The former Pearl Street Grill may still be dark, while Yasu and Toshi Kizaki, the brothers who own Sushi Den and Izakaya Den, retool that space to make way for the relocation of Izakaya Den, but down the block, at 1859 South Pearl Street, Karen Wee Lin Beckman is gutting…
Just when we thought summer-like weather was here to stay, we woke up today to find that last night’s rainstorm lingered and outstayed its welcome like the last drunk patron at the bar. And since the prospect of staying cooped up inside more than two days in a row makes…
Ambria got off to a fast start at the end of last year. Just two weeks after Ling & Louie’s closed on the 16th Street Mall, the Mediterranean-New American restaurant opened its doors in the same spot, with Ambria’s kitchen manned by exec chef Jeremy Kittelson, who was a part-owner…
Eureka! I’ve searched all over the city — and beyond — for the best paella, and finally, after years of hanging my head in despair, I’ve found the holy grail. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Guess Where…
Cafe Society dished up six Guess Where contests last week, including a mint julep from Williams & Graham — or as one cheeky commenter quipped, Wallace & Gromit. And even though the Derby is done, when it comes to mint juleps, it’s just way too easy to say, “I’ll Have…
No one’s saying you have to go meatless just because it’s Monday — but as incentive to join the growing movement, every week we’re offering an animal-free recipe. The stores are starting to stock fresh, fat blueberries, which are perfect for muffins. These vegan offerings contain juicy blueberries and lemon,…
On Friday the Denver Business Journal broke the news that Trader Joe’s would be opening its second store at Eighth and Colorado Boulevard. (The first — which means the one that also gets to sell liquor under Colorado’s convoluted code — will debut next year in Boulder’s Twenty Ninth Street…
In early March, after Jeremy Kittelson, the opening exec chef of Ambia, was canned during a to-the-point meeting at the Cheesecake Factory, he made it clear that he wanted to stay in Denver: “I really want to find another restaurant, where we can do the same caliber of great cuisine…
Not only will the 16th Street Mall have a bigger range of food vendors than ever before this summer, but those vendors will be keeping much more extensive hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, under new contracts with the Downtown Denver…
Trader Joe’s has signed a deal for its first location in Denver, according to this story in the Denver Business Journal. The store will be on the southeast corner of Colorado Boulevard and Eighth Avenue, where Annie’s Cafe was once located. The spot was supposed to become a hotel, but…
I love bun — deep bowls of Vietnamese rice noodles tossed with fresh herbs, fish sauce, grilled meats and a Vietnamese egg roll — and here, at this citadel of Vietnamese cuisine, just about every table was devouring one. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives…
Mexican fare from fast-food chains usually isn’t authentic, healthy or even pretty, but it’s irresistible. And we all indulge from time to time — hitting the window at Taco Bell at 2 a.m. after a night of mainlining vodka gimlets; finding any excuse to grab a sunflower-seed-stuffed veggie burrito at…
After more than a year of planning and very hard work, Gary Lee Bomar finally opened Gary Lee’s Motor Club & Grub last weekend — and it looks like it was worth the wait. With Gary Lee’s, this stretch of South Broadway has really gotten into gear…
Wendy’s just introduced three new “Signature Side Dishes,” no doubt to bolster the chain’s efforts to keep Burger King out of the number-two fast-food spot — with McDonald’s holding fast at number one, of course. Wendy’s had better try a little harder, though, because only one of the three sides…
The house that former pimp Scottie Ewing built — better known as the Sugar House — is gone for good this time. The swingers’ club by night, burger joint by day (as the Alameda Grill) had been closed since February, when new owner Kelly Bailey, the former manager, was served…
Fifteen years ago, remembers Rick Betance, he hired James Lee at Zolo Grill, giving the bartender his first real bar job, a position that would plant the seeds for Lee’s rise to mixology stardom. Now, after Betance spent years as an owner and operator of a boutique hotel in the…
I love fried chicken — from the triple-fried wing coated in sticky, spicy sauce of Southeast Asia to the Southern comfort of a battered and fried drumstick paired with mashed potatoes and gravy. But the Korean version could be my all-time favorite…
There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with these — save for the fact that the jalapeños were completely bereft of heat and I’d prefer an absence of yellow cheese — but they still brought tears to my eyes in remembrance of the terrific jalapeño poppers at Encore. #Sniffle. Can you guess…
“I want a conversational bar — not a bar where people are going to zone out in front of the TV,” says Pete VanItallie, a former caterer and bar and event manager, who just inked a deal on the former La Brisa space at 375 South Pearl Street, which will…
Joe Freemond Cellar Wine Bar 2556 15th Street 303-455-9463 www.cwbon15th.com Read part one of my interview with Joe Freemond, exec chef of the Cellar Wine Bar. Best thing about cooking in Denver: Being a part of the culinary explosion that this city is finally experiencing. Having grown up here, I’ve…
While controversy continues to rage over the packed parking situation in LoHi, let’s return to a bigger picture: the geographic area Westword covers, and why we continue to refer to the entire metro area as simply Denver. Have we gone too far? Why not refer to the area as New…
Just over a year after opening the 1UP, the hot arcade/bar in LoDo, owner Jourdan Adler has taken over the former home of Pete’s Monkey Bar, which closed on Monday, and will be putting a second bar, the 2UP, in that spot. According to Adler, the 2UP will have arcade…
