The Ten Tastiest Events on the Culinary Calendar, March 6-10

The first full week of March is full of wine dinners in Denver; pick from the three listed below — or opt for a Scotch dinner or mezcal tasting, if you're not enologically inclined. Other options? A culinary tour of Italy, a South Broadway celebration and a dinner in the dark. Keep reading for details.
Monday, March 6

Need a pick-me-up after a rough Monday morning? Salati Italian Street Food feels your pain. You have until noon today to RSVP for the Northfield Stapleton eatery's wine dinner tonight. Enjoy five courses (including a cheese course, braised oxtail ragù with scallion cream and smoked butter, and olive-oil cake with pickled grapes) and six wines for $75. E-mail [email protected] to reserve your spot, then head over to the restaurant at 8270 East Northfield Boulevard for dinner at 6 p.m.

Also tonight, Tren Coperta pulls into Coperta, 400 East 20th Avenue, bound for for southern Italy. This ongoing series offers a wine, cocktail, pasta or dessert from a different region in Italy each week through the end of April. Diners receive a "train pass" and passport-style stamp for each region visited; earn at least four stamps and you're entitled to a prize (ranging from a free dolci-and-amaro pairing to a bottle of wine, depending on the number of stamps you've acquired). Start with the Lazio region this week; call
720-749-4666 or visit copertadenver.com for reservations.

Tuesday, March 7

Mister Tuna will host a five-course Scotch dinner tonight at 3033 Brighton Boulevard. Starting at 6:30 p.m., diners can feast on dishes including salt-cured tuna with fig reduction and smoked short ribs with parsnip mousse and tomatoes, all served with high-end Scotches; tentative pairings include Talisker Storm and Dalwhinnie 15-year. Dinner and drinks run $95 per person; call 303-831-8862 for reservations.

Wednesday, March 8
Cozy Bistro Barbès is hosting a Passport to Europe wine dinner tonight to get you over hump day. Starting at 6 p.m., diners will sip wines from France, Spain and Italy while enjoying a five-course tasting menu. Tickets are $75; call 720-398-8085 for reservations.

Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse will host a Fisher Wine Dinner at 7 p.m.; executive chef Mario Hernandez is creating a menu to go with the Fisher wines. Tickets are $175 per person; call 303-796-0100.
Palenque Mezcaleria, the little Oaxacan-style bar behind Adelitas Cocina y Cantina, 1294 South Broadway, is the perfect spot for a deep dive into the flavors of Mexico’s most mysterious spirit. Join mezcal and tequila expert Steve Olson for an Agave Master Class at Palenque from 3 to 6 p.m. The class will present the complexities of Del Maguey, the forerunner of America’s current obsession with agave spirits. Taste the company’s finest expressions from several Oaxacan distilleries and then stick around for a cocktail reception. The class is free (though cocktails afterward aren’t), but seating is limited; register in advance at eventbrite.com.

Keep reading for more events this week.

Thursday, March 9

You've almost made it to Friday, so you deserve this: Head to Panzano, 909 17th Street, for a luxe wine dinner tonight. Chef Patrick Kelly will create five courses to pair with Barrachi wines from Tuscany, and winemaker Benedetto Barrachi will be on hand to discuss the libations themselves. For $125, guests are invited to a reception at 6:30 p.m., with dinner served at 7 p.m. Seating is extremely limited, so call 303-296-3525 for reservations.

Harold Langlais, Chateau Le Puy winemaker, and chef Hosea Rosenberg are hosting a five-course wine-pairing dinner at Blackbelly Butcher, 1606 Conestoga Street in Boulder. The dinner starts at 6:30 p.m., and seats are $116 plus $1.50 ticket handling. Purchase yours at blackbellylepuy.eventbee.com.

And now for something completely different: The Boulder Blind Cafe kicks off tonight and runs through Saturday, March 11. With two seatings nightly at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m., $85 will get you a vegan dinner and dessert, wine and live music — all in a pitch-black environment. The project is designed to break down social norms that have developed with the visual conditioning of the sighted community and forces guests to interact with food, music and other people without the benefit (or distraction) of sight. The Blind Cafe will be held at Wesley Chapel, 1290 Folsom Street in Boulder; tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com.

Friday, March 10
The Englewood Grand, at 3435 South Broadway, may seem like it has been a part of downtown Englewood for years, but the comfortable neighborhood bar is only a year old. Come celebrate the bar's first anniversary with owners Phil and Erika Zierke. The doors open at 4 p.m. for drinks specials, giveaways and live jazz from 7 to 11 p.m. Live it up, Englewood style.