Even the blessing of Steve Ells, CEO of homegrown, fast-casual mega-chain Chipotle Mexican Grill, wasn’t enough to make America’s Next Great Restaurant into, well, America’s next great restaurant: Soul Daddy, the healthy barbecue concept that nabbed the reality show’s grand prize of three locations, shuttered its final spot in the…

Matt and Mike Casarez have their hands full running Crook’s Palace, the historic Black Hawk restaurant they opened in 2008 with a board of burgers and beer — and a commitment to making what they could in house. “I have a passion for food and so does my brother,” says…

We just finished up the Colorado Cocktail Project, during which distillers and bartenders from across the state gave lectures, poured samples and, ultimately, created the ultimate Colorado Cocktail: the Tree Line, concocted by the Avenue Grill’s Marnie Ward, who bested nine other mixologists with her drink made with Leopold Bros…

At the tender age of incredibly-awkward-teenager, I was packed, along with an econo-sized bottle of zit cream and my discman, into my family’s mini van for a summer road trip through the romantic Midwest. I was a terrible human to be around at that age, bitching about every stop along…

Over the past few years, Boulder’s Pearl Street has added several independent coffee shops — including Atlas Purveyors, Caffè and Ozo — to a strip already stuffed with caffeine stops. But now one of the area’s older cafes has made an exit…

Of all the spirits, whiskey may be the most varied (the world can’t even agree on the spelling of the word). Bourbons must be made with at least 51 percent corn in charred oak barrels. Irish whiskey ages distilled cereal grains in wooden casks. Canadian whisky just has to be…

I’ve yet to find a spirit that I really hate. I’ve had gins so smooth and floral, I’d willingly drink them neat. I’m a sucker for a good, smoky mezcal. Put tequila in just about anything and I’ll pour it straight down my throat. But at the end of the…

Converting an old gas station into a restaurant, Bittersweet was a major undertaking for Olav and Melissa Peterson, and construction problems have plagued them since the start of the project. Unexpected issues with the build-out pushed back their already-delayed opening until the very last day of 2010. And now the…

Highland Tap and Burger has been hawking burgers and beer since late last summer, attracting crowds to the patio and TV-lined bar for happy hour, dinner and late-night drinking. And now it’s adding lunch (with the same menu as at dinner) Tuesday through Friday. “They had a big request from…

In the Best of Denver 2011, we named Common Grounds the Best Coffeehouse for Finding a Date, thanks to the constant crowd of young professionals who mingle there over cappuccinos. And because we’re big proponents of ditching online dating and blind set-ups every now and then in favor of meeting…

“It’s a Mexican coffee house. Like a bakery and cafe, but Mexican style,” says Adriana Cendejas of Tenoch Mexican Coffee House, the spot she opened with her brother near just two weeks ago. The pair comes from Mexico City, and they cribbed the name Tenoch from Tenochtitlán, the Aztec name…

In the 1960s, Boulder’s Greenbriar Inn transformed a building that dated back to1873 into a restaurant, a spot near Lefthand Canyon that attracted wedding parties and special-occasion celebrations with an ostentatious menu of now-dated, then-staples of fine dining, mostly heavily sauced dishes prepared tableside. The eatery has evolved since then,…

Several months ago, Peter and Mara Soutiere nabbed the tiny hallway space behind their Pearl Street-facing restaurant, Tahona Tequila Bistro, and began drawing up plans for an intimate restaurant that would share a kitchen with Tahona. At that time, the couple was still finessing plans and unwilling to divulge details…

Plans have been in the works for a Bubba Chinos to move into the old Fanny’s flower store on East Colfax since late last year, when Leonard Cordova’s expanding empire picked up the lease on the location. After a paint job and patio renovation, the place finally opened this month…

The former space that used to house Satchel’s Market (which relocated to Sixth Avenue and Gilpin and is now Satchel’s on 6th) has undergone a transformation over the past few months, as catering company owner Pam Read and her business partner, Gary Fink, put together Pary’s on 28th, a new…

Ten blocks east of Taco Mex, a much smaller joint attracts its own big crowd of eaters. During busy hours, you practically need a shoehorn to get into the microscopic front room that’s barely got space for four counter seats and the window where you order; even during off-hours, it’s…

Along the stretch of Colfax where Denver begins to give way to Aurora, a motley collection of strip malls, repurposed gas stations and shabby storefronts house an equally diverse collection of culinary experiences. Ethiopian and Japanese joints stand side by side; neighboring Peruvian and Salvadoran spots provide ample opportunity for…

Colfax is the longest street in Denver, and it’s also one of the most culinarily diverse, home to everything from Belgian fare to burgers, Ethiopian timatim fit to Mexican tacos al pastor. And not just tacos al pastor, but the traditional kind — the kind that feature pork roasted the…