The Eight Tastiest Events on This Weekend's Culinary Calendar

This weekend is packed: Pork chops, pop-ups and pig roasts, as well as bagels, bourbon and burlesque, are on the culinary calendar, and that doesn't begin to cover the full range of activities for the avid food adventurer in our fair city. Here are the eight best food and drink events this weekend.
Friday, May 19

Are you hungry? Really, really hungry? Hungry enough to stand in line for the chance to get an obscenely large pork chop for 79 cents? If so, Friday, May 19, is your lucky day. Perry's Steakhouse & Grille, 8433 Park Meadows Center Drive in Lone Tree, is celebrating its 1979 founding by selling its signature pork chop (which claims to be seven fingers high; we're unclear whether the fingers in question belong to a seven-year-old child or Andre the Giant) for just 79 cents. The deal is only available to the first 100 people in line when doors open at 11 a.m., so reschedule that meeting (or, better yet, call in sick) and get your pork-chop-loving self over there ASAP.

The Crafty Fox Taphouse & Pizzeria is teaming up with Museo de las Americas to throw a fiesta for the ages. From 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, May 19, head over to 3901 Fox Street for Noche de Museo, the museum's annual fundraiser. Tickets ($50) include gourmet tacos, dessert and drinks, as well as live blues from the Delta Sonics (so start practicing those dance moves). You'll also have the chance to bid on artwork from the museum's collection in a silent auction. Call 303-571-4401 or go to eventbrite.com for tickets.

Saturday, May 20
East-siders now have one more option when it comes to bagels: The wildly popular Rosenberg's Bagels and Deli is opening in Stanley Marketplace, 2501 Dallas Street, on Saturday, May 20. Doors open at 6 a.m., but don't sweat it if you're nursing a hangover that day: You'll have until 3 p.m. to get there and get your goods. The Stanley outpost will offer the same menu as the original location, at 725 East 26th Avenue, and will have more retail goods, including frozen Rosenberg's latkes and an expanded selection of lunchmeat (a word you foodies probably don't use much these days).

Here's a new way to play ring toss: Grab a whiskey bottle and a doughnut, and let ’er fly. Better still, skip the carnival games and just eat the doughnut with a whiskey chaser. That's exactly what you'll be able to do at the fifth annual Whiskey Throwdown and Doughnut Showdown – billed as “a pairing of mankind's two greatest creations” – on Saturday, May 20, at the McNichols Building, 144 West Colfax Avenue. Admission includes unlimited tastings of doughnuts and booze from more than thirty vendors; while Colorado distilleries will be the focus, expect Scotch, bourbon, rye and other brown spirits from around the world, along with a little beer and wine, too. Tickets start at $45 for general admission for one of two sessions — 3:30 to 6 p.m. or 6:30 to 9 p.m. — and go up to $115 for VIP passes, which include both sessions and other cool stuff. Regardless of which ticket you buy, you'll be registered to win doughnuts for life from a Denver doughnut shop. Go to whiskeydoughnuts.com for more information and to purchase tickets.

The students of Highlands Micro School, 3719 Perry Street, are hosting the Fun, Food & Filanthropy fair, showing what they learned during two months of researching nonprofits in fields ranging from oceanic preservation and space exploration to food scarcity and neuroscience. From 10 a.m. to noon at the school, families and community members can enjoy the fruits of their labors and give back. Each activity costs only a quarter, and food and drink will be available; music and admission are free. Find out more at the Highlands Micro School website.

Palettes, 100 West 14th Avenue Parkway, is branching out on Saturday, May 20: The restaurant will host a pop-up dinner with food from its soon-to-be sibling, Hickory & Ash. Kevin and Ryan Taylor's new project is slated to open this summer in Broomfield, but cutting-edge fooderati can get first tastes at this four-course dinner. Expect creative bites such as Sloppy Joe cheese puffs and potted duck with foie gras and gooseberries, as well as classically beautiful platings. Cocktail, wine and beer pairings are included in the $75 price tag; get your tickets and a complete menu at eventbrite.com.

Keep reading for more events.
Sunday, May 21
Denver is a brunch-crazed city, and the Brunchlesque Pajama Party — Summer BBQ Edition at El Charrito, 2100 Larimer Street, has much more to offer guests than just fancy breakfast food. A feast for the belly and the eyes alike, this edition of Brunchlesque on Sunday, May 21, promises routines from Frenchie Renard, Kit Kombat, Rose West, Scarlett Storm and Blyre Cpanx. Guests can wash away their weekend hangovers with $7 bottomless mimosas while enjoying the bar's surprisingly great brunch menu. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. but the show doesn't kick off until 12:30 p.m., so you'll have plenty of time to shiver with anticipation. A single ticket is $5, while VIP booths (for up to four people) are $25 at eventbrite.com.

After checking out that sultry burlesque, head over to Dio Mio Handmade Pasta, 3264 Larimer Street, for your fill of swine and beer. From 3 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, May 21, $25 will get you into the all-you-can-eat pig roast. That's right, unlimited pork and sides will be yours, along with a free beer from Black Shirt Brewing (additional beers will be available to purchase). Get your ticket at nightout.com and prepare to gaze upon tantalizingly crispy pig skin and drool over luscious, juicy, jiggly pork parts. It'll make for a positively sinful Sunday.