Ototo Food and Wine Bar reopens today

A lot of places do a smokin' business during Denver Restaurant Week, but at Ototo Food and Wine Bar, the hot times started the day before DRW started, when the kitchen crew coming out of a duct. There was no fire, but the restaurant wound up closing for a week...

By Patricia Calhoun

March 4, 2011

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A lot of places do a smokin' business during Denver Restaurant Week, but at Ototo Food and Wine Bar, the hot times started the day before DRW started, when the kitchen crew coming out of a duct. There was no fire, but the restaurant wound up closing for a week so that some faulty construction work could be repaired. And it was, in close to record time, because Ototo will open again today at 5 p.m.

Here's the word from Yasu Kizaki, who owns the restaurant with his brother, Toshi:

After four short days of construction, OTOTO will be open for business Friday night. With the help of its sister restaurant Izakaya Den accommodating guests in the interim and a wonderful construction team, the original construction flaw was quickly solved and OTOTO guests can enjoy Denver Restaurant Week beginning tonight. As a token of appreciation, OTOTO's restaurant week menu will be served through March 18."

Tonight, Ototo will be offering just the Denver Restaurant Week menu (read it here); starting tomorrow, it will serve both the DRW menu and its regular menu.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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