Bruce’s Bar is back, and so are the Rocky Mountain oysters

The Sunday before Thanksgiving, I headed up I-25 to Fort Collins and then turned east for Severance, the town “where the geese fly and the bulls cry,” to give thanks for a tradition restored. Bruce’s Bar has been serving Rocky Mountain oysters since the mid-’50s, almost without interruption — unlike…

Wake-Up Call: Andrew Hudson is suddenly very popular

Andrew Hudson is busier than a business reporter tracking the latest layoffs. That’s because he’s become the first person people call when they’re laid-off, or think they could be laid-off. Hudson has made it his job to let people know where the jobs are. And since he specializes in communications,…

Wake-Up Call: Let it snow, let it snow…

Cocktail party conversation isn’t easy this holiday season — if anyone’s holding cocktail parties, that is. Two safe topics: the Broncos (since the team’s still winning) and the weather — which is as Colorado-wacky as ever. A beautiful weekend, then snow today; record highs last Tuesday, record lows on Thursday…

Wake-Up Call: A pressing engagement

Jinx. Last month, the two dailies stopped arriving at my house. The last time I’d reupped my subscription, I hadn’t been able to commit beyond six months — I simply didn’t think that both papers would be around that long. And in November, the end of one seemed so inevitable…

Wake-Up Call: Mr. Salazar goes to Washington?

Suddenly, all the political pundits are talking about a Salazar going to Washington. Not Ken Salazar, who’d apparently rather stay in his Senate seat than move to the Cabinet (but might be up for a future opening on the Supreme Court, where he’d be the first Latino justice), but his brother, John. And the talk…

The Landmark Preservation Commission makes some history

For more photos of the building in jeopardy, go to westword.com/slideshow. I just watched history being made. Or at least recognized. The last time I attended a Landmark Preservation Commission meeting, the commissioners voted to remove the oldest building on my historic block from landmark protection (“The View,” May 27,…

Wake-Up Call: It’s all downhill from here, Denver

The national news is full of Colorado’s vituperative lover flaming his ex on the Internet (and getting smacked by this state’s bizarre criminal libel statute) and a future vituperative lover giving dating advice at the age of nine (here’s just one international sample, from Australia, as well our October blog…

Wake-Up Call: Refinishing the Obama cabinet

 Fresh from his ten-day eco-devo trip to Asia, Governor Bill Ritter is now off on the East Coast, attending a Democratic governors’ conference, talking with the Obama team — and definitely not interviewing for a spot in the cabinet, insists his spokesman, Evan Dreyer. Shortly after the polls closed on…

Wake-Up Call: Buy local, think local December 1-7

Buy local week continues through December 5. And while, with Barack Obama’s appointments announcement today, it doesn’t look like many Coloradans will be heading to D.C., there’s plenty to do here at home. Nothing gets the home fires burning like neighborhood fights, and Denver’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program — created by the…

Wake-Up Call: The view from DIA

Either Denver International Airport really has its act together — or travel is way, way down this holiday season. I arrived at DIA at 7 a.m., parked in the garage — the $18-a-day fee is my way to atone for spending Thanksgiving, and considerable dollars, in Arizona rather than Denver,…

They’re not thanking heaven for this 7-Eleven

Focus Property Group is striking out with some neighbors in the Ballpark neighborhood. The company wants to put a 7-Eleven at 2425 Broadway, between Silver State Lofts and the PBA Architectural firm, and across the street from the Granada Fish Company.  Tonight at 6 p.m., representatives of Focus, as well…

Wake-Up Call: We all have a duty to buy

When he kicked off Denver ArtsWeek earlier this month, Mayor John Hickenlooper echoed former Governor Dick “Duty to Die” Lamm when he told the crowd, “We all have a duty to shop.” Now Denverites will get a chance to put their money where Hick’s mouth is, when the mayor and assorted…

Wake-Up Call: The week ahead, November 24-30

It’s the economy, stupid. While chairmen of the Big Three auto-makers jetted by private plane to Washington, D.C., looking for a handout last week, hundreds of out-of-work Coloradans lined up before each prospective employer at job fairs across the state last Thursday. And on Saturday, 40,000 people descended on a…

Wake-Up Call: The rest is history

In retrospect, Denver might have been smart to delay its 150th anniversary celebration to next May, to mark the day in 1859 when the towns of Aurora and Denver officially merged into the start of the city we know today. Back in 1959, the city and state had quite a…

Salud! The naked truth on Lola’s Partida Dinner

Jamey Fader, with pants. “Tequila is a very expressive spirit,” says Sofia Partida, whose family tequila was first introduced to this country in Colorado in 2005. “That’s why we get so expressive when we talk about it.” And how. “Tequila has its fun side,” says chef Jamey Fader. “Like Sometimes…

Wake-Up Call: Looking for work is hard work

Today is officially Keep Colorado Working day – but where, exactly, are people supposed to be working? Yesterday, Intrawest Corporation– which runs Winter Park and owns Steamboat and Copper Mountain – announced companywide cuts. (Happy opening day, Winter Park!) And here in town, longtime businesses are looking at layoffs –…

The week ahead: and the rest is history

Be a Society type. At 5:30 p.m. today, the Colorado Historical Society will host a public confab on the new History Center project, to be built in the 1200 block of Broadway – and not smack-dab in the middle of Civic Center Park, the original scheme when the entire 1300…

Visit Denver…even if you already live here

An image from the Visit Denver website. John Hickenlooper was on his second breakfast when he arrived to address the 99th annual membership meeting of the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau — so perhaps he was overcaffeinated when he urged the hundreds of business types assembled in the Seawell…

Golden: away with a manger…

“Leave Us alone — or be prepared to face the wrath of Bill O’Reilly.” Tonight, the Golden City Council will tackle an ordinance that would limit religious displays on city property during the holidays. Like a nativity, for example. Denver has avoided similar attempts by making its holiday nativity display…

Happy birthday, Maggiano’s

Maggiano’s in the Denver Pavilions turns ten this week, and its is a real reason to celebrate. Unlike so many corporate-concept restaurants, this Maggiano’s — a link in a Chicago-based chain — pays attention to the community in which it is located, doing innumerable good works even while it serves…

No scoffing at Denver’s Escoffier dinner

William and Stephanie Wahl left their restaurant, Indulge, to cook at the Escoffier dinner. For those who don’t know Escoffier from etouffe, last night’s Auguste in November event offered a delicious course — eight courses, actually — on the essentials of French cooking. The duck fois gras, presented by William…

The week ahead: immigration and political emigration

Bill Ritter. Politicos across Colorado are brushing up their resumes and trading rumors about who’s going to Washington to join the Barack Obama administration — and some are looking either further afield. This morning, Governor Bill Ritter will announce an economic-development mission to Japan and China that will take forty…