The term “tirami su” is Italian for “pick-me-up,” an apt label for a confection filled with enough sugar, chocolate, espresso and liqueur to elevate the blood sugar of a dead person. A relatively recent creation, tiramisu (sometimes seen as one word, sometimes as two, and sometimes with an accent over…
When Napoleon said, “An army marches on its stomach,” he was referring to the soldiers who did the actual fighting — not the sympathetic sublimations of folks sitting on their sofas watching it all unfold via videotape. This nation is at war, all right, and if we keep eating the…
When a fine-dining establishment is 34 years old, sits in a 128-year-old historic landmark and has an owner who refers to himself as “the third,” you might imagine that a meal within its stodgy confines would prove palate-numbingly boring. Prime rib and Yorkshire pudding. Beef Wellington and duck a l’orange…
In the Bonnie Brae neighborhood, the more some things change, the more others stay the same. When Carl and Sue Dire opened the Bonnie Brae Tavern in 1934, South University Boulevard was a dirt road running through the sticks. That year, tens of thousands of people left the Dust Bowl…
The Leonid meteor shower shows itself every year in mid-November, and while the display is spectacular only every 33 years or so, even on an off night, the Leonids provide an eye-opening experience. They give us a glimmer of what’s beyond our limited understanding, some insight into life’s eternal glories…
There isn’t a foodie in the world who’d deny his appreciation of truffles or foie gras, caviar, Swiss chocolate or triple-cream cheese. But none of those delights begins to approximate the glory of the drippy, cheese-covered, orange-tinted triangle that is The Slice. Like a bazillion other students, I lived on…
Aix not only marks the spot for a marvelous meal in this city, it hits the spot, dead-on, for local foodies longing for the sort of Provençal dishes that put the South of France on the culinary map. Naming a restaurant after Aix-en-Provence, considered by many to be the heart…
When it comes to kosher food, I’m the goy next door. I live in the largest Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in town, within walking distance of four temples and the only King Soopers in Colorado that regularly offers kosher baked goods. My neighbors’ biggest complaint with Denver’s dining scene is the…
This time around, Panzano is the real deal. When I first reviewed the snazzy spot on the ground floor of the then-new Hotel Monaco (“Bread Alert,” July 1, 1999), the lacquered focaccia in the window was a good indication of just how authentic and interesting the Italian fare inside would…
We felt like we’d stumbled into the pages of Charlotte’s Web. In one pen, a donkey slowly and thoughtfully chewed his hay. In another, a pig scratched his butt against the fence, stopping only to take a whiz. Goats fell all over each other trying to get at the food…
Some of the best days of my childhood started with pancakes. If I stumbled out of bed to the clang and clatter of Mom mixing batter in the kitchen, I knew she had a rare day off. I knew she’d be spending time at home, with me. And I knew…
Forget Cipro. Right now, a shortage of mashed potatoes has far more potential to do Denver in. Not that we should start petitioning the government to remove the patent on Yukon golds just yet. But at the rate that we’re consuming comfort foods, Betty Crocker needs to watch her back…
I discovered Cuban food on the streets of Miami a dozen or so years ago when I lived in Naples, two hours’ drive across Alligator Alley. The first time I wandered through Little Havana, I felt as though I’d been transported to another country: English as a second language, sidewalk…
Restaurants that don’t change with the times — and tastes — can find themselves washed up. After seven years, Coos Bay Bistro is long overdue for a course correction. Brett Davy opened the restaurant in 1994, taking over a small space that had been home to a neighborhood Italian joint…
Our order read like the trailer for a porn video. Some foreplay, please, and 69 would be great. We definitely wanted a multiple orgasm (who wouldn’t?), and the rock ‘n’ roll and magic mushrooms, too. And could we finish that off with a climax? If your average porn flick doesn’t…
Sucking the meat out of a shrimp’s head may be as close to exotic adventure as we’re going to get in the near future. So there’s no time like the present to visit Singapore Grill — and be transported to Malaysia. Malaysian cuisine is a variation on the foods of…
At the end of a yoga session, participants often stand with their hands placed together as if in prayer, bow to the instructor and say, “Namasté” — Sanskrit for “I bow to the divine in you.” The word, which is also a traditional Nepalese greeting, carries both respect and gratitude,…
It’s not easy to find a restaurant with character in the chain-linked suburbs, much less a spot as charming as Sage Southwestern Grill. Sage occupies a cottage that was formerly the home of Geppetto’s, an Italian eatery that was also quite charming. But when Rich and Cheryl Brown took over…
The lobster was just sitting there, taunting me. I’d ordered it some time ago, before we’d munched through a few appetizers, and now my friend was halfway through his entree. From my seat in the dining room, I could see my lobster waiting on the edge of the server’s station,…
Admittedly, Luigi’s Bent Noodle will never win awards for its ceci con la tempia di maiale del girono dei Morti — in fact, it doesn’t even serve the dish. But then, folks in Littleton and Aurora, where the two Luigi’s are located, aren’t really the type to go for pig’s…
Upscale Mexican food? Denver diners think they’ve been there, done that. “I shouldn’t have to pay $20 for rice and beans,” we whine, even as we shell out the same amount for upscale noodles and tomatoes. “We already have plenty of Mexican restaurants here,” we claim, then rush to try…
Next to the word “charming” in the dictionary, there should be a picture of Pesce Fresco. Everything about this bistro-style wine bar — from the small but well-chosen menu of contemporary dishes to the warm, comfy dining room to the large and well-chosen wine list — appeals to the senses…
