And pho it goes: One door closes, another opens

First, the bad news.  Pho 99, the excellent little pho shop in Alameda Square — the plaza now being torn down to make room for an enormous hardware store — has closed. I wrote lovingly about this place in a glowing review last year (one that had everything to do…

V.G. Burgers on the move

For those of you in Boulder who enjoy a big, hearty burger without meat, this is for you. V.G. Burgers, an all-plant-based, quick-service restaurant, is moving a few miles away from its current location at 3267 28th Street to 1650 Broadway — which is already the address listed on its…

Veggie Girl: City, O’ City

Although I love eating out, I don’t often go to vegetarian-exclusive restaurants. Sure, my husband and the majority of my friends don’t eat meat, but we like trying new places, and at last count there were only three exclusively vegetarian eateries in the metro Denver area: WaterCourse Foods, City, O’…

Some LoDo restaurants shovel out

Downtown is a relative ghost town tonight, with even such mainstays as Dixons closed on account of snow. But there are still restaurants serving tonight, chief among them P.F. Chang’s at 1415 15th Street (the only one of the metro locations open, and seating a fair amount of tables as…

How a big dump can wreak havoc, or how to get more bang for your buck

First, the bad news: As Jason Sheehan just reported, a call to Frank Bonanno’s Bones revealed that, you guessed it, it’s closed due to inclement weather. Not only is Bones black until at least tomorrow, but Bonanno’s three other restaurants — Luca D’Italia, Mizuna and Osteria Marco — are also…

At Bones, ground zero for the Best of Denver 2009

I’ve  always wanted to sit myself down in the restaurant that won Best New Restaurant the night the Best of Denver issue came out, but there’s always been some complication — some crisis (generally alcohol-related) that required my immediate attention. My usual post-Best of routine is to drink until I…

Udi’s Granola puts Stephen Colbert on notice

Mr. Stephen Colbert, you are officially on notice. Yes, I know that it’s really Colbert’s thing to put people (or items like caramel apples) “on notice,” but the tables have been turned, thanks to the Granola Tycoon (aka Eric Clayman), who makes granola for Udi’s Handcrafted Foods. Here’s the skinny…

Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg spreads the wealth

A few weeks back, shortly after it was announced that Boulder chef Hosea Rosenberg had taken home the big prize and won this year’s Top Chef prize on the Bravo reality show of the same name, Rosenberg mentioned in passing that he was already working with a local artisanal foods…

Our Weekly Bread: Quiznos, yeah, Quiznos

The sandwich: Pesto Turkey Torpedo Where to get it: Quiznos What’s on it: Turkey, mozzarella, pesto, lettuce, tomato, red wine vinaigrette How much: $4 Let the haters hate. I don’t care, because when I eat a sandwich at Quiznos, I like it. Yeah, Quiznos is a massive chain (although a…

No “Soup for the Soul” tonight

Although soup will probably be a popular supper choice on this cold day, we just heard that the “Soup for the Soul” fundraiser has beencancelled. “If you purchased tickets for the event,” says spokeswoman Paige Thompson, “you will be notified about the rescheduled date. We are currently working on rescheduling…

The Rock N Soul Cafe is at a turning point

The power cord on the Rock N Soul Cafe, a cafe and music venue in Boulder, may be pulled unless the owners get some help. Like many places right now, the cafe is treading water, but the owners aren’t going down without a fight. Sheryl and Sam Radetsky recently sent…

Co-op grocery looking to open in Five Points

While pulling junk out of my pockets the other day, I found a flier for a co-op grocery some people are trying to start called the Denver Cooperative Market. It seems like one of those member-owned, earth-lovin’ groceries could fly in Denver now that all the hippies are migrating here…

Desperately seeking volunteers for the IACP conference in Denver

“Dearest Peers in Food and Life…” That’s the word-for-word salutation lifted from an e-mail I just read from Sylvia Tawse, the International Association of Culinary Professionals’ host city committee chair — and a woman I’ve never met in my life. But you know what? Anyone who starts her e-mails with…

Best of Denver 2009: Counting down the minutes

The Best of Denver 2009 will be released today, and as I’ve done over the past couple of days (with discussions of the city’s best bread and places to go on a first date), I’m talking yet again about the process by which Denver’s best restaurants are chosen. The category…

An unhappy hour at McCormick’s

What? After twenty years of offering the most dependable happy hour in the city, with a terrific cheeseburger among the other $1.95 specials, McCormick’s has changed its hours? Just walked into the bar at the corner of the Oxford Hotel and found out that corporate had dictated a cutback several…

Common Grounds to move to SugarBeat space

Common Grounds will soon leave its longtime LoDo home at 17th and Wazee streets and move over to the SugarBeat space — across the street at 444 17th Street, in the Millennium Building. But  the coffeehouse/winebar lost its liquor license when its lease ran out (there’s a story there), so…

Skinny Jay’s wings burn so good

A few days ago, I saw grown men cry. But no one’s feelings were hurt, and we weren’t even watching The Notebook. No, we were suffering  the wrath of the hot wings from Skinny Jay’s, located at 800 28th Street, in the Outlook Hotel in Boulder. These are crispy little…

Larkburger soars above the average burger

As reported by Lori Midson, Larkburger opened its doors last Friday at 2525 Arapahoe Street and immediately started bestowing big burgers and truffled fries on Boulder. Back in August, I’d moved just a few blocks from the spot where Larkburger was to roost, and I’d eagerly awaited the day the…

Best of Denver 2009: Fifty first dates

As with yesterday’s post about the sudden shortage of rice-flour baguette in Denver, this is another explanation of how I came to choose a certain award in this year’s Best of Denver issue.  This time around, it’s about the best restaurant for a first date. Award in question: Best First…

South Pearl awaits Park Burger

Jean Phillippe Failyau, Frank Bonanno’s right-hand man (and my former chef at Osteria Marco), is busy tying up the loose ends at Park Burger, which he says is about a month away from opening.As Jason Sheehan reported in December, although Failyau is working with Bonanno on this burger joint at…

Bernie’s brings hot dog heaven to Highlands Ranch

With any luck, the addition of Bernie’s Hot Dog Co., an independent joint located at 1601 Mayberry in the Highlands Ranch Town Center, will convince all those Land Rover-owning suburbanites who reside within the chain-ganged sprawl to stop spending their bonuses at Chili’s and Outback Steakhouse. I saw glimmers of…

The List: Team Bonanno

My review of Bones — Frank Bonanno’s new restaurant at 701 Grant Street — was a love letter, a total crush note from one shameless omnivore to another, to the kind of guy who would put bone marrow, ice cream, escargot and udon all on the same menu, from the kind of…