At the end of the year, we tallied all the action on the Denver dining scene and issued our Restaurant Roll Call for 2015, cataloging the 250 openings and 100-plus restaurant closings in the metro area. Although some of the restaurants that closed — including Le Central — had been…
The historic El Rancho restaurant is back open off of Interstate 70 and Highway 40 after being vacant for more than two years. Like the Buffalo Restaurant & Bar in Idaho Springs, El Rancho reopened in conjunction with a new craft brewery. El Rancho originally opened in 1947 but has…
Sunnyside Burger Bar opened at 3759 Lipan Street (in the old home of the Subway Tavern, right at the corner of West 38th Avenue) in the fall of 2014 as another neighborhood eatery in the Larimer Associates portfolio. At the time, chef/restaurateur Troy Guard signed on as the consulting chef…
Chef/restaurateur Justin Brunson has been a busy man of late; in addition to running the nationally acclaimed Old Major, he’s also piloting two Masterpiece Delicatessens, the culinary program at Honor Society and the soon-to-open Masterpiece Kitchen. He’s also doing quite a bit of traveling as a de-facto embassador for the…
As word got out that I would be ending my work as Westword restaurant critic at the end of December 2015, all anyone could ask was “Why?” Friends who know me best put it another way: “Are you crazy? You’re being PAID to eat out, and you’re choosing to leave?”…
The Buffalo Restaurant & Bar closed in October 2014 for what was intended to be a five-month renovation project. But more than a year went by before the historic Idaho Springs watering hole reopened in December 2015. While the original bar, which was built in Chicago in the 1880s, still…
How do we sense sweetness? What affects how we perceive sugars? Why does that cookie taste so much sweeter to me than it does to my friend? Can you change how sweet is sweet? These are just a handful of questions that may be answered with the nine-month sweet study…
Ever since Colorado’s own quick-service burger chain Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard took control of newcomer Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar (in a move that began in 2013 and was completed last year), Bad Daddy’s has been expanding its presence in Colorado and in other states. The full-service burger company,…
Denver’s dining scene got off to a fast start in 2016, with Sushi Ronin winning honors as the first restaurant to open — and Brook’s Steakhouse the first restaurant to close, on January 1. Twenty years ago, when Brook’s opened in the former home of Chateau Pyrenees, it was one…
After twenty years in the Denver Tech Center, Brook’s Steak House quietly closed on January 1, and its location at 6538 South Yosemite Circle could become a hotel. “When we first opened, we were the only fine-dining steakhouse south of Cherry Creek. And we were extremely successful,” Brook’s owner Robert Melton…
Tacos Jalisco closed on December 21 for remodeling, promising to reopen on January 2. Well, the time-honored (and slightly timeworn) Mexican joint in Berkeley honored its word, and is now back serving those familiar burritos, carnitas and combo plates in an updated dining room. The two seating areas are a…
The weeks around Christmas and New Year’s Day are a slow period, as many of us take off from work to travel or spend time with friends and family. The same is generally true in the restaurant industry: New projects grind to a halt because finding staff is tough, scheduling…
While nearly 250 restaurants and bars opened in 2015 and some 100 or so closed, only four places were unlucky enough to do both in the same year. Here are four restaurants and coffeehouses that opened and closed within the year. For a complete list of openings and closings, see…
Last week we served up another helping of The Ten Best Burgers in Denver — 2015 Edition, a list that ends with our Best of Denver 2015 pick for Best Hamburger: the Ditka at Jimmy’s Urban Bar & Grill. Some readers found the list hard to swallow, including Ken, who…
The Ethniche column began in May 2014 as a deep dive into the city’s international culinary scene, with each month devoted to four or five restaurants serving the cuisine of a specific country, region or culture. After a year, though, I changed tactics, looking instead for less common foods, whether…
No. 100: Masala Beef at Biju’s Little Curry ShopA curry bowl at Biju’s stands out as an inspiring option for the first great dish of 2016. Owner Biju Thomas focuses on one thing — the bold flavors of South India — and weaves in themes that ring true for modern…
When Harman’s Eat & Drink first opened in Cherry Creek in June 2013, it came with lofty expectations from the team behind the acclaimed Pullman in Glenwood Springs. But since the Denver restaurant scene continues to roll and everyone continues to look toward the next great thing, Harman’s has fallen…
The cock will crow and the dinner bell will ring when Goodbird Kitchen officially opens its doors on Tuesday, January 5. Big Red F, the local group behind the award-winning Post Brewing Company in Lafayette, as well as Lola, the five Jax Fish House spots and other restaurants, is offering a new twist…
On the last day of 2015, we published our Restaurant Roll Call for 2015, a compendium of all the openings and closings around town over the past year. Some of those closings hit hard, since longtime institutions like Le Central, Andre’s Confiserie Suisse and Rosa Linda’s Mexican Cafe all closed…
“A samurai with no lord or master during the feudal period 1185 – 1868 of Japan. A samurai became masterless after the death or fall of his master…”: Those are the words on the wall above the bar at Sushi Ronin, which opened on Saturday, January 2, in Lower Highland,…
Where are you going for brunch today? When we shared our list of the Top Ten Spots for Brunch in Denver in 2015, a few readers wondered why the lineup didn’t include Snooze, that homegrown success story that continues to pack people in at the original (along with several other local locations)…
If 2015 can be summed up in one word, it would be: Frenetic. Although the number of restaurant and bar openings didn’t keep pace with last year, every month saw growth — and the pace didn’t slow down as the year ended, as is often the case. Along with all…
