There’s gross — and there’s gross anatomy, the deeply gruesome and gory body parts that hit the table on Halloween, the one day of the year when demonic bakers emerge from their caldrons and devise recipes that make your stomach turn green. The cakes on the following pages, all allegedly…

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…

“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,…

Cafe Society served up five Guess Where? contests last week, ranging from a bayou-inspired seafood boil from Asian Cajun, to a warming bowl of yellow dal tadka from Masalaa, to an Indian phaal curry, so excruciatingly hot that it nearly blew my head off and destroyed my stomach lining…

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,…

UPDATE: We have a winner of our Lou’s Food Bar German beer brunch contest, in which we asked Cafe Society readers to answer this question: On average, how many poached eggs does Lou’s serve during one brunch service? Congrats to Jon S, whose guess of 98 eggs was straight on…

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…

I’d been warned on more than one occasion to proceed with caution, that despite my ability to handle the heat, I’d meet my match if I dared to go head-to-head with what the owner of this restaurant calls the “hottest curry in the country.” I scoffed, insistent that I’d have…

Back in May, during a press conference outside the Oxford Hotel, Larimer Associates and the Union Station Alliance revealed the names of three of the restaurant tenants that will be part of the renovation of the old station: the Kitchen Next Door, Snooze and a new restaurant and market from…

“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…

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…

Steve Redzikowski Acorn 3350 Brighton Boulevard 720-542-3721 denveracorn.com Oak at Fourteenth 1400 Pearl Street, Boulder 303-444-3622 oakatfourteenth.com This is part two of my interview with Steve Redzikowski, exec chef of Acorn and Oak at Fourteenth; the first part of my one-on-one with Redzikowski ran yesterday. Most underrated chef in Denver/Boulder:…

Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a nationwide chain known for its healthy eats with a tropical twist, opens Monday in the Denver Tech Center, and one person will receive free smoothies for a year as part of the grand opening celebration, which will also include complimentary smoothies for anyone who walks through…

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:…

Steve Redzikowski Acorn 3350 Brighton Boulevard 720-542-3721 denveracorn.com Oak at Fourteenth 1400 Pearl Street, Boulder 303-444-3622 oakatfourteenth.com This is part one of my interview with Steve Redzikowski, exec chef of Acorn and Oak at Fourteenth; part two of my one-on-one with Redzikowski will run tomorrow. Steve Redzikowski grew up on…

Every time I drive by Palais Casablanca — which is often several times a day — there’s rarely, if ever, a single car in the parking lot, and on the various occasions when I’ve poked my head through the door, the dining room, with its plush pillows and traditional floor…

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…

UPDATE: We have a winner of our Mateo “Provence to Lyons” flood relief benefit contest, in which we asked Cafe Society readers to tell us, in twenty words or less, why they’re craving a spectacular meal. Congratulations to Matt Reilly, whose words won us over. Matt, we’ll send you an…

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…

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…

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…