Food & Drink

I was at Dougherty’s the night that chef R.J. Van Stockum was adding Irish Leprechaun Lollipops to the menu. Lucky Leprechaun Lollipops. Irish Lollipops. The name had not yet been decided, but the prep had: a wad of Irish cheddar wrapped in prosciutto, cooked and stuck on the end of…

The recent rains have greened up — and cleaned up — Civic Center Park, which was looking good for today’s first installment of Civic Center Eats, the weekly market and cafe that’s moved to mid-day Tuesday this year. The lineup of booths should increase through the summer, but already includes…

As reported here a few weeks ago, Colore Pizzeria Moderna, a new pizza and pasta joint at 2700 South Broadway, was supposed to open today, but I just talked with co-owner Caroline Momo-Torres, who says that it’s not going to happen. “It’s like the last month of pregnancy, you know?…

According to a quick count of the locations on the official Einstein Bros. Bagels website, Denver just got its twelfth Einstein Bros. Bagels shop, in Lowry’s Town Center at Second Avenue and Quebec. Although this is a national chain — with more than 430 stores either owned or franchised by…

Here’s one for the books: 3 Sons is back in business, and even beat the June 20 opening date promised last week on its web site. In fact, it’s serving as of today in its new location at 14805 West 64th Avenue in Arvada…

Tonight, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Black Pearl, 1529 South Pearl Street, the restaurant owned by Sean Huggard and Steve Whited, who also run Encore at 2550 East Colfax, celebrates four years of survival in the restaurant-soaked Platt Park ‘hood with a big time party featuring complimentary passed appetizers…

Barack Obama loves Five Guys, the 400-outlet burger chain that got its start in D.C.; Jason Sheehan wasn’t such a big fan when he did a taste test of Aurora’s Five Guys and the Counter down in Park Meadows. Sheehan was such a not-big fan that he returned to Five…

Starting today and continuing through Tuesday, September 29, Civic Center Park will be the site for the Civic Center Outdoor Market & Cafe, an urbanized farmers’ market that kicks off the summer season today at 11 a.m. with live music and numerous vendors peddling everything from organic fruits and vegetables…

“Thank you for calling Pizzicato Gourmet Pizza in Capitol Hill, Denver. Due to the economic times, we have decided to close this location.”That’s the message I got when I called the only Colorado outpost of the Oregon-based pizzeria earlier this afternoon to check on a rumor that the joint was…

View Larger Map Leave it up to the all-powerful, online Mafiosi known as the Highland Mommies to break the news about a potential new eatery opening in northwest Denver. After all, these North Denver moms were the ones to break the news of Chipotle’s new menu, back in March on…

Last week, Ask the Critic was all about me and my mom, and where I should take her while she was in town now that I have run through all of Denver’s standard family-in-town destinations. In the end, we ended up hitting several places: D bar for starters, and then…

This summer, Cook Street School of Fine Cooking, 1937 Market Street, celebrates ten years of teaching idiots, pretenders, professionals, iconoclasts and everyone in between the tricks and tools of the cooking trade. To mark the anniversary, it’s holding a series of events, including a recipe contest (in conjunction with the…

As the weeks roll on, visiting the Boulder Farmers’ Market is beginning to make me feel like the Octomom at a Baby Gap: Overhwhelmed by the options, I start thinking, “I just want it all!”This past Saturday, I was blown away by the explosion of summer greens (like chard, kale…

A new barbecue joint named Johnie’s has opened at 5280 West 25th Avenue in Edgewater, in the space that recently held the short-lived Tiki Torch and, before that, the Okoboji Inn, where the broasted chicken was a bird that flew right.But Johnie’s joins a busy little block of feed bags…

See more photos from the contest at westword.com/slideshow.John Proctor, a supervisor at the Park Meadows Sam’s Club, knew he could eat a lot of hot dogs — but downing eight and a half in ten minutes in the amateur hot-dog eating competition on Saturday afternoon unlocked a hidden talent. “I…

Pasta Jay’s has opened a new restaurant at 9226 Park Meadows Drive in Lone Tree. That makes three for the Boulder-based business, which didn’t have much luck when it made a brief foray into LoDo, at 1435 Market Street (now the Pour House Pub), more than a decade ago, but…

Star Trek cereal Kellogg’s Rating: Three spoons out of four Cereal description: Oat discs that resemble mini-cinnamon rolls, even though the designers insist that they represent spinning galaxies. (Maybe to someone who’s never been to a bakery.) These bits are supplemented by marshmallows stamped into two primary shapes — circles…

One of the best food events of the year, Plates for the Peak, a small plates fundraiser and silent auction to benefit Urban Peak, a non-profit that saves kids from the jaws of homelessness, returns for a sixth year to Vesta Dipping Grill, 1822 Blake Street, tonight from 6 to…

When Colt & Gray, the new gastropub taking shape at 1553 Platte Street, opens next month, owner and executive chef Nelson Perkins says he’ll be ready. “This restaurant has honestly been in the works for more than two years, and I think we’ve achieved what we set out to do,…

What you might have missed this week on Cafe Society:Jason Sheehan was stumped for a restaurant suitable for his mom, but came up with a sweet idea.Vesta is putting locavores in high spirits, literally, with a happy hour featuring cocktails made with Colorado liquids.Jason found his favorite single dish in…