No. 64: Chongqing Chicken from East Asia Garden Some of the best cooking in Denver comes from restaurants that are completely off the grid — those with generic names, facades as forgettable as last night’s one-night stand and featureless dining rooms where the color scheme clashes. East Asia Garden, which…
While the new food truck guide spells uncertainty for a number of mobile concepts in Denver, Pizzeria Basta is undeterred in its plan to unleash a mobile wood-fired oven on the state of Colorado. The crew is ramping up to unveil Basta Mobile, a portable extension of the Boulder-based restaurant…
“This restaurant is my passion, I own the real estate — we have zero debt — and as soon as I get the money that was stolen from us back from the banks. I’ll reopen Skew.” Those were the words of Ton Phairatphibon, the former owner of Skew, 2070 South…
Enrique Socarras Cuba Cuba 1173 Delaware Street 303-605-2822 www.cubacubacafe.com This is part two of my interview with Enrique Socarras, executive chef of Cuba Cuba. In part one of this interview, Socarras raps on integrity, stomaching raw bacon and his new Boulder restaurant. Best food city in America: I’m going with…
Vicente Domingo opened Viejo Domingo, an Argentine spot, quietly last year in the West 38th Avenue space that had housed Playa de Oro. And now Viejo Domingo has left left quietly, too. The Viejo Domingo sign is down, the phone rings without going to voicemail, and a handwritten scrawl in…
As mayor, John Hickenlooper frequented the gourmet food trucks that parked outside City Hall for Civic Center Eats. Now Denver City Council representative Carla Madison, as head of the city’s truck task force, is overseeing a study of the rules governing the operations of those trucks. She hopes to have…
Talk about getting your just desserts! And, no, we didn’t wipe the plate clean, but we did mange to make a small, rather insignificant, dent. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Where am I drinking/eating posts is entered…
In some circles, sushi is synonymous with “raw fish” — and clearly not on the menu for vegan or vegetarian diners. Thankfully, even in landlocked Colorado most sushi houses offer at least one or two veggie rolls — and Japango, 1136 Pearl Street in Boulder, offers a multi-course veggie spread…
“Where should I start?” responds Chris Cina, when I ask him about his new restaurant, Hideaway Steakhouse, that opens today in Westminster. Cina, whose name is synonymous with the Fourth Story, a long-gone restaurant that resided on the top floor of the former Tattered Cover in Cherry Creek, and, more…
When Georgia natives Matt Alexander and Nick Reckinger were simultaneously laid off from their jobs a few months back, they were looking for a way to make some quick cash. So they turned to a hobby: barbecue. “We started selling barbecue to friends and co-workers. You know, like Paula Deen…
Enrique Socarras Cuba Cuba 1173 Delaware Street 303-605-2822 www.cubacubacafe.com This is part one of my interview with Enrique Socarras, executive chef of Cuba Cuba. Part two of that interview will run in this space tomorrow. Enrique Socarras puffs on a cigar, intently studying the squiggles of smoke that swirl through…
The pot-for-food campaign seemed like such a smart idea to do some good and get some attention: Urban Cannabis, a medical marijuana dispensary on South Downing Street, would give away pre-rolled joints in exchange for customers donating canned goods to local food banks. Between March 1 and April 20 (a…
A couple of restaurants in town are now listing items that diners can order for the back-of-the-house, including a six-pack for the kitchen crew, in order to further enhance their meal. In a post about these new drink-list requests yesterday, Laura Shunk wondered if this trend was charming — or…
Americana is a pop culture celebration of this country’s history, a glorified representation of such symbols as Route 66, fried chicken and the blues, sexed up in a way that panders to our collective consciousness and makes us proud of a past we may never really have experienced. And Americana…
“I’ve spent the last month as a babysitter, as a life coach and as a hustler,” quips Arik Markus. “Now, I finally get to do what I should be doing — cooking and feeding people.”…
When I first ate at Japoix for my review, a server told me that the restaurant’s name came from a desire to emphasize the marriage of Japanese and French cuisines, the focus of then-chef Jay Spickelmier, who’d done stints at Spago and Jing before moving to Japoix when it opened…
It’s been an entry on the beverage menu at Table 6 for ages, but we’re starting to see a common line popping up on drink lists around town: an invitation to diners to send a six-pack of beer to the kitchen — an invitation that caused quite a bit of…
Welcome to In the Weeds. Kyle deserves a day off — so he’ll be back to blow off some steam. I’ve been in the food service industry for eighteen years, back and front of the house. Waiting tables is one of those jobs that make you want to gnaw on…
True, there’s an abundance of roughage masking what lies underneath, but once you pluck the lettuce from the heap, you’ll discover a quartet of flautas, devoid of grease, swiped with crema and logged with deliciously spiced potatoes. Can you guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first…
If you’re looking to have a devilishly good time tonight, make plans to attend the Sotol Hacienda de Chihuahua dinner at El Diablo, the rollicking Mexican cantina in the Baker ‘hood, whose kitchen extols the virtues of exec chef Sean Yontz. Tonight though, Yontz is sharing his kitchen with his…
Joel Warner’s post on the Perk Cycle — the bike-powered coffee cart that was just rolled out by Wash Perk Coffee Shop — inspired a response from Michael Rosacci, who sent us shots of Thai street carts that included a full-blown kitchen on the back of a motorbike. Along with…
Two very new, very different restaurants are winning raves. The first? Troy Guard’s TAG|Raw Bar, which opened yesterday in the newly remodeled Walkway at Larimer Square — a few months behind schedule, but definitely worth the wait. Here’s one assessment of the debut lunch: it was sooooooooo good. felt super…
