Grillin’ Wings & Things opening soon in Bonnie Brae

Ever since Fisher Clark Deli — one of Denver’s best — closed in 2010, the space at 723 South University Boulevard, next door to Saucy Noodle, has struggled to keep tenants. When Fisher Clark shuttered, the joint that moved in — the loathsome Loaves N Ladles — lasted a mere…

Five good things about the Chick-Fil-A controversy

Of all the cultural battlefields that could have been chosen for gay- rights whack-a-mole, it had to be Chick-Fil-A: a fast-food chain with marginally good chicken sandwiches, badass waffle fries, and a company president with an avowed aversion to same-sex couples getting legally hitched. The fowl play has gotten ugly…

Guess where I’m eating miso soup?

Normally, I’d wait until the weather turns colder before ordering a bowl of steaming miso soup, but it sounded like a good idea at the time — and it was. The sushi, however, wasn’t. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to…

Fired Up fires up today on Bannock Street

Fired Up opens today at 1135 Bannock Street, and it looks like this place will give Denver diners plenty of reason to get fired up. The former home of Chances has been completely made over, with a new, open kitchen designed around wood-fired pizza ovens. Owner Josh Barhaug and his…

Kevin Morrison opening a second Pinche Taqueria in Highland

“Done deal!” Those were the ecstatic words that Kevin Morrison, the brains behind the Pinche Taco truck and Pinche Taqueria, the stellar urban taco joint that he opened in 2011 on Halloween eve, spilled this morning when he revealed that he’s opening a second Pinche Taqueria at 3300 West 32nd…

Jesse Morreale has a public hearing with the city on Monday

More than two weeks after the city red-tagged the First Avenue Hotel, home of El Diablo and Sketch, the building remains dark — while owner Jesse Morreale tries to convince the city that the 106-year-old structure where the restaurants opened two years ago under a temporary-occupancy permit is safe. Since…

Santiago’s pulling out of Black Hawk

For almost a year, Santiago’s has spiced up the dining scene in Black Hawk, a spot better known for its casino buffets than green chile. The day after Christmas 2011, the ever-growing institution opened two locations inside Bullwhackers: a full-service, 64-seat restaurant on the top floor, and an express service…

Guess where I’m eating tacos…that took forever?

Lunch: Four lackluster tacos and one really cheesy chile relleno smothered in watery green chile studded with still-cold cubes of pork, all of which took 35 minutes to arrive at our table — a table parked in a dining room completely bereft of bodies. The verdict? So not worth the…

Smashburger puts the brakes on SmashCart…for now

While the Downtown Denver Partnership continues to update its vendor program — which has brought more vendors, more often — to the 16th Street Mall, one enterprise has left the ranks. SmashCart, the mobile burger vendor that the Smashburger chain had rolled out in May, has rolled back into the…

Round two with Josh Monopoli, chef de cuisine of Black Cat & Bramble & Hare

Josh Monopoli Black Cat 1964 13th Street, Boulder 303-444-5500 www.blackcatboulder.com Bramble & Hare 1970 13th Street, Boulder 303-444-9110 brambleandhare.com Part one of my interview with Josh Monopoli, chef de cuisine of Black Cat and Bramble & Hare, ran yesterday; this is part two. Favorite restaurant in America: Next, in Chicago…

Coloradans are partial to Santiago’s mean green

There are certain things Coloradans know that others don’t — like how Lookout Mountain turns a sixer of Fat Tire into enough beer for six people, how to walk in heels in downtown Denver in three feet of snow and not break your effin’ ankle, and, most important, which restaurants…

Guess where I’m eating a Greek salad fit for a sultan?

In my endless search for a notable Greek salad, I may have found what I was looking for, here, at this iconic grub house that serves everything from burgers and salads to trout and Mexican skillets. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct…

Santiago’s Mexican Restaurant — green light on the chile sauce

Santiago’s Mexican Restaurants, a homegrown chain, got its start in 1990 at a single store in Brighton, with a very special ingredient — owner Carmen Morales used her mother Rachel’s recipe for Santiago’s now-famous “Authentic Green Chile Sauce with Pork.” From one store grew many, and today there are twenty…

Reader: You’re getting a way better deal at Chipotle

Initially, Jenn Wohletz thought that Taco Bell’s new Cantina Bell menu might give Chipotle a run for its money. But when a reader wondered how the same dishes might taste when made by a stoned teenager, she ordered the new bowls at an actual Taco Bell outlet — and she…