It all started with Harry Potter and Jelly Belly’s realization of the fictional Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. In the books, characters indulge in the candy beans without knowing what flavor awaits them: Will they get lucky with chocolate mousse or be surprised with Worcestershire sauce or, worse, toenail? While…
After five years as an upscale club, Monarck, at 1416 Market Street, is getting back to basics. Or close enough. Lotus Concepts is reconcepting the club, which will reopen on July 16 as Oak Tavern, a more traditional saloon — and one that owner Francois Safiedinne hopes will have a…
If you follow this blog with any sort of regularity, you already know that I’m wildly addicted to tacos. I would be the first person to jump up in a room full of fellow addicts, raise my fists in defeat and bellow, “Hello! My name is Lori Midson and I’m…
First it was the King of Pop. Now, Oscar G. Mayer, the King of Hot Dogs and former chairman of the most recognizable name in wiener-ville, passed away Monday at the ripe old age of 95 in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, where he was in hospice care. Mayer, who was the third…
Escape the stifling heat and head inside to the cool confines of Elway’s Downtown (1881 Curtis Street), the steakhouse in the Ritz-Carlton that’s hosting a winemaker’s dinner tonight with Jerry Murry, cellar master and assistant winemaker for Patton Valley Vineyards in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The dinner includes five courses, all…
It’s been one helluva week for the Denver dining scene, with a rash of surprise closings. The saddest loss was Alto, the restaurant that Greg Goldfogel opened at 1320 15th Street (in the old Sambuca space) after he closed his beloved Cherry Creek institution, Ristorante Amore, which went down to…
For completely selfish reasons, I have spent years pushing for the fast-food-ification of sushi, firmly of the belief that the way people (non-foodie people, the droves who nightly flock to the Olive Gardens and Burger Kings of our bloated republic) discover and become comfortable with new foods is by first…
Inside Len & Bill’s Lounge (2301 South Broadway), time has seemingly stopped. And I’m not just saying that because it’s a lazy way of describing how run-down everything is. When I wander in on an enervated afternoon, cop a lean on the creaky wooden bar and watch as John, the…
Mikuni was not the first place in Denver to go low and easy with its sushi. It was not the first place to cater directly to the sushi neophyte by making raw fish fun. No, Hapa Sushi was there first. I reviewed Cherry Creek’s Hapa Sushi (the original is in…
I somehow managed to miss the unveiling of Greeks Gone Wild: Souvlaki, Wings & Things, a fast-casual Greek, Mexican and American joint that’s been going wild at 2039 South University for two weeks under the ownership of Pete Kallas, who, along with his brothers, also runs Steakhouse 10, the Greek…
Now I am not one that would ever lament the loss of a chain restaurant to the vicious machinations of the bankruptcy court. Matter of fact, I’ve been known to dance (just a little…) whenever I hear of another Olive Garden going dark and certainly didn’t lose any sleep over…
The sandwich: Invesco Park What’s on it: Chicken breast, caramelized onions, melted pepper jack cheese, lettuce and tomato, homemade red pepper mayo on oven-roasted focaccia. Where to get it: Intermission Café (444 17th Street, 303-825-0515) How much: $5.49 Having a bad day? Take a break. Boss yelling at you? Pause…
Just got word that Fogo de Chao, the churrasqueiro that got its start in Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil, is set to open in Denver on Thursday, July 23, at 1513 Wynkoop Street in a space that encompasses more than 14,000 square feet. If you’re not familiar with the…
I saw this bumper sticker affixed to a light pole outside a brewery in a little mountain town last week, but the brewery wasn’t Rosie’s Brewpub and the town wasn’t Leadville. Instead, someone had decided to celebrate Rosie’s, which closed May 30, just a few feet from the front door…
Okay, so I know that today’s photo could have been taken just about anywhere, so I’m going to help you narrow down your choices. Ah, hell, forget it. You’re all a smart bunch. You know the drill: Post your guesses in the comment section below.PS: It’s not Cherry Cricket…
Tonight, at 7 p.m., Firenze a Tavola, the charming basement level Italian restaurant just below Parisi, at 4401 Tennyson Street, is hosting Fabio Flagiello, an Italian chef who’s done time in numerous kitchens in Italy, France, Boston and California, including Risibisi restaurant in Petaluma, which was ballyhooed in the 2008…
Not surprisingly, just as there were no authentic Mexican restaurants in Rochester when I was young, there were no sushi bars, either. And definitely no sushi drive-thrus, even though sushi started out as fast food. Long before Ray Kroc came squalling into this world, preserved fish and balls of rice…
Colt & Gray, the new farm-to-table gastropub at 1553 Platte Street, was meant to open its doors and roll out its effin’ killer menu over the Fourth of July weekend, but much to my disappointment, the opening has been delayed. “We were hoping to do a soft opening over the…
The Lancer Lounge is crowded, but you can sidle up to the bar easily. Which is sort of surprising, given that it’s “panic hour,” where well drinks and draft beer are free. I guess it helps that it’s 10 p.m. on a Monday — no time for an upstanding citizen…
Cans of Breckenridge Brewery’s Avalanche Ale began rolling out of the plant this week and into liquor stores, just in time to catch the heart of the summer season. Breckenridge, which is borrowing its canning line from Ska Brewing Company in Durango, will also supply concert venues, golf courses and…
I rarely drink rum, but during a recent dinner at an unnamed Denver restaurant whose food happens to pair very well with rum, I broke off my commitment to wine and beer and sipped several sniffers of the potent stuff, which seemed like a smart idea at the time, but…
The Fourth of July may have meant fireworks and beer for you, but for nineteen lucky competitors, the big day signified only one thing: hot dogs. Out on Coney Island, New York, on the corner of Surf and Stillwell avenues, the winners of Nathan’s hot dog eating qualifiers around the…
