Organic Pizza Company expands downtown

The Organic Pizza Company outpost at 891 14th Street in the Spire has expanded from a take-and-bake pizza joint to a “full-service pizzeria,” and will host a grand reopening event Thursday, April 19. The expansion includes more seating, a flat-screen TV, a new menu and, most important, a liquor license…

Guess where I’m drinking a high-altitude Bloody Mary?

Drinking a Bloody Mary when you’re at high altitude is not, I recently discovered, the brightest decision. Drinking three, however — well, that’s a perfectly wise decision, especially when you’re trying to sit down like a lady on the chairlift. Can you guess where I’m drinking? Special bonus: Anyone who…

Photos: Cheeky Aprons launch party

Ashlee Coln had a dream: that ladies could own aprons both functional and sexy. Necessity being the mother of invention, Coln decided to start Cheeky Aprons, creating sultry kitchen wear that combines the front of an apron with the flirt of lace and garter belts on the back end…

Round two with Jeff Russell, exec chef of District Meats

Jeff Russell District Meats 1625 Wazee Street 303-623-1630 www.charliepalmer.com This is part two of my interview with Jeff Russell, exec chef of District Meats. Part one of our chat ran in this space yesterday. Favorite restaurant in America: Surprisingly, it’s a very small place in Chinatown in New York City…

Reader: Pho Ta brings new life to Alameda Square

After several delays, Pho Ta finally opened in Alameda Square last week — and it looks like it was worth waiting for. “We think we have a better, cleaner, prettier and bigger interior and dining area than the other Vietnamese restaurants in and around Denver,” says Vicky Shih, a partner…

Seven of Hearts wine dinner at Q’s this evening

Q’s, 2115 13th Street in Boulder, is hosting a dinner tonight featuring wines from the Seven of Hearts winery located in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Winemaker/owner Byron Dooley will be on hand to discuss his wines, which will be paired with a five-course, seasonal menu from chefs John Platt…

A sneak peek at what might make the menu at Ace

Construction is under way at Ace, the eatery and ping-pong hall that Josh and Jen Wolkon, Matt Selby, Brandon and Emily Biederman and Jeff Bustos are building next to Steuben’s, which the Wolkons and Selby also own (along with Vesta Dipping Grill). And though the partners are still a few…

Luciano’s auction on April 24

Luciano’s Pizza and Wings has reached the end of the line. In addition to the notice posted last month that the property had been seized by the City of Denver for non-payment of taxes, there’s now a sign announcing an April 24 auction of the contents of the eatery at…

Guess where I’m eating a blackened tuna sandwich?

Unbeatable panoramas, an awesome beer list and food, that by and large, is forgettable. Still, two out of three isn’t bad… Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Where am I drinking/eating posts is entered into a pool –…

Spring fever? Get gelato at Spuntino

It’s been spring for weeks, but afternoons like this — afternoons when it’s a perfect 71 degrees and sunny — make it extremely hard for us to stay indoors without losing our sanity. And right about this time of day, we start looking for any excuse we can get to…

Pie-ku: the new McDonald’s Strawberry & Crème premium pie

Burger King adds ten new items to its menu and fast-foodies don’t give a tinker’s cuss — but when McDonald’s places a new pie in its pantheon, people froth at the mouths, demanding as many as they can get their soon-to-be-greasy mitts on, blogging about them and not minding the…

Guess where I’m eating a pizza?

While the pizza isn’t the finest pie in Denver, the staff — especially the bartender — might very well be the friendliest. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Where am I drinking/eating posts is entered into a pool…

Bar wizard Matty Durgin lands behind the stick at Z Cuisine A Cote

It’s been an interesting few weeks for bartender Matty Durgin. The rum collector, tiki-night instigator and cocktail czar, who was initially hired to spearhead the bar program at Adrift, a new tiki bar and restaurant on South Broadway, abruptly departed before it opened last week. But that’s nothing compared to…

Ryan DiFranco will open an Italian deli in the Beauvallon

Close to a dozen restaurants have come and gone from the beleaguered Beauvallon project, but there are new signs of life at 925 Lincoln Street, the spot that Aqua left three years ago. A sign on the door reads: “Local, a new concept.” The concept is coming from Ryan DiFranco,…

Masterpiece Deli will extend its hours on May 1

We can’t count the number of times we’ve made a late-afternoon dash over to Masterpiece Delicatessen, the spot that was our Best Sandwich Shop in this year’s Best of Denver, only to remember too late that Masterpiece closes at 4 p.m. Fortunately, that’s about to change. Beginning May 1, Masterpiece…

Reader: Randy Layman pours out some love for the cocktail scene

Do you want a shot of attitude with that beer? Laura Shunk’s interview with Adam Hodak, the Green Russell bartender who doesn’t think bartenders should be pretentious, hit a few people in their funny bones, not to mention wallets lightened by the cost of craft cocktails. The comments keep flowing…