Veggie Girl: The five best things I ate last year

This past year was a good one for vegan food in Denver, what with the opening of Nooch and the continued success of such events as VegFest and other regular gatherings of herbivores. And I reaped the rewards eating out for Veggie Girl, because local restaurants have really stepped up…

Restaurant roll call for 2012 — over 240 openings last year

Hundreds of new restaurants opened in metro Denver in 2012, ranging from enormous to intimate, exotic to old-fashioned. And at the same time, Denver also said so long to some longtime institutions, as well as a few spots that opened and shut in the same year. Keep reading for our…

Trends without end, round four: Bread, breed and Twitter fatigue

What will be the big culinary trends in 2013? As we prepare for a new year in gastronomy, we posed that question to dozens of people in the local food business, everyone from chefs and pastry magicians to restaurant brokers and PR consultants, from brewers and grape gurus to realtors…

Year in review: Tables and Ace change up their menus

Since my first review appeared in Westword in September — it was of the then-six-month-old Kitchen Denver — I’ve reviewed sixteen spots. And already, some of those spots are changing — menus, if not more. See also: – Attention to detail would safeguard the Kitchen’s brand in Denver – The…

Guess where I’m drinking this Old Fashioned?

An Old Fashioned was one of my dad’s favorite drinks when I was a child; I remember sipping one and wondering how in the world adults could like the way it tasted. But a few decades later, it didn’t take me long to learn to love a great Old Fashioned…

Stoney’s Full Steam Tavern now picking up steam in LoDo

After a soft opening this past weekend, it’s full steam ahead for Stoney’s Full Steam Tavern, which is hosting a big New Year’s Eve bash tonight. The original Full Steam Tavern lasted just a few months before it ran out of steam this fall; Stoney Jesseph and Will Trautman, the…

Larkburger two, Tossa zero: Our restaurant roll call for December

In-the-works restaurants have been scurrying to get open before the end of 2012 — and capture that all-important holiday business. Although many of the more ambitious projects have already postponed their openings until January, more than a dozen restaurants and eateries did get their doors open in December…and just a…

Photos: Jezebel’s finally opens in LoHi

It was a year in the making, but Jezebel’s, a new venture by husband-and-wife team Wanda James and Scott Durrah, along with partner/general manager Scott Perry, opened yesterday in LoHi, in the former home of Squeaky Bean. See also: – Jezebel’s will bring Southern comfort to LoHi next month -…

Guess where I’m drinking this Whiskey Mule?

I’ve always been fond of Moscow Mules, but I’ve been trying to have a vodka-free 2012. That took mules off the table until I sat down here and found on the menu a Whiskey Mule, made as doubles in an 18-ounce mug. Can you guess where I’m drinking? Special bonus:…

Simply Sloppy Joes will close tomorrow in Lakewood

For nine years, Simply Sloppy Joes has been dishing up sloppy goodness in Lakewood. But when the last sandwich has been served up tomorrow, the business will close its doors for good. See also: – Garbanzo’s opens in Lakewood, the first of many restaurants in the Denver West Project -…

Guess where I’m drinking this Cognac-based drink

I’ve had many bad experiences with Cognac, so when the bartender suggested I try a Cognac-based drink named “Year of the Dragon,” I had mythical monster-sized doubts. But since the Year of the Dragon is almost a memory, I mustered up the courage to slay another fear in 2012. And…

Denver’s Gluten Free Gladiator is Mr. May

According to some of our prognosticators in “Trends Without End,” this town’s gluten-free obsession will only grow next year — and that’s just one reason to pick up the 2013 Gluten Free Calendar. A more compelling reason? Mr. May is Denver’s own Brian Gansmann, who had close to twenty years’…