Review preview: Carbone’s Italian Sausage Deli

Northwest Denver may be turning over, swallowing up the old Italian institutions that once held down just about every corner of the ‘hood, but there are still a few old places where you can find a taste of what this particular part of our city once held. One is Carbone’s…

Ototo Food and Wine Bar opens for Sunday brunch

Ototo Food and Wine Bar, the not-so-Japanese sibling of Sushi Den and Izakaya Den, is now serving Sunday brunch. The menu features such standard brunch fare as bagels with lox and steak and eggs, as well as more innovative offerings, including duck confit. And whenever possible, every dish features ingredients…

Now open: The Kitchen [Next Door]

At 11 a.m. today, after months of redesign and a last-minute delay due to construction, the Kitchen [Next Door] opened its doors, and welcomed a line of Boulder residents eager to try the pub-inspired addition to a Pearl Street family of eateries…

Cuba Cuba Sandwicheria opens in Boulder

“Opening Cuba Cuba as a 23-year-old punk and creating something that, even after ten years, people still enjoy, is my biggest accomplishment,” said Enrique Socarras, the executive chef of Cuba Cuba, when I interviewed him earlier this year. Socarras and his sister, Kristy, opened Cuba Cuba in 2001, and while…

Guess where I’m eating?

There are some people who have a mad crush on corned beef hash straight from the can. I can’t stand the stench of the stuff, much less stomach it, which is why I’m always on the hunt for scratch-made hash. I found one at the restaurant where the above snap…

Lechuga’s in northwest Denver is famous for its canolis

During weekday lunch at Lechuga’s, the sliver of space connecting the restaurant to the lounge is packed. In that narrow hallway, cops bump into tattooed misanthropes and old men from the neighborhood go head to head with packs of teenagers, all eyes on the display case at the counter. White…

My last supper at the Squeaky Bean…in photos

On Sunday afternoon, following brunch service, the Squeaky Bean, one of our favorite restaurants on the planet, closed — not because the joint was in the toilet, or the entire kitchen crew walked out, or owner Johnny Ballen told one too many bad bean jokes. That had nothing to do…

Now open: Nanna’s Teas

When El Gordo Loco shuttered soon after opening in Lower Highland, Karen Renz, owner of Park Hill-based Nanna’s Teas, picked up the lease to open a second outpost of her shop. But there was a twist: In addition to dozens of varieties of loose-leaf teas, Renz also planned to serve…

Brown Dog Pizza liquor-license hearing today

Brown Dog Pizza, an outfit out of Telluride, wants to put a pizzeria into a former auto-repair shop at 1001 South Gaylord Street — and supporters and opponents alike have their engines running for today’s liquor-license hearing. It’s set for 6 p.m. at the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Building, 201…

Shout-out to food trucks and food carts: We need your info!

We’re revving up a special project here at Cafe Society headquarters, one that will remain a closely guarded secret for the time being, but we can tell you this much: It involves Denver’s street-food scene. And we need your help to get it off and rolling: If you own or…

Guess where I’m drinking?

There’s nothing better than a duo of jumbo-size liquid libations — and a beer shooter — to start your Sunday morning off right, especially when you get to enjoy them on the sun-beamed patio of a sidewalk cafe in one of Denver’s most vibrant ‘hoods. Can you guess where I’m…

Now open: Los Oasis Latin Grill & Cerveceria

The former Boulder Draft House space sat empty for months, until restaurateur George Hanna decided to pick up the lease and open Los Oasis Latin Grill & Cerveceria, an upscale spot with a menu inspired by southern Mexican — particularly Oaxacan — cooking, and a name that resurrects memories of…