Restaurants

As a countdown to the Best of Denver 2010, coming April 1, Cafe Society is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in Denver. Send your own nominations to cafe@westword.com…

Ah, the Christmas stocking. It’s an entirely essential object in the Christmas experience, yet its gift-bearing abilities are often misused and abused. Nothing is more annoying than the Santa whose stocking stuffer doesn’t even fit in the stocking. In the event that you’re one of these misfits, this final edition…

I’m going to miss breakfast burritos. I’m going to miss all breakfast burritos — the good ones, the bad ones, the great ones and every one in between. But most of all, I’m going to miss the breakfast burritos from the Santiago’s location on Leetsdale Avenue, which I consider to…

Last week’s Ask the Critic question about the worst food trends of the past decade morphed over into a formal list of the twenty worst crimes committed against cuisine since 2000 (or so). This week, we’re going in the other direction. This week, I’m all about the love and looking…

The clock is ticking. Every day that passes means one less day I’ve got in the three-oh-three. And I’m still looking for suggestions for the final restaurant I should review before I slink out for wetter, grayer climes. The rules: Any restaurant in the area counts, Denver or Boulder or…

I spent the majority of my weekend nursing a stubborn sinus infection, and since everyone believes they have the magic alcohol cure-all for these kind of ailments, I spent a fair amount of time ingesting liquids. I drank brandy and whiskey, bourbon and Baileys, beer and wine, and when those…

“Everyone is asking about the menu, but my main concern is that we have good quality food,” said Steve Abo when I spoke to him back in October about Circle, the new restaurant he opened this week at 1035 Pearl Street in Boulder. If Abo’s name sounds familiar, that’s because…

No time like now, just four days before Christmas, for those of you blessed with holiday bonuses to blow some of that wad on tickets to the annual Aspen Food & Wine Classic, one of the biggest culinary blowouts of the year.Tickets went on sale last week for the three-day…

I love mussels. They smell and taste like the sea — not the open ocean so much as a wharf. Mussels remind me of when I lived in Seattle and would just wander along the pier, soaking up sensations that were new and exciting to a boy born on a…

As a countdown to the Best of Denver 2010, coming April 1, Cafe Society is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in Denver. Send your own nominations to cafe@westword.com…

As most of you reading this already know, I am not long for this town. In a frighteningly short amount of time, I will be packing my bags and heading for Seattle, where a gig awaits me as restaurant critic at one of our sister papers, the Seattle Weekly. Still,…

Anyone who buys a DINR deck is a winner: For $50, you get 52 cards, each offering a $10 discount at a local, independent restaurant. You can buy the decks at any Tattered Cover location or at www.eatdenver.com — but you can also win one right here.Every Friday for the…

What you may have missed this week while you were reacting with horror and disbelief over news that restaurant critic Jason Sheehan is leaving Westword and the Mile High City to slosh through puddles do the same job at our sister paper, the Seattle Weekly:Turns out Paul Martinez, co-owner and…

This week, a certain Denver chef (who will remain anonymous, at least for the time being) thought that he’d have some good ‘ol fun at the expense of another Denver chef (who will also remain anonymous for now). And by “fun,” I’m not talking about shoving a frog down his…

Jason Sheehan just reviewed Nepal Cuisine, where he found more than enough momo to keep him warm through these upcoming winter months. On momo alone, Nepal Cuisine easily ranks among the top ten Indian and Nepalese restaurants in the area. Here are the rest:…

For those of you who love sushi but don’t necessarily want to pay a lot of money for sushi, do I have a deal for you. For one night only, Joy Sushi Asian Bistro, at 7600 Park Meadows Drive, is offering its all-you-can-eat spread of dinner sushi for a lunchtime…

The celebrated Mezcal restaurant, located at 3230 East Colfax Avenue in Denver, announced yesterday that it has appointed Basic Food Group as its new restaurant management company. “We will operate Mezcal with the highest of standards; the reasons people love Mezcal will not change. The staff and the managers of…

Since the late 1980s, T.G.I. Friday’s has held an international bartending championship for its own employees, granting the winner the no-surprise title of “Greatest T.G.I. Friday’s Bartender in the World.” This year, Colorado’s own Brad Kaplan of Thornton took the Colorado/Texas regional title and will be headed to the World…

It could be the asbestos of our generation: “Popcorn Lung” now has a website dedicated to victims of this dreaded “disease” (in truth, it’s a law firm’s site encouraging potential litigation) — and the phenomenon began in our own back yard. Although the medical condition known as bronchiolitis obliterans was…

With the days of enjoying festive holiday flavors coming to an end, it would be a shame if you missed out on cupcake versions of a few classics: Eggnog and snickerdoodle. Happy Cakes Bakeshop in Highland is known for successfully translating offbeat flavors–Jack & Coke, bacon, kettle corn–into delectable frosting-topped…

As a countdown to the Best of Denver 2010, coming April 1, Cafe Society is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in Denver. Send your own nominations to cafe@westword.com…

Fresh beets, however maligned by the people who swear they taste like dirt, are one of my favorite vegetables, especially this time of year. Their dramatic stained hues — yellow, purple, red, gold — lend themselves to beautiful presentations, and I love the root’s flavor and texture. At the restaurant…