Earlier this week, in the kitchen of Metropolitan State University’s Hospitality Learning Center, two Colorado chefs showcased their fish scaling, fileting, pin-boning, butchering and cooking skills as part of the Seattle Fish Skuna Bay Kentucky Derby Challenge, a two-hour timed battle that earned one of them the opportunity to compete…
When Trinity Brewing founder Jason Yester created the recipe for Red Swingline, a hoppy IPA that is also cheek-puckeringly sour, his goal was to make something “signature American.” But in doing so, he may have helped to pioneer a style that beer drinkers in the rest of the country will…
Last night, to say the least, was a late-night food-and-drink prowl, starting at Biker Jim’s, weaving across the street to Marco’s Coal-Fired Pizza, closing the bar down at the Squeaky Bean and stopping into this restaurant for a cocktail somewhere in the middle of the haze. I knew I wanted…
Westword’s Best of Denver issue is starting to hit red kiosks all over the city, and will soon be up on westword.com. The indispensable issue, our thirtieth anniversary edition, is our yearly sonnet to the people, places and things that we love most about this city, thick with page after…
Happy birthday, Casa Bonita! Tomorrow Denver’s amazing Mexican village in a shopping center, a Colorado landmark celebrated on South Park, will mark its fortieth birthday. In honor of that august occasion, yesterday Bree Davies served up plenty of puke-filled memories and secrets of this beloved spot, and readers offered many…
In A Federal Case, I’ll be eating my way up Federal Boulevard — south to north — within Denver city limits. I’ll be skipping the national chains and per-scoop Chinese joints, but otherwise I’ll report from every vinyl booth, walk-up window and bar stool where food is served. Here’s the…
You’ll find plenty of foodniks singing the praises of Oak at Fourteenth, the lauded restaurant that Steve Redzikowski and Bryan Dayton opened in Boulder in 2010 — and again in 2011, following a crushing fire. And you’ll find just as many ardent admirers of Acorn, the sequel to Oak that…
Late last November, when Matt Selby exited his executive chef post at the Corner House, an irresistibly charming restaurant in Jefferson Park co-owned by James Iacino, president of Seattle Fish, he stepped away from the spotlight, quietly doing time in the kitchens of Beast + Bottle and Jonesy’s EatBar and…
An older man walks into a restaurant, all gussied up in a suit, a tie and the kind of hat my grandfather used to wear. “This is the best food in the world!” he exclaims to the owner, who nods in agreement. The proclamation is a gigantic overstatement…with the exception…
Mecca Grill was a longtime go-to spot for Lebanese food in Denver. Under new owners, it’s turning the focus to Morocco. In her review of Mecca Grill, Gretchen Kurtz says that while you’ll still find worthy Lebanese dishes there, she’s also longing for more Moroccan food — and other ethnic…
Doughnut joints keep rolling into the metro area, and Dunkin’ Donuts fans get a twofer this month. On March 4, a sixth new Dunkin’ Donuts opened at 3235 28th Street in Boulder. And today, a brand-spankin’ new Dunkin’ Donuts store will debut at 16601 Smoky Hill Road, conveniently close to…
“I started washing dishes when I was fourteen,” recalls Royce Oliveira, who’s 34…and still washing dishes. But now he’s scrubbing pots and pans in the confines of his own kitchen in his own restaurant, a teensy-weensy fourteen-seater — that includes the four seats at he chef’s counter overlooking an open…
You’d expect a restaurant that touts a raw bar to showboat good seafood, and this restaurant lives up to that expectation, especially when it comes to the plump mussels bobbing in a saffron-laced broth. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to…
Cafe Society served up four Guess Where? contests last week, ranging from a spring plate of house-crafted burrata from Cafe|Bar to a plate-spanning slab of juice-dribbling steak from the Red Rooster Cafe to a terrific salmon burger from a new neighborhood hang…
“With a fresh market, café, wine shop, fine dining and more all at street level, you and your guests may never have to leave home,” promises the website of One Observatory Park, a new retail, restaurant and upscale apartment development at University and Evans, across the street from the University…
We’re ten days away from Opening Day at Coors Field, and no matter how the Colorado Rockies play this season, there have already been some changes to the food and drink lineup that look like guaranteed hits. The ballpark has constructed a rooftop deck — replacing 3,000 seats in right…
First things first: Old Chicago is not a Chicago-based chain. It actually got its start in Boulder, but when Old Chicago opened on market Street in 1992, that quickly became the flagship location — introducing many people not just to LoDo, but specialty beers. At the end of this week,…
Cafe Society was busy eating its last meals for the Best of Denver 2014 this week, but didn’t ignore its normal duties. In her current review, Gretchen Kurtz visits Mecca Grill, which changed owners last year and is slowly switching from the old emphasis on Lebanese food to Moroccan cuisine…
Just about everyone dining in Denver yesterday was taking advantage of the sunny spring patio weather, including me and a chef, who had the the day off and was enjoying his freedom from the kitchen with glasses of “girly” (his word, not mine) wine and a plate of housemade burrata…
Cash McCandless is a spunky seven-year-old who loves Jimmy Fallon, knock-knock jokes and root beer milk, says his mom, Shelly McCandless, the longtime manager of Avenue Grill in Uptown. But in 2012, after playing games with his grandma, Cash woke up in Children’s Hospital after suffering a seizure. In late…
Foods in Colorado could get new labeling next year, now that the Colorado Supreme Court has approved the wording of Right To Know Colorado, an initiative to label genetically modified foods –commonly called GMOs — on food packaging. Now supporters just need to collect enough signatures to get it on…
If you’re a waiter working in Denver, you’re doing better than servers in the rest of the country: According to new stats, this city’s diners tip an average of 16.8 percent, the highest percentage for any city in the country. And if you’re a Denver diner, give yourself a pat…
