The Chicago Louie’s paddy wagon is pounding the pavement

Michel Wahaltere’s head is hanging out the window of his paddy wagon parked in an abandoned lot on East Colfax, between York and Josephine, when he suddenly looks up, thrusts open the doors, grabs my hand and drags me around back. “See this?” he asks, panting and pointing to the…

Guess where I’m eating?

I’d come in to try the gumbo, which I’d been told — wrongly, as it turned out — was the be-all and end-all of gumbos, so I pushed it aside, and instead got my hands and mouth messy with Cajun shrimp — heads intact. Can you guess where I’m eating?…

The first look inside Fleur Bistro

A week after Fleur Bistro opened its doors, owner Bart Jones is starting to get back to normal. “Last week, I could barely talk,” he recalls. “I think I slept an hour the night before the opening.” Jones and head chef Nate Boothe are serving casual American cuisine at Fleur,…

Anythink Cafe opens at Wright Farms

At 11 a.m. today, members of the Metro North Chamber of Commerce will cut the ribbon on Anythink Cafe, 5877 East 120th Avenue in Brighton, on the Anythink Wright Farms campus — the flagship part of the Rangeview Library District’s innovative Anythink libraries program. Thornton’s Bagel Bakery and Cupcake Shoppe…

Reader: If gin is good enough for the Queen Mum…

Is gin really “the original flavored vodka”? That’s what Sean Kenyon suggested in his recent Ask the Bartender devoted to gin, and more than one reader took exception to the description. But it didn’t bother Harvey, who loves gin no matter how it’s categorized: I love gin. But my brother…

100 Favorite Dishes: Cazuela Colombiana from Cafe Brazil

No. 83: Cazuela Colombiana from Cafe Brazil Every single time I go to Cafe Brazil, I feel compelled to study the menu — a menu that I’ve all but memorized — even though I nearly always order the same dish, a plate that’s been on the board for two decades,…

H Burger Co.’s revamped veggie burger is a winner

The last time we went seeking a decent veggie burger in this cowtown, we checked out Park Burger, whose house-made veggie burger is definitely a winner, particularly if you’re looking for a traditional mustard-and-pickle setup. But if you work or live closer to downtown than to Englewood, or you’d like…

Top three foods for Carmelo Anthony when he gets traded

It’s only a matter of time till Melo gets his All-Star game out of this cowtown and takes his talents to Sopranoland on the East Coast. The Denver Nuggets are close to trading their best player for the last seven years for a pack of bubble gum, a couple of…

The Kitchen reopens tonight after completing a remodel

Locavores, foodies and organic-amatrons: Rejoice! Your mecca, The Kitchen, will reopen tonight after a remodel, which has been going on since January 1. “We aren’t doing anything special with the menu tonight, and we’re opening at our normal time of 5:30 p.m.,” says manager Ray Decker. “The big stuff was…

Behold: Food porn from John Hickenlooper’s Inauguration party

Last night, John Hickenlooper, Denver’s former mayor — and now governor — was surrounded by supporters hungry for change, which Hickenlooper vowed to deliver in a sixteen-minute speech earlier yesterday before the blow-out inauguration party at the Fillmore celebrating his rise to the top. But Hick’s proponents were hungry for…

Illegal Pete’s rolls up its Park Meadows location

Here’s one we missed in our December and our 2010 Restaurant Roll Calls: On December 29, the windows at the Park Meadows Illegal Pete’s, 8283 South Akron Street in Centennial, went dark. “The trend in that area was not too positive,” says owner Pete Turner. “All of our other locations…

Sticks — not stones — are the draw at the new Skew

Skew, which opened Monday night at 2070 South University Boulevard, is all about inexpensive but high-quality ingredients slipped on sticks in a hip environment that’s both fast-casual and full-service, says Ton Phairatphibon, who operates the University Park restaurant with his brothers. “We want to offer a different kind of value…

Robert Bogart, executive chef of Elway’s Downtown, raps on strange guest requests, one roof and how he wishes that cooks would get the respect they deserve

Robert Bogart Elway’s Downtown 1881 Curtis Street 303-312-3107 www.elways.com This is part one of Lori Midson’s interview with Robert Bogart, executive chef of Elway’s Downtown. Part two of that interview will run in this space tomorrow. Robert Bogart, a former Marine who became the executive chef of Elway’s Downtown in…

Stock Show weather; fry, fry again

How cold was it yesterday? So cold that this concession stand at the National Western Stock Show — which specializes in funnel cakes, corn dogs and fried Twinkies — turned off the fryer, with a sign noting that it was closed due to weather. The forecast sounds warmer today, so…

Beer today…Freshcraft and the upscaling of beer

Until very recently, beer was the alcoholic beverage I drank when I wanted something refreshing that would give me a buzz, but didn’t want to have to think about it too hard. But in the past year or so, it’s become less easy to do that. Beer has claimed a…

Chipotle wins peta2 award for Most Vegan-Friendly Restaurant Chain

It’s no secret that Denver loves Chipotle, our hometown hero achieving world domination in the mission-style burrito restaurant chain universe. But the rest of the country loves Chipotle, too — including the youngsters who voted in peta2’s fifth annual Libby Awards to give Chipotle the honor of being named the…