Pizza Pizza taking over former Luciano’s space

The space that once held Luciano’s Pizza & Wings has been vacant since the pizza place closed in March, seized for back taxes. But there are signs of life at 1043 Broadway. Specifically, a sign that Pizza Pizza has applied for a liquor license at the address. See also: -Luciano’s…

Volcano’s veggie sushi lunch explodes with flavor

Vegetarian lunch specials are special indeed, because while restaurants around town offer meaty specials at the noon hour, vegetarian specials are usually only offered at vegetarian restaurants. Volcano is an unexpected exception to that rule. It’s one of a growing number of non-chain restaurants in the southeast Denver area, prime…

Guess where I’m eating enchiladas?

I’m not an advocate of the tacos at this taqueria, but the salsa bar has merit and the enchiladas, draped with a tomatillo green chile, aren’t bad, either. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Guess Where posts is…

Exclusive first look: Patxi’s Pizza opens in Englewood

First thing’s first: Patxi’s is pronounced “pah-cheese” (‘t’ before ‘x’), and its name, which is Basque, also happens to be the first name of co-owner Patxi Azpiroz, who opens his namesake restaurant — a shrine to pizza — late this afternoon at Cherry Hills at Kent Place, a new mixed-use…

Pasquini’s on 17th goes for cabaret license today

So far, much of the talk about the Pasquini’s Pizzeria that opened on East 17th Avenue in early November has focused on the new paint-job outside. Today, the discussion will move indoors, when Pasquini’s applies to the city for a cabaret license, which would allow the venue to offer live…

Photos: Il Mondo Vecchio loaded its last stock on Friday

On Friday, Il Mondo Vecchio sold its final sausages. Since opening in 2009, the salumeria has garnered all kinds of praise for its cured meats, but in August the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it had a beef with the business’s salmonella testing procedures and issued an ultimatum that co-founder…

Reader: Papa John’s needs the dough to pay Peyton Manning!

Since Peyton Manning doesn’t work fulltime as a Papa John’s spokesman, CEO John Schnatter doesn’t have to cover the quarterback’s health insurance (which has to be hefty). And he’d like to make sure that as many Papa John’s employees as possible work under thirty hours a week, so that the…

ViewHouse will open in early 2013 in former home of Mori

Lotus Concepts is raising the roof — literally — on the Victorian building at 2015 Market Street that for decades held Mori Japanese Restaurant. But Mori closed abruptly four years ago, and club king Francois Safieddine bought the spot from the Nisei Veterans Heritage Foundation for a reported $900,000 in…

Guess where I’m eating…peanuts?

The dining room (and bar) was a circus, peanuts (and off-key staff renditions of “Happy Birthday”) included. Only things missing were the elephants and Cracker Jacks. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Guess Where posts is entered into…

An open letter to Mark DeNittis: Why is Il Mondo Vecchio closing?

Earlier this month, I broke the news that Il Mondo Vecchio, Mark DeNittis’s artisan sausage plant, would cease production at the end of November. And within minutes of the announcement, you could hear the collective sighs of despair all over the state — and beyond. When I interviewed DeNittis, he…

Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: sweet potato and carrot puree

Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market’s choicest ingredients home with them and cook up a feast. “I found this…

The Sweet Basil Cookbook debuts just in time for the 2012 holidays

Vail’s Sweet Basil restaurant produces some beautiful dishes, like their signature cauliflower and black truffle bisque, crispy veal sweetbreads and Greek yogurt cheesecake with honey-poached blueberries. And on November 20, owners Kevin Clair and Matt Morgan, with executive chef Paul Anders, will spill their sweet, savory and spicy secrets in…

Photos: Zest Cafe is now open on South Wadsworth

Zest Cafe opened last month at 2740 South Wadsworth Boulevard, and owner Andrew Krull and his crew have been serving up organic, locally-sourced cafe fare to an appreciative crowds ever since. “We make everything from scratch, including the bread,” Krull says, “and we have an amazing baker with thirty years…

Reader: I love Trillium, but Gretchen is right about its flaws

Chef/owner Ryan Leinonen says that a rare flower, the blue trillium, was the inspiration for the restaurant that he opened last year in the Ballpark neighborhood, Trillium. But a flawless meal here is also a rare thing, as Gretchen Kurtz discovered when she reviewed the place this week. See also:…

Meet your 2012 Denver #WebAwards food winners

We came. We saw. We tweeted. Last night, Westword hosted the third annual Denver Web Awards, our celebration of Denver’s greatest digital minds. In September, we put out a call for you, dear readers, to nominate your favorite online projects, and a team at Westword spent more than a month…