On Sunday, September 7, 2014, Westword will host its twentieth annual celebration of the Denver dining scene, DISH, in Sculpture Park at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, where many of the favorite restaurants of Cafe Society writers and readers will be serving delectable dishes.Angelo’s Taverna, for example, is bringing a…
Xtreme Action American Grill, which opened this winter above the 16th Street Mall, billed itself as Colorado’s only mixed martial arts-inspired sports bar. But now there are none: Xtreme Action has apparently been knocked out of the ring. Its website has been suspended, its phone disconnected…
The lawn in front of the Aurora Municipal Center on East Alameda Parkway was home to the first Aurora GlobalFest on Saturday, where cultural performances, beers from around the world and international tastes from local restaurants — from American barbecue to Nigerian curried goat — showcased Aurora’s reputation as a…
No. 80 The Lambada Torta at La Torteria 5115 Federal Boulevard 720-855-8432 There’s no shortage of good tortas in the metro area. Mexican sandwiches pop up in unlikely locations from Centennial to Cherry Creek North, and in versions ranging from little more than subs with spicy sauce to fork-and-knife ahogadas…
In Ethniche, Mark Antonation has been exploring barbecue all month; his final installment on ‘cue runs tomorrow. And even as he’s explored options around town, like Brooks Smokehouse, new places keep opening up, including Burt’s Smokehouse BBQ, now smokin’ in Centennial. But still, readers are hungry for more — and…
This week in Cafe Society, Gretchen Kurtz reviews Mayan Majar Yucateco, an underdog that’s taken over the former Maria Empanada space and could be a real contender. As she approaches her hundredth Cafe review, she also considers how the restaurant scene in Denver has changed over the past two years…
According to some calendars, this Sunday is National Waffle Day, which doesn’t mean you get to be indecisive for 24 hours — it just means purveyors of disks of dented dough get free advertising once a year. Bruxie, the sandwich joint that had the wisdom to substitute Belgian waffles for…
Chef Jorel Pierce of Stoic & Genuine is no stranger to publicity, with an appearance on season ten of Bravo’s Top Chef as well as additional camera time as Jen Jasinski’s sous chef on Top Chef Masters. But if you’ve been to the new oyster house in Union Station, you…
Denver is about to get another burger joint: Hopdoddy Burger Bar will open its sixth location next to Union Station this fall. The chain got its start in Austin, Texas, which inspired the usual Colorado-centric comments — as well as requests fro a different Texas product… See also: Texas Burger…
Custom food is nothing new; Chipotle and other fast-casuals have been allowing people to have it their way for years. When Project Pie opened in Boulder last month, it did so with a “Chipotle-like mantra,” according to its PR firm. Of course, it’s not the only pizza place to do…
When you hit a hundred, it’s time to celebrate. And while I’m far from getting my picture on a Smucker’s Jar on the Today Show, I’m closing in on a milestone of another sort: my hundredth review here. It won’t be published for a few more weeks, but in the…
Rick and Noy Farrell opened Taste of Thailand twenty years ago this month. The restaurant has remained true to its goals — authentic dishes made with fresh ingredients — for the past two decades. But over that same period, dining habits have changed a lot (few people linger over lunch,…
While we were waiting for our food at Mayan Manjar Yucateco, we glanced at the single television screen in the tiny Lakewood spot. It was playing a Spanish version of Rocky: an underdog movie in an underdog restaurant. And like Rocky Balboa, Mayan Manjar Yucateco, which moved into the former…
No. 82 Ceylon Curry Dosa at Khazana 9234 Park Meadows Drive, Lone Tree 303-993-8335 They say we eat with our eyes first; if that’s the case, we would be full before we even took a bite of Khazana’s immense dosa. Thankfully, the crisp lentil crepe with its curry filling –…
Colorado Proud, the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s food-promotion wing, is highlighting the harvest season this month with a 27-day, eleven-city “Choose Colorado” tour of the state, showcasing its best products. The tour will culminate with a private lunch for state dignitaries on August 27 featuring ingredients gathered by the Colorado…
UPDATE: After two decades in Englewood, Taste of Thailand is moving downtown. The restaurant will move to occupy a space on the corner of South Broadway and Evans. When Taste of Thailand opened, there were a total of five Thai restaurants in Denver. In the intervening twenty years, Thai cuisine…
Sometimes brunch is just a time of day and not a fancy meal with morning cocktails. The Butcher Block Cafe sits within stumbling distance of my apartment in the shady part of RiNo; it’s a “love it or hate it” dive that serves its purpose with cheap, greasy, hearty meals…
The Ballpark neighborhood is changing fast, and so is the dining scene there. Three years after it opened as Ignite!, the restaurant at 2124 Larimer Street has renovated both its interior and its menu. It’s also given its name an update, to Ignite Burgers & Lounge — but one reader…
Coloradans love burritos; both Chipotle and Illegal Pete’s started their burrito empires here for good reason. But few people love them like Michael Odbert, burrito enthusiast, amateur burrito photographer — he chronicles his love affair on an Instagram account dedicated to his burrito-filled meals — and occasional competitive eater. Last…
After almost twenty years on Old South Gaylord, Miki Hashimoto closed Japon last fall…but while he was leaving Washington Park, he promised that he was not leaving Denver’s restaurant scene altogether. This spring, he revealed that he would be opening Tokio, a Japanese restaurant in the cluster of condos and…
The Ballpark neighborhood, upper Larimer and RiNo have merged into one long stretch of hot bars and restaurants, with new condos and apartments popping up like dandelions through cracks in the pavement. While the announced closing of Twelve was a blow to the neighborhood, with so many recent openings, existing…
When I was a kid, in the fall my dad would load up the Country Squire and we’d head to Louisiana to catch our fill of blue crab. Catching them was as easy as lowering a chicken neck on a string into a roadside canal and pulling it up quickly…
