Fourteen Tastiest Events on Denver's Culinary Calendar, May 23-27

Memorial Day weekend is days away, but you can start the celebrations early. This week you can cram your face with Illegal Pete's burritos at the World Burrito Eating Championship, give to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, kick off summer with a rad ’80s party, or visit TheBigWonderful at a new location. And that's just the beginning of the fun.  Keep reading for the fourteen tastiest events on the culinary calendar.

Monday, May 23

Frasca Food and Wine hosts Giampaolo Venica of Venica & Venica at the restaurant's Monday Night Wine Dinner Series this evening.  The Monday night dinners are $50 for a four-course tasting menu, with optional wine pairings ranging from $40 to $50. Call Frasca at 303-442-6966 for reservations.  

Tuesday, May 24 

Illegal Pete's on South Broadway will host a preliminary competition for the World Burrito Eating Competition today at 6 p.m. The winners of each burrito-eating heat will compete in a final contest; the winner will move on to compete against some of the top eaters in the world at the main event on Saturday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium. If you think you have what it takes to out-eat the best in the world, register here. 

The Post Brewing Co. is celebrating the release of its Meathooks Mild Ale and Ol’ Zippy Premium American Ale, both available in cans, with a party at the West End Tavern today at 4:30 p.m. Enjoy limited-edition swag giveaways, BBQ and plenty of Post beer. Learn more at 303-444-3535. 

Keeping food safe is the theme of the annual Rocky Mountain Food Safety Conference, today and tomorrow at Johnson & Wales University. The conference brings together professionals from the food industry and the food-safety community, providing a forum for updates, networking and new ideas. Register and learn more here.  

The California Pizza Kitchen in Cherry Creek will hold Pizza With a Purpose, a fundraiser for the Cherry Creek Arts Festival's nonprofit education program, CherryArts Mobile Art Gallery. Twenty percent of all orders today will benefit the nonprofit, but they must be accompanied by a Pizza With a Purpose flier. You can find the flier and more information on the event's Facebook page.    

Keep reading for more events this week.

Wednesday, May 25 
 
Firenze a Tavola will hold its community table at 6:30 p.m. today; it's a multi-course, family-style meal for $33 per person. Call the restaurant at 303-561-0234 to make your reservation. 

Thursday, May 26 

The summer Yappy Hour series, (mostly) dog-friendly meet-and-greet events at local breweries, kicks off today at Declaration Brewing, from 6 to 8 p.m. The Yappy Hours will feature food trucks, giveaways, $10 limited-edition beer glasses for sale and more, and each brewery will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Denver Dumb Friends League. Ironically, due to Denver health regulations, the Declaration Brewing event is not dog-friendly. For more information, including a full schedule of Yappy Hours, visit ddfl.org.     

Baur’s Restaurant and Listening Lounge, in conjunction with Seattle Fish, is hosting the fourth sustainable seafood dinner from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. tonight. The dinner will highlight sustainable rock fish and ground fish. The dinner is $65, and each course will be paired with wine; for reservations and more information, call the restaurant at 303-615-4000. 

Four Mile Historic Park will hold Corks & Cuisine from from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. today. You can enjoy food, drinks, live music and more while raising funds to support Four Mile's preservation and education initiatives for underprivileged students in the Denver metro region. Tickets include all tastings and a complimentary tasting glass, and are $35 for Four Mile members, $45 for non-members in advance, or $40 for Four Mile members, $50 for non-members the day of the event. Grab tickets and learn more here.  

Denver Grub Club and Central Bistro are teaming up for a Rum Diary-themed pop-up dinner from 6 to 9 p.m. tonight at Central Bistro. The dinner will feature tea-infused rum drinks paired with Puerto Rican cuisine cooked up by executive chef Jesse Vega. You can also learn to make ceviche from Vega, watch cigar-rolling demos, dig into a suckling-pig buffet and more; you'll take home a swag bag of samples and recipes. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased here. 

Triplets Jill, Jessica and Jennifer Emich, owners of Boulder's Shine restaurant, will be at the Boulder Book Store at 7:30 p.m. today to talk about their cookbook, Eat, Drink, Shine. Vouchers to attend are $5 and are good for $5 off the featured book or any purchase the day of the event; you can get yours at the door or by calling 303-447-2074. 


Friday, May 27

TheBigWonderful is on the move. The sustainable market will make its debut in Littleton, at Geneva Lake Park, from 4 to 10 p.m. today and will return from 2 to 8 p.m. tomorrow. The location is new, but the activities are the big ones people have come to love at TheBigWonderful: You can shop, eat, drink, play games and shake it to live music. Get all the details at thebigwonderful.com.

Zephyr Brewery is bringing sweets and suds together for the brewery's Beer and Chocolate pairing, which will offer Zephyr beers and chocolate from Chocolate Labs from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. today. Tickets are $20 and limited to thirty people; purchase them here.    

Jax Glendale is throwing an ’80s-themed Summer Kickoff Party on the restaurant's rooftop from 5:30 to 9 p.m. today. The totally rad party will feature ’80s food and drink favorites like electric lemonade, Long Island iced tea, sloppy joes and cheese dogs, as well as throwback jams by local band the Goonies. For more information, contact Jax at 303-756-6449. 
  
For more Food & Drink events, go to our online calendar. If you know of an event that should be included in that calendar, send information to [email protected].