When Johnny Ballen first opened the Squeaky Bean in Lower Highland in 2009, chef Max MacKissock was behind the burners in a kitchen that was barely big enough for him to turn around. Ballen and MacKissock opened a spacious new restaurant and kitchen in LoDo in 2012, but MacKissock moved…
One of my favorite street-taco vendors, Tacos el Sampa, set up shop on West Evans Avenue a few years ago, selling carnitas, barbacoa, and tacos al pastor from a trailer equipped with a flat top and rotisserie and sheltered with a blue FEMA-style tarp. Over the course of a couple…
Seven years ago chef William Wahl and his wife, Stephanie, opened Indulge French Bistro, at 4140 West 38th Avenue. Just a few blocks away Tennyson Street has evolved into a hot dining destination, but Indulge always seemed a little too ambitious for the area, and the restaurant finally closed three…
Colorado’s independently-owned breweries and liquor stores have banded together to Keep Colorado Local — and keep supermarkets and convenience stores from selling full-strength beer, wine and other spirits. Their campaign tactics include Colorado LocALE, a new brew created by Dry Dock Brewing in Aurora. But grocery stores have formed their own…
This week we cooked up a list of the ten best burgers in Denver; Meadowlark Kitchen, which Gretchen Kurtz reviews this week, landed in the top ten with an egg-and-bacon extravaganza that she says is perfect for people who are “up for whatever.” Another lark made the list, too: Larkburger,…
Given the uncertain weather—rain, threats of rain, sullen clouds, a hazy glimpse of brightness behind the clouds, then more rain—the first of the Boulder County Farmers’ Market’s Wednesday afternoon events drew a respectable crowd. The market, which goes from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will run every Wednesday through…
In mid-April, a sign went up in the vacant Belvedere Polish Restaurant space informing passersby that the Greedy Hamster would soon be moving in. And while the name evokes images of a fat rodent stuffing its cheeks with baby carrots, this Greedy Hamster will be a restaurant and bar from…
Cold brew from new Denver company Nine Volt Coffee is coming to a restaurant near you in early June, just in time for warm weather and cold brew season. Hugh and Keith Enockson, the father and son team behind Nine Volt, are passionate about coffee. Originally, the duo had hoped…
Larimer Square’s Bubu is the love child of restaurateur Troy Guard and fast casual dining — and it’s just what the downtown strip needed: quick, delicious and healthy meals in a multitude of mix-and-match options for almost any palate. Bubu’s menu — from Mexican to Thai to Californian — is not limited…
The chicken stories were really flying this week. Mark Antonation visited Welton Street Cafe for the start of an Ethniche series on soul food, although he focused on the pork chops rather than the fried chicken. Patricia Calhoun reported that the White Fence Farm has signed the first members of…
No. 37: Pan Bagnat at Fuel Cafe A thoughtfully constructed Nicoise salad accompanied by a crusty chunk of bread can make for a perfect lunch. The variety and freshness of the ingredients combine with a filling serving of fish and eggs to create a healthy and nourishing dish — superfood…
We recently served up our list of the ten best burgers in Denver, with the Ditka burger from Jimmy’s Urban Bar & Grill in the top position. The burgers on that list ranged from simple and elegant — like those at Larkburger and Ste. Ellie, where the ground beef is the…
Chefs have a reputation for being hotheads: slamming pans, cursing and the like. But when I called Joshua Bitz to learn more about the background of Meadowlark Kitchen, which I review this week, he couldn’t have been nicer. One subject of his praise? None other than Max MacKissock, whom he…
When I first moved to northwest Denver more than two decades ago, my then-neighbor provided a handy reminder of the fact that I now lived in Highland, not “Highlands,” a name that had appeared in Westword: He put a baseball bat labeled with the correct name on my front porch…
Aurora’s Havana Street is awash with some of the most diverse ethnic cuisine in the Denver metro area; the cultural landscape is primed with every kind experience, from fine-ish dining to lovable dives to mom and pop eateries from almost every nationality and culture: Ethiopian, Vietnamese pho, dollar-a-scoop Chinese, Mexican…
Last month, Work & Class sous chef Victor Mena’s brother-in-law was operating a mower/tractor with his son and got into an accident that took the life of the little boy and left the brother-in-law in critical condition, with injuries that will take many months to heal. With mounting medical expenses…
At White Fence Farm, Mother’s Day is like Christmas, Valentine’s Day and the Fourth of July rolled into one. “We’ll probably do 3,000 meals,” says co-owner Craig Caldwell. “It starts early in the morning and just goes nonstop from 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.” Although Caldwell is a restaurant veteran…
Gretchen Kurtz was craving a burger, so she headed to the Cherry Cricket, an institution in Cherry Creek. And although that neighborhood is changing, she found the burgers at the Cricket as good as ever. Some readers disagreed with her recent review, though, calling the place overrated. And that’s inspired…
Tyler and Kimberly Armstrong Simply Pizza Food Truck Kimberly and Tyler Armstrong own their own construction and fabrication business. But they’re also avid home cooks and tinkerers, so Tyler — who goes by Ty — got to thinking about how to combine their love of cooking and fondness for building…
When he was younger, Joshua Bitz hung out in the local music scene and even played a few gigs at the Meadowlark. I never heard him perform, so I don’t know if his punk bands were “pretty crappy,” as he says, or if he’s just being modest. But I’ve eaten…
While Denver’s surge of independent restaurants over the past year or two has been astonishing, national chains still see plenty of opportunities in the surrounding suburbs. In last few days, branches of three corporate entities have found new homes in Lone Tree, Englewood and Northglenn. Although chains are often responsible for…
What can stop a convoy of thirty trucks on a mission to serve food to hundreds of hungry lunch-goers? An overcast day with the threat of thunderstorms. The 2015 incarnation of Civic Center Eats in Civic Center Park was supposed to kick off today at 11 a.m., but leave it…
