Native Kentuckian Sheena Ferguson opened the Bluegrass Coffee & Bourbon Lounge in Olde Town Arvada over the weekend, bringing a taste of her home state to the Denver suburb. The Bluegrass opens early for coffee and breakfast sandwiches and keeps the Southern charm flowing into the evening with a well-stocked…
For years Odell Brewing was a holdout, but now Colorado’s third-largest craft-brewer plans to start canning beer in November. “It wasn’t so long ago that I totally dismissed the can idea,” says Wynne Odell, who founded Odell Brewing in 1989 with her husband, Doug, and Doug’s sister Corkie. “But then…
Chris MacGillivray just started as executive chef at the Squeaky Bean in May, but he’s already an old hand in the LoDo kitchen. That’s because he’d been there before, having worked under Max MacKissock before the opening chef departed two years ago. MacGillivray stayed for a short time under MacKissock’s…
The Baron family hit it big with its Udi’s brand of breads and bakery cafes, but ever since they sold their gluten-free line of products to Smart Balance for a reported $125 million, things have been a little tough. First they had to rename all the cafes and bakeries that…
El Tejado…
If you’ve ever seen someone on TV or on the silver screen open a bottle of Champagne with a sword and thought, “damn that’s a cool party trick,” Sarto’s is here to help you impress your friends and live out your swashbuckling, sword-wielding fantasies. Sarto’s new brunch is one of…
Koan Goedman and Jonathan Power know Larimer Street; they both worked at Crema Coffee House and went on to open businesses a few blocks away — Goedman with Huckleberry Roasters and Power with The Populist. They had wanted to collaborate on a new project in the neighborhood and had been…
Solitaire opened in April in the space that once held Highland’s Garden Cafe — two Victorian homes surrounded by lovely gardens. When Gretchen Kurtz visited Solitaire for her latest review, she found that the gardens were still lovely and the new owners — Mark Ferguson and his wife, Andrea Faulisi Ferguson…
From the outside, there’s not much to distinguish one Denver taqueria from many of the others around town: a low-key storefront in an out-of-the-way strip mall, a simple sign, maybe some hand-painted lettering on the windows to advertise specials. The list of tacos may not give much hint as to…
No. 29: Gnocchi Maison au Canard Fume at Z Cuisine Sometimes you come across a dish where every component is so pitch perfect, every bite so enticing, that you just want it to go on forever. Z Cuisine’s smoked duck and gnocchi is just such a composition of elements —…
July was a hot month — for restaurant openings as well as the weather. Avanti Food & Beverage turned up the heat in Lower Highland with seven kitchens and two bars under one roof, while Rebel Restaurant — with a worldy menu and a street-smart vibe — took over a…
The block of retail spaces on Lincoln Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues have been difficult for restaurants — and the curse of the Beauvallon building continues. Jura’s Modern Asian Kitchen — which served an eclectic menu of Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean and Japanese dishes — didn’t even make it…
The heat of the great green chile debate of June has subsided somewhat, but according to a report this week by the Associated Press, New Mexico’s green chile crop is in trouble. “As this year’s harvest begins, labor shortages, shrinking acreage, drought and foreign competition have hurt production in the…
With the success of LoHi pork palace Old Major, the focus on chef-owner Justin Brunson’s career of late has been on his haute cuisine, so much so that it’s easy to forget his Denver debut as a restaurateur: a humble, counter-service sandwich shop called Masterpiece Delicatessen. There are two of…
They call her The Cookie Lady. She has a name — Debbie Kuehn — and so does her hidden cookie shop: Santa Fe Cookie Co, an underground storefront in the shadow of the Republic Plaza building on the 16th Street Mall. But the business-casual clientele coming through the shop, pressing their…
We know many fans of the thirty-year-old, homegrown Anthony’s Pizza & Pasta chain (especially the flagship store on Colorado Boulevard and the spot by the University of Denver). Now Anthony’s is rolling out major updates of all 25 locations in Colorado, even adding bars to several of them. But some…
The gardens at Solitaire – which I review this week — are stunning, with winding pathways, a fountain and blossoms of every color providing an unparalleled backdrop to chef-owner Mark Ferguson’s artistic, seasonally-inspired cuisine. But the flowers aren’t just pretty to look at; they provide oft-overlooked inspiration in the form of edible garnish. Curious whether…
The “Coming Soon” banner in front of the Osaka Ramen in Cherry Creek North could be replaced by a “Now Open” sign any day now. Chef-owner Jeff Osaka says the only holdup is final sign-off from Xcel Energy on a new gas meter that was recently installed. Once that happens, he says…
Denver food truck CinnaBox is taking the cinnamon roll to places it’s never been before by embracing the delicious, organic, and local produce sold in the very farmers’ markets where it parks each week. Fresh strawberries and Palisade peaches from the fruit vendors up the aisle, yerba mate from a…
Our comments section has been smoking over the past week, ever since Gretchen Kurtz’s review of Roaming Buffalo Bar-B-Que and Mark Antonation’s piece on GQue, a new barbecue joint, inspired some lip-smacking — and smack-talking — discussion of the scene. Says Robert Mitton: Denver is a GREAT food city. One…
Too much noise in a restaurant isn’t good, unless you don’t like your date and are glad for the excuse not to talk. But what about the opposite: too much quiet? That’s what I considered one night at Solitaire, which opened this spring in the lovingly renovated former Highland’s Garden…
No 30: Foie Gras Bonbons at Milk & Honey Bar KitchenChef-restaurateur Michael Shiell was out of the Denver culinary scene for more than a decade, but with Milk & Honey, which opened in Larimer Square two months ago, he’s back with a swank and understated subterranean eatery that feels both…
