In the kitchen with Samir Mohammad, chef of the Village Cork

Samir Mohammad, exec chef of the Village Cork, and the mouthpiece in this week’s Chef and Tell interview, has spent the last few months expanding his menu, which now includes, among other winners, a slow-cooked tomato and garlic salad with scratchmade ricotta. “It’s an incredibly easy recipe that you can…

Rage drummer Brad Wilk signs bottles of Olade this weekend

“I was on tour with U2 in 1997, and I woke up one morning and I had lost my eyesight by like 50 percent,” remembers Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk. “I just felt horrible — like I had a hangover, but I hadn’t been drinking.” When he finished…

Wynkoop Brewing Co. celebrates beer and cheese with Kegs & Curds

Tomorrow from 1 to 4 p.m., Wynkoop Brewing Company, 1634 18th Street, presents Kegs & Curds, a tribute to beer-and-cheese pairings which seem to have suddenly become rather popular. There will be samples of 25 Colorado, U.S. and Belgian beers thoughtfully paired (by the brewers) with twenty gourmet cheeses, courtesy…

Sugar High: Après Dessert Bar at Generous Servings

For proof that there’s no such thing as too many dessert bars, look no further than Après Dessert Bar at Generous Servings, a Highland confectionery at 3801 West 32nd Avenue. Sisters Jill and Mary Brinig opened Generous Servings a little over two years ago as a small cafe and community…

Amazing but true: Taco Bell robbed of food

An incredible story out of Charlotte, North Carolina, where a Taco Bell was robbed — not of money, but of food! Who knew that Taco Bell even served edible items? A car with three men had pulled up to the drive-thru window when one of the men pulled out a…

Guess where I’m eating?

You know the other night when we got that wet, sloppy snow disturbance that amounted to little more than nothing? Right. Anyway, much to my chagrin, several neighborhood bars and restaurants shuttered early, which is never good news to a lush in search of her next liquor rush, or to…

What’s Cooking? Pete Marczyk and David Bumgardner do choucroute

Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market’s choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. “This is really…

Part two: Chef and Tell with Samir Mohammad

Samir Mohammad The Village Cork 1300 South Pearl Street 303-282-8399 www.villagecork.com This is part two of Lori Midson’s Chef and Tell interview with Samir Mohammad. To read part one of that interview, click here…

Die, Bunny: An ode to crappy Easter candy

Everyone has their least favorite Easter treat–you know, the stuff you find in your basket year after year despite never liking the stuff, never eating it, and even leaving ol’ Easter Bunny a note kindly suggesting he spend a little more time on the candy aisle next year, or risk…

Star Bar will shine again, perhaps by April 1

When Star Bar at 2137 Larimer Street received a liquor-code violation late last year, it had to close from January 1 to March 1, and the future looked dim for the last surviving saloon from the days when this area was Denver’s Skid Row. But new owners just took over…

Guess where I’m drinking?

Blue drinks always remind me of a trip I took during college to Curacao, where they make, not surprisingly, Blue Curacao. Thank goodness I took that trip, because most drinks made with Blue Curacao are gross. This cocktail was an exception. Where am I drinking this blue martini that I…

Man, can Chicago cook!

I’m collecting menus, pictures and diner notes like a klepto right now, hoarding them up in my culinary bank, remembering and instantly rehashing. Chicago restaurants are ridiculously good. I want to say more, but I’m too busy eating to stop and recount them all, at least right now. Suffice it…

Guess where I’m eating?

The dish in the above snap doesn’t appear on any Denver restaurant menu. That’s because it’s an amuse-buche, which you’ll likely receive from the kitchen, just so long as you sit at the chef’s counter. Can you guess where I’m eating?…

Chef and Tell with Samir Mohammad from the Village Cork

Samir Mohammad The Village Cork 1300 South Pearl Street 303-282-8399 www.villagecork.com Long before Samir Mohammad could legally drive a car, he’d flipped burgers, rolled taquitos, tossed pizzas, blistered his hands cooking red and green chile, washed dishes, waited tables, prepped and drunk from the bottom of a keg. “Yeah, I…

Should Sysco get the nod as Best Chef in Denver?

It’s all over but the shouting — and the counting — for the Readers’ Choice for the Best New Restaurant to open in 2009. More than fifteen noteworthy restaurants opened last year — add Cafe Options, Interstate Bar & Grill and the Lobby to the list here — which could…

The Peeps court: Boulder woman goes to trial over Easter decor

Is creating an Easter display out of Peeps an evictable defense? That’s what a Boulder court may determine next week, when the case of AIMCO versus Carol “Chay” Burdick finally goes to court — and there are plenty of issues to chew on. As Michael Roberts notes, it “could impact…

Wake up to the new Waffle Brothers

At 7 a.m. this morning, the former Daphne’s Deli space at 393 Corona Street officially became the new storefront location for Waffle Brothers, making it the second outpost for waffle engineers Rod Dupert and John Power, who already run a waffle cart on the 16th Street Mall. “Even though Rob…