Food/Wine

Eat Up Havana: This Year-Old Italian Joint Serves East Coast Favorites and More

Over a decade ago, former Westword food editor Mark Antonation began his food-writing career by eating his way up Federal Boulevard. Now, we’re turning our attention to another vibrant culinary corridor.
The four-plus-mile stretch of Havana Street between Dartmouth and Sixth Avenue in Aurora is home to the most diverse array of international cuisine available in the metro area. From restaurants and markets to take-and-go shops and stands, food lovers of nearly any ethnicity or interest can find...

This South Suburban Strip Is Denver’s Doughnut District

“Mmmm…. Donuts.”
Few phrases capture the enduring human attraction to glazed rounds of fried dough better than this simple, joyful, almost meditative sigh made famous by America’s favorite dad: Homer Simpson. 
Who can argue with it? Doughnuts are a near-universal source of satisfaction, craved for and appreciated by all walks of life. From the stereotypical laziness of a beat cop, to the gleeful excitement of a young child, to the instant popularity of the office worker surprising their staff, f...

Eat Up Havana: +57 Brings An Unapologetic Taste of Colombia and Venezuela

Over a decade ago, former Westword food editor Mark Antonation began his food-writing career by eating his way up Federal Boulevard. Now, we’re turning our attention to another vibrant culinary corridor.
The four-plus-mile stretch of Havana Street between Dartmouth and Sixth Avenue in Aurora is home to the most diverse array of international cuisine available in the metro area. From restaurants and markets to take-and-go shops and stands, food lovers of nearly any ethnicity or interest can find...

Parisian Champagne Bar Opening in Former Noble Riot Space

In August, when RiNo wine bar Noble Riot made the surprise announcement that it was shuttering for good, it was no small shock — over its six-year run, it had gained a loyal following t
hanks to a focus on natural wines, a robust wine education and wine club program, and a fabulously “classy-meets-trashy” vibe complete with wine and fried chicken pairings.
While Noble Riot is no more, the wine will continue to flow at 1336 27th Street with a new concept, La Vie en Rose.
The owners of neighborin...

Broadway Calzone Shop Drops Prices Under $10 Amid Inflation

While the debate around government-mandated labor costs gets most of the spotlight in the discussion of financial challenges facing Denver restaurants, high rent is perhaps a bigger problem. Restaurants can always cut back on staff or hours to cut costs, but that rent check is due every month.
For Ben Todd, owner of Full Afterburner Calzones on Broadway, the rent is just too damn high. 
“Everything costs too much, and everyone’s tightening their belts,” he says. “You know who’s not tightening th...

Celebrating 30 Years of Farm-to-Table and Potager in Denver

Welcome to #TBT, or Throwback Thursdays, where we revisit some of the Denver metro area’s tried and true restaurants that have become institutions, like the farm-to-table staple, Potager in Capitol Hill. These places have weathered the shifts in our city’s restaurant landscape. As flashy newcomers enter and exit, these restaurants, bars, and cafes remain, though sometimes get overlooked by the fickle short-term attention span of a social media-driven obsession with the new and the now. 


On a...

There's a New Top Barbecue Contender in Town

Only in Denver are you going to find a barbecue food truck run by a Cowboys fan from Texas at a Philadelphia Eagles bar. 
Sounds like sacrilege, yet that’s exactly where pitmaster Ruben Alarcon has found himself, settling the six-month-old Iron Age food truck in the beer garden outside the new-ish Philly tavern the Shambles as its official food partner — and a new contender for the best barbecue in the city.
“We’re from Austin and were born into a Cowboys family, so we’ve always been rivals,” A...

World Pizza Champion Bringing His Fast Casual Chain to Colorado

Acclaimed pizzaiolo Tony Gemignani — winner of 13 world pizza championships — is bringing the latest expansion of his Slice House pizza franchise to Colorado this year. 
First up: Loveland, where on October 11, Gemignani himself will be on hand to celebrate the opening in the Van de Water Plaza. That location is franchised and operated by Loveland resident Michael Tingus and his business partner, Dean Crescenzi.
In December, another location is planned to open in Boulder’s Twenty Ninth Street ma...

Hey, David Chang: Here’s How You Actually Make Colorado-Style Green Chile

David Chang is a world-renowned celebrity chef who has changed the face of fine dining in this country with his opinionated and innovative rejection of pretentious formalities and fussy traditions. 
But apparently, he doesn’t know anything about Colorado-style green chile.
The local staple inspires a lot of passion each year when we release our picks for the best places to eat it. Whether your favorite made the cut or not, we should all be able to agree that Chang’s version is a major fail. On t...

Chopstix Fusion Is Back After Fire in South Parker Road Strip Mall

Sometimes you cook with fire. Sometimes the fire cooks you. 
Three restaurants remain closed this week due to varying levels of damage following a fire at the strip-mall location they share at 2020 South Parker Road, just northwest of the Iliff intersection. The affected restaurants are House of Bread & Pastries, an Armenian bakery that appeared on the 2024, 2022 and 2021 Best of Denver awards lists, as well as Gyros & Kebab and a Blackjack Pizza. 
Chopstix Fusion, which closed temporarily, is b...

Leven Supply's New Club Pours Out Wine Appreciation

In the United States, wine is often considered either a high-priced luxury item or a bargain basement buzz. Leven Supply offers a third approach: wine as a grocery item, in a nod to the more European view of wine as a staple component of even weeknight meals.
Leven Supply, an offshoot of Leven Deli that opened in January just north of Washington Park, is a hybrid food market and restaurant where diners can sit down to enjoy a sandwich or pizza with a glass of wine and then leave with an armful o...

Tamayo Marks 20 Years of Authentic Mexican Dining in Denver

In our new series #TBT, or Throwback Thursdays, we’ll revisit some of the Denver metro area’s tried and true restaurants that have become institutions. These places have weathered the shifts in our city’s restaurant landscape. As flashy newcomers enter and exit, these restaurants, bars, and cafes remain, though sometimes get overlooked by the fickle short-term attention span of a social media-driven obsession with the new and the now. 


Next up we revisit Tamayo, a bustling restaurant that hel...
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