The voting was close, really close. But after the judges — Jason Sheehan, Tyler Nemkov, Nancy Levine, Ben Davison from Tony’s Market and yours truly — taste-tested eight courses, all of which involved Colorado lamb, and then tabulated the results, Jay Spickelmier, the exec chef at Jing, edged out Argyll…
This is part two of Lori Midson’s interview with Elise Wiggins, the executive chef of Panzano. You can read the first part of Midson’s interview with Wiggins here. Best food city in America: Yikes. That’s hard, but I love Atlanta because of the farm mecca that surrounds it — and…
Because I am never one to let a good idea die, here I am, back again with another installment of the best of our 1st Annual Cafe Society Poll about Food and Chefs and Stuff. What do you mean you’ve never heard of the 1st Annual CSPAFCS? What, do you…
I’d been on and off planes for six hours, not always heading west. The first, a little commuter, had let us off on the tarmac. I’d spent time in a smoking lounge trying to negotiate a cigarette-and-lighter transaction with a Russian man who looked, in profile, exactly like John Hamm…
When Cliff Young’s opened back in 1984, it was the hottest restaurant in town — a beautiful space on East 17th Avenue that was full of beautiful people eating beautiful food. (That space later became Dante Bichette’s and then Hamburger Mary’s, which Drew Bixby writes about on page 38.) After…
I want people’s eyes to roll into the back of their heads when they eat my food,” says Elise Wiggins, the über-talented executive chef of Panzano, a Northern Italian restaurant in the Hotel Monaco. Food, like sex, should always be sensual, she explains. The lovely Louisiana native would put her…
Nate Windham, cocktail and spirits specialist, created the bar program at Paragon Culinary School in Colorado Springs in 2003. He’s currently the head bartender at The Office@Blondies and a proud member of the Colorado Bartenders Guild. Earlier this month, he left his office at the Office to join his CoBG colleagues…
“So, I don’t know what the protocol is here. Am I supposed to pretend like I don’t recognize you?” I looked up from my beer at the waitress standing beside my table at the Irish Hound. “No,” I said. “You don’t have to pretend. It doesn’t much matter anymore these…
The sandwich: Three Sisters Club What’s on it: Roasted turkey, shaved ham, smoked bacon, red onions, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and mayo on a Bavarian roll. Where to get it: Three Sisters Café & Catering (1717 Stout Street, 303-991-8772) How much: $5.95 I’m not a big fan of standing in line…
Jay Spickelmier, executive chef at Jing, will face off against Sergio Romero, executive chef at Argyll Gastropub, in the Mile High Chef Competition at Dish-the Westword Menu Affair at the Fillmore tonight. Before the cooking competition gets too heated, we asked both chefs to dish out some thoughts on Denver’s…
Sergio Romero, executive chef at Argyll Gastropub, will face off against Jay Spickelmier, executive chef at Jing, in the Mile High Chef Competition at Dish-the Westword Menu Affair at the Fillmore tonight. Before the cooking competition gets too heated, we asked both chefs to dish out some thoughts on Denver’s…
Sean Kelly, chef/partner at LoHi SteakBar, at 3200 Tejon Street, calls the board at his new place “plain American bar food,” even though that’s far from an apt description. It’s not like he’s just sitting in the back, drinking the cooking wine while a bunch of nose-picking fuckups dump frozen…
“I want people’s eyes to roll into the back of their heads when they eat my food,” says Elise Wiggins, the über-talented executive chef of Panzano, a Northern Italian restaurant in the Hotel Monaco. Food, like sex, should always be sensual, she explains. The Louisiana native would put her hands…
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 usually bring a selection of some of their market’s choicest ingredients home with them, and cook up a feast…
Zaidy’s Downtown Deli/ Fusion Cantina has closed — officially. The final blow came on September 16, at a bizarre liquor license hearing on Zaidy’s application to change to a cabaret license, which would have allowed the restaurant to host salsa nights and dancing. The application was dismissed, in part because…
Across the street from Swedish Medical Center, Roast, once a coffee and paninni shop, is going through a face lift and concept change. And how do I know this? Because I happened to see this sign hanging in the front door of the space at 500 East Hampden Avenue. Now,…
June 25 –that was opening day for LoHi SteakBar. But prior to that? Owners Joe Vostrejs, Jeff Hermanson and Rod Wagner had spent months talking and plotting — and after they hired Sean Kelly, who’d already parted ways with Mark Berzins and the Little Pub Company, they all talked some…
Yesterday, I started culling the best answers I’d gotten from my deliberate rip-off of Grub Street’s 2009 Grub Report foodie poll. Today, I am continuing to pimp for my own 1st Annual Cafe Society Poll about Food and Chefs and Stuff by picking another fantastic response that has come in…
We’ve long lamented the lack of dives in downtown — and now comes this request from KLJ in California, which was posted at the end of an old item about Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I’m heading to Denver next week for business. I’ll be staying downtown on California Street. Anything…
How’s this for a coincidence? Beginning Thursday, October 1, Hosea Rosenberg — Bravo’s Top Chef: New York conquistador and Jax-Boulder exec chef — is launching www.whereishosea.com, to more or less announce his five-month sabbatical from the house of aquatics that made him famous. The new site, explains Bryce Clark, marketing…
Over the weekend, I posted a half-grumpy power-to-the-people blog in response to a poll of famous food writers done recently by grubstreet.com. It was, I’ll admit, a barely concealed ploy to get the people of Denver talking about how they see their food scene right now and what they would…
I may be a little premature with this, but because it’s all rainy and (at least in my neighborhood) snowy this morning, I couldn’t help but start thinking about fall and winter menus. This, of course, led immediately to my daydreaming about eating fall and winter menus, and the first…
