It's a good thing you got paid on Friday (didn't you?) because this week is going to be rough on your wallet — but really, really good to your belly. While most of our food and drink picks from Monday, June 18, through Sunday, June 24, aren't cheap, they promise to serve up some of the best brews, most delicious food and most anticipated events in town. Chow down.
Will Fruition play some Slayer on Monday? We're living in crazy times, so it's possible.
Linnea Covington
If ever there was an unlikely pairing, it's heavy-metal brewery TRVE and high-end, farm-to-table restaurant Fruition. On Monday, June 18, though, the two are teaming up to celebrate TRVE's sixth anniversary with a five-course beer dinner at the restaurant, 1313 East Sixth Avenue. Fans of Fruition who are skittish about sampling beer served in an all-black taproom with metal blaring from the speakers will find this a civilized way to investigate the excellent beers; TRVE devotees...well, you'll just have to swap out your Sunn O))) tee for a plain black one and do your best to seem normal for one evening. Dinner runs from 5 to 10 p.m. and will set you back $96; see the full menu and make reservations at Fruition's website.
Tuesday, June 19
Coohills' annual Beats on the Creek concert series is back for another year, with '70s cover band Mr. Majestyk's 8-Track Revival taking the stage on Tuesday, June 19, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. As always, the band will set up across the bridge next to the eatery at 1400 Wewatta Street, and guests will be able to hear the show from Coohills' bar and terrace, where they can partake in creative cocktails and luxe bar bites. While admission to the show is free, seating on the terrace can be reserved in advance for minimum $60 tab per person (which isn't hard to hit at this downtown spot, especially when the sun's out and the music is good). Call 303-623-5700 to book your spot, and find the summer's full lineup at Coohills' website.
The bar at Adelitas will thrill your taste buds with mezcal cocktails on Wednesday.
Danielle Lirette
Cancun? For amateurs. Los Cabos? Puh-leeze. Oaxaca is the hottest of Mexican hot spots, with fantastic food and drink, beautiful Spanish colonial architecture and a wealth of expansive markets selling everything from sopa to summer dresses. If you can't get away this summer, make sure you get to Adelitas Cocina y Cantina's One Night in Oaxaca dinner on Wednesday, June 20. Starting at 6:30 p.m., guests will be treated to six — count 'em, six — mezcal cocktails and five courses inspired by the southern Mexican state, all for $75. We're looking forward to the tlacoyo paired with the Rosita (mezcal, Campari, vermouth and bitters). Get the full menu at Adelitas' Facebook page, then call the 303-778-1294 to secure your spot; reservations are required.
Thursday, June 21
Everything Max MacKissock, Juan Padro and Blake Edmunds touch seems to turn to gold (Bar Dough, Señor Bear), so it's no surprise their French venture, Morin — which will be opening in the former Wazee Supper Club space later this summer — is highly anticipated. And while MacKissock has played coy about what exactly is on the menu, anxious diners can see for themselves at the Morin pop-up on Thursday, June 21. For $60 ($85 with drink pairings), you'll get a sneak peek at what has alternately been termed "dope French food" and the sillier catch phrase "bistronomy." Dinner is served at 2005 West 33rd Avenue (formerly Bremen's Wine & Tap); email [email protected] to reserve a table between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Bon appétit!
So you love a good birthday party, but yours is months away, and none of your friends' parents got it on in October. What to do? We've got a couple of options for you. Marco's Coal-Fired Pizza, 2129 Larimer Street, is celebrating a decade in business on Thursday, June 21, with $10 pizzas all day, plus wine tastings, a DJ, liquor samples and a mural reveal on their patio from 5 to 8 p.m.; info is up on the pizza joint's Facebook page. And ViewHouse Littleton, 2670 West Main Street, is commemorating its first birthday with all the enthusiasm and subtlety of a one-year-old who has just ingested a Big Gulp. Its bash runs from Thursday, June 21, through Sunday, June 24 and includes free cake and champagne for the first fifty guests, caricature artists, fire breathers, a stilt walker, a yoga class, live music and a retro dance party. Visit viewhouse.com for the weekend's schedule.
Sunday, June 24
Those who don't mind the crowds and revel in seeing and being seen at the summer's hottest food event won't want to delay in buying their tickets for Cochon555, the pork-centric food festival happening on Sunday, June 24. Competitions started in NYC in January and have been popping up in major food cities across the country; things will wrap up here at the Renaissance Denver Stapleton Hotel, 3801 Quebec Street. Competing chefs Brother Luck (Four by Brother Luck), Adam Brantz (Ultreia), Cindhura Reddy (Spuntino), Kyle Foster (Julep) and Nate Singer (Blackbelly Butcher) will each create the most delectable and luxurious bites using a heritage-breed hog, while winemakers and bartenders keep the booze flowing. Tickets, $130 to $200, are on sale now at Cochon's website.
Keep reading for more notable events further ahead on the culinary calendar.
Tuesday, June 26, and Wednesday, June 27
If ever there was a culinary power duo that could pull off a bash with an all-star lineup and sellout crowds on a Tuesday, it's Toshi and Yasu Kizaki, the chef and owners of Izakaya Den, Ototo and Sushi Den. This year's rooftop party is expanding to two days: Tuesday, June 26, and Wednesday, June 27, on the roof of Sushi Den's parking garage at 1501 Pearl Street. From 6 to 10 p.m., visiting Japanese chefs will be cooking up yatai, street food commonly found at festivals, while Denver chefs Alex Seidel, Paul Reilly and Troy Guard will join the fun by making their own interpretation of those dishes. Find out more about the party at sushiden.net and pick up tickets, $90 or $110, at Eventbrite.
Wednesday, June 27
Anyone with even a passing familiarity with California wine has probably heard of Cakebread Cellars; the vineyard's name conjures sugary-sweet desserts, but it produces some fine wines from Napa and Anderson valleys. On Wednesday, June 27, Cakebread is leaving the left coast and coming to Ocean Prime, 1465 Larimer Street, for a Marine Terroir wine dinner. The event is designed to showcase how terroir — the influence sun, soil, climate and water has on flavor — plays out in both wine and seafood. The dinner runs from 6 to 8 p.m. and costs $75; call Ocean Prime at 303-825-3663 to book your table.
Thursday, June 28
If it's summer in Colorado, there must be a taco festival just around the corner. Celebrate the world's perfect food (compact, handheld, delicious) at Top Taco on Thursday, June 28. This year, the fiesta is moving from RiNo to Stanley Marketplace, 2501 Dallas Street in Aurora, where unlimited tacos, booze and parking await attendees (okay, the parking won't be unlimited, but it will be a hell of a lot better than previous years). Tickets are $75 to $135 at eventbrite.com; snap yours up before the event sells out.
Thursday, July 12
How much would you pay for bites from 65 of Denver's top restaurants? Could you even fit 65 bites into your belly? Now's your chance to find out; on Thursday, July 12, the Big Eat returns to the Denver Performing Arts Complex at 14th and Curtis streets for a food festival of epic proportions. For just a buck per bite — that's right, $65 — guests will get food from Denver's best as well as unlimited drinks. Bar Helix, the Bindery, Tavernetta and Low Country Kitchen are just a few of the restaurants making an appearance at this blowout. Go to eatdenver.com for a complete list of participating restaurants and tickets.
Sunday, August 19
Westword's Tacolandia returns to Civic Center Park, Broadway and Colfax Avenue, with more than forty of Denver's favorite Mexican restaurants and taco joints serving their takes on street tacos (or as they're known to non-hipsters: tacos). Enjoy unlimited samples and lots of live entertainment. For complete information, go to westwordtacolandia.com. This isn't a competition; it's a celebration — so come hungry and get ready for a wide variety of great Mexican eats, from the smallest mom-and-pop shops to the city's most popular cantinas.
If you know of a date that should be on this calendar, send information to [email protected].
