Restaurants

As a countdown to the Best of Denver 2010, coming April 1, Cafe Society is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in Denver. Send your own nominations to cafe@westword.com…

The location has been called “low-rent,” “brave” and “sketchy,” but Jeff Osaka, owner/chef of twelve, the obscure, 35-seat NoDo neighborhood restaurant, whose monthly-changing menu is always a stunning adventure in food, rolls his eyes and shrugs at the misconception. “I found this restaurant on Craigslist while living in Los Angeles,…

Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market’s choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast. Paul, Pete’s partner…

Big Papa’s BBQ will hold the official grand opening of its third location, at 5151 South Federal Boulevard, today — and there’s real reason to celebrate, says John Jensen, the director of operations. In April, the partners had just bought the building, an old Burger King, when their financing fell…

The first time I cooked pot food was my freshman year in high school. Two friends and I pooled our money, bought a quarter bag of Texas dirt weed and some instant brownie mix, and headed to an adult-free house with an open kitchen. After putting aside enough pot for…

Clock Tower Grill, which opened at 9360 Station Street in Lone Tree in October, is no relation to Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret — instead, it’s a sibling to the Uptown Bar and Grill in Dallas, whose owners are hoping to recreate their Texas success in Colorado. “The word is getting out…

The third Ali Baba Grill, at 5380 Greenwood Plaza Boulevard in the Landmark project in Greenwood Village, finally opened today. For months, the owners of the popular spot in Golden and a sibling in Littleton had talked about getting their newest location open in December, then by the first of…

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to save your pennies, Encore, the New American restaurant at 2550 East Colfax Avenue, sympathizes with your plight. To that end, exec chef Paul Reilly has introduced some swell new food specials that run Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of each week…

I’m a big fan of multi-tasking. Exhibit A: In the above pic, I was fine-tuning my immune system with Vitamin C and blowing off some steam. If you can guess where I was swilling this blood orange martini with a hint of Campari, the DINR deck could be yours this…

Apparently a crisp Ben Franklin, a bottle of wine and your mug shot on the wall of fame wasn’t quite enough incentive for the would-be food warriors that Virgilio Urbano, the master dough flipper of Virgilio’s Pizzeria, had hoped would try and tackle the 11-pound, 28-inch pizza-eating challenge that he…

As a countdown to the Best of Denver 2010, coming April 1, Cafe Society is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in Denver. Send your own nominations to cafe@westword.com…

On Sunday, a pair of ninjas robbed Deli Cioso, a Mexican restaurant in Longmont. Owner Rudy Masia says he turned over a day’s receipts to the mysterious miscreants, who were tiny and dressed in black. Longmont Police Sergeant Garrett Boden told the Longmont Times-Call that the culprits didn’t have large…

“Pinch the tail, suck the head, burn in hell.” That’s the verbiage on a makeshift church sign at godhatesshrimp.com. God hates shrimp? Clearly, he (or she) just hasn’t sucked good shrimp heads. But the opportunity exists for the rest of you if you can guess where I’m eating. Special bonus:…

A cop from Miami Gardens, Florida somehow keeps his cool while dissecting a maggot-laden steak sandwich from a restaurant that clearly doesn’t live by the motto, “To serve and protect.” The determined police officer insists on keeping the eurolarvae alive as evidence for the local news station. Warning: This is…

Let us take a moment to pray praise the taco. Last July, Gidget, the talking prima donna Chihuahua best known for making Taco Bell’s fast food look cute (and, at times, even edible), passed away at 15 after complications from a massive stroke. Now comes word that the last bell…

During truffle season, chef Daniel Boulud serves a $150 black truffle burger, stuffed with braised ribs and foie gras, at DB Bistro Moderne in the Big Apple. At Serendipity 3, also in New York, the Golden Opulence Tahitian vanilla ice cream sundae, garnished in a 23-carat edible gold leaf, sells…

Argyll Gastropub, the subterranean grub-and-ale house at 2700 East Third Avenue, is about to get bigger — much bigger. That’s because Argyll owner Robert Thompson just snatched up the Plush space directly next door, which closed following New Year’s Eve. Thompson’s first priority is to expand the patio before St…

If I were to give you any clues, this would be much too easy. Let’s just say that it’s an awesome drink that you’ll continue to think about long into the night. Can you guess where I’m drinking? Special bonus: Every Friday, anyone who gave the first correct answer to…

The National Western Stock Show has doubled your drinking pleasure this year. Not only has the Cowboy Bar — the temporary saloon set up in the basement of the Hall of Education, right by the stalls where bulls are groomed — expanded, adding more than a dozen seats and space…

As a countdown to the Best of Denver 2010, coming April 1, Cafe Society is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in Denver. Send your own nominations to cafe@westword.com…

You have exactly 14 days left in which to order the salmon in the above snap, because come February 1, it’ll disappear along with the majority of other dishes on the ever-changing board. Can you guess whose fish I netted? Cast your guesses in the comment section below. Special bonus:…

If you count on Cafe Colorado, the storefront that opened last year at 287 Columbine Street, for your morning joint of java, you may need to look elsewhere this morning. The sign above is posted on the door; more ominous is a full voicemail box (at 303-377-8902) and another sign…