Reader: Noel Cunningham made Denver a better place

The sad news that Noel Cunningham has passed away continues to reverberate not just through the Denver restaurant scene, but around the world, where Cunningham worked so passionately to help those in need. Strings, the restaurant he started in 1986, remains open, a gathering place for those mourning his loss…

Coda Coffee rolls out Farm2Cup program

Six years ago, Seattle-born brothers Tommy and Tim Thwaites borrowed some money from their parents to launch Coda Coffee, a metro Denver roaster that drew on the their combined three decades of experience in the industry. A year or two into their venture, the brothers started focusing more on the…

Fluff bar and salon now serving and styling in LoDo

Although Fluff*– a blow-dry bar, lounge and upscale champagne bar — was originally slated to open in October, it finally made its debut last night. While the spot offers services from top stylists, barbers, makeup artists and aestheticians in a lounge atmosphere, it also sports two bars with a drink…

In the kitchen with Amos Watts: creamed kale

When it comes to kale, there are two camps: love and hate. Amos Watts, the mouthpiece of this week’s Chef and Tell interview, loves the leafy green. “Greens of any kind are another one of my favorite ingredients,” he says. “I grew up eating a lot of greens which may…

Zingers is the latest restaurant casualty in the DU neighborhood

Zingers may have turned out some of the city’s best green chile, but it wasn’t enough to save the joint, wedged into the far corner of a small-mall near the University of Denver, from shuttering. A sign, taped to the front door, thanks customers for their business, while owner Dennis…

Will ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen repeat Chipotle’s feat?

Just a month ago Jonathan Gold — Pulitzer Prize-winning critic at Westword’s sister paper, LA Weekly — heaped praise on Steve Ells, founder and CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill, the company that got its start at a burrito shop on East Evans Avenue and exploded into a giant international company…

Guess where I’m eating?

At this taqueria sequestered in a Mexican market with an American name, there are tacos and burritos, a salsa bar and tamales, which, quite frankly, left a lot to be desired. And what — no Mexican Coke? Maybe mañana. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives…

Eater launches Denver food site

When Eater first launched, taking a bite out of the Big Apple in 2005, food blogs were still in their infancy. But it wasn’t long before Ben Levanthal and Lockhart Steele, the site’s founders, spread across state lines, adding several more major metropolises to Eater’s collection of culinary capitals with…

Round two with Amos Watts, exec chef of Jax Fish House-Denver

Amos Watts Jax Fish House Denver 1539 17th Street 303-292-5767 www.jaxfishhousedenver.com This is part two of my interview with Amos Watts, exec chef of Jax Fish House-Denver. Part one of my interview with Watts ran yesterday. Favorite restaurant in America: Next in Chicago. It’s a really new and exciting concept…

Vegan Van hits the streets

This past spring, we reported that Amie Arias was launching a new food truck — an all-vegan truck, as it happens. Although it wasn’t ready for the planned June launch, the Vegan Van finally made its first run last Wednesday. (The mobile food unit license from the city was issued…

Guess where I’m eating?

I’m continually in awe of the beautifully composed dishes at this lovely restaurant that never fails to turn out some of the city’s best foodstuffs. 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…

Just in time for the holidays, win FIVE 2012 EatDenver Dining Decks

It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been naughty or nice this year: When it comes to EatDenver’s annual Dining Deck — a caboodle of 52 gift cards worth $10 each that you can use at dozens of Denver’s top food palaces, all members of the EatDenver Independent Restaurant Network — Santa…

Amos Watts, exec chef of Jax-Denver, on Casa Bonita, English peas and cheese

Amos Watts Jax Fish House Denver 1539 17th Street 303-292-5767 www.jaxfishhousedenver.com The French Laundry, Thomas Keller’s culinary temple in Napa, gets plenty of accolades, but Cyrus, a petite restaurant in the artsy Sonoma town of Healdsburg, is even better, insists its legion of junkies. And before he was crowned executive…