Alto space snapped up

The space at 1320 15th Street occupied by Alto until the end of June has been leased by Paul Piciocchi, who owns Tryst and last fall bought Theorie, the club that was formerly the Real World: Denver home (and B-52 before that). No word yet on what will go into…

Mysteries of Sheehan’s Desk: Day 11

It’s funny. I’ve been writing about food for going on ten years now. I’ve won awards. I’ve written a book. And yet, the one piece of mine that’s actually been picked up and given wide (although unusual) distribution in national magazines and websites? The one I wrote about aliens–about the…

Chopsticks China Bistro won’t move until September

Chopsticks China Bistro, the great Szechuan Chinese on the corner of Federal and Mississippi, was supposed to pack up this month for a move to a tony new address at 5117 South Yosemite Street in Greenwood Village, but according to owner-chef David Lee, that didn’t quite happen. “We’re hoping to…

Pho and gymnastics at Pho 95

We all watched as the little girl with the blue leotard and blonde hair staggered on the mats. We all watched as she stood there, staring blindly out into the crowd, glancing up at the uneven bars, furrowing her small brows. Everyone in the place was watching. The room was…

Chili today, hot tomorrow

We’re hearing good things about Chili Verde, a new restaurant cooking up southern Mexican cuisine at 3700 Tejon Street. Good things, that is, about everything but its lack of alcohol — but that could change next month. Owner Eder Yanez-Mota has a liquor-license hearing with the Denver Department of Excise…

Guess where I’m eating?

It’s only Tuesday, and already we’ve seen a green chile smackdown between El Taco de Mexico and Santiago’s and a shout-out to all you vegheads for meatless verde recommendations that won’t make the PETA terrorists people pissed. And now, strictly by coincidence, comes the above photo of three rolled enchiladas…

Brio Tuscan Grille to open next week in Cherry Creek

The economy has slowed some restaurant projects and killed others, but Brio Tuscan Grille is right on track to open Wednesday, September 2 in the former (and much renovated) Macaroni Grill space at 2500 East First Avenue, in the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. Brio is brought to us by the…

Mysteries of Sheehan’s Desk: Day 10

Yesterday I wrote about my favorite gift from PETA. This one’s my second favorite. And yes, it is what it looks like: one of those little wind-up Easter chicks, only with its beak cut off, its eyes poked out and splashed in blood. Not real subtle, those PETA folks. But…

Behind the Bar: Ky Belk of Elway’s in Cherry Creek

Ky Belk doesn’t judge who’s coming in the door at Elway’s in Cherry Creek. His best tip was a thousand bucks one night from a guy wearing a Green Bay Packers jersey. And while he won’t say it, I’m sure that some of the flashiest people at the bar have…

Let the dough fly: There’s a pizza battle brewing at Belmar

There’s a pizza battle brewing at Belmar and Virgilio Urbano, the owner of Virgilio’s Pizzeria, which is across the street from Belmar at 7986 West Alameda Avenue in Lakewood, is right in the thick of it. Seems that Virgilio’s has been denied acceptance into Belmar’s Festival Italiano, the shopping district’s…

Harvest Week should produce a cornucupia of good food

Sunday night at Campo de Fiori (300 Fillmore Street), a group of local restaurateurs and spirit-pushers hosted a kick-off party for Harvest Week, sponsored by DINR (the Denver Independent Network of Restaurants) and offering a taste of what to expect at this year’s event, which runs September 12-18. As David…

Green Chile Smackdown! El Taco de Mexico v. Santiago’s

Since listing our top-ten green chile places last week, we’ve been swimming in the stuff, comparing this taste to that, defending our picks, revisiting our favorites and finally conducting a green chile smackdown. And it kills me to admit this, but in today’s side-by-side comparison of El Taco de Mexico…

A replacement for the Bugling Bull?

There was a time when I swore that the best barbecue to be had in the state of Colorado was at the Bugling Bull Trading Post, a kind of general store/truck stop/campground supplier down on 1668 North Highway 67 in Sedalia. Pit man Mike Frislie used to run a kind…

Ask the Critic: A greener green chile

On the blog this week, there’s been a lot of talk about green chile ’round these parts. We have eaten chile and argued about green chile, compared green chile and made a list of our favorite green chiles across the city. One thing we didn’t get into very much? Vegetarian…

Lunch Starts Tuesday at Colt & Gray

I’d heard that Colt &Gray, the new gastropub at 1553 Platte Street, was opening for lunch today, so on Saturday I made a reservation for 1 p.m. today using Open Table. But last night, I received the following voicemail message: “Hi, this is Nicole over at Colt &Gray…. Unfortunately, we…

Best Invention Ever: The Red Bull of beef jerky

Technology put a man on the moon. It’s allowed us to see distant stars, to unravel the mysteries of the universe and to get free porn at any hour of day or night. And now, to those lofty achievements, we can add one even loftier: energy jerky. That’s right, it’s…

Mysteries of Sheehan’s Desk: Day 9

I have a lot of reasons to hate PETA. They’re pushy, they’re nuts, they’re cultish and, occasionally, they’re terrorists. They’re positively militant in their defense of all god’s fuzziest critters, have no qualms in who they select as the targets of their campaigns (joyously going after women, children and Holocaust…

Guess where I’m eating?

I’m fully aware of how cruel it is to post a pic of a pizza that looks this magnificent, especially since I know that many of you are probably holed up in a cube somewhere, stomach gurgling, wondering if it’s going to be another Subway lunch day. But if this…

Hot dog! An award-winning Colorado recipe

Maria Carrion-Kozak of Colorado just took home the grand prize from Oscar Mayer’s Sabor de Mama recipe contest. Carrion-Kozak’s award-winner, “Tortilla Mama Luisa,” is a variation on her grandmother’s original Tortilla Espanola recipe — the hot dogs are new — and dedicated to her mother Luisa. “Oscar Mayer congratulates Mrs…

The Larimer Square guys and Sean Kelly get a pizza the action

Sometime in December, Jeff Hermanson, Joe Vostrejs and Rod Wagner will add a new pizza bar to their portfolio of successful restaurants that already includes Billy’s Inn, LoHi Steakbar and pretty much every chow house on Larimer Square. Their newest place, whose name is yet to be determined, will take…