Lucero’s: All in the familia

October is National Chili Month! But here in Denver, the only chili that matters is spelled with an “e,” and features those hot, hot peppers now being roasted up and down Federal Boulevard. So all this month, chile fans will be weighing in on their favorites around town. Green chile…

Red Robin keeps bobbing along

While other chains are pulling back, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers just keeps growing. This morning, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers — which got its start outside the University of Washington in the ’40s, but moved its national headquarters to Greenwood Village in 1996 — is opening its 22nd Colorado restaurant at…

Milking It: Frosted Krispies

Frosted Rice Krispies Kellogg’s Rating: Two spoons out of four Cereal description: Toasted kernels of crispy puffed rice visually differentiated from regular Rice Krispies by… nothing. Yep, they look identical, which means keeping Frosted Krispies and their namesake segregated must be a bitch…

Moe’s opens in the former Falcon

Almost right on schedule, Moe’s Original BBQ opens today at 2395 South Broadway, in the former Falcon space next to the Gothic Theatre, and we hear the place should be smoking! Moe’s is originally out of Tuscaloosa, but the company moved its headquarters to Vail eight years ago…

Candy Girls: M&M’s Premiums

I’ve been hearing about these new “upscale” M&M’s for awhile, and have been really eager to try them since our earlier foray into new M&M’s flavors had gotten mixed reviews. We really enjoyed the Limited Edition Wild Cherry M&M’s, but the Indiana Jones Special Edition Mint Crisps just tasted wrong…

Jim Sullivan’s former employees are on the line

Ex-employees say Jim Sullivan ran his empire like the dictator he named a restaurant after. Since Monday, when I posted my first blog about the sudden closure of Nine75 and Ocean — Jim Sullivan’s last two Sullivan Restaurant Group operations — my phone has been ringing off the hook. Some…

Oceanaire’s happy hour goes swimmingly

Now that Ocean has closed, no one will ever make a reservation at Oceanaire thinking they’re dining in Cherry Creek. But once you step inside Oceanaire, the Denver link in a national chain of upscale seafood houses that debuted last year at 1400 Arapahoe Street, you could never mistake it…

Veggie Girl: Little Anita’s

Not only am I a very budget-conscious shopper and eater, I have also been a vegetarian for nearly seven years and am married to a lifelong vegetarian. So I know a thing or two about finding affordable, planet- and animal-friendly eats around town. In the weekly Veggie Girl, I’ll be…

Colorado grandmas make green chile, too

October is National Chili Month! But here in Denver, the only chili that matters is spelled with an “e,” and features those hot, hot peppers now being roasted up and down Federal Boulevard. So all this month, chile fans will be weighing in on their favorites around town. I come…

Any way you slice it, Tonti’s makes good pizza

Last week, I got stuck in three “best pizza in blahblahblah” discussions. One was a drunken confession. One was a declarative statement: If I didn’t agree that this was the best pizza ever made, I was some kind of idiot. And one was almost a fistfight over thin-crust-versus-sorta-thin-crust, an angry,…

A bad night in Boulder at Tahona Tequila Bistro

I was thinking that they could probably hear my stomach rumbling from three tables away. “So, what are you going to have?” Laura asked. “Everything,” I said. “One of everything. Maybe two.” “I’m serious, Jay. What are you going to have?” “What are you going to have?” “I don’t know…

One River dries up, 8 Rivers LoDo is open

Scott Durrah has moved 8 Rivers from Highland to LoDo “Highlands is no more.” That’s the word from 8 Rivers, which closed its original Denver (but not its original metro) location at 3609 West 32nd Avenue this week. Jason Sheehan loved the place when he reviewed it last November: loved…

Old Guy gives way to Persian Gourmet

For weeks, we kept our eye on the business opportunity ads in the dailies, watching in horror as the price of a “newly remod restaurant for sale” kept dropping, and dropping. The address listed was 102 South Broadway, which meant it was the oddly named Old Guy Pasta & Salad…

Something Fishy at Cook’s Fresh Market

Salmon in foreground; turkey in back. Cook’s Fresh Market 1600 Glenarm Place 303-893-2277 Salmon BLT Salmon, bacon, lettuce, tomato, dill aioli on rye. $8.99 Smoked Turkey Smoked turkey, dill havarti cheese, red onions, cucumbers, lettuce, tomato and ranch dressing on whole grain bread. $8.49 Once you get past tuna salad…

New Mexico colors my taste of Denver’s green chile

October is National Chili Month! But here in Denver, the only chili that matters is spelled with an “e,” and features those hot, hot peppers now being roasted up and down Federal Boulevard. So all this month, chile fans will be weighing in on their favorites around town. When it…

In Larimer Square, Open Bar isn’t

When we heard that the folks behind the Jet Hotel planned to open a new bar in Larimer Square, we couldn’t figure out where it would go. Troy Guard has already claimed the only remaining storefront for TAG, his restaurant that’s slated to open early next year and has already…

A bad night in Boulder at Tahona

I was thinking that they could probably hear my stomach rumbling from three tables away. “So, what are you going to have?” Laura asked. “Everything,” I said. “One of everything. Maybe two.” “I’m serious, Jay. What are you going to have?” “What are you going to have?” “I don’t know…

Mateo has new co-owner, new decor, new menu

Back in 2006, Matthew Jansen, chef/owner of Mateo in Boulder, decided to stretch by opening Radda Trattoria, which Jason Sheehan raved about when he reviewed the restaurant in February 2007. Mateo dates back to 2001, and Jansen has scratched the seven-year itch there by adding a new partner: Rayme Rossello,…

Jim Sullivan on the end of Ocean and Nine75

Thank you for your continued patronage. Due to the poor economy we have decided to close the restaurant. We are sorry for the any [sic] inconvenience. The sign went up on the front door of Nine75 early this afternoon, and not long after, I got a call from the man…

Breaking news from the Sullivan restaurant empire

Just got word that real estate and restaurant magnate Jim Sullivan has finally closed the book on his restaurant empire. On Monday, September 29, the Sullivan Restaurant Group closed both Nine75 (the original, at 975 Lincoln Street) and Ocean (at 201 Columbine Street in Cherry Creek). Saturday was the final…