On November 22, 2004, when Jennifer Jasinski and Beth Gruitch opened Rioja in Larimer Square, that block wasn’t the dining destination that it is today — and chef Jen was far from a household name. Fast forward ten years, and Larimer Square is an eating Eden, with Gruitch and Jasinski…
The Best of Denver is just four months away, and our Cafe Society crew has already started eating, and eating, and eating, to narrow down the field to the winners who will be announced on March 26, 2015. One of the most competitive categories is Best Burger, last year won…
Descendants of those who survived the Sand Creek Massacre did not hear much about it when they were growing up; that day was too painful for their elders to talk about. “They would always cry,” one remembers. But some descendants of John Evans, Colorado’s territorial governor during the November 29,…
Casa Bonita is a local landmark that celebrated its fortieth birthday this year. It’s a quasi-Mexican village inside a suburban strip mall, and if you grew up in Denver, you definitely celebrated one (or more) of your own birthdays here. To mark the start of the restaurant’s fifth decade, we…
On a very cold day last week, Mark Antonation used his noodle and served up a story on five different kinds of ramen — and where to find them in Denver. The response was heated: Denverites love their ramen, and dished out plenty of opinions on where to find it…
Last week Mark Antonation served up Ten Things Visitors Should Know About the Denver Dining Scene, including the crucial fact that this city’s culinary contributions go far beyond the Denver omelette. Not only does Denver have great craft beer and bison, he points out, but it also has good very…
On December 3, after five days and 170 miles, the fifteenth annual Sand Creek Massacre Healing Run will end with a procession to the steps of the State Capitol, where descendants of Arapaho and Cheyenne tribe members killed at Sand Creek will join with more tribal representatives, historians, politicians and…
John Parr, Westword co-founder Sandy Widener and their oldest daughter, Chase Parr, were killed in a car wreck in December 2007, a tragedy that dimmed some of Denver’s brightest lights. In tribute to this exemplary family (the only survivor was younger daughter Katy), friends and colleagues created the Parr Widener…
Fermaentra Brewing, Alpine Dog and Locavore Beer Works are all opening this weekend, all part of the continuing boom in the craft-beer business. By the end of the year, there could be fifty breweries operating within Denver city limits, with many more in the surrounding suburbs. But could this be…
Pete Turner will open his seventh Illegal Pete’s store for breakfast at 7 a.m. today; this one is in Fort Collins. The homegrown chain got its start in Boulder almost twenty years ago, around the time that Qdoba launched and a few years after Chipotle made its debut on East…
Pete Turner delivered the word last Wednesday — with a very lengthy explanation on his illegalpetes.com website. When his seventh store opens in Fort Collins tomorrow, it will be named Illegal Pete’s — just as his original store was when he opened it on the Hill in Boulder almost twenty…
What does a visitor to Denver need to know about the dining scene? That we have a history that stretches far beyond Denver omelettes, that there are many ethnic options, that the seafood in this landlocked city is plenty fresh, that’s it’s important to get out to the neighborhoods, and…
When you’re trying to right a 150-year-old wrong, you do not want to make another mistake. You do not want to add insult to grievous injury. That’s why the members of the University of Denver’s John Evans Study Committee took such care with their investigation of the connection between John…
Last week Mark Antonation compared a barbacoa Chipotle burrito to a barbacoa Qdoba burrito — and found that despite Qdoba’s new, no-charge-for-extras policy, the Chipotle burrito was a better deal. When we shared the experiment on our news blog yesterday, more than a hundred readers weighed in, serving up opinions…
With several breweries scheduled to open in Denver this month, 2014 is shaping up as a record-breaking year for new craft-beer enterprises. At least a dozen breweries have opened since January, and by the end of the year there could be close to fifty breweries operating within Denver city limits…
Pete Turner has made his decision: The Illegal Pete’s name will be on the new store, his seventh location, when it opens in Fort Collins next week. He posted a lengthy explanation of his rationale on illegalpetes.com late Wednesday afternoon — to the dismay of critics and the rejoicing of…
Dunkin’ Donuts returned to the Denver area over the past year, opening stores from Denver International Airport to Edgewater, Boulder to Colorado Springs. Fans of the chain on the East Coast have welcomed Dunkin’ with open arms (and mouths, and wallets), while others just wish they’d go home. Here’s just…
Row 14 was ambitious — perhaps too ambitious for its location right across from the Colorado Convention Center, where business was either feast or famine, depending on which group had been booked into the facility. When visitors are eager to try Bubba Gump’s, you know a more upscale restaurant is…
Yesterday Dunkin’ Donuts launched its version of the fading fad-tastic cronut, simply named the Croissant Donut. With the chain making a big comeback in Denver — over a half-dozen stores have opened in the metro area over the past year, with more to come — there are plenty of spots…
The controversy in Fort Collins over the name of Illegal Pete’s — a Boulder-based company that’s slated to open its seventh spot in that city next week — got us thinking about restaurant names that have truly offended local sensibilities. And on Friday, we served up a list of our…
The record pace of restaurant openings slowed a bit in October, but there were still some notable events, including the long-awaited opening of Sarto’s in Jefferson Park. And two of the town’s best Chinese restaurants — Chef Liu’s and East Asia Garden — gave up the ghost, although the latter…
Over the past year, the Boulder-based Brewers Association has repeatedly urged all breweries to get on board with quality control, saying that inexperienced brewers making poor quality beer could jeopardize the industry’s success. The owners of Cerebral Brewing, which will open next year off Colfax Avenue, are keeping that in…
