Cafe Star

When Rebecca Weitzman left Cafe Star for the greener pastures of Manhattan last September, I thought for sure that was going to be the end of the place. I mean, if ever a restaurant was defined by a chef, it was Cafe Star, where Weitzman’s easy command of the eclectic…

Jack in the Box Eases Gas Pains

Jack in the Box, the once-and-future Colorado fast-food chain founded by fictional Colorado native and company CEO, Jack Box, is using the high gas prices for a little positive PR. San Diego-based Jack, which has locations in Arvada and Golden and plans two more in Parker and Aurora, will give…

Sheehan Needs to Mind His P’s and ‘Ques

This week’s print edition includes a few letters about Jason Sheehan — one taking issue with his very existence, another with his recent review of Bono’s Pit Bar-B-Q (shown here). It wasn’t the only letter we received on that subject; the following was too long for the paper, but it…

Swimclub 32 Dives Into Pizza

When I heard that Swimclub 32 (3628 West 32nd Avenue) was planning on closing its doors in a few weeks and turning into a pizza joint, of all things, I knew I had to talk with Chris Golub, owner (along with partner Grant Gingerich) of the four-year-old, oft-reconceptualized eatery. I…

No Place Like Second Home

Colorado is absolutely beautiful in spring. Unlike the East Coast — where spring will come on hot and wet and odorous, the land itself like some live thing waking after a long sleep, desperately in need of a bath — and unlike the North — where the first spring thaws…

Milking It: Froot Loops Smoothie

Froot Loops Smoothie Kellogg’s Rating: Two and a half spoons out of four Cereal description: The main cereal bits are as they’ve been since the days when Toucan Sam balanced a cornucopia-shaped fruit pile on his head like an avian Carmen Miranda: red, purple, orange, green and blue multi-grain circles…

Hit the Brix!

The Master family is on the move, as outlined here. But before all the changes hit Mel’s, there’s a goodbye party for Brix, the restaurant that Charlie Master opened five years ago at 3000 East Third Avenue. The party isn’t at Brix, though, since Charlie has been out of that…

Candy Girls: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups with Caramel

Both of the Candy Girls love the original Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and since we’re pretty fond of caramel as well, we thought this might be a wonderful flavor combination. First Reactions: In the store, the wrapper didn’t strike us as particularly unusual, but upon closer scrutiny, wow, it really…

Mel’s: Master of His Domain

It looks like Mel and Jane Master will be leaving Denver, closing their Southwestern-themed Agave Grill (at 5960 South Holly Street in Greenwood Village), selling a majority interest in Mel’s of Greenwood Village (shown here, and located right next door to Agave) to its general manager and a group of…

Italian After Dark at Gemelli’s

While I wouldn’t think that northwest Denver would be the best spot in the world for a late-night menu, Gemelli’s owner Ken Griffin apparently feels differently. Back when I was doing my review of the then just six-month-old restaurant at 4363 Tennyson Street, this plan was still just a twinkle…

Wine Experience Cafe

I started worrying about Wine Experience Cafe the moment I stepped inside. The place was empty, completely deserted on a day and at an hour when the eighty-seat dining room should have been packed. I was thinking that in this neighborhood (Southlands, another one of those commercial/residential, new-urbanism developments that…

Cork House

Three years ago this month, Tante Louise finally faded from the Denver restaurant scene, after three decades of good works — including serving as a training ground for many cooks who would later come to form the top rank of Denver’s chef elite. As owner Corky Douglass bowed out, Ed…

I Blame the Vegetarians for Bastien’s

Making for home down East Colfax Avenue yesterday, I couldn’t help but notice two things. One: the recent warmth has certainly brought some color back to the bums and sign-fliers working our most storied stretch of blacktop. And two: It looks as though Bastien’s, which has held down its space…

Annie’s Reopens on Colfax

Annie’s Café officially reopened today, June 18, in its new spot at 3100 East Colfax Avenue, and it’s already starting to feel like home – despite a number of kinks that have yet to be worked out, said Peggy Anderson, who owns the old-school Denver eatery with Diane Williams. “The…

Grape Expectations

For chef Matt Franklin, the Wine Experience Café concept was a perfect fit. It’s a wine shop with a restaurant attached. (Or, in my world, a restaurant with a wine shop next door.) All of the bottles and glasses served in the restaurant are available for sale in the shop;…

Community Spirits

Expect to drink a lot of red wine – and pay a hefty bar tab – at the new, and popular, Community Table Night at Parisi, a northwest Denver hotspot at 4401 Tennyson Street. If you’re shy, you’ll need a glass or two to get into the spirit of things,…

Milking It: Princess Gems cereal

Princess Gems Disney Magic Selections Rating: Two and a half spoons out of four Cereal description: The main cereal pieces are made of oats shaped like puffy stars with a hole in the middle, as if they’ve been blasted by a Disney super-villain armed with a .44 magnum. In addition,…

Pass Around the Cup for One of Denver’s Top Roasters

You may have noticed that your favorite local cup of joe has lately tasted a bit off, even a tad bitter. If so, there’s a reason: The local coffee community has been shaken to its core by painful news about one of its key members: 26-year-old Semeon Abay, head roaster…

Candy Girls: Indiana Jones Special Edition Candy

This week, the Candy Girls decided to try a few of the limited edition flavors released by the Mars candy company to celebrate the release of the first Indiana Jones film in almost 20 years. The Snickers Adventure Bar promises to “Satisfy your taste for adventure! Rich Chocolate. Crunchy nuts…

Gluten-Free Food Fair

Forget low-carb; those with celiac disease, the most common genetic autoimmune disease, have to pay attention to every kind of tasty gluten (wheat, rye, and oats) product they’re offered or risk severe illness, not just severe damage to their waistline. Luckily, the Denver metro chapter of CSA (Celiac Sprue Association)…

Coleman’s Soul Food

When I was a young man of nineteen, maybe twenty, I spent three weeks living in a motel in Detroit. The particulars of how I found myself in such a sorry state — staying in a room where, on my first night, I found a dead rat under the bed…

Take a Bite of Cafe Bites

Chinook Tavern is staying put — at least for now. Originally, the Georg family planned to pack up their restaurant at 265 Detroit Street this month, and move their restaurant down south. But now they’ll be open in Cherry Creek at least through October. You’d already know this if you…