Food halls are all the buzz these days, as developers invest big dollars in the concept and invite boutique restaurants to join their lineups. Avanti Food & Beverage is the Denver archetype, an incubator model that allows startups to sign short-term leases and test culinary ideas in a relatively low-risk…

No. 98: The Roasted Porchetta Sandwich at Brider Sure, Brider is one of the newest eateries in town, but the culinary team that has already found success with Oak at Fourteenth and Acorn has only needed a few turns of the rotisserie to start rolling out delish deli-style sandwiches (not…

Last week, we mentioned that Strange Grounds on South Broadway had closed and will soon become a sandwich shop called Samiches. But it turns out that Strange Grounds is not gone for good. A source with the coffeehouse indicates that the owner has found a new location at 1077 South…

Strange Grounds, the funky coffeehouse known for its open-mike night, is now closed on South Broadway. But there’s a sign on the door promising the arrival of Samiches in 2016. The sign also notes that the new eatery will serve gourmet sandwiches, pastas, salads, soups and homemade desserts. More pressing…

No. 99: Bacon Shrimp and Grits at Bacon Social HouseWhen you find yourself at a restaurant called Bacon, bacon had better end up on your plate in some form. Fortunately, at Bacon there’s no shortage of cured pork belly in just about every dish — and even in a few…

Sunnyside Burger Bar opened at 3759 Lipan Street (in the old home of the Subway Tavern, right at the corner of West 38th Avenue) in the fall of 2014 as another neighborhood eatery in the Larimer Associates portfolio. At the time, chef/restaurateur Troy Guard signed on as the consulting chef…

Chef/restaurateur Justin Brunson has been a busy man of late; in addition to running the nationally acclaimed Old Major, he’s also piloting two Masterpiece Delicatessens, the culinary program at Honor Society and the soon-to-open Masterpiece Kitchen. He’s also doing quite a bit of traveling as a de-facto embassador for the…

The Buffalo Restaurant & Bar closed in October 2014 for what was intended to be a five-month renovation project. But more than a year went by before the historic Idaho Springs watering hole reopened in December 2015. While the original bar, which was built in Chicago in the 1880s, still…

Ever since Colorado’s own quick-service burger chain Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard took control of newcomer Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar (in a move that began in 2013 and was completed last year), Bad Daddy’s has been expanding its presence in Colorado and in other states. The full-service burger company,…

Tacos Jalisco closed on December 21 for remodeling, promising to reopen on January 2. Well, the time-honored (and slightly timeworn) Mexican joint in Berkeley honored its word, and is now back serving those familiar burritos, carnitas and combo plates in an updated dining room. The two seating areas are a…

The weeks around Christmas and New Year’s Day are a slow period, as many of us take off from work to travel or spend time with friends and family. The same is generally true in the restaurant industry: New projects grind to a halt because finding staff is tough, scheduling…

While nearly 250 restaurants and bars opened in 2015 and some 100 or so closed, only four places were unlucky enough to do both in the same year. Here are four restaurants and coffeehouses that opened and closed within the year. For a complete list of openings and closings, see…

The Ethniche column began in May 2014 as a deep dive into the city’s international culinary scene, with each month devoted to four or five restaurants serving the cuisine of a specific country, region or culture. After a year, though, I changed tactics, looking instead for less common foods, whether…

No. 100: Masala Beef at Biju’s Little Curry ShopA curry bowl at Biju’s stands out as an inspiring option for the first great dish of 2016. Owner Biju Thomas focuses on one thing — the bold flavors of South India — and weaves in themes that ring true for modern…

“A samurai with no lord or master during the feudal period 1185 – 1868 of Japan. A samurai became masterless after the death or fall of his master…”: Those are the words on the wall above the bar at Sushi Ronin, which opened on Saturday, January 2, in Lower Highland,…

GoodBird Kitchen, the fast-casual spin-off of the Post Brewing Company in Lafayette, is gearing up to open its first location in Longmont next week. A second location had also been planned but today Dave Query, founder of the Big Red F restaurant group behind the fried-chicken joints, announced that Goodbird…

Lucas Chandler isn’t the kind of chef who started out as a pre-teen kitchen rat scrubbing pots at his uncles’s Italian joint for less than minimum wage or stirring the sauce for his grandmother before Sunday family meals. But by high school was working in restaurants and then went on…

We started and finished our list of 100 Favorite Dishes with Denver originals: a crispy chile relleno from La Fiesta at number 100 and a plate of bison ribs from the Fort at number 1. In between, we sampled bites of great food everywhere from Acorn to Z Cuisine. Here…

Colorado is known as a breeding ground for fast-casual chains that have gone national with the likes of Chipotle, Noodles & Company, Qdoba and Quiznos all getting their starts in Denver. But smaller chains like Smiling Moose, which got its start in Edwards in 2003, are also looking for a…

If you’re thinking about heading out for some Mexican food in the Berkeley neighborhood this week, look somewhere other than Tacos Jalisco, which closed at the beginning of last week for remodeling. A sign on the door states that the longtime 38th Avenue favorite will reopen on Sunday, January 2,…

In 2015, we brought you plenty of news of restaurant openings and closings, plus stories about all of the best food in Denver — from brunch and barbecue to burgers and green chile. Here are the ten stories you loved the most, based on readership — with the most popular…