It’s been nearly two years since the Samba Room, a Cuban restaurant chain based in Dallas, closed in Larimer Square, following a major water leak that dripped…and dripped into the Comedy Works space below. The chain’s parent company, E-Brands Restaurants, eventually filed for bankruptcy last year, leaving the two-level Larimer…
After two-and-half years, Pete Penzastadler is closing Pete’s Monkey Bar tonight with one last blowout. Penzastadler, who calls it “a fucking awesome run,” is closing the spot because he just needs to move on, he says…
From northwest Denver, with love. Chubby’s has made the New York Times — and not surprisingly, it’s thanks to Gustavo Arellano, author of the weekly column Ask a Mexican as well as the new book Taco USA. In that scholarly tome, which traces the rise of Mexican food in the…
It’s not quite the Bamboo Hut, the legendary former tenant at 2449 Larimer Street, but an occupant has signed on for the address that once held one of the town’s best Mexican (yes, Mexican) restaurants: Amerigo Delicatus Restaurant & Market is going into the spot…
If you’ve been following this blog, then you’ve no doubt read about the endless parade of pizza joints that are sweeping across the Denver landscape: Toppings started slinging pies in LoDo last Friday; Right Coast Pizza began tossing dough two weeks ago in Wheat Ridge; and Fired Up will open…
A few weeks ago, when I was in L.A., I spent some time in Koreatown, where I pigged out on some amazing Korean barbecue and banchan — a parade of more than 25 at one restaurant. There are several Korean barbecue joints here, too, including the restaurant where the above…
No one’s saying you have to go meatless just because it’s Monday — but as incentive to join the growing movement, every week we’re offering an animal-free recipe. This is a fast, easy substitute for tuna salad that requires no cooking and harms no fish. We served it up on…
Cafe Society dished up five Guess Where contests last week, including two stumpers: a still-unidentified pizza that is definitely not from Pizzeria Basta and an anemic Reuben that reinforces our plea for better sandwiches in the Mile High City. It didn’t take long, however, to identify Cafe Terracotta as the…
When Gary Lee Bomar, a veteran of the Denver restaurant industry, took over a dilapidated garage on South Broadway almost a year ago, he planned to refurbish the space and build a bar and restaurant with a menu full of smoked meats and cheeses. And while his remodel was always…
Jenn Wohletz has been covering the fast-food beat in Jenn in Chains, and on Friday she served up “href=”http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2012/04/top_five_reasons_why_reviewing.php#Comments”>”Five reasons why reviewing isn’t the worst idea in the world.” And readers have some ideas of their own…
Kraine Station — which was heralded just a few short months ago as a spot that would deliver authentic Ukrainian food to Denver — has closed, just like so many earlier occupants of 1434 Blake Street. Papi Sorrelis had taken over the spot from Jimmy Calanni, who briefly ran it…
April is Colorado Architecture Month, but the celebration isn’t limited to concrete and steel structures. The American Institute of Architecture’s Colorado branch has partnered with five local restaurants on Delicious Designs, to show how architecture affects “where we live, work, play… and even eat!” Desserts, specifically. Here’s the lineup:…
President Barack Obama’s visit to Boulder Tuesday was a quick one, but remnants of his stay — specifically in the form of food — will linger a little while longer in some of Boulder’s favorite restaurants, The Sink and Rush on the Hill. Here are the deals they’ve put into…
Think you have what it takes to kick ass with charcoal, gas or wood? Do your neighbors crash your backyard patio party when they sniff the char of a ribeye wafting through the ‘hood? Do you know the difference between direct and indirect grilling, the intricacies of smoking yakitori, how…
Craft beer, cured meats and cheeses, bread, chocolate, wine and coffee: All of that and much more will exist under one enormous roof, when the Source, an indoor European market, is unveiled early next year in a 26,000 square-foot, 1880s ironworks building in River North…
Have you heard? There’s pizza here, pizza there, pizza everywhere! In light of the glut of pie palaces taking over the city (and its environs), can you guess where I’m eating…pizza? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Guess Where posts is entered into a…
Since the recent introduction of Jenn in Chains my reviews/commentaries on what’s what in the realm of chain restaurants, I’ve gotten a slew of questions from readers, friends and complete strangers on my Facebook page about why I’m giving time and attention to chain restaurants. Questions like “Why don’t you…
Yesterday’s news that Fired Up, a new pizza joint, will soon be opening in the Golden Triangle inspired this comment from Manfrenjensen: WTF is up with all the new pizza joints opening up all of a sudden?? I thought the upscale burger, cupcake, and DIY frozen yogurt trends were something,…
“Customers did not quite understand us,” Barbara Macfarlane remembers. “Many people did not think we would make it and said so. One competing grocer even offered to buy us out!” Clearly, Marczyk Fine Foods is here to stay, and tonight it kicks off its ten-year anniversary with this year’s inaugural…
Beginning Saturday, May 5, Bob Blair, the owner/executive chef of Fuel Cafe, will add weekend brunch to his repertoire, pumping out a menu that zigzags from chilaquiles to sausage and brioche bread pudding to smoked white fish with bagels, and just for fun, boda bags, courtesy of bar magician Jonathan…
The last — at least for now — in the string of pizza joints coming to LoDo is set to open its doors tomorrow. Wazee Wood-Fired Pizza was the first to join the lineup, opening last December in a neighborhood that already included the Wazee Supper Club and Two-Fisted Mario’s…
Fired Up will open in the former home of Chances (which relocated to LoDo last month) at 1135 Bannock Street. “We’ll offer gourmet pizzas made from as many locally- sourced ingredients as possible,” says owner Josh Barhaug, who just got back from a reconnaissance mission in Europe, where he and…
