Jeremy Roosa Oak Tavern 1414 Market Street 303-888-0655 www.oaktaverndenver.com “I dress like a clown, I play with food, fire and sharp knives, and they pay me. Does it get any more fun than that?” asks Jeremy Roosa. The executive chef of Oak Tavern, a LoDo watering hole that serves sandwiches,…

At the Italco Spring Food Show, held yesterday and today at Mile High Station, it was all about charcuterie, salumi and cheese and me slinging all the cheese, charcuterie and salumi I could down my throat. I’ve admitted, albeit not publicly (until now), that I’m a salumi slut — that…

It’s fairly obvious from the above pic that the electric green sake bottle perched on the table wasn’t photographed at a restaurant. In fact, the snap was shot in my living room, just minutes after I’d swallowed a few glasses of the stuff to soften the sting from the spicy…

Thanawat Bates, the exec sous chef of the Palace Arms at the opulent Brown Palace hotel, 321 17th Street, is circling the dining room, stopping intermittently at tables seated with wealthy business types to inquire about their lunch. “I’ve never done lunch in a fine-dining setting, so there was an…

The Streets at SouthGlenn, which is fast becoming a food utopia, thanks to restaurants like Pho 95, The Oven and Restaurant Home, is about to yield another new restaurant: Hodson’s Bar & Grill will open at 6851 South Gaylord Street in early June. “Our main focus is on rotisserie cooking,…

As part of an upcoming photo essay project spotlighting Denver restaurant pros whose tatts are as prevalent as their dissections, burns, blisters, knife slashes and stabs, we promised that we’d post some of the best ink on the Cafe Society blog…

Seven kitchen guards from Vail’s Sweet Basil, including sous chefs Chris “Cactus Jack” Douglas and Chris “Cupcake” Youmans, braved the gales, unseasonably cold temps and rain on Saturday night, when they left the snow-thumped ski resort to cook at the fourth Hush Denver dinner on the rooftop of the Denver…

After the Beauvallon fiasco, Clemente Martinez couldn’t be happier to be in Cherry Creek — even if he did lose a small fortune in the process. Martinez, who opened Brandon’s Pub in 2008 at 955 Lincoln Street, and was forced to close that location last June when the commercial segment…

Top Chef, the often unrealistic reality show that made Hosea Rosenberg, exec chef of Jax-Boulder, a hometown hero when he emerged the conquistador two seasons ago, just released its list of contestants for season 7, which will be filmed in Washington, C.C., and premiere on June 16 on Bravo. There…

At this always packed temple to the torta, the bread is chewy and dense, paved with stretchy queso fresco, smeared with a fiery chipotle sauce and mounted with traditional fillings like ham, jalapenos, avocado, chorizo and breaded fried beef. The tortas are fantastic, as are the house-made aguas frescas, juiced…

Pho 95, which opened last weekend at the Streets of SouthGlenn, 6879 South Vine Street, has issued a challenge that will likely bowl over — literally — anyone who takes the plunge. Owner Aaron Le figures that inhaling two pounds of rice noodles, two pounds of meat (brisket, tendon, flank,…

I love family style community dinners, but there’s one communal feast, in particular, that’s held twice a month at a local restaurant, that tops them all, especially when it’s paired with blow-your-mind wines. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the…

I love headcheese, sweetbreads, escargot and foie gras as much as the next person, but there’s something about the comforting simplicity of a baked potato that I can’t resist, especially when it’s chock-full of BACON! Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer…

What, so it’s our fault? Last week, I broke the news that Frank Bonanno was adding a fifth restaurant to his culinary kingdom, a French-American comfort-food joint that would be taking up residence later this summer in a “biker bar” that required “a huge transformation” — words that came directly…

Pinkberry, the international fro-yo chainlet with a frenzied cult following, is opening its first Colorado store on Thursday, May 27 at 1000 South Colorado Boulevard, in the small mall anchored by Barnes and Noble. “Colorado is an exciting new market for Pinkberry, and a strategic part of our marketing plans,”…

That bottomless bowl of bun, stockpiled with scraps of char-grilled meats, smoky shrimp, Vietnamese egg rolls, pickled ribbons of carrots and daikon, crushed peanuts and stretchy vermicelli noodles, proves, yet again, why the Vietnamese are responsible for some of the world’s most savagely good food. Can you guess where I’m…

As part of an upcoming photo essay project spotlighting Denver restaurant pros whose tatts are as prevalent as their dissections, burns, blisters, knife slashes and stabs, we promised that we’d post some of the best ink on the Cafe Society blog…

“Oh my god, it was crazy,” says Aaron Le, his voice erupting into fits of delirious laughter. “It was the most overwhelming day I’ve every had, but also one of the funnest.” Le opened his second outpost of Pho 95 (the original is located at 1002 South Federal Boulevard) last…

“We’re not changing a whole lot; we’re just making improvements and expanding our selection,” says Nina Stajcar, promotions manager of Loaves N Ladles. That’s the new name for the former Fisher Clark Deli, 723 South University Boulevard, which owner Mary Clark recently put on the market so she could sojourn…