Guess where I’m eating the crab that didn’t get away?

The last time I ordered crab from this restaurant, I was asked to point to the one I wanted from the murky tank. The one I chose, however, somehow landed on the floor, crawling its way across the carpet in a futile attempt to escape its impending doom. Recently, during…

First look: Satchel’s on 6th reopens after a remodel

“Welcome back to Satchel’s,” says the sidewalk chalkboard just outside the front door of Andrew Casalini’s restaurant on Sixth Avenue. The greeting comes a day after Casalini reopened his Congress Park spot after a three-week remodel — a remodel that trumpets a stately new bar, custom-patterned wood floors, luscious red,…

Maria Empanada relocating to the former Buffalo Doughboy space

Back when I discovered Maria Empanada, a pint-sized shop in Lakewood that turns out magnificent, freshly baked Argentinean turnovers filled with both sweet and savory feelings, I loved everything about the place, but the tiny quarters — there was but one table — made me wistful that I couldn’t linger,…

Dancing Crab will take over the shuttered Shin Sa Dong

Back in July, Shin Sa Dong, a lofty Korean restaurant in Aurora, closed its doors, but the bright banner hanging from the exterior gate hinted that the closure was temporary. “Coming soon – remodeling,” it said. But as of yesterday, a new, more permanent sign was being erected by construction…

Guess where I’m eating a “Cruban” sandwich?

“How is a Cruban different from a Reuben?” I asked the sandwich maker behind the counter. “I have no idea, but it’s one of my favorite sandwiches. You should get it, you’ll like it,” he replied. He was right, and while I’m not certain, my guess is that it’s called…

100 Favorite Dishes: Pozole from La California Panaderia

Suffice it to say that I eat out more than the general population, unless, of course, the general population can catalogue more than 450 restaurant meals in a year — which is about the number of breakfasts, lunches and dinners that I stomached in 2012. Pathetic, isn’t it? But all…

Guess where I’m eating brocheta de camaron?

Most Mexican restaurants turn out some version of skewered shrimp, usually wrapped in bacon, but this Mexican joint keeps its brocheta minimal, forgoing the pig and threading the stick with plump shrimp and simply grilled vegetables brushed with a tart tomatilo salsa. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus:…

Guess where I’m eating a huge seafood boil?

The kid was hankering for seafood, and so was I, so we ended up here, where we eagerly polished off five pounds of shrimp, clams, mussels, crawfish and crab, along with plenty of potatoes, corn and sausage, all of it seasoned with Cajun spices. We came, we feasted, we made…

Little Shanghai closes after nearly forty years on South Broadway

Years ago, when the Rolling Stones were in town to play a Denver concert, they ate at Little Shanghai, a South Broadway stalwart serving authentic — and Americanized — Chinese food, and during the past 39 years, just about everyone else ate there, too, including us, always saving belly room…

Guess where I’m eating yellow dal tadka?

One of my go-to vegetarian Indian dishes is lentil stew, or dal, and at this Indian restaurant, the hearty stew, rich with ghee and the color of rustic gold, emits bold aromatics that drift through the dining room. It’s a dish, that for me, defines the essence of autumn, my…

Exclusive first look: Humboldt Farm. Fish. Wine. opens tomorrow in Uptown

Earlier this year, in late April, Strings, the Uptown restaurant that the late Noel Cunningham opened 27 years ago, closed after Cunningham’s widow, Tammy, who had been running the restaurant since Cunningham’s untimely death in 2011, made the decision to sell the beloved restaurant to Frank Day, founder of Concept…