Native Foods Cafe is a plant-based chain that originated in Palm Springs, California, and has since expanded to several more California cities, as well as Chicago, Boulder and, as of last month, Glendale, where it’s in the CitySet development. And it didn’t take long for this all-vegan restaurant to garner…
Did you think the hysteria over the opening of Dunkin’ Donuts in central Denver this summer was extreme? Then you weren’t here two years ago, when the first Steak ‘n Shake — slogan: “In Sight It Must Be Right” — opened in metro Denver, to major burger-craving crowds. But the…
The southern suburbs were clearly thirsty for craft beer when Grist Brewing opened earlier this month in Highlands Ranch. Founded by organic chemist Rob Kevwitch, Grist is the first independently-owned craft brewery in Highlands Ranch — and the first in a wave of brewery openings scheduled over the next few…
After two years of stops and starts, Colt & Gray finally opened its new basement cocktail bar, Ste. Ellie, on Friday night. And Danielle Lirette was there to capture the scene. See also: Ste. Ellie opens tonight beneath Colt & Gray…
Just in time for breaks during holiday shopping, another round of restaurants has opened in Belmar. World of Beer is now pouring in Lakewood; it’s the chain’s second outpost in the metro area (the first is in CitySet). Pho Saigon Basil and Rocko’s Cantina also opened in the development. And…
What defines an essential restaurant? Several opinionated friends and I were recently discussing that topic during dinner at a trendy newcomer that’s amassed a flurry of flattery since opening its doors. It’s a restaurant-of-the-moment, but will it still be relevant in six months? Will the crowds continue to jam the…
Stuck in the suburbs, I wound up at this labyrinth of TVs — ninety, according to the hostess, who may have been exaggerating — and shrine to below-average bar food, including these abysmal nachos topped with chile that tasted like a tin can, jalapenos that were definitely from the can,…
Stuffing is an absolute necessity for any Thanksgiving table. And though we won’t talk smack about StoveTop, this version — made with cornbread and green chiles (we used Anaheim, but you could easily sub in Hatch) — pays tribute to the Southwest. It’s also totally vegan, and so delicious that…
Cafe Society served up five Guess Where contests last week, ranging from a pair of boba smoothies from Cowboba’s to a bowl of unimpressive lentil soup from Cafe Byblos, to a stellar plate of pork belly and mustard greens from a restaurant, whose “secret” Chinese menu is full of wonderments…
On Friday, November 29, Noah French, pastry chef of TAG, will open Sugarmill at 2470 Broadway, finally unleashing the visions of sugarplums that have been dancing in his head for the past 25 years. It’s a lifelong sweet dream for French, who partnered with Troy Guard, exec-chef owner of TAG,…
The area up the street used to be full of pawn shops and dive bars — the kind of places that were once in the 1400 block of Larimer before it was transformed into Larimer Square. But now the kind of developments we’ve see there — including several of the…
Last fall, when the Lancer Lounge suddenly closed, Bonanno Concepts was quick to grab the space between the flagship Mizuna and Bones and turn it into Vesper Lounge, a bar that was initially envisioned as a place where diners could wait for a table in one of those restaurants –…
Ste. Ellie, the long-awaited cocktail bar planned for the space beneath Colt & Gray, will open tonight with a roster of delicious drinks and curated wines and beers. It was almost two years ago that Colt & Gray owner Nelson Perkins announced his expansion plans: Colt & Gray would be…
Happy Cakes, a bakery that got its start in Highland, is opening a second location on Saturday, November 16. The new store in downtown Longmont will be giving away baked treats all day tomorrow to celebrate its its grand opening. See also: The store in downtown Longmont will be giving…
Tater tots often aren’t very appealing in restaurants; they’re usually served lukewarm, too oily or not crispy enough. But when Gretchen Kurtz visited Vesper Lounge for this week’s review, she found herself popping every tot at the table. That got us thinking about other places in town that do right…
Neon green relish, check. Yellow mustard, check. sport peppers and onions, check. A Chicago-style hotdog? Nope. No wieners here — just sandwiches and cheesesteaks, one of which is plopped with all the condiments that you’ll typically find on a Chicago-style frankfurter. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone…
UPDATE: We have a winner of our First Bite Boulder contest, in which we asked Cafe Society readers to answer this question: How many total meals were served during last year’s First Bite Boulder? Congrats to Katie602, whose guessed 42,000 meals. The actual number is 48,880. Katie602, we’ll send you…
Hungering for Middle Eastern food recently, we stopped by a new spot downtown, one where a helper at the counter used the same bare hand that had just put money in the cash register to pull the greens for our salad from a bag. The sight was so unappetizing that…
Mark Antonation has been eating his way up Federal Boulevard, and this week reached El Taco Velez, where he spotted an offering rarely found at Denver’s many and varied taquerias: pork tongue. “The tender and mild lengua — rich with fat and hit with a quick caramelization on the grill…
Are you ready for the holiday madness? The end of the year always sneaks up on us — much like those unwanted pounds we pack on at those holiday parties with incredible appetizers and decadent desserts. If you’d like to learn how to make some of those treats, you can…
Vesper Lounge, which I review this week, reminds me of that AT&T commercial with the little girl competing for cutest kid. It’s not that the bar Bonanno Concepts put in the former home of the divey Lancer Lounge is competing to be cutest bar (far from it). But as the…
Ya Hala Grill, a three-time winner for Best Middle Eastern Restaurant, has closed after the owners gave up the lease on the space on South Colorado Boulevard. See also: Hops Grill and Brewery closes in Littleton…
