Things have gone, uh, smashingly for Denver-based Smashburger since it first opened on Colorado Boulevard back in 2007, serving American classics that have won over many burger-hungry diners. The chain has readily expanded since then, opening close to one hundred additional outposts from sea to shining sea. It’s about to…
On the last night of 2010 — New Year’s Eve — Charles MacDonald, the former chef de cuisine of Z Cuisine, the superb (and proper) French bistro in Highland pioneered by chef/owner Patrick DuPays and his wife, Lynnde, cooked his last dinner on the line. MacDonald had just accepted a…
Ever time I blow through the door at this, one of our favorite Denver restaurants, I fall completely head over heels for the menu, easily one of the most playful and provocative in the city, in part, thanks to the chef, who continues to push the culinary envelope, dropping bombshells…
This, we think, could be a golden opportunity to plant a wet, sloppy kiss on the hot guy (or girl) standing behind you in line, with whom you then make messy burrito love. All metro area Qdoba Mexican Grill locations (with the exception of the Vail store, which opens Monday)…
That special day is coming right up. The day when your significant other — whether it’s on credit or true love — will ask what you’re going to make for dinner. If it’s not reservations, you need to plan your Valentine’s Day evening very, very carefully. Here’s what not to…
Defenders of dill rose up yesterday to defend the noble herb (not to mention the blue cheese dressing at Steuben’s), which Laura Shunk had listed as one of the five things she’d like to see more often on menus. But we’ll give the last word — for now — to…
Welcome to In the Weeds. Kyle will be right with you — most likely to complain about something. Usually he is pleasant, but this is his place to blow off some steam. Don’t take it personally; he just needs to vent because he’s been doing this for about thirteen years…
No. 71: Celery and lime popsicle from Spuntino Cupcakes? Done (unless you’re Chris Romer or one of his minions). Pies? Yes, I adore them, especially when they’re plumped with fresh fruit. But, as of about noon yesterday, I’m hot, like California boys on California “Gurls,” for popsicles. But not –…
The best thing about yesterday? The pies that flanked the tables during an early morning meeting that revolved — around what else? — food. The two slices in the above snap — banana cream and apple drizzled with caramel — made for a sweet breakfast this morning for a kid…
The Quickfire Challenge for the Top Chef All Stars last night was to make fondue — and the contestants would judge each others’ offerings. Who’d have thought that old ’70s party and ski-lodge favorite could have been so cunningly reimagined? Antonia used smoked salmon and fromage blanc. Richard added chili…
It was negative six degrees in Boulder two nights ago, but that didn’t stop anyone from heading over to Oak at Fourteenth for the Fabrizio Iuli wine dinner, a five-course tasting event paired with all-organic wines from Piedmont. The place was packed when we bellied up to the bar, and…
Barbecue is a Southern and warm-weather food. So how is Big Papa’s BBQ seeing an increase in sales in the middle of a Colorado winter? In much the same way other businesses are driving revenue, it’s utilizing social media. In mid-November, Big Papa’s set out to see if it could…
Antonio Gorjoux Cherry Cricket 2641 East Second Avenue 303-322-7666 www.cherrycricket.com This is part two of my interview with Antonio Gorjoux, the kitchen manager of the Cherry Cricket. In part one of that interview, Gorjoux dishes on the day he nearly got fired, eating cow-eye tacos, and the secrets behind the…
Weed it and weap. Laura Shunk championed dill on her recent list of five things we should see on menus more often, prompting this from Angry Taste, Bud: You lost me at number 1. Dill? Really? A weed that tastes so much like ass it takes pickling brine to take…
Welcome to V2 Sports Bar & Restaurant, a behemoth sweep in the Far East Center, big enough to swallow the entire country of Vietnam. The “V” stands for “Viet’s,” the excellent Vietnamese restaurant directly next door, owned by Hiep Thia, who last December added a No. 2 to his repertoire…
This week, I reviewed Flagstaff House in anticipation of Valentine’s Day, and, despite my initial reservations, I thought it was an excellent choice for a celebratory affair. And the Monettes, who own the Flagstaff House, are running several February specials to further enhance the mood during the month of love…
“We’re finally close,” reports Jean-Phillipe Failyau. Close, that is, to unleashing Park Burger No. 3 in the Highland neighborhood, which, says Failyau, will open, construction permitting, on Sunday, February 20 in the former An’s Lemongrass Grille space at 2643 West 32nd Avenue. “The reason I chose the Highlands location,” explains…
We love a great sandwich here at Cafe Society headquarters, and the deli that assembled the skyscraping Italian beast in the above snap, is one of our favorite go-to emporiums to indulge our fetish. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to…
Despite the lawsuit and counter-suit over allegations that Taco Bell’s beef is really only 36 percent beef, the Mexican fast-food chain is feeling warm and toasty about its Facebook fans, so it’s rewarding them. By giving away ten million free tacos…
Antonio Gorjoux Cherry Cricket 2641 East Second Avenue 303-322-7666 www.cherrycricket.com This is part one of my Chef and Tell interview with Antonio Gorjoux, kitchen manager of the Cherry Cricket. Part two of that interview will run in this space tomorrow. “Chef is a big word,” insists Antonio Gorjoux, “and I…
“Yeah, it’s true,” admits Brad Rowell, confirming the rumor that he would soon be vacating his chef de cuisine post at Colt & Gray. He’ll decamp amicably from his position near the end of February and leave Denver soon thereafter…
Want to get a piece of the rock? The town of Empire is now accepting proposals from restaurateurs who’d like to run the Hard Rock Cafe. No, not the music-centric chain that has outposts around the globe, including a location on the 16th Street Mall. This is the original restaurant,…
