Restaurants

No. 61: Chili gobi from Jai Ho…

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…

Gary Lee Bomar has been active in the Denver restaurant industry for 27 years, starting as a busboy and then working his way through most of the jobs in the businesses, putting in ten years at the Skylark and four years behind the bar at the Horseshoe Lounge. But he’s…

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…

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…

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, 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…

When I moved to Boulder almost six years ago, I was a virgin to the organic, local and crunchy West Coast vibe that wafts over the Rocky Mountains. Being from the much less breezy South, I grew up eating very well, but was not at all familiar with the pleasure…

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…

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…

There’s a new fleet of street-food slingers in town, several of which made their debut on Saturday during Denver’s first Food Truck Showcase, a mob squad of mobile food vendors that took over the parking lot of the Festival Plaza at Mile High. Some of the new trucks — Route…

Cafe Society served up six Guess where contests last week, featuring everything from tacos al pastor at Toluca to a big burger at the Trinity Grille to this great bar in a historic mountain town. For correctly identifying it as the Gold Hill Inn, BigBoy325 wins an EatDenver deck. Follow…

Our post on a bar tab for the “dirtiest slut you have ever seen” quickly veered into a discussion of whether automatically adding a tip — as Trios Enoteca did on a three-drink check — is a dirty, slutty practice. Here’s the take from anon: I’ve worked in the service…

Howie Drummond, an Alice 105.9 personality, was one of fifteen contestants to start off season seven of The Next Food Network Star last Sunday. Drummond, who lives in Highlands Ranch, had experience in professional kitchens, had owned his own now-closed tapas place, and had plenty of experience in front of…

If you’ve got a full calendar tomorrow, clear it. Motoring on the heels of Civic Center Eats, the Justice League of Street Food bash, which kicked off its summer season last Saturday, and before that, the Food Truck Renegades grub fest that took center stage when nearly a dozen food…

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…

Before Olav Peterson and his wife, Melissa, opened Bittersweet in an old remodeled gas station at the very end of December, they flanked the patios with massive planters. The plan was to grow their own produce and herbs. And now that summer — and prime growing season — is here,…

At last night’s Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation gastronomic romp, thirty restaurants fed hundreds of bellies at Mile High Station as part of the non-profit’s effort to end childhood hunger in Colorado. Along with sensational foodstuffs, the soiree also pimped some of the city’s best star-tenders, who battled…

In the Best of Denver 2011, we named Common Grounds the Best Coffeehouse for Finding a Date, thanks to the constant crowd of young professionals who mingle over cappuccinos. And because we’re big proponents of ditching online dating and blind set-ups every now and then in favor of meeting people…

Always on the hunt for al pastor tacos, I found what I was looking for (and a whole lot more) at an off-the-beaten-path taqueria far from Federal Boulevard. 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…

In this week’s Chef and Tell interview with Chris Cina, executive chef of Hideaway Steakhouse, the self-described “goof” talks about his biggest cooking disaster (he made a bride spill tears — but not on purpose); the culinary wizardry of Troy Guard; his addiction to acid; and the trials and tribulations…

Back in April, a street sweeper almost wiped out the Famous Dave’s in Stapleton when it crashed into the front of the building. Although the dining room reopened the next day, the bar area had suffered more damage and has been shuttered since April 18. But today the bar will…