With a thriving winery in Provence and the wildly popular Mel’s Bar and Grill here in Denver, why would veteran restaurateurs Mel and Janie Master want to cast yet another line into the water? “It’s a bit like being in the theater,” Mel says. “You put on a play, it’s…
Other fish in the sea: For once I’m going to do myself a favor and head off the inevitable phone calls I get anytime I write something like “Denver has about five decent fish houses.” (For a review of a sixth, Starfish, see the previous page.) So for the record,…
The last time my neighbors had been at El Rancho was when they got married, twelve years and several children ago. So when I asked them to join me there for dinner, they jumped at the chance. During the half-hour drive into the foothills, my neighbors raved about El Rancho’s…
Toilet talk: Here’s the poop on why the Newsstand Cafe at 630 East Sixth Avenue now requires a photo ID to get the key to the men’s room–some jerk had been tearing the bathroom apart. On a daily basis, this fellow came into the coffeehouse and vandalized the joint’s john,…
The first clue that there was something funny about the Giggling Grizzly was this notice on the menu: “If somehow our food and service have not lived up to your standards, please let us know so that we can help lower your standards.” The second was the menu’s logo, of…
Chain reaction: The dailies keep bringing us updates on just which celebrity-driven national chain restaurants–now being referred to as “eatertainment,” the kind of catchphrase that gives journalists goosebumps–will be doing their business in Denver soon. With each new announcement–Country Star, the Cheesecake Factory–my tastebuds shrivel up a little more. As…
Desperately seeking: The start of spring may turn some people’s fancies to thoughts of love, but for me it means only one thing: three months left until Westword’s annual Best of Denver issue. By the time the actual issue rolls around–on June 27 this year–I’ll have visited hundreds of restaurants,…
Middle Eastern food is good for the body–and the soul. It’s healthy, with few fatty ingredients, yet satisfyingly starch-heavy, since rice and flatbreads serve as its foundation. It’s replete with flavors, particularly the kind that grab at your tastebuds in the salty and sour regions. It’s beautiful, colored with tomato…
Loaded guns: The sign outside reads “Arap’s Eatin’ Drinkin’ Darts,” and after joking for the hundredth time how we “sure would like to see some darts eatin’ and drinkin’,” we decided to stop by Arap’s Old Gun Shop, at 3866 South Broadway in Englewood. Inside the smoky lounge, it looked…
A sushi chef wields more than a knife. His skill–both at cutting fish and at cutting up–can make or break a Japanese restaurant. Some sushi chefs give you the silent treatment, making you feel like an unruly student in a Buddhist temple during meditation time; others are as deft at…
Fruit loopy: Beware of representatives from Ocean Spray lurking around local supermarkets and handing out free samples of Craisins, dried cranberry snacks that the slogan says taste “surprisingly sweet.” What’s the surprise? Five minutes after my toddler ingested the whole four-ounce sample bag, she was doing the Hustle through the…
In an industry where one out of every four new ventures goes belly-up within the first two years, Noel Cunningham has beaten the odds. He has not one, but three successful restaurants: Strings, Ciao! Baby and 240 Union. “Actually, I don’t know that I perceive them as being successful,” Cunningham…
I was standing in line at the grocery store when two women ahead of me started discussing where to take their families for dinner that night. “I’m so sick of Chinese,” said the first. “Have you tried Vietnamese?” The second woman looked at her companion as though she’d just asked…
Shut-and-open case: Retirement lasted “about 62 1/2 days,” says Gordon Hummel. Late last year he and wife Jean closed Hummel’s Delicatessen and Sidewalk Cafe, at 2360 East Third Avenue, where for thirty years the duo had purveyed top-notch sandwiches and the best potato salad in town. But they didn’t stay…
Oh, Mexico: Oooh, the letter-writers are at it again, this time raking me over the coals for my March 28 review of Los Troncos, a refried-beans-and-rice eatery at 730 East Sixth Avenue that I took to task for offering 48 greasy variations on a Tostada! Enchilada! Burrito! theme. The review…
He’s one of Denver’s best-known restaurateurs and nationally recognized as well. He’s been featured in the most prestigious cooking magazines, lauded with all the important cooking awards. His pride and joy, Zenith American Grill, just received the much-coveted Mobil Guide four-star rating. He’s Kevin Taylor, and you’re not. But that…
“You are gonna looooove these,” the waitress sang to a customer seated behind us. Along with everyone else in the dining room, we turned to see exactly what these were–and feasted our eyes on what appeared to be a platter piled with whipped cream. An amazing pile of whipped cream,…
Deli dose: Venturing an opinion on politics and religion is one thing, but don’t mess with people’s favorite delis. That was the message delivered in a flood of responses to two recent columns. In the February 29 Mouthing Off, I responded to a reader’s query about good Italian and Jewish…
It’s like when your mother told you to clean up your room. “Awwww, Mom, do I have to?” you’d whine. “It seems like I just did that last week.” But in fact, as she’d inform you, your room had qualified for the condemned list for several months. And you were…
I was at City Spirit Cafe to feed my soul as well as my stomach. The menu of options for my tarot reading were as follows: I could ask a specific question, such as, “Will I get that big raise I’ve been asking for?” I could ask about some part…
Getting juiced up: If you haven’t heard the ads or seen the trucks, then surely you’ve noticed the colorful display cases full of Odwalla at area grocery stores. Remember the brief smart-drink phase? Odwalla, the juice of the Nineties, pulls from some of the same natural sources–ginseng, megadoses of vitamin…
The deli news: In this column two weeks ago, I responded to two letters from people looking for good delis. Specifically, good Italian and Jewish delis–but that didn’t stop Rachel Genatassio from writing to suggest her favorite deli, which is neither Italian nor Jewish. “Looking for clean, pleasant surroundings with…
