Street Kitchen Asian Bistro opened in January 2011 — but it took me almost a year to find my way to a satisfying meal at this spot. A friend and I stopped in recently as the lunch rush was coming to a close, passing exiting groups of cubicle warriors as…
Suburbs are rarely known as culinary meccas, and the sprawling subdevelopments to the south of Denver are no exception to this rule. But since the Tech Center and other business complexes attract commuting cubicle warriors in droves, a few restaurateurs with already-established urban locations ventured south last year, opening trendy…
For five years, Anthony Davis has been a barista and manager at north Boulder’s Amante, where he learned to pour shots and style out lattes with art. But this spring, the coffee enthusiast is striking out on his own closer to his Highland neighborhood home, opening 2914 Coffee at 2914…
Tooey’s Off Colfax has been one of our favorite watering holes since it opened its doors in 2009 — in part because it makes an excellent classic martini. Still, on nights when we’re bellied up to that bar, we always lament the fact that we have to wander down the…
Over the last few months, I went from the worst shape of my life to the best while continuing to eat like a food critic. Don’t punch me in the face; instead, read how I did it in part ten of this series: Ow, every single part of my body…
When the Blake opened last October, owner Jimmy Calanni planned to unlock his two-story space on the weekends, booking in live music acts, entertaining drinkers on the main level with flat screen TVs and maybe, if he felt the market was right, introducing dueling pianos. Now, though, the bar is…
Last year, the block between 11th and 12th Streets on Boulder’s Pearl Street saw one longtime resident exit and change, when the twenty-year-old Bookend Cafe shut down to make way for Riffs. And this year, another longtime resident of the block will pack up and move out…
There aren’t many places in this state where you can pick up a Hawaiian plate lunch, savoring teriyaki steak, panko-encrusted pork, chicken katsu or Spam alongside a scoop of macaroni salad and rice. In fact, we can really only think of one place that featured the casual island tradition: 8island…
If you’re looking for a proper tiki drink in Denver — you know, a Polynesian-themed sour rum cocktail that soared to popularity in the 1940s and 1950s — Matty Durgin, barman at Madison Street, is your man. He’s built a fan following for his tiki drinks, which he showcases once…
“Treat everyone right, because you never know who’s sitting at your bar,” says barman Joshua Smith, who currently commands the beverage program at TAG in addition to slinging drinks at Williams & Graham a couple of nights a week. That lesson was hammered home for him a few weeks ago,…
That tiny hut, tucked into a courtyard on Vine Street at the Streets at SouthGlenn, is the future home of Yo’Cheese, a takeaway stand “making grilled cheese the way you wished your Yo’Mom made,” its Facebook page promises…
For obvious reasons, we don’t make New Year’s resolutions here at Cafe Society that involve cutting delicious morsels out of our diet. But since we used the holidays as an excuse to go on even more of a gastronomic bender than usual this year, we are thinking about switching our…
Late last week, Tilman J. Fertitta, who owns Landry’s, Inc., closed a deal to purchase McCormick & Schmick’s, a nationwide restaurant chain that has two locations in Denver, including one in the Oxford Hotel. That spot has been serving up cheap happy hour deals and oysters since 1986 — before…
This week’s review took me to the area just north of West Washington Park, where Dale Huguley created Cafe|Bar in the former home of Pho Pasta. With the help of chef Eric Rivera, he married European cafe culture to sustainable sourcing and excellent design. The result is a versatile neighborhood…
We’ve seen a lot of beer cocktails make best-beverage lists over the past year, and they range in complexity from a glorified michelada — a classic Mexican blend of lime juice and lager — to the Naughty Girl Scout, a drink on the list at Euclid Hall that uses a…
When Dane Huguley landed the lease for a spot on Alameda Avenue that had most recently held Pho Pasta, he and chef Eric Rivera examined all the other restaurants in the neighborhood before they decided what kind of concept they’d build…
Ryan Conklin, certified Cicerone and head barman at Euclid Hall, doesn’t think his reasons for going into bartending were very different from what motivates other professionals in the industry. “Like a lot of bartenders, you just kind of have some sort of drive to it, whether that’s getting behind the…
Last year saw nearly 300 restaurant openings on the books — but 2012 is already kicking off with several closures, including the long-lived Pearl Street Grill, next-door neighbor India’s Pearl and nearby Ototo. And now, from the southern suburbs, comes word of another shuttered restaurant…
On my first visit to Cafe|Bar, I spent an inordinate amount of time making plans for art projects. I’m not much of a DIY-er, but just about every decor item in the place gave me an idea for my own home. “How do you think they made those ornaments?” I…
The more I travel, the more I’m impressed by the barmen and barwomen of Denver — many of the beer, wine and spirits professionals in our city can stand with any other bartender in the world. They’re professional and knowledgeable, and they pour some pretty awesome drinks. Without a doubt,…
Bradford Heap, owner of Boulder’s Salt and Niwot’s Colterra, has had a busy end of the year. Not only has he been drawing up plans to launch a distillery with his bar manager, Evan Faber, he’s also launched a catering business — Bradford Heap Catering — that’s about to kick…
This year was a banner year for new restaurants — as we noted in this week’s Year in Review, nearly 300 new places have opened since January 1. Dozens of them included bars, and many more new dives, cocktail lounges, pubs and piano bars gave us still more reasons to…
