Ten years isn’t a long time, unless you’re in the restaurant business, in which case surviving a decade can seem like a monumental achievement. And with the rapid changes in Denver dining tastes and the explosion of hot new restaurant neighborhoods over the past few years, older eateries find themselves…
After years in northern California, veteran restaurateur Frank Jolley IV had a choice to make: open a restaurant there, or find a new place to set up shop. “I was 50-50 Healdsburg or Denver,” says Jolley, whose lengthy career includes everything from picking grapes in New Zealand to meeting Julia…
Stephen McCary Mizuna 225 East Seventh Avenue 303-832-4778 mizunadenver.com This is part two of my interview with Steve McCary, exec chef of Mizuna; part one of our chat ran yesterday. Most memorable meal you’ve ever had: A few years ago, Frank Bonanno and Jacqueline, his wife, took some of the…
A second location of popular breakfast and lunch joint Sassafras opened last week at 320 East Colfax Avenue, bringing its laid-back yet inventive Southern-inspired dishes to Capitol Hill, and closer to home for many of the restaurant’s devotees. See also: Southern breakfasts take center stage at Sassafras American Eatery, now…
Stephen McCary, the chet at Mizuna and subject of this week’s Chef and Tell interview, would love to see the words “molecular gastronomy” die. And this confession prompted several readers to serve up other culinary terms they’d like to see disappear: “nose to tail,” “chef driven,” “gastropub”, “farm to table,”…
In early March, Gozo finally opened on South Broadway. It’s an Italian-Spanish eatery — not that you’d know it from the name. It doesn’t serve aljotta (fish soup) or hobz biz-zejt (bread with tomatoes, anchovies, mint and cheese) or other staples from Gozo, an island in the Maltese archipelago. It…
If you’ve tasted Teakoe iced tea at one of the various Colorado eateries that carry it: Illegal Pete’s, Larkburger, Hacienda Colorado, Woody Creek and more, then you’ve experienced how habit-forming small-batch iced tea can be — and now, Teakoe is putting its tea bags on the shelves of area gourmet…
Stephen McCary Mizuna 225 East Seventh Avenue 303-832-4778 mizunadenver.com This is part one of my interview with Steve McCary, exec chef of Mizuna; tune in tomorrow for part two of our chat. It’s mid-afternoon on a Tuesday, and Mizuna’s kitchen is already buzzing in preparation for dinner service. On the…
Heading to the Western Slope this weekend? Remember to pack your ammo if you stop by Shooters Grill in Rifle, because the waitresses are packing at this restaurant. And so can you, because the Shooters Facebook page proclaims that the place is “open carry.” See also: Shooter’s Grill waitresses are…
Late last year, Brad Arguello, one of the founders of Über Sausage, a hot dog joint with locations on East Colfax and in LoHi, parted ways with his partners over what he calls “creative differences.” But that break-up turned out to be the beginning of a new relationship for Arguello,…
It was a busy weekend for taco lovers in Denver. Hard on the heels of Thursday’s Top Taco contest came the Denver Taco Festival, which had more tequila and tacos then even a hardcore eater could handle — along with tiny dogs and wrestling. Photographer Danielle Lirette was there to…
No. 98 Cochinita Pibil at Work & Class 2500 Larimer Street 303-292-0700 It’s possible that every menu item at Work & Class, the raucous but welcoming homage to American slow cooking — with a healthy dose of Mexican flavors — could make our 100 Favorite Dishes list. The kitchen’s spoon…
For more than a year, Mark Antonation ate his way up Federal Boulevard. With that journey done, he’s now exploring different cuisines from around the globe right here in metro Denver, one month at a time, in Ethniche. Denver doesn’t have a reputation for great Greek restaurants. Whether that’s because…
Steve Horner, the anti-ladies’ night crusader, left Colorado years ago, but on a recent trip through this state he stopped by Brewski’s, which just happened to be hosting a ladies’ night. That inspired Horner to file a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division, charging once again that ladies’ night…
More than two dozen new eateries opened in June, everything from Argyll Whiskey Beer, the ambitious reincarnation of Robert Thompson’s original Argyll in Cherry Creek, to the modest Kolache Cabin to an East Colfax Avenue outlet of the popular Sassafras. But while Sassafras is thriving in Jefferson Park, Corner House…
Farm-to-fork, farm-to-table, pasture-to-plate: Whether industry buzz phrases or genuine attempts to improve the quality of meals for restaurant diners, the trend has blossomed into a nationwide obsession for restaurateurs and dedicated gourmands alike. The sincerity of a kitchen’s efforts is generally apparent with the first forkful: Is the salad topped…
Hundreds of whiskey and chicken-wing aficionados swarmed the quarters at Ace Eat Serve on Sunday afternoon to partake in the restaurant’s first Wings and Whiskey jubilee. A coop of chefs, including Tyler Wiard (Elway’s Cherry Creek), Troy Guard (TAG), Jamey Fader (culinary director of Big Red F/Post Brewing/Good Bird Chicken),…
Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs slings hot dogs and deep-fried things, like panko-breaded onion rings and skin-on fries. The kitchen also cooks up chili con carne and green chile from scratch to top its various creations. So it makes perfect sense that hot dogs would end up in the deep fryer at…
Beryl’s Beer Company opened for business on Saturday. The new brewery, located in Denver’s craft-centric River North neighborhood, specializes in barrel-aged beers. Its first, Antero Ale, is an ESB aged in brandy barrels and was named for the 14er where the mineral beryl is found. Westword photographer Brandon Marshall was…
The recent appearance of Kolache Cabin won applause from Texans, who’d missed their state’s version of this Eastern European treat. That got us thinking about other foods that Texans might be craving here in Colorado, and while a few readers added helpful suggestions to the list that one-time Texas resident…
This week in Cafe Society, Gretchen Kurtz visited El Chingon, where the relleno fell on the soft side, but almost everything else rose to the side of delicious. In Chef and Tell, Jordan Wallace of Pizzeria Locale dishes on a particularly bad calzone, studying cooking in Italy and more. Also…
The little brick storefront tucked under a looming tan awning at Iliff and Havana isn’t exactly an eye catcher. Perhaps that’s why restaurants — including Sumo Sushi and Seoul Dook Baegi — haven’t had much success gaining a foothold. Newcomer (at least to Denver) Tofu House is the latest to…
