Update: Frasca’s move

n my recent blog on Frasca’s eventual move to a new building of its own from its current home at 1738 Pearl Street in Boulder, there was some confusion over where, exactly, that building will be. It will be constructed on the spot once occupied by Marisol Imports (where Jason Sheehan once took…

Red Robin just keeps bobbing along

Back in 1996, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers moved its national headquarters to Greenwood Village. And while other chains are scaling back (or disappearing altogether), those based in Denver seem to be doing fairly well. There’s Chipotle, of course, which is moving into London this year. And on Monday, Red Robin…

Another Star to shine in Broomfield

When we last checked up on Heaven Star, which the owners of Super Star Asian (the best dim sum joint in the city) are opening at 7600 West 120th Avenue in Broomfield, the opening date was slated for January 10. But last week the manager said that was looking soft,…

The Old Spaghetti Factory celebrates with $3 menu

The Old Spaghetti Factory celebrates its fortieth birthday this year, but instead of crying about middle age, the famous chain is throwing a party. On Tuesday, January 6, diners at all 37 locations nationwide, including the one in Denver, at 1215 18th Street, will offer full meals for around $3,…

Happy news year?

The first few weeks of the new year are generally a quiet time in the restaurant industry. Under normal economic conditions, this is a time for the bean-counters and accountants to put their heads together over the books and figure if the twin mercies of Christmas parties and New Year’s…

Milking It: Blueberry Monster Crunch

Blueberry Monster Crunch Disney Magic Selections Rating: One and a half spoons out of four Cereal description: Light-brown wheat and rice rectangles that curl slightly at the edges, like old papers found in a far corner of the attic. The bits are speckled with the occasional dark splotch, which may…

Twelverestaurant introduces its third menu

When I checked in with Jeff Osaka, chef/owner of twelverestaurant, last month, he told me that although he’d just opened his restaurant at 2233 Larimer in early November, he was already reducing the prices on his changing-monthly menu. (His concept of a dozen menus a year — each featuring seasonal…

Spice Boys to close shop, go all on-line

After five years, the Spice Boys of the Rockies are closing up their “humble little spice boutique” at 301 West Eleventh Avenue and moving to an all-online shop at www.spiceboysrock.com. “As the first specialty spice and tea store in Denver, we were definitely challenged to create a product line especially…

Cracking the Egg Shell on Blake Street

The Jet Entertainment Group may be the busiest boys in chow business. They picked up Nine75 (975 Lincoln Street) right after Jim Sullivan closed it this fall, and reopened it in a matter of days. They’re finishing up a project at the Jet Hotel, at 1612 Wazee Street, to make…

Steuben’s now on hour 20

Steuben’s, the bar/restaurant at 523 East 17th Avenue that opened at 11 a.m. yesterday, will stay open until 3 p.m. today — when its staff will take a well-deserved rest after 28 hours of continuous service. We stopped by shortly after 5 p.m. New Year’s Eve, for a celebration-cushioning green chile cheeseburger, the best…

Digesting a year’s worth of my best meals in the Mile High City

I started the year at O’s in Westminster, sucking mango-vodka purée out of shells of frozen vanilla, eating matsutake mushrooms and razor-shaved snails and drinking champagne by the bottle. I started the year at Bar Americain in midtown Manhattan, checking in on Rebecca Weitzman (ex of Cafe Star and since…

Mark your datebooks: Mark & Isabella will open in 2009

Last month, Mark Tarbell told Jason Sheehan that he hoped to open Mark & Isabella, his new restaurant at 425 South Tellar in Belmar, by the end of this year. But we just got word that it won’t officially debut until 2009. Still, given the success of The Oven, this new…

Attivo spices up the New Year

Attivo Pizza & Subs 124 East Ninth Avenue 303-996-9956 Pancho Villa Turkey, avocado, jalapeno, lime, cilantro, Swiss cheese, mayo, lettuce, red onion, oil, vinegar, spices $7.95 The end of the year is a thoughtful time..a pensive time..a time to think about what we have accomplished and what we have not,…

Veggie Girl: Tocabe

My roots go deep in New Mexico, so I’m fairly well-versed when it comes to Native American cuisine, and Indian fry bread and Navajo tacos are a few of my very favorite treats. So I was thrilled to hear that a new, fast-casual Native American place was opening at 3536…

Digesting a year’s worth of meals

It’s that time of year again: time to look back over the last three-sixty-five. It’s been a good year, a long year, a strange year. From lunching in Manhattan to getting weird during the DNC to a magical meal at Beatrice & Woodsley (above) to the financial collapse, there’s been…

Frasca is moving…eventually

This past year, Frasca made plenty of buzz when the highly acclaimed restaurant that Jason Sheehan reviewed as Fantasy Land revealed that it would be moving from its home at 1738 Pearl Street in Boulder sometime in the future. But not, as it turns out, in the immediate future. Surprisingly, the number…

Houston’s pushes back opening date

Under its original plans, Houston’s would be open by now. And according to the last published report, the restaurant would still open by February 2009. But Houston’s — part of the Hillstone Restaurant Group, which also owns the Cherry Creek Grill — will be moving into an entirely new building now under construction…

TAG, you’re it…but not quite yet

Just checked in with Leigh Sullivan to find out the status of TAG Restaurant, the long-anticipated spot that she and her husband, Troy Guard (TAG, get it?), are creating at 1441 Larimer Street. Back in August, Leigh and Troy were looking at a February 1 opening for the restaurant, which…

Go mouth of the border on January 1 at Los Cabos II

Los Cabos II promises “puro Peru,” and as Jason Sheehan found when he reviewed Los Cabos, it makes good on that promise. The restaurant at 1525 Champa Street that won our Best Central/South American Restaurant in the Best of Denver 2008 recently added another authentic dish to the lineup: Peruvian…

3.2 beer today, real beer tomorrow at 7-Eleven?

  Where once we thanked heaven for the chance to buy even 3.2 beer on a Sunday, grocery and convenience stores are no longer content to sell just that watered-down stuff — particularly since they face significant competition from liquor stores, which as of July 1, 2008, can now open on…

White Owl settles in Globeville

Many years ago, we spent long hours drinking slivovitz — a plum brandy — at the century-old bar at the Portulaca Cafe, a little dive at 321 East 45th Avenue in the heart of Globeville. Now we hear that the White Owl is roosting in the old Portulaca space, and is…

Spies like us: South Pearl Street edition

Good eyes from S.R., my new favorite deep-cover operative in the South Pearl ‘hood, who came back strong from the holidays with this little tidbit: “Just an FYI . . . there is a notice for application for a liquor license at The Chocolate Berry (1890 South Pearl Street, Denver)…