Photos: It’Sugar opens at the Denver Pavilions

Downtown just got a whole lot sweeter. It’Sugar, a candy shop, has opened its brightly colored doors in the Denver Pavilions, providing a place for kids, passersby and anyone else with a sweet tooth to get their candy fix. We sent photographer Philip Poston to check out this city’s latest…

100 Favorite Dishes: Mar y Tierra Molcajete at Paxia

No. 86 Mar y Tierra Molcajete at Paxia 4001 Tejon Street 720-583-6860 The molcajete, a Mesoamerican stone mortar and pestle, didn’t evolve as a cooking implement. They were — and still are — traditionally used for grinding and pounding herbs, spices and chiles and preparing salsas and moles. But somewhere…

Photos: All aboard for the restaurants of Union Station

Have you seen the renovated Union Station yet? If not, you might be the only one — the place has been packed since the restaurants started rolling out, attracting everyone from suburban lookyloos to Alton Brown, who was eating at Stoic & Genuine on Wednesday. With the grand-opening festivities over,…

Get up for brunch at Root Down

With news of a revamped brunch menu, this week’s venture took us to Root Down, initially on behalf of my roommate — who recently received a gluten allergy diagnosis. She was looking forward to a menu accommodating of dietary restrictions — with gluten-free and vegan options prominently noted — and…

Dinner Lab, a pop-up restaurant concept, expands to Denver

Pop-up restaurants aren’t new to Denver; they hit their peak of popularity in the dark days of the Great Recession, when one-night private-supper clubs in unusual locations were a feasible way for out-of-work chefs to bring in a few dollars while providing high-end cuisine to cash-strapped food lovers. While cash…

The Kitchen Next Door could be the Next Big Thing

The Kitchen Next Door is a casual offshoot of the Kitchen, the high-end, community-oriented bistro founded in Boulder a decade ago at the lift-off point of the local, seasonal and sustainable movements. “When we thought of the Kitchen ten years ago, it resonated with people and we called it a…

The Nickel brings change to the Hotel Teatro

After Restaurant Kevin Taylor and Prima closed in the Hotel Teatro earlier this year, the hotel spent a pretty penny on renovating the space (which encompassed more than just the restaurant footprint). In May, the hotel announced that a new restaurant, called the Nickel, would open featuring rustic charm and…

100 Favorite Dishes: Kimchi and Sausage Torta at City, O’ City

No. 87 Kimchi and sausage torta at City O’ City 206 East 13th Avenue 303-831-6443 A fact about vegetarians: Most of them didn’t quit eating meat because they didn’t like the taste. While some plant-eaters eschew mock meat on principle, as many or more relish those guilt-free alternatives. Rather than…

Berkeley Untapped takes over former wine bar on Tennyson

The bunker-like space on the ground floor of a condo building on Tennyson Street wasn’t very lucky for former tenants. Tastes Wine Bar lasted five years in the spot, but fizzled along with then-owner Daniel Kuhlman’s short-lived Wild Catch on East 17th Avenue, while the art bar that took its…

Harold’s closes in Longmont, and Smokin’ Dave’s steps in

After two years, Harold’s and the Bayonet Room, the farm-to-table restaurant in Longmont’s Best Western Plaza Hotel, served its final dish this past Saturday. Fortunately for hungry Longmont residents, the space is now being renovated for a new concept from Dave Oehlman, owner of the two Smokin’ Dave’s BBQ &…

Row 14 pours its last glass in the Spire Building

Row 14 Bistro and Wine Bar showed early promise when it opened in the glitzy new Spire Building in 2011. Arik Marcus, the restaurant’s opening chef, was getting press and praise almost before he’d made his first knife cut; a few months later, our restaurant critic at the time, Laura…

100 Favorite Dishes: Aburi Sushi at Sushi Den and Izakaya Den

No. 88 Aburi sushi at Sushi Den and Izakaya Den 1487 and 1487A South Pearl Street 303-777-0826, 303-777-0691 Sushi means more than just raw fish and California rolls. At most American sushi restaurants, diners are content to nosh on salmon, tuna, shrimp and maybe a little unagi. Trying something new…