End of an Era

Last week, the New York Stock Exchange celebrated its first fully electronic day — about a decade late. “Working on the trading floor used to be a test of physical endurance,” said Lisa Chow, reporting on the changes for WNYC. We all know the image, right? A floor crowded with…

Li Martini

I never imagined that Danny DeVito and I would have anything in common other than our adoration of George Clooney, but after seeing DeVito’s bad behavior on The View recently, I felt a kinship with him that I never expected to experience. “I knew it was the last seven Limoncellos…

Ling & Louie’s

Although last week’s melt helped, the overall number of traffic lanes in Denver is down about half from what it was in the summer. Many of the lanes carved out by cars/trucks are now fortified by ice, and driving outside the icy ruts is like taking a train off its…

Friends With Bennys

Snooze owner Jon Schlegel certainly has loyal fans — and family members. Today’s print edition includes a response to my January 18 Second Helping from Schlegel’s brother Adam, who works at the popular breakfast/lunch place. We also received the following from another relative who lives in Tucson: What’s Jason Sheehan…

A Smokin’ Deal

“Check it out,” I said. “The dancing pizza is back. Why do you think it’s wearing a top hat?” And with that, I begin this week’s exploration of Lebanese cuisine and Middle Eastern pop music at Aladdin Cafe and Grill — where the falafel is hot, the hookahs are smokin’…

Mind Your Ps and BBQs

With temperatures dropping again, people are warming to the thought of hot, hot food. BBQ, in short. Witness this recent plea from Jeff: Growing up in the Midwest, I have developed a predilection (or as my wife would call it, an obsession) for BBQ. I enjoy different regional sauces but…

Going Downtown

There’s big news coming out of Cherry Creek, with the announcement that Elway’s is expanding to a second location inside the new Ritz-Carlton, Denver, which is currently under construction at 1881 Curtis Street. And I predicted this almost a year ago, in the April 20, 2006 Bite Me column where…

Read Letter Day

For the record, I liked much of the food (if not the service) at John Holley’s Asian Bistro, which makes the fact that they tossed the Westword rack after my review came out a little puzzling. No question, though, that the place has lots of fans, because letters like the…

The British Bulldog

Isaac James, owner of the British Bulldog, has a big mouth. How do I know? He told me. “I’ve got a big mouth,” he said when I got him on the phone after eating at his joint. “I’ve been complaining about the Indian and the Pakistani food in Denver for…

On Call

The most shocking news last week was not that Sean Kelly (of Aubergine, the Biscuit, Clair de Lune and Somethin’ Else) had taken a job dunking jalapeño poppers for Mark Berzins and his Little Pub/Little Cantina Company (which owns Senor Rita’s, Salty Rita, two Spot Bar & Grill locations, the…

Thunderbird Lounge

At the Osborn house, we suffered a near-terminal case of cabin fever over the holidays. Part was imposed by the physical realities of the first blizzard. Another part was induced by the astronomical overreaction of greater Denver to the second storm bearing down on the area. Both were compounded by…

Royal Hilltop

When I reviewed Royal Hilltop in April 2003, it was barely six months old — a non-smoking, British-themed pub crammed in among the multiplexes and taquerías of southeast Aurora, a joint that catered to the neighbors of a neighborhood sorely lacking in neighborhood bars. I complimented owners James and Tina…

Party On, Dude

Two weeks ago, Elizabeth Plotke of Campo de Fiore (300 Fillmore Street in Cherry Creek) announced that local business tycoon and big-time philanthropist Josh Hanfling had come on board as a partner at the restaurant, which opened back in 2001. Hanfling is allegedly the man who knows everyone, and I’m…

Pup Talk

2052 Stout Street has been a bar for as long as matters. It was the Punch Bowl for damn near forever—an old boxing bar famous for the landscapes painted on all the booth-backs by wandering artist Noel Adams, who traded art for drinks and sandwiches, and for the number of…

Eat Up

Steve Crecelius Panzano, at your service Word is out on the third annual Denver Restaurant Week, February 24-March 7. The culinary celebration has boomed from 83 restaurants the first year to 125 last year to 150 this year. All are offering multi-course dinners for $52.80 for two ($26.40 for one),…

Closed Windows

In my year-end roundup, I shared my shock that Windows Cafe — the all-veggie, pan-Asian eatery that had opened in the embattled 12200 East Cornell space in Aurora that had already swallowed the likes of Maruti Narayan’s, Denver Woodlands and Boudreaux’s Bayou Buffet — was still open. As it turns…

Toast

There’s almost nothing in the world I love as much as a plate of pancakes. My wife, a good book, that first cigarette in the morning, and driving fast on desert highways with no cops in sight — they all edge out pancakes, but not by much. Pancakes are definitely…

The Rules

Even by the admittedly lax rulebook I use in this job, Toast (see review, page 41) was not in line for a review. It’s been open all of six weeks, and standard operating procedure for most critics calls for a restaurant to be open at least two months, usually three,…

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse

Generally speaking, members of the Institute of Drinking Studies do not espouse shallow thinking and judgment based on superficial qualities. But like all guys, we give the benefit of the doubt to women with large bosoms and/or risqué wardrobes. We also will side with our home team no matter who…

Snooze

Before it opened, Snooze seemed like one of the greatest ideas in the world — a hip, eclectic downtown breakfast bar with fancy pancakes, a jumped-up menu of comfort classics and incredible late-night hours on the weekends. A place where we could get bacon and eggs at 3 a.m. and…

A Toast to Toast

Toast is the greatest breakfast bar in the world. Am I being a bit hyperbolic here? Yes. I know I shouldn’t say it’s the best in the world because I haven’t yet been everywhere in the world. I shouldn’t even say it’s the best in Colorado because it’s conceivable that…

John Holly’s Asian Bistro

I’d been to John Holly’s Asian Bistro before. Several times. Since it opened three years ago, I’ve eaten in the slick, smooth dining room, waited in the entry for takeout orders of Yushan pork, steamed vegetables and sushi. But I never thought about reviewing the place until I spoke with…