Like Little Anita’s, Il Vicino is one of the few Albuquerque chains to survive the trip to Denver. But while Little Anita’s has never been a top-tier spot back home (though it has some of the best chile I’ve found here in Denver), Il Vicino has always been one of…
The Sandwich: Greenwich Village What’s on it: Pastrami-seasoned turkey, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, lettuce, tomato and Russian dressing on rye Where to get it: Mendelson’s New York Delicatessen (600 17th Street, 303-996-5555) How much: $9.75 If sandwiches were movies, then Mendelson’s triple-deckers would be the Lord of the Rings trilogy, a…
Squeaking in just under the wire before one of the biggest dining nights of the year is Arugula, a very-very-Boulder restaurant that’s scheduled to throw wide the doors at 2785 Iris Avenue on February 13 — just 24 short hours before the big Valentine’s Day rush. That’s a helluva way…
See more photos of DJ’s at westword.com/slideshow Laura and I are in bed, sheets pulled from the corners, blankets mussed and tangled. I can feel her, warm beside me, and from the sweet edge of exhausted sleep, I can hear her voice. “Dammit. Why didn’t we order a pizza first…”…
See photos of oysters from all over the world at westword.com/slideshow. For video of how to shuck an oyster, visit the Cafe Society blog. Nearly four inches long, the “Sand Dune” oyster from Prince Edward Island was so plump, it was bulging out of its shell “like a large breast…
DJ’s Berkeley Cafe (this week’s review) blows the current economic bell curve by being not just full, but overflowing at a time when most restaurant owners would strip naked and hang coupons from their ding-dongs just to get a few more people through the door. A five-page wait list for…
Think you want to open a restaurant of your own? Well, before you get too excited, I suggest you check out djscafe.blogspot.com — a website that Jason Stallings put together to detail every phase of the construction at DJ’s Berkeley Cafe and all the nightmares that went along with it…
Bad news for you fans of serious Vietnamese food: Ha Noi Pho, my Best Taste of Hanoi, has been sold. This happened just yesterday, but already the joint is operating under another name: Can Tho Pho. At least according to the sign out front at 1036 South Federal. When I…
In this week’s Westword, Robb Walsh, the author of Sex, Death and Oysters: A Half-Shell Lover’s World Tour, writes about why this Valentine’s Day weekend may be your best chance to eat oysters for years to come. Watch the video above to see Walsh properly shuck an oyster…
This week’s Westword, on newsstands and at westword.com later today, is especially friendly to foodies. Along with the usual lineup of reviews and columns, this week’s cover story, by Sex, Death and Oysters author Robb Walsh, focuses on the world’s vanishing oyster supply. To tide you over until this afternoon,…
Hisashi Takimoto, who owned Taki’s Healthy Japanese Food Restaurant, 341 East Colfax Avenue, died Monday at the age of 62 (read the Denver Post story here). Taki’s was an East Colfax landmark, and we have plenty of memories of the place, including one from just this week about Taki’s famous…
We get a booth against the wall, where we drink tea and watch the neighborhood turn over on the floor; the clock rolling from breakfast rush into lunch. Almost everyone in the place seems to be a friend, a regular — making the Sunday morning or afternoon pilgrimage for eggs…
Maynard Keenan, famous for his loud lyrics with the legendary metal band Tool, is a man of varied tastes. And right now, he’s singing a different tune.Co-owner of Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Keenan and partner Eric Glomski are off on a wine-bottle signing tour. At Whole Foods. You can wipe the mascara out…
Since last May, Chef Bruce David Mcginty has been running an interesting operation out in Arvada. Restaurant Blu and C-Level are attached restaurants, located in a waterfront building overlooking Hidden Lake. Restaurant Blu is more of a fine-dining place, while C-Level bills itself as ‘Arvada’s only waterfront sports bar and grill.’…
One of the best things about Marczyk Fine Foods, other than the fine foods, is that the shop, at 770 East 17th Avenue, has found a way around the out-dated Colorado blue law that keeps grocery stores from selling full-strength alcohol: the owners have simply opened a liquor store in an adjacent…
While the abysmal economic climate has stalled many proposed restaurant plans, the new owners of 3200 Tejon Street are moving ahead with their project to put a steakhouse in the former home of North Star Brewery. Sean Kelly (pictured) has already signed on as the chef at the new venture,…
Raisin Bran Crunch Kellogg’s Rating: Two-and-a-half spoons out of four Cereal description: Rice, wheat and oat flakes, supplemented by occasional (and mysterious) “clusters,” that are bumpy, wavy and serrated; the edges seem sharp enough to open an envelope. Raisins are also part of the package, but they’re not key players…
Denver Restaurant Week doesn’t start until February 21, but many restaurants are already serving up special deals. Last month Bistro Vendome, the French restaurant at 1420 Larimer Street (in an absolutely lovely space off the Arcade), extended its Sunday night mussels and frites deal through Thursdays. That nine-dollar deal is…
I’m a fan of Valentine’s Day. But not because of any love stuff. It’s because of conversation hearts, those super-sweet wafer-y candies with the fun sayings like “Mad 4 U” and “Lover Boy.” I’m also a fan of Halloween because of candy corn and of Fourth of July because of Cool…
We know that cupcakes aren’t technically candy, but luckily we’ve found a loophole around that for Valentine’s Day. The Shoppe, at 3103 East Colfax Avenue, is celebrating the holiday with a variety of adorable and delicious cupcakes all dressed up and masquerading as Valentine’s candy. But these are way better…
Last fall, Nigerian-born Ifiok Etuk began to transform the space at 2044 Clinton Street, Unit B, in Aurora into his own workplace, his own restaurant. The result is Hessini Roots International Cafe, a unique space that fuses soul food, African food and Mexican food into a veritable world tour of…
Found this comment posted on our piece about the campaign to ditch “Mustang,” the blue horse outside of DIA: “Denver’s nonprofits have to come together! While we may not be able to agree on the fate of the blue horse, one thing we can all agree on is that burgers…
