If you weren’t looking for it, you’d likely miss this tiny Latin restaurant that pumps out terrific Mexican and Colombian tamales coupled with exceptionally good griddled Salvadoran pupusas concealing everything from zucchini to green chiles. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer…
Cafe Society dished up five Guess Where? contests last week, ranging from a yet-to-be-identified plate of larb — one of my favorite Laotian dishes — to a simple summertime salad from the Copper Pot, to a celebratory bottle of sake from a Japanese restaurant that lends itself to just about…
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…
Years ago, in 2003, John Broening, Robert Thompson and Thompson’s ex-wife, Leigh Jones, opened a downtown French brasserie called Brasserie Rouge. It was, for its short tenure, the best restaurant in Denver — not just the best French restaurant, but the best restaurant. Period. During the time Brasserie Rouge was…
I’ll admit it: I’m a sucker for a great plate of nachos, but nachos, as I’ve pointed out before, need to have the right balance of cheese, chips and toppings. These nachos, which were a late-night snack from a neighborhood bar, weren’t bad, but they’re definitely not at the top…
Judging from the notes of woe on the Justice League of Street Food’s Facebook page, where it was announced earlier today that the coalition’s food truck parties will come to an end on August 3, there are an awful lot of saddened loyalists. “What a downer,” wrote one disheartened fan…
“I’ll just wait to read what they say about me,” declares Brandon Foster, striding past the line at Vesta Dipping Grill and into the sunlit dining room, where there’s already a buzz humming from an early crowd. “He’s the heartbeat of the kitchen,” offers one of Foster’s cooks. “He’s incredibly…
If there’s one Laotian dish that I love above all others, it’s larb, a textural, pungently aromatic toasted rice-and-minced pork salad that’s salty, sweet, sour and spicy. And, here, at this Thai restaurant that resembles a yesteryear living room, the kitchen executes the dish extremely well. Can you guess where…
There are thirteen “characteristics” required of Chipotle employees, who now number more than 40,000. One is “infectious enthusiasm.” Another is “happy” — you must be happy. Half-time happy doesn’t cut it. And it’s those attributes — along with fast food focused on slow-food philosophies, resulting in burritos that make loyal…
Saturday, July 13, marks the twentieth anniversary of Chipotle Mexican Grill, the homegrown burrito chain that Steve Ells opened near the University of Denver in 1993. His $85,000 investment — a loan from his parents — has since spawned more than 1,400 stores around the world, making Chipotle the holy…
Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with a spacious kitchen. They often bring some of their market’s choicest ingredients home with them and cook up a feast. The Fourth of July…
Celebrations usually uncork with a bottle of champagne, but on this particular occasion, we chose a screw top bottle of unfiltered sake (and some sushi) to mark the triumph. Can you guess where I’m drinking? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to a Guess Where post is…
When Bocadillo opened in June of 2012 in Sunnyside, partners Derek Dietz and Andrew Minhinnisk promised to unleash a Spanish sandwich revolution — and for several months, that’s exactly what they did, turning out traditional Spanish sandwiches (called bocadillos) and Spanish-influenced small bites (known as pintxos) to smitten crowds who…
A salad wasn’t the only dish I ate from the menu that pimps a litany of American staples — think meatloaf, burgers, steak and chicken pot pie — but on these hot summer nights, sometimes a simple heap of greens tastes better than anything else. Can you guess where I’m…
Lance Barto, the opening chef of Central Bistro & Bar, and, most recently, part of the kitchen crew at Linger, is leaving the bright lights of the city behind to open The Social, a new restaurant at 872 West Happy Canyon Road, in Castle Pines Village. See also: – Central…
When Celina Reyes moved to Denver ten years ago from Hidalgo, Mexico, she had no intention of opening a restaurant, but over time, Reyes’s husband, who was crazy about her cooking, persuaded his wife that Aurora would be the ideal place to peddle her Mexican empanadas, which are called pastes…
Russia, it turns out, brews a ton of beers. In fact, there are more than 560 beer producers in that country, including Baltika, the largest brewery in Eastern Europe — and you can find several of its beers in Denver, at this tiny Russian restaurant that takes its suds as…
Cafe Society served up three Guess Where? contests last week, ranging from a yet-to-be-identified plate of excellent chilaquiles, to a platter of spring roll necessities — meats, noodles and fresh herbs — from New Saigon, to a steaming pot of seafood from a neighborhood joint that might want to look…
Kelly Whitaker Pizzeria Basta 3601 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder 303-997-8775 pizzeriabasta.com This is part three of my interview with Kelly Whitaker, exec chef-owner of Pizzeria Basta. Parts one and two ran earlier this week. What are your kitchen-gadget obsessions? Cryovac machines and immersion circulators. We don’t have stoves or conventional ovens…
Part one of my interview with Kelly Whitaker, exec chef-owner of Pizzeria Basta , ran yesterday. This is part two of our chat; part three will run tomorrow. Kelly Whitaker Pizzeria Basta 3601 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder 303-997-8775 pizzeriabasta.com What are your kitchen-gadget obsessions? Cryovac machines and immersion circulators. We don’t…
It’s rocketing restaurants in Glendale. Two weeks ago, Dave Query opened his fourth Jax Fish House, which unveils its rooftop patio tomorrow night, and this week, three more restaurants opened in the Glendale City Set Project: Big Smoke Burger, Cuba Cuba Sandwicheria, and today, Udi’s Cafe, Pizza and Bar, a…
Just over a year ago, Jeremy Kittelson was unceremoniously booted from his exec chef position at Ambria, fired from that job in a short dump session at the Cheesecake Factory, which is still going gangbusters, while Ambria — some say not surprisingly — shuttered not long after Kittelson, who can…
