Have you ever seen the look on someone’s face the first time he rides a roller coaster? It’s a mixture of abject fear, exhilaration and satisfaction that he has a foolproof plan for killing you in your sleep because you assured him that the roller coaster wasn’t in the least…
With Cajun on the brain this week, I made a run down to Littleton for NoNo’s Cafe, long a local favorite among a certain clientele despite its decidedly Cracker Barrel-lite style of decor and inauspicious strip-mall location. Who, exactly, is this certain clientele? Beats the hell out of me, but…
ayne Conwell has an eye for detail. His work, his career, everything he is and everything he does depends on detail, on seeing the things that no one else can. He’s a fifteen-year veteran of the sushi game, in which detail — a single grain of rice, a single slip…
arly next year, Lola will leave its current home at 1469 South Pearl Street and move to 1575 Boulder Street in the Highland neighborhood — but that doesn’t mean its name is up for grabs. Still, a Lola European Cafe just opened at 820 15th Street, in the space right…
It’s that time of year again, when we gather with loved ones and pick at the unfinished turkey only to get yelled at by the cook. To avoid this temptation, we’ll find the sole patch of grass in a six-mile radius and start a friendly game of football that includes…
Last week I dropped by the new Japon space (right next door to the old Japon space), sat down in the hip, bright, dining room, ordered up a nice, cold plate of chirashi sashimi (assorted raw sea creatures over ginger and rice)…and couldn’t finish it. The components were all top-shelf…
If Colman Andrews can come clean over his love for the crab rangoons at Trader Vic’s and Ruth Reichl can fess up to her preference for coffee and doughnuts bought on the street in front of her old office at the New York Times, there’s nothing weird about my admitting…
After my visit to Forbidden City (see review), I headed to the other side of Aurora’s Asian/Russian triangle to try a place that occasionally creeps up in conversations with the buffet faithful: Mr. Panda Super Buffet, at 2852 South Havana Street. (There’s a second, newer location at 9595 East Arapahoe…
Years ago, when I seemed to have more luck than I do today, I was sent to Bermuda for a sales meeting one week after I started a job. While I’m sure I learned massive amounts about my new company, the only thing I still remember is how much I…
Colfax has come a long way in its revitalization, although we may see increased ratings for Johns TV after Channel 4’s recent exposé on the rub-and-tug/happy-ending industry here in town. But human nature always prevails, as it was doing when we pulled up to the Cork House (4900 East Colfax…
India’s has always had one of my favorite buffets, but I’ve loved it for other reasons, too. I love the clutter of the dining room filled with art and knickknacks and statuary. I love the smell — that deep, rich, infinitely complex aroma of curry and warm bread and burst…
Chef Patrick Dupays is in the kitchen. I can see him through the big four-pane window at the end of the line, working a pan with one hand, giving directions with the other — his fingers loose, his arm moving like a conductor’s trying to keep a runaway orchestra on…
There was a time when I would’ve argued that Johnson’s Corner (I-25 at exit 254, north of the Berthoud exit) was the perfect diner, better than the Peppermill in Vegas, the State Diner in Ithaca, that joint on Telegraph Road in Detroit where I almost got mugged but ended up…
How much wood can a woodchuck chuck? When I walked into Via to meet friends for a drink, I immediately noticed two things: wood and smokin’ hot guys — and in that order, surprisingly. Venanzio and Anthony Momo are responsible for both. Owners of Cucina Coloré in Cherry Creek and…
The recent Institute of Drinking Studies excursion to Madison, Wisconsin, had nothing to do with the much-publicized Halloween riots. I swear. We were there on an educational fact-finding mission, looking for ways to turn Denver into an even better drinking town. Of course, the foundation of any research project is…
Back in the day — and I’m talking six months, maybe a year ago — Le Central had a taste that was all its own. Put three orders of escargot in front of me, three orders of anything in béarnaise sauce, three orders of lotte au basilic, and I, with…
The last time I was at Sabor Latino, I heard a recorded pan-flute rendition of the Titanic love theme so sappy that it silenced an entire dining room — except for the laughter. An order of arepa fell just as flat: The white-corn pancake was so nasty, thick, heavy and…
So much news — good news, bad news, ridiculous news — keeps coming out of Steak au Poivre (231 Milwaukee Street), I sometimes wonder when they find time to cook. Chefs have come, chefs have gone, a consulting chef has come and will go after the holidays, menus have been…
Ça c’est bon. Is there anything more charming than finding a quaint French bistro in a neighborhood where you don’t expect it? Mais non! A decade ago, any restaurant that dared to open in this part of town had to feature chips and salsa on its menu; two decades before…
Several members of the Institute of Drinking Studies — all definite throwbacks — met recently at a very manly and friendly throwback of a tavern, the Pub on Pearl (1101 South Pearl Street). This small bar is nestled on a corner near where Pearl Street meets I-25, conveniently close to…
I was sitting in the dining room at Milagro Taco Bar scratching hieroglyphs into the mole with my fork: hearts and squiggles, my initials. It was a good mole — dark and glossy, thickened enough to stick, with a flavor like coffee beans and charcoal and bitter chocolate and fire…
achlan Mackinnon-Patterson is a busy guy. He’s chef/owner (along with partner Bobby Stuckey) of Frasca, the restaurant at 1738 Pearl Street in Boulder that’s one of the best in Colorado. And one of the busiest: He’s running a killer crew in a kitchen that gets slammed night after night. He…
