-square-foot eatery recalls the days when fine restaurants showed off their fineness with white…
Jeff Smokevitch and Giles Flanagin of Blue Pan Pizza Competition often involves rejection, and rejection can turn into a major motivation for those driven to win. Jeff Smokevitch, chef and co-owner of Blue Pan Pizza, which will open next week in West Highland, is no stranger to competition — or learning…
