Cafe Society: Week in review

What you might have missed this week while chowing on local chocolate-covered bacon…What do you wish Denver’s restaurant scene had more of?  Jason Sheehan wants your opinion.Pop-Tarts and Bagelfuls: The ten stupidest “breakfast foods” ever.Local brew Blue Moon makes it to the White House’s beer summit, though we would have…

The List: Denver’s Best Burgers

I’ve been writing a lot about burgers lately, so this week’s list reflects nothing more than my personal obsession du jour. Below are my top five burgers in Denver (and beyond).If I miss your favorite, be sure to add it in the comments.  With any luck, together we can come…

Reason to be happy at Happy Noodle House

I’ve got good news from Happy Noodle House, at 835 Walnut Street in Boulder. Not only did this joint that I reviewed two months ago start offering lunch-delivery service to its fans, but it has a new menu. This one, it seems, has bent even further in the international direction,…

Today only: Half-price cheesecake from the factory of the same name

So, you know that old cliche, “If you can’t say something nice about someone, then shut the fuck up”? I’m going to follow that advice here and just spell it out: Folks, today is National Cheesecake Day, and in honor of the high-calorie, right-to-your-butt occasion, the Cheesecake Factory is offering…

Garbanzo, Snooze open outlets this morning

Two local restaurant ventures will expand today. Snooze is slated to officially unveil its second location, at 700 Colorado Boulevard, this morning; like the original in the Ballpark neighborhood, it will be open for breakfast and lunch. And at 10:30 a.m., Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill, a Denver-based fast-casual chain focusing on…

Tonight: Cook Street School of Fine Cooking cook-off

Tonight from 6 to 9 p.m., Cook Street School of Fine Cooking, at 1937 Market Street, will kick off its tenth anniversary celebration with a series of ten-minute cooking demonstrations (audience participation and sampling absolutely encouraged), followed by a cook-off between four finalists, all of whom submitted original recipes using…

Mouth by south of the border at the new Fresko

Fresko is Mexican casual cuisine, a unique place, an experience, and a taste only known in Mexico. Fresko is honored to be in Colorado. Fresko is genuine, culture, quality, passion, freshness, ambiance, with a staff that loves to share. Experience metropolitan Mexican dining for a fast lunch, or a comfortable…

Candy Girls: Chocolate-covered bacon

There’s little left that hasn’t been baconed.  Mints, vodka, lip gloss, gum, ice cream: all products upon which the salty meat flavor has been imparted.  Adding chocolate to the mix seems, for some, an inspiration from the heavens, while for others the mere thought of bacon playing in chocolate triggers…

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…

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…

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…