Qdoba pulls the pepper on its chile verde

It’s no secret that we Westworders are seriously obsessed with green chile, which is why we could barely contain our enthusiasm when word hit the pavement back in early March that the executive decision-makers who oversee important things at Qdoba Mexican Grill, a homegrown chain headquartered in Wheat Ridge, planned…

Katie Mullen’s will be hot tonight

Katie Mullen’s, the Irish restaurant and bar at 1550 Court Place, opened two months ago, but it’s hosting a grand-opening party from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 23 that’s a benefit for Friends of the Denver Fire Department. Tickets are $25, and include cocktails and appetizers; for more…

Andrew Schutt takes his heavenly menu to new heights

The barbecue scene is smokin’. First I heard that Mike Frislie, ex of the late, lamented Bugling Bull Trading Post, has his hands in a new barbecue operation, The ‘Que, which just opened on Yosemite Street off Park Meadows Drive. Then I got word from my prime barbecue-and-doughnut pusher, Andrew…

Columbine Steak House keeps the home fires burning

See more photos of Columbine Steak House at westword.com/slideshow. It’s 1983, I’m ten years old — and it’s steak night at the Sheehan household. Steak nights didn’t happen very often at my house. But every now and again, Mom would go to the freezer and pull out a frost-rimed, plastic-wrapped…

White Sangria at Sketch

I love a challenge, and as soon as I saw the “limit 3 per customer” advisory on the menu for the Bar Sketch White Sangria ($7.50), I knew what I had to do. From the first sip, I knew I would not be taking on a traditional “sangria” made from…

Cowbobas is still mixing it up

Cowbobas looks like it could be that rare spiritual successor to the Columbine. It is a reversion to form — like Ford making its new Mustangs along the tried, true and beautiful body lines of its original muscle-car progenitors — but with lots of modern improvements and concessions to the…

Our Weekly Bread: Bourbon Grill

The sandwich: Bourbon chicken sandwich Where to get it: Bourbon Grill (1618 East Colfax Avenue, 303-355-3821) What’s on it: Bourbon chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo on a bun How much: $5.08 So, my sister called me this morning with a sandwich tip. Bourbon Grill, she said. Check it out, or miss…

Another bit of good news from Tin Star Cafe

Chef/owner Andrew Schutt has introduced a “new menu” — actually a reinforcement of the original menu — at his excellent barbecue and donut joint in Evergreen, Tin Star Cafe. When I reviewed Tin Star two years ago, I praised its excellent donuts (the apple fritters in particular) and excellent barbecue…

Delicious Designs: Eat this restaurant

Have you ever stood outside a restaurant late at night, hazily looked up at the edifice, and thought, Yeah, this place looks good enough to eat! Well, now you can!…kinda.April is Colorado Architecture Month, and the Colorado chapter of the American Institute of Architects has come up with quite the…

V.G. opens, veg-heads rejoice!

Some timely Earth Day news for you: V.G. Burgers, the vegetarian fast-food joint in Boulder, has completed its move, reopening two days ago at its new 1650 Broadway location. The store is open from 9 a.m.to 9 p.m. daily, and can be reached at 303-440-2400. …

Coffee Spot: Peet’s Coffee and Tea

Name: Peet’s Coffee and Tea Where: 2500 East Second Avenue (Cherry Creek North) Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m Monday-Friday, 6 a.m. – 8 p.m. Saturday, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Notes: Chairs for 32, Garuda blend earthy brew, North Cherry Creek, Clayton Lane chic, big windows lit well,…

Ask the readers: Cheese crisps in Colorado?

While Jason Sheehan is taking readers’ questions, I have one for readers: Is there a place in Colorado that serves cheese crisps? These thin, grilled quesadillas covered with melted cheese are staples at Mexican restaurants in Arizona. (I just had one at El Charro, a Tucson institution since 1922, and…

Mix it up at Trios Enoteca on Sunday

The state’s best mixologists will be pouring it on — and pouring out the drinks — Sunday, April 26, at the first Colorado Cocktail Classic competition, sponsored by the Colorado Bartenders Guild. Go to Trios Enoteca,1730 Wynkoop Street, at 6 p.m. to cheer on your favorite bartenders and enjoy some…

Breaking ground on Earth Day

Help the Colorado State Parks system today, April 22, by shopping at a local Sprouts Farmers Market.This is the final day of Sprouts’s “Stand Up for State Parks!” program, during which the Colorado markets will match $1, $2 or $5 donations made to Colorado State Parks. For information, go to…

Old fashioned steaks at old fashioned prices

If I were Proust, the smell of cheap steaks charring on an overworked grill would be my Madeleine — the trigger for a crashing flood of recall, of me in the warm comfort of boyhood. And walking past the back door of the Columbine Steak House, I get a whiff…

Five stars at 30,000 feet

There’s much more planning required for very high-altitude cuisine than there is a mere mile above sea level, as Andres Jimenez is learning. Starting May 1, the exec chef at the Ritz-Carlton downtown will be the first of four Ritz-Carlton chefs to take on a two-month stint creating high-end, sky-high…

Boulder’s renegade lunch lady

Now serving: Renegade Lunch Lady Ann Cooper, who’s taking on the Boulder Valley School District. Cooper is known nationally as an advocate for healthier school lunches for children, and has already created greatly improved nutritional meal programs in New York and at the Berkeley Unified School District in California. I recently…

Samba Brasil Cafe & Grill dances to a June beat

I don’t want to make any sweeping predictions or jinx an address that hasn’t been particularly kind to previous occupants — most recently a java joint — and the stretch of asphalt that makes up Leetsdale Drive hasn’t exactly been a springboard for culinary greatness. Still, I’m going to postulize…

The Kitchen celebrates its fifth birthday

Happy anniversary to the Kitchen, at 1039 Pearl Street in Boulder. The restaurant will celebrate its fifth birthday on Tuesday, April 21, by introducing a “Community Hour,” a daily gathering each afternoon from 3 to 6 p.m. with reduced price food and drink. There are more changes in store, too;…

Market report, April 18: not

It may be in the sixties today and absolutely beautiful, but on Saturday morning it was demon-sleeting and I wasn’t about to walk to the Boulder Farmers’ Market, as I did last week when I was researching the second in what were to be weekly market reports. Make that almost…