Geek in the Galley: Fat, lazy bastard edition

I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry. On November 16, the good people at TiVo announced what has to be one of the signs of the foodie apocalypse: that through a partnership deal with Domino’s, customers would now be able to order pizzas through their TV. Why?  Because getting…

Venue: a new venue for Highland

The space at 3609 West 32nd Avenue that 8 Rivers left on October 1, when it finally opened its LoDo restaurant, is now home to Venue.   Venue, which opened two weeks ago, serves “American fare with European influences,” explains owner Holly Hartnett. formerly of Table 6. “We’re using smaller distributors, featuring…

C.R.E.A.M. skims the surface in Cherry Creek

287 Columbine Street is now home to C.R.E.A.M. It replaced Java Creek about two weeks ago, and will be doing similar, but not identical, work.  “We’re going to be much more coffee-focused, doing higher-level barista work,” explains barista Amanda Sapir. “Our coffee is being roasted by Coda Coffee, a local roaster…

Milking It: Peanut Butter Cookie Crisp

Peanut Butter Cookie Crisp General Mills Rating: Three-and-a-half spoons out of four Cereal description: Whole-grain corn discs, yellowish-tan in color, with a semi-rough surface that makes each piece look like a discus designed to shatter on impact. Save each shard for me…

Start December with dinner out — but not too far out — at Black Cat

Think local, eat local. Black Cat is celebrating this holiday month with “100 Mile” dinners, with four-course menus that will change nightly through December 30 — but will always feature ingredients that chef Eric Skokan can find within a hundred-mile radius. And as Jason Sheehan discovered when he reviewed this restaurant…

Is Enstrom’s toffee the “best candy in the world”?

So I was listening to a podcast of the Thanksgiving edition of the hit food radio show The Splendid Table — because I’m a dork like that — and lo and behold, Jane and Michael Stern, authors of the popular Roadfood books, came on to sing the praises of Enstrom’s, the Colorado-based…

Red Trolley is moving fast — too fast

Red Trolley — the coffee house/ice cream shop/cafe that opened just this summer at 2639 West 32nd Avenue — left its second hang-tag of the week on the doors of houses in northwest Denver. “O.ver.zeal.ous,” it read. “Excessively enthusiastic.” The Trolley, it turned out, is moving so fast that it…

Veggie Girl: MAD Greens

    Sometimes all the veggie chile burritos, sesame tofu and lasagna in the world cannot entice me because all I really want is a nice, big healthy salad. Crisp spinach, fresh tomatoes, roasted beets and some fresh mozzarella and I’m happy — satisfying my body’s craving for something that…

The rise of the great, red beet

  Notice something red in your greens lately? Beets have been showing up on lots of Denver menus, mostly in salads, decorated with goat cheese and nuts. Gelman’s Restaurant serves a version with green beans and onions, Jonesy’s Eat Bar lets the red and gold beets shine without too much…

It’s hard to top the burger at The Counter

For more photos of The Counter, go to westword.com/slideshow. So, what’re you gonna get?” “I dunno. What’re you gonna get?” “That depends on what you’re gonna get. Like, I was thinking about the ham, but then I was thinking green chiles…” “Yeah, I was thinking green chiles. Bacon.” “Of course…

Return to Five Guys

Allow me to let you in on a little secret: I didn’t let Five Guys go after this week’s review was done. Couldn’t let the place go, actually.There was just something about it that bugged me–the amount of praise the chain has gotten, the pure number of people who list…

Drink Breckenridge

D’Vine Wine, a boutique winery, just opened at 211 South Main Street in Breckenridge, the fourth Colorado location of the California-based franchise. D’Vine makes handcrafted wines in its Colorado wineries, using freshly crushed grapes from Napa vineyards to create customized wines. “We are eager to introduce our wines to locals and tourists alike in one…

Eat Aspen! Part two

Over in Snowmass, Silvertree Properties has a new executive chef: Alan Sirull, a 25-year veteran of the business. He’s bringing comfort food — with an emphasis on rotisserie meals — back to the property’s two restaurants, Brothers’ Grille and Village Steakhouse. For all the details, go to www.silvertreeproperties.com.  …

Eat Aspen! Part one

It’s not too late to head for the hills. On Friday, November 28, the Hotel Jerome will reopen two dining venues: The Library (a wine bar with a small-plates menu) and the Century Room (fine dining). And in honor of their reopening, on Friday both hotel guests and local residents will…

The Gift of Pie

On Monday morning, the Food Bank of the Rockies was presented with 4,600 pies from Village Inn. To celebrate fifty years of business in Colorado, the company made a big donation of pumpkin cream pie, lemon cream pie, Boston cream pie and carrot cake. “The pies will most likely be distributed…

No stuffing the strippers at La Boheme

So your extended family is coming in, and on Thursday you’ll spend a historically hectic day cooking, eating, mingling, eating, fighting and napping (and then eating again). To prepare for this festive day, I’ve got the perfect option for Wednesday night.  La Boheme Gentleman’s Cabaret, at 1443 Stout Street, is hosting a Vixen Fixin’…

I am not the guy for Five Guys

Since 1986, Five Guys Burgers and Fries has focused on keeping things simple, serving burgers wrapped in foil and bagged to-go in greasy brown paper sacks, even if you’re eating in; Idaho potato fries, hand-cut and fried in peanut oil; cold Cokes; some hot dogs. It’s a classic American operation,…

Put the turkey in the basket or else it gets the hose again…

Do they give Academy Awards for cameramen on local news remotes? They should, and this year it should go to the guy who shot the now notorious Sarah Palin Turkey Video–the one in which the once-and-future governor was at a Wasilla turkey ranch to give one of those ridiculous Thanksgiving…

Critical picks on Thanksgiving Day

In case you’re looking for anything but turkey and stuffing on Thanksgiving, several of Jason Sheehan’s favorite restaurants will be serving their normal menus on Turkey Day. The short list:…

Thanksgiving Dinner Fantasy Draft: What dishes would you pick?

The Thanksgiving dinner table is a sacred place, and we all have a vision of the perfect holiday meal. But what are the most important dishes? If it came down to stuffing or turkey, which would you choose? We can all be thankful such decisions rarely come to pass, for…