Spit or swallow: comment of the week

We enjoy reading your comments here on Cafe Society, soaking up the compliments, laughing off the insults and pondering the insights. Sometimes, though, one comment stands out, and we like to acknowledge its specialness with a little extra love…

Get your first taste of Stir Cooking School tomorrow

After a series of construction delays and a no-show from a city inspector, Stir, Katy Hume’s recreational cooking school and bar will open tomorrow at 3215 Zuni Street. “We’re doing a happy dance,” jokes Hume. “We passed our last inspections on Thursday and we’re ready to go.” Hume is holding…

“Scrumptious Holiday Appetizers” class at the Denver Botanic Gardens

After being rescheduled thanks to yet another Jackson Street substation outage, the “Scrumptious Holiday Appetizers” workshop finally took place last night at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Instructor Susan Evans of Chrysalis Herbs taught students to create a simple, scrumptious baked Brie, and advised them to “always toast your nuts.”…

Novo Coffee gives us a taste of its coffee cupping class

Novo Coffee sources and roasts some of our favorite coffee beans in town. Herb, Jake and Joe Brodsky (who went on to find Ninety Plus Coffee, a sourcing and distribution company), the father and sons behind the operation, spend a lot of time forging relationships, searching for beans and perfecting…

N.Z’s Smokin’ Guns and seven more Denver street food trucks will converge at Elitch’s tomorrow to feed your gut and collect toys for the Denver Santa Claus Shop

Eight local street pavement pushers, who hustle grub from the confines of their mobile kitchens, will roll their wheels into the parking lot of Elitch’s tomorrow as part of a toy drive to benefit the Denver Santa Claus Shop, a local nondenominational non-profit that collects and distributes free toys to…

The Blending Cellar in Boulder becomes Cuvee

About a year and a half ago, Jeff and Leah McEachern converted their Boulder space at 946 Pearl Street from a wine-making operation into the Blending Cellar, a wine bar that, despite live music and a prime spot on the west end of downtown Boulder’s busiest street, remained pretty quiet…

In the kitchen with Snooze’s Spencer Lomax: Corned beef hash

The corned beef hash at Snooze is one of my favorite breakfast dishes in Denver, and Spencer Lomax, Snooze’s culinary king and the subject of this week’s Chef and Tell interview, was happy to share it here. “It’s inspired by the diner classic, but we use custom corned beef and…

Wellshire Inn concessionaires on the outs with city

Former Westword scribe Jared Jacang Maher has more good scoop on the city’s deal — or lack thereoff — with the Wellshire Inn, the facility at a city-owned golf course that isn’t bringing the city a penny. In fact, the concessionaries who have the contract on the Wellshire — a…

Ask the reader: Where to find a gnarly breakfast?

Man does not live by shred alone. As a public service, we’re sharing this query from a reader: Goin skiing in colorado next week stopin in denver to get some breakfast!! What is a good spot to get some gnarly breakfast??????????????? Laura Shunk came up with this list of five…

Guess where I’m eating?

This month, my son is celebrating eleven years of being on this earth, which, according to him, requires a special dinner — specifically, lobster. We marked the occasion with several lobsters, including the one in the above snap that was prepared “French style.” Can you guess where I’m eating? Special…

Top Chef All-Stars, round one: Back for more

Top Chef All-Stars back contestants from past seasons — most of them finalists — and promises to be quite a bit meatier than the regular Top Chef. For one thing, we don’t have to spend the first few episodes figuring out who’s who. On last night’s debut, Top Chef All-Stars…

X Bar opens in former Her Bar spot

HER Bar, the drinking joint at 629 East Colfax Avenue that catered to a largely lesbian crowd, shuttered some time back, making way for Jorge Pesqueira and Steven Alix to move in and pick up the lease. The duo remodeled the space and opened their new joint, X Bar, a…

Lucile’s Creole Cafe will take over Leo Goto’s Riverfront space

A week ago, we bid adieu to Leo Goto’s Riverfront restaurant, 2852 West Bowles. The spot had been open just six months, closing without ceremony despite the formidable restaurateur’s insistence — back when it first opened — that “it’s a great location, and there’s potential to do a lot of…

Pat Boone is pleased to meat you

Golden-era crooner and conservative-values icon Pat Boone has officially entered the meat market — launching Pat Boone’s All-American Meats, his branded line of mail-order steaks. According to a recent release from Pat Boone All-American Meats, his U.S.-raised beef is “part of his effort to spark an all-American revival — a…

Top five kitchen gifts sure to ruin the holidays

If you have a foodie to shop for this year, think about a good mixer or some quality wine. Because unless you’re looking for one of those awkward exchanges when your friend opens the gift, looks very confused and then lets out an insincere “Thaaanks, this is great,” you don’t…

Guess where I’m eating?

Based on the glowing recommendations from several local chefs, I wandered into this slightly worn and unadorned feast house, nodded at the cops stowed away in a back booth and snatched a seat at the counter, which overlooks the kitchen where this shrimp scampi — Mediterranean style — was made…