Our Weekly Bread: Marczyk Fine Foods

The sandwich: Market Roast Beef What’s on it: Niman Ranch roast beef, horseradish sauce, cheddar and arugula on rye Where to get it: Marczyk Fine Foods (770 East 17th Avenue, 303-894-9499) How much: $6.99 I love markets. They’re often expensive, but browsing through their awesome, gourmet stuff is part of…

Is this the sexiest lunch in Denver?

Late last week, the big banner went up on the Sugar House, Scottie Ewing’s controversial club at 1395 West Alameda Avenue, proclaiming that as of June 1, it would be serving “Denver’s sexiest lunch.” What, a special on New York strip? Salad, hold the dressing?…

Pasquini’s goes for a cabaret license

The Highland branch of Pasquini’s, at 2400 West 32nd Avenue, is going for a cabaret license so that it can offer live music at the restaurant, which has become quite the hipster hangout as well as a major pizza purveyor. The hearing is at 9 a.m. tomorrow at the Department…

Two new Mexican spots emerge in Aurora

I was in hot pursuit of a tow truck yesterday, which is neither here nor there, except that my chase landed me in Aurora, and whenever I’m in Aurora, I’m in taco country, and whenever I’m in taco country, I’m happier than a lizard lapping up flies. Today was no…

Giovanni’s brings Little Italy to Lakewood

“I’m absolutely exhausted, and I want a bath,” declared Carla Stevens, co-owner of Giovanni’s Italian Cafe, at 3355 South Yarrow Street, when I caught her on the phone this afternoon. As reported here last week, Stevens and her husband, Salvatore Giacalone, had hoped to unveil their new space on the…

Get Happy at Happy Noodle House

The noodle bar is big business these days. In Manhattan, David Chang has elevated the simple, neighborhood noodle bar to celebrity status (and turned himself into a minor rock star in the process) with his Momofuku brand. In Denver, we’ve got one of the originals — Oshima Ramen, straight outta…

Former Java Creek to become Cafe Colorado

News from Cherry Creek: The space at 287 Columbine Street that had been Java Creek, that neighborhood hot spot, then became C.R.E.A.M, is now turning into Café Colorado, and will be renovated to include a more complete kitchen…

XO has checked into the Jet Hotel

The XO menu basically breaks down into four categories: ramen (in three varieties: duck, beef and seafood), semi-dry noodles (using about half as much broth as the ramen), dry noodles (mostly Korean, plus yakisoba and a chicken pad thai based on Guerrero’s time as a stagier in Bangkok), then rice…

LaLa’s Wine Bar uncorks bottles from the Southern Hemisphere

 Calling all grape geeks: Tonight, between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m., Lala’s Wine Bar, 410 East Seventh Avenue, is uncorking five wines from several countries in the Southern Hemisphere — New Zealand, Australia, Chile and Argentina — which is as good a cure as any to wash away the rainy day…

Starlight Lounge ready to shine

The renovation of the second Trattoria Stella looks to be finally complete. The former Cafe Star at 3201 East Colfax Avenue has been split in two, with the Trattoria on one side and the Starlight Lounge on the other. “The lounge is all barn wood with a cherry bar,” explains…

Chill: Icehouse Tavern is opening later this month

James Mazzio had hoped that the Icehouse Tavern, the replacement that the Momo brothers are putting into the former home of Via at 1801 Wynkoop Street, would be ready to go by June 1. But the place is going through a complete overhaul — with award-winning chef Mazzio doing some…

Rock & Roll Grill goes up in smoke

Cheba Hut is coming to the 16th Street Mall this summer, bringing its “counter-culture” sandwiches, including Kind, Kush and Chronic. But according to Matt Clark-Johnson, co-owner of this store as well as the Boulder franchise of the Tempe, Arizona-based chain, Cheba is about more than pot references. “it’s juvenile, but…

Who tried to blow up the Fat Cat Sports Bar?

View Larger Map Some dirty dogs tried to blow up the Fat Cat Sports Bar (aka, Fat Cat Pub, Fat Cat Inn) Sunday morning between the hours of 1 and 6:15 a.m. According to a police report about the incident at 5060 North Federal, “unknown persons started a fire involving…

Ask the Critic: Vegetarian death march

Okay, so say you’ve got a friend. And this friend, for whatever reason (religious aversion, misguided sense of moral outrage, PETA brainwashing), has chosen not to eat meat. Still, you, as a proud carnivore, want to go out somewhere where both of you can have a decent feed. This week’s…

Fogo de Chao is fired up for a mid-July opening

This past weekend, when I sneaked through the open doors of Fogo de Chao, the new Brazilian churrascaria going into 1515 Wynkoop Street, to take photos of the space, a pair of hands came between my camera and the construction dust. “Absolutely no photos are allowed!” yapped the guy with…

Three Door Bistro set to debut in July

There’s more movement on the 2000 block of Larimer Street, where Three Door Bistro, an American/Italian restaurant, is skedded for a mid-July opening at 2049 Larimer. The space, run by Marion Hoffman, who briefly owned Fantastic Bistro and Catering at 2740 South Wadsworth Boulevard, is named for the three wooden…

Obama burger watch

At this point, it’s safe to say that I could commit myself to a full-time position of doing nothing but reporting on where the President (or VP) decides to eat his lunch every day. I mean, we’ve already had the Grey Poupon controversy (and the resulting, tongue-in-cheek marketing push by…

The Market Report, May 30

Summer is just around the corner, and it shows at the market. While the selection is still focused on vegetables of the lettuce variety, warmer-weather vegetables are beginning to peak through. But that wasn’t the highlight of my visit to the market Saturday. No, the highlight was a conversation inspired…

Former Root Down chef finds new piece of turf

As reported here last month, Ryan Leinonen, the starting chef at Root Down, 1600 West 33rd Avenue, was uprooted on April 24, when owner Justin Cucci snipped his stem. But chefs are survivors and Leinonen is no exception. He’s landed the sous position at Colt & Gray, the farm-to-plate gastropub…

New kings of the Castle

The venerable Castle Bar, at 6657 South Broadway, has new owners: Tapp (great name for a tavern owner!) and Kara Smith. After several years in the bar and restaurant business (Tapp most recently at an Old Chicago on South Wadsworth Boulevard and Kara at the Elephant Bar in Belmar), the…