Smashburger goes big

Yesterday I was called out of a very important Cafe strategy meeting at the Fainting Goat to take a call from a fellow scribbler, up against a deadline at the Chicago Tribune and looking for a few words about local chain Smashburger. “Tell me,” he said, “on a scale of one…

Freebie alert! Two-for-one Jamba Juice smoothies until August 9

With catchy names like “Mango-a-go-go,” “Strawberry Surf Rider,” “Aloha Pineapple” and “Razzmatazz,” it’s not as if Jamba Juice has to actually do a whole lot more to thrill its smoothie fans, but, damn, those healthy-beverage pushers at the top of the California-headquartered smoothie chain are sure going to try. How,…

Guess where I’m eating?

Okay, so I was obviously hungry last night, which I invariably get after four or five beers, plus a handful of french fries at the Fainting Goat, the fallback bar for us Westworders who write about things like a Medieval-sized lamb shank, a loaded baked potato with fresh chives, Gorgonzola…

Big Hoss pushes back re-opening until mid-August

Hoss Orwat had hoped to get Big Hoss reopened a few days after a kitchen fire in late June, then hoped for anytime in July. But now it looks like it will be August 14 before Big Hoss, his barbecue joint at 3961 Tennyson Street, finally is back in business…

Rain or shine, Randolph’s hosts a wine-tasting today

Randolph’s, the in-house restaurant at the Warwick Hotel, 1776 Grant Street, is hosting a wine-tasting on its great patio from 5 to 7 p.m. today. (The patio is like a mountain park in the heart of the city, filled with red rocks and plantings…and, with any luck, some umbrellas.) The…

Will the last business leaving the Beauvallon turn out the lights?

Denver lost another restaurant when Nine75 went dark on Sunday, following a weekend full of parties to mark the imminent demise of a place that had already cheated death once before. When Nine75 opened four years ago under the umbrella of the then-burgeoning Sullivan Restaurant Group, it quickly made a…

Becherovka at Sobo 151

Back in college, while reading some novel set in Prague, I became obsessed with visiting that city. I finally managed to get there a few years ago, and I loved everything about it — except the food. While I enjoy pork, I don’t enjoy it at every meal. And that…

Mary Jane’s ready to light up tonight

After many unanticipated delays, Mary Jane’s Pizza, the first outpost of a joint that got its start in Tulsa back in 2002 , will open tonight at 2013 West 32nd Avenue. And open late, since the hours here will be from 11 p.m. to 4:20 a.m. (get it?), take-out and…

Huffington Post (and America) thinks Denver bites

Right this minute, the future of ten of America’s great food cities is being decided. By readers of the Huffington Post. No, seriously. This isn’t a joke. As you are reading this, the highest-rated, single-most popular story at HuffPo is a poll for the ten best food cities. Denver is on…

Guess where I’m eating?

Took the kid out for dinner last night to his first Vietnamese restaurant. Originally, we were hot on the trail of sushi, until Elliott (the kid) reminded me (his mother) that he would not eat rice, and since his weekly allowance is way less than two pieces of sashimi, we…

Denver’s grand dame of Northern Indian cuisine moving south

After twenty years slinging naan against the blazing tandoor at his Tamarac Square location at 3333 South Tamarac Drive, Krishan Kapoor, the owner of India’s, is moving a couple of blocks south to 7400 East Hampden Avenue. That’s the Tiffany Plaza space that most recently held Kermen Mongolian BBQ Restaurant,…

Our Weekly Bread: Luciano’s meatball sub

The sandwich: Meatball What’s on it: Meatballs, provolone, mozzarella Where to get it: Luciano’s Pizza and Wings (1043 Broadway, 303-446-2424) How much: $5.65 There’s something almost magical about a sandwich charred in a pizza oven. Maybe the extreme heat transforms the molecules of the bread and the meat, the sauce…

Blue Moon rockets to the White House

The White House could get a little taste of Denver this week if President Barack Obama is able to pull off a meeting over beers Thursday between Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge, Massachusetts police sergeant James Crowley, who arrested Gates on July 16 at his own home. While…

The Ten Stupidest “Breakfast Foods” Ever

Somewhere between breakfast and a cup of coffee lays this middle ground of stupid — food that isn’t really food, but still seems appropriate to consume for the (allegedly) most important meal of the day. Jon Stewart and The Daily Show exposed the ridiculousness of the pancake-wrapped sausage years ago,…

Tonight: French wine tasting at Z Cuisine A Cote

Tonight, Z Cuisine À Côté, the utterly charming bistro and bar at 2239 West 30th Avenue, is hosting a French wine-tasting tour from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The sip fest, priced at $20 per person, includes twelve wines from the Provence and Méditerranée regions of France and appetizers from Z…

Park Burger’s moment to shine

Sitting in the bar, I knew I needed a burger. A couple of them, maybe. Big, fat burgers, mid-rare and bleeding juice over the sides of the buns. I needed the kind of burgers they show in commercials — straight-up porn-star burgers, all greasy and fat and bad for me…

Last rites for Nine75

The space at 975 Lincoln Street is dark now. The doors are locked, the lights are out. Yesterday, George Eder and some of his guys from Jet Entertainment Group gutted the place, taking out everything they could — food and dry-stock, the art from the walls.  All that’s left are…