What defines an essential restaurant? Several opinionated friends and I were recently discussing that topic during dinner at a trendy newcomer that’s amassed a flurry of flattery since opening its doors. It’s a restaurant-of-the-moment, but will it still be relevant in six months? Will the crowds continue to jam the…
I love the menu at this Mexican joint, not for its enchiladas, tacos or burritos, all of which are good, but for the dishes that you don’t often see elsewhere, including a plate of swoon-worthy suckling pig. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first…
The signature signs of a city that’s on the culinary fast track reside in its willingness to take aggressive risks, push infinite boundaries and continually adapt to a fickle dining public whose expectations are always on the upswing. Denver is that city — a major metropolis that refuses to slow…
Lance Hanson is a self-described “classics nerd.” And he parlayed that interest into a job teaching Latin to high school kids, eventually giving up academia to pursue a career in the software business, which made him, well, rich — rich enough, at least, to “dive off the deep end and…
It’s a shame when you go to a restaurant for a very specific dish — in this case, duck — only to discover that the duck (cold, cold duck) is superseded by a rudimentary dish of shrimp with black bean sauce. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone…
The signature signs of a city that’s on the culinary fast track reside in its willingness to take aggressive risks, push infinite boundaries and continually adapt to a fickle dining public whose expectations are always on the upswing. Denver is that city — a major metropolis that refuses to slow…
Cafe Society dished up five Guess Where? contests last week, ranging from a soggy Italian sausage-and-pepper sandwich from Little Carmine’s (the next-door sibling to Carmine’s on Penn), to a super-size frozen margarita from Cantina, to a burger that generated more comments than there are burger joints in Denver…
One surefire way to make your belly swish? Swallow four margaritas, or in my case, just one, which is still enough to do the job. Can you guess where I’m drinking? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to a Guess Where post is entered into a pool…
Last week, when I interviewed Steve Redzikowski, chef and co-owner of Acorn, which just opened in the Source, he was fixated on a baguette, but not just any baguette: This particular baguette, he said, equated to the “best baguette in Colorado.” He called it “phenomenal,” and then followed up that…
The signature signs of a city that’s on the culinary fast track reside in its willingness to take aggressive risks, push infinite boundaries and continually adapt to a fickle dining public whose expectations are always on the upswing. Denver is that city — a major metropolis that refuses to slow…
UPDATE: We have a winner of our Denver Beerathon contest, in which we asked Cafe Society readers to answer this question: How many glasses of Empire Brewing pumpkin ale were poured during the 2012 New York Beerathon? Congratulations to Leah McCracken, who guessed 715; the actual answer is 727. Leah,…
While the java joint next door overflowed with caffeine junkies, the spot where I was having lunch was empty, save for me and my Italian sausage-and-pepper sandwich, which was nearly as soggy as the weather. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer…
Pounding, unrelenting rain caused numerous creeks in Boulder and Larimer counties to flood early this morning, and Boulder, by the looks of the photos streaming in, is under water, prompting officials to close the University of Colorado Boulder campus today and tomorrow — and that’s just the beginning of the…
Patxi Azpiroz, who’s already unleashed two Patxi’s Pizza parlors in Denver — one in Englewood, and a second in Cherry Creek — is about to make it a hat trick: In late fall, he’ll open a third Patxi’s piehole palace in Uptown, at 1598 East 17th Avenue, next door to…
Kris Padalino Bittersweet 500 East Alameda Avenue 303-942-0320 bittersweetdenver.com This is part two of my interview with Kris Padalino, pastry chef at Bittersweet; part one of our chat ran yesterday. What cookbooks and/or food-related reading material do you draw inspiration from? I like to read blogs and cookbooks and surf…
The signature signs of a city that’s on the culinary fast track reside in its willingness to take aggressive risks, push infinite boundaries and continually adapt to a fickle dining public whose expectations are always on the upswing. Denver is that city — a major metropolis that refuses to slow…
If you’ve ever run a marathon, the inaugural Denver Beerathon, a liver-saturating craft-beer palooza that blows into town today, should be a cakewalk. After all, Sam Gelin, the brains behind the traveling brew crawl, insists, “It’s only like a marathon with respect to the fact that there are the same…
The signature signs of a city that’s on the culinary fast track reside in its willingness to take aggressive risks, push infinite boundaries and continually adapt to a fickle dining public whose expectations are always on the upswing. Denver is that city — a major metropolis that refuses to slow…
The spot-on chicken mole at this Mexican joint is enough to ensure that you won’t want to share, but the classic jukebox that pulsates with Mexican tunes will make you want to jump on the table and shake your booty. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who…
Kris Padalino Bittersweet 500 East Alameda Avenue 303-942-0320 bittersweetdenver.com This is part one of my interview with Kris Padalino, pastry chef at Bittersweet; part two of our chat will run tomorrow. Kris Padalino never envisioned herself as a pastry chef. Sure, she grew up in a big Italian family that…
Despite the invasion of new burger joints, this venerable cash cow continues to pimp meat that’s hard to beat. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to a Guess Where post is entered into a pool — and every Monday, we select…
The signature signs of a city that’s on the culinary fast track reside in its willingness to take aggressive risks, push infinite boundaries and continually adapt to a fickle dining public whose expectations are always on the upswing. Denver is that city — a major metropolis that refuses to slow…
