From Breakfast to Beer, Seventeen Tastiest Events on the Culinary Calendar

From freebies to food flicks to farm dinners, the culinary calendar is overflowing with activities that should whet your appetite for DISH, our 21st annual celebration of food and drink that comes to Sculpture Park on Sunday, September 20. Keep reading for all the tasty details of what's on tap this week.

Monday, September 14 

Corner Bakery Cafe is opening today at 501 West Hampden Avenue., and the chain is celebrating by offering the first 100 guests through the doors — they open at 6:30 a.m. — a commemorative Corner Bakery Cafe travel mug and free daily refills of hand-roasted coffee for one year. The cafe will also be donating 10 percent of today's proceeds to the Craig Hospital Foundation, to support the Englewood rehab hospital specializing in spinal cord injury and traumatic brain Injury. For more information, visit cornerbakerycafe.com. 

September is National Breakfast Month, and several Colorado chefs are hoping that their breakfast dishes have what it takes to be the best in the country. During the Hometown Breakfast Battle, 135 chefs, from 135 cites, will be competing to create America’s best breakfast dish (best featuring a Thomas-brand English muffin or bagel, that is). Matt Selby of Central Bistro & Bar, will be entering his Smoked Brisket and Thomas' English Muffin. Chef David Roth from Peach's Corner Café in Aspen hopes to snag a few votes with his Open Face. And chef David Baudier from Merle's Restaurant in Littleton will put his South Western Benedict to the test. You can help decide the crown for the breakfast king by voting at thomasbreakfastbattle.com. Voting starts today, and the first round runs two weeks.

Zolo Grill presents its annual Lone Hawk Farm Dinner: an evening celebrating community, sustainability and friendship. Zolo chefs will prepare a special, five-course meal using the daily harvest of Lone Hawk Farm’s fields, prepared and served in the Colorado countryside at Lone Hawk Farms. The dinner is $85 per person and will be served at 5:30 p.m. To view the menu check out zologrill.com, and for reservations call 303-449-0444. 

Lost Highway Brewing is releasing its Oktoberfest-style ale, LostOberFest, today at 3 p.m. and throwing a release party to celebrate. for more information, call Lost Highway at 720-440-9447.

Frasca Food and Wine welcomes Barbaresco producer Giovanni Pasquero Elia of the winery Paitin, for the restaurant's Monday Night Wine Dinner Series. Tickets are $50 per person for four courses, not including the optional wine pairings, which range from $45 to $50.For reservations, call Frasca at 303-442-6966.

Tuesday, September 15  

The 28th annual Uptown Sampler will give guests a taste of the Uptown Neighborhood today from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Diners can stroll or ride through the neighborhood while tasting samples from over twenty Uptown restaurants, enjoying live music, sipping on drink specials, and tasting an assortment of wines. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at The District, Ace, Margs Uptown, Hamburger Mary's and Argyll Whisky Beer. For more information, visit uptownonthehill.org.

Pandora on the Hill is moving from Capitol Hill to Uptown and throwing a free, wedding-themed party to break in the new location. The party will have wedding cake, giveaways and more, and the event will be run in conjunction with the Uptown Sampler. For more information, visit pandoraonthehill.com.

Denver Botanic Gardens and Chipotle Mexican Grill are presenting the fifth annual Sustainable Food Film Series, which aims to raise awareness of healthy and sustainable approaches to the way we grow, produce and consume food. Four documentary films covering organics, sustainable farming, local foods and the seafood crisis will be screened, with a post-film panel discussion and food courtesy of Chipotle. Today the first film in the series, Growing Cities, will be screened at Mitchell Hall in the Gardens. Each screening is $5 and begins at 6:30 p.m.; dinner from Chipotle starts at 6 p.m. and is included in the ticket price. For more information, click here. 

On September 16 The Melt, a cheese-centric, fast-casual concept, will open its first restaurant in Denver, at 821 16th Street. To introduce itself to our city, the restaurant is offering free meals today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. when you use the password "say cheese Denver." The grand opening will be tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. For more information, visit themelt.com.  

Score a free glass of Charles Smith wine at Opus when you order any appetizer today. The deal is limited to one per person; for more information, click here. 

Root Down is celebrating the twilight of summer with a Rose Patio Dinner tonight. The meal is priced at $75 and will feature five courses, each paired with a glass of the pink stuff. Make a reservation by calling Root Down at 303-993-4200.
Wednesday, September 16

Imbibe's Night Off invites participants to kick back and enjoy unlimited Epic Brewery beer, access to a variety of food trucks, and a screening of the 1986 classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The movie night out at will take place at Diagonal Park at Historic Elitch Gardens Theater, tonight from 6 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $25 and include a $5 donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. For tickets and more information, visit nightout.com.

Enjoy the last little bit of summer we have left at Beacons Community Creative Space today, during Zins, Blends and BBQ, which runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets to the BBQ are going for $55 and include six samples of red wine, barbecue, door prizes, swag bags, music, and more. Grab your tickets here.

Thursday, September 17 

The Denver Bicycle Cafe is gearing up for the Great American Beer Festival with a Beer and Cheese pairing today from 7 to 9 p.m. Beer enthusiasts can taste gourmet cheeses hand-picked to match a selection of five beers from Colorado's GABF-winning brewers. The Denver Bicycle Cafe's own cheese expert, Nate Cougill, will be on hand to share his knowledge. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 the day of the event; get yours here. 

CollaborEAT, hosted by CityBuild Denver, will host more than 200 Denverites at a community table discussion and dinner. The urban dining experience will take place at the intersection of 16th and Glenarm streets and will feature a multi-course dinner and entertainment followed by a discussion on the future of the 16th Street Mall. The dinner, which runs from 5 to 9 p.m., is $25 for Denver Downtown Partnership Members and $35 for the public. You can register for the dinner at citybuilddenver.com.  

Friday, September 18

Steamboat Springs serves up its twist on the Oktoberfest tradition during Steamboat OktoberWest this weekend. Grab a few beer-tasting tokens—five for $5 or twelve and a collector's mug for $20— and explore downtown Steamboat during today's Suds & Grub, a pub crawl through historic downtown with stops at restaurants for beer-tastings and food specials. Tomorrow the main event will take place at Gondola Square, bringing with it outdoors activities, over thirty Colorado breweries, an I Love Beef Cook Off, more food, live music and more. is free to OktoberWest; for more information, head over to steamboatmountainvillage.com.  

Today and tomorrow Snowmass will be pouring fun by the glass during the Snowmass Wine Festival. The event gets under way at 6:30 p.m. with a four-course wine dinner paired with the wines of New Zealand. Tomorrow the Grand Tasting will highlight over 500 wines, food from eighteen local restaurants, live music and a silent auction. The wine dinner is $135 per person and grand tasting tickets are $85 in advance and $95 the day of the event. More information and tickets for both events can be found here. 

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]. And watch for our full weekend calendar Friday.