Out in the northwest suburbs for family events this holiday season, I was looking for a low-key place to unwind with some out-of-town relatives after all the feasting and present-wrapping concluded. Unwilling to settle for one of the strip-mall chain restaurants that are so prevalent on that side of town,…
I asked the bartender to make her favorite specialty cocktail — and I got a very, very sweet, lemony vodka martini that I’m sure most women would love, but I did not. My fault, not the bartender’s. For our next course we switched to wine, and it turned into a…
Cafe Society dished up five Guess Where? contests last week, ranging from a still unidentified Christmas sweater-clad bottle of Maker’s Mark to a plate of Rocky Mountain oysters from the Fort Restaurant to a bourbon, basil and balsamic cocktail. For identifying that drink as coming from Cafe|Bar, Dave wins an…
For the last Chef and Tell interview of 2011, Lori Midson talked with Dana Rodriguez, the executive chef of Bistro Vendome, about everything from a Mexican girl making French food to her inspirational life story. The result left readers hungry to know more…and eat more…
It was the year of the entrepreneur and the restaurateur,” says Jim Pittenger, owner of Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs. After six years of slinging sausages from street carts, he opened his own brick-and-mortar outpost at 2148 Larimer Street this past spring. And Pittenger has a point. By our count, close…
Cafe Society is ho-ho-home for the holidays. The Westword office is closed until 8 a.m. Tuesday, December 27, and Cafe Society scribes will be off-duty — but still eating and drinking — until then. There’s plenty to savor in the posts below, though, and if you have a pressing concern,…
Christmas is a holiday for everyone — drunks, gamblers, cheats, kids, construction workers and, especially, foodies — because it’s a whole season devoted to edible hedonism. People are tacitly allowed — if not outright encouraged — to glut themselves on whatever takes their fancy at any time, everything from candy…
I was just sent this special, special gift by the fine folks at Maker’s Mark, and asked one of my favorite bartenders if he would mind modeling it. So far, it’s my favorite gift this season. Can you guess where I’m drinking? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct…
What makes City, O’ City such a marvelous place to dine and drink? The location, right in the heart of downtown, the staff’s ability to make the best mocha latte I’ve had in quite a while, and the quirky-vegetarian treasures on the menu — notably the signature house-pickled vegetables. I…
Forget chestnuts roasting on an open fire — get a load of this dish of Rocky Mountain oysters, a deep-fried Colorado delicacy. Nuts! Can you guess where I’m eating? And where are the best spots in town to find Rocky Mountain oysters, anyway? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first…
Dana Rodriguez Bistro Vendôme 1420 Larimer Street 303-825-3232 www.bistrovendôme.com This is part two of my interview with Dana Rodriguez, exec chef of Bistro Vendôme. Part one of that interview ran in this space yesterday. Favorite restaurant in America: Gramercy Tavern in New York. It’s a wonderful place with delicious, flavorful…
December means latkes to most of the people in this country who celebrate Hanukah (and even to many happy eaters who don’t), but the simple yet delicious — and infinitely variable — potato pancakes are pretty good the rest of the year as well. At least that’s what the owners…
As the end of the year approaches, owners are scrambling to finish restaurant projects. Last year, Lou’s Food Bar, Bittersweet and Aria all managed to get their doors open right before the start of 2011 — which meant they could also get tables booked for New Year’s Eve. Dozens of…
People are excited to see something, anything go in to Union Station, which has long been filled with nothing but potential. Union Station Alliance, which won the nod from RTD to redevelop the historic building, has big plans for a retail/restaurant mix underneath the hotel that will go on the…
It hasn’t been a good year for our economy, but it’s been a stellar year for the Denver restaurant scene, which continues to produce culinary heroes and push the envelope. I can’t even begin to guess how many meals I’ve eaten in restaurants over the past year, but I’m fairly…
Three years ago, triplets Jill, Jessica and Jennifer Emich bowed out of Boulder’s restaurant scene when they sold Trilogy, their 13th Street wine bar; it became the now-closed B-Side Lounge. Since then, the sisters have worked together on several projects: running a catering company called Blissful Sisters, managing the Gold…
Phat Thai will definitely start serving at 11 a.m. today in Cherry Creek — the place was already bustling earlier this morning as this Denver offshoot of Mark Fischer’s Carbondale Phat Thai prepared to open the doors. Here’s a first look:…
The cocktail in question sounded fantastic: Buffalo Trace Bourbon, basil and balsamic reduction with a splash of coke. Although it didn’t quite live up to my expectations, the new restaurant/bar pouring it certainly did. Can you guess where I’m drinking? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to…
Dana Rodriguez Bistro Vendôme 1420 Larimer Street 303-825-3232 www.bistrovendôme.com This is part one of my interview with Dana Rodriguez, exec chef of Bistro Vendôme. Part two of that interview will run in this space tomorrow. Last month, three lawyers swaggered into Bistro Vendôme for dinner. One was from Puerto Rico,…
Park Hill residents know the strip on Kearney Street between 22nd and 23rd avenues well. In a largely residential area, this block contains a bakery, an upscale restaurant, a pizzeria and now Neighbors at Park Hill, a new venture with an eclectic mix of clientele that makes it difficult to…
It’s been a long time coming, but we hear that Phat Thai — the Denver offshoot of Mark Fischer’s famed Carbondale restaurant — is opening at 11 a.m. today at 2900 East Second Avenue…
California or bust! This week Fifty Fifty Brewing, which is based in Truckee, California, will send Colorado some of its most sought-after, most expensive product: Eclipse, an oak-aged imperial stout. And it’s selling for close to $30 a bottle…
