Ten years ago, Steve Berge set out to make a better barbecue sauce. In the process, he made a better life for himself. This month Berge celebrates his first decade as an independent sauce boss. “I make a whole lot less money than I used to,” says Berge. “But I’m…
“Wasted away again in Margaritaville…” You can practically picture Jimmy Buffett, who made it fashionable to fritter away sunny days, spending an idle August afternoon in Lakewood, belly-up to Gordo’s bar, while Sixth Avenue traffic speeds past in the distance. Gordo’s, which roughly translates as “Fatso’s” in Spanish, was founded…
When I first sat down at Maruti Narayan’s, the table was a blank canvas, holding only white plates and white napkins set against a white tablecloth. By the end of the meal, it was chaos, a full-color topographical portrait of the Indian subcontinent done entirely in shades of food. There…
Food for thought: I’ve been on this job for a month now — thirty days that have been a cyclone blur of restaurants and reservations, a juggling act with me trying to keep a fork, a keyboard and my appetite all up in the air at the same time, and…
Karen Beeman is tending her WeeBee Farms stand at the Boulder Farmers’ Market on a Saturday morning. A band with alternating dried flowers and garlic heads adorns her hat. It’s around 11 a.m.; she’s already been here three hours, having gotten up at 5:45 to load up her boxes. “These…
As Russell Crowe strutted around the Colosseum — a scantily clad warrior seeking revenge — he should have challenged his opponents to the Gladiator drop-shot at the Foundry Cafe and Billiards Club: It would have brought them to their knees. To deliver this knockout, the Foundry fills a pint glass…
Market watch: If you don’t get your fill of the Far East at T-Wa Inn (see review, page 63), head across the street to Lucky Market (506 South Federal Boulevard), where you’ll find all those weird, freaky, Jesus-why-would-anyone-eat-that? ingredients you’ve been looking for. Need some pork pâté? Jackfruit chips? Frozen…
iker culture and beer are as inseparable as a Harley-riding man and the female passenger wrapped around his back. “Bikers do consume mass quantities of beer at their functions,” notes Roger Unrein. And if he has his way, the beer they’ll be drinking is Hardtail Ale. “Being a biker and…
Cucina Colore 3041 East Third Avenue 303-393-6917 Columbus proved that the Earth isn’t flat — but you could be flat on your back after one too many drinks honoring Italy’s most famous explorer. Cucina Colore’s refreshing New World Sangria — the creation of owner Venanzio Momo — is a fruit-filled…
In prison, they say the quickest way to gain respect among the general population is to pick the biggest, meanest, ugliest guy in your block and, on your first day inside, beat him to death with a chair. Sure, you’ll spend a few months in the hole, but this establishes…
The Oldsmobile Toronado is a monster of a car. Seventeen feet long and grossing nearly two tons, it’s an old-school blacktop heavyweight and, in its day, was one king-hell luxury ride. Although it never had the power of a Corvette or the raw muscle of those classic Mustangs, pound-for-pound, the…
Repent, foodies, for the end draweth nigh: The Wall Street Journal ran a front-page story this month full of doomsday prognostication and dire warnings for the future of the indie restaurant biz. According to Technomic Inc., a food-consulting firm out of Chicago, last year the Big Evil Empire of chain…
It’s cool and damp inside the harvesting room of Hazel Dell Mushrooms, where sprayers create a fine, pervasive mist. On row after row of shelves sit plastic bags filled with sawdust; inside the bags, fungal spawn of various kinds dream their strange dreams. Is there any foodstuff stranger than the…
Denver may be totally landlocked, but even so, a tropical storm blew into town this winter when Gumbo’s opened in LoDo and began serving its potent Hurricane. According to legend, the bright-red cocktail was created during World War II when brown liquors, such as whiskey, were in short supply; in…
It’s been almost two years since I’ve had decent Italian food. I’ve just recently come north from the culinary hinterlands of New Mexico, where a good red sauce is as hard to find as a cloudy day, a competent driver or a virgin bride. There were nights when I would…
Just so you know: I’m Jason Sheehan, your hot-off-the-press, brand-spankin’-new restaurant critic and gustatory point man, and I’m co-opting this week’s column for a little self-serving rant. I always promised myself that if I were ever given the chance to start fresh in a city where I was entirely unknown,…
If the folks at the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council had their way, you’d already know that July is National Hot Dog Month and July 24 is National Hot Dog Day. If Coe D. Meyer had his way, every day would be a hot-dog day. From his office in…
With the mountains and plains of Colorado drier than a tinderbox, the best way to get Rocky Mountain high this summer could be to sip a Blue Sky Martini inside the cool, cavernous Blue Sky Grill. Made with Skyy Vodka and Blue Curacao and served straight up with a lemon…
A trip to the Buck Snort Saloon is legendary, an outing in itself, a day’s itinerary for out-of-town visitors. My own memories of the place always start with trying to get there in a substandard car — the International with the haunted carburetor; the Baja bug missing a lug nut…
Liquid assets: The building that for many years housed the Highland Bar (2532 15th Street) is even older than the Buck Snort Saloon (see story above). And its history is just as colorful: The space started out as a firehouse in 1879, then became a grocery store, and for the…
If you’re on a hot date and looking to score, take her to Hapa Sushi and show off your sensitivity by sipping a naughty pink G Spot. The word “cocktail” has never sounded more appropriate than it does at Hapa Sushi, a swank Cherry Creek sushi grill and sake bar…
My Hungarian stepfather was a fussy eater. He wasn’t a gourmet. He was just following — rigidly, as he did almost everything — dietary restrictions imposed by various bodily ailments and psychological quirks. He had a weak stomach, he said, so he couldn’t eat garlic, onions or cabbage. Heart problems…
