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Denver Westword •

Let Them Eat Chicken: Lawmakers Push to Add Rotisserie to SNAP Benefits

Tomorrow, thousands of Colorado’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients stand to either completely lose their SNAP benefits or find them significantly reduced as new federal work requirements go into effect. 
But if Senator Michael Bennet and his colleagues have their way, those who retain their SNAP status will get expanded access to the types of food they can buy with those benefits, specifically… rotisserie chicken. 
Bennet was one of a group of senators who recently introduced...
Denver Westword •

The Three Best Bites We Had in April

April brought some big changes here at the Westword Food & Drink desk. Beloved Molly Martin made her exit with style, while yours truly stepped in. To say it’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks is an understatement, but I’m not complaining. 
While the transitioning from old job to new, platform training, and general onboarding means I haven’t had the chance to get out there and eat as much as I’d like, there are still a few highlights to report. They include a menu revamp at a Denver restaurant p...
Denver Westword •

Grab Your Totes! Farmers' Market Season Has Arrived

Wait…aren’t there predictions of snow? No matter, metro Denver is about to celebrate the start of farmers’ market season.
Officially, the season already began; both Boulder and Longmont launched their markets in early April. But as we turn the corner into May, the number of farmers’ markets welcoming shoppers increases fivefold. Bigger events like the popular City Park Farmers Market (now under new management) and Cherry Creek Fresh Market both open on May 2; the popular South Pearl Street Farme...
Denver Westword •

MAKfam Leads the Next Phase of Homegrown Denver Restaurant Expansions

The metro restaurant scene is tough. Opening new restaurants is hard, particularly in Denver. But that isn’t stopping two homegrown favorites (plus one national chain) from unveiling expansion plans in this city. 
They include a second location for the highly regarded MAKfam Chinese restaurant, a return to roots (of sorts) for the Nguyen sisters now running Dân Dã and Bánh & Butter Café, and the Denver Tech Center debut of a popular RiNo wine bar. 
MAKfam
With accolades such as a Michelin Guide...
Denver Westword •

As Mizuna Celebrates 25 Years, Chef/Owner Frank Bonanno Is Ready to Start Over Yet Again With Rōmyō

Love him or hate him, chef Frank Bonanno has made an indelible mark on the Denver dining scene. 
His first-and-still-flagship restaurant Mizuna is celebrating its 25th anniversary; it was one of the first fine-dining restaurants in Denver to receive national recognition. In fact, Anthony Bourdain (who once famously said there was “nothing worthwhile to eat” in Denver) gave Bonanno the nod as being the “big dog in town” in a 2010 episode of his No Reservations travelogue that included Mizuna as a...
Denver Westword •

Little Man Ice Cream Rebrands Shops to Prepare for National Growth

Little Man Ice Cream has become a Denver institution since Paul Tamburello opened the first shop in LoHi back in 2008. It’s consistently ranked in our Best Ice Cream in Denver lists and, over the years, its continued growth has resulted in regular expansions, the most recent to Littleton’s Main Street, for eleven locations across the Front Range. 
Soon, the Little Man name will become even more ubiquitous. On April 27, the company announced it will rebrand a handful of its other ice cream outpos...
Denver Westword •

What’s in a Name? Curiels Update (Again) Upcoming Tasting Menu Project Title

First it was Maize. Then it was Fonda Maize. Today, it’s Milpero. 
The imminent launch of the 16-seat, 18-course tasting menu concept from Johnny and Kasie Curiel is one of the more anticipated restaurant openings of the year. After all, the couple’s Fonda Fina Hospitality group already has two Michelin stars under its belts — one for Alma Fonda Fina and one for Mezcaleria Alma — as well as a Bib Gourmand nod for Boulder’s Cozobi Fonda Fina and a Michelin recommendation for Alteño in Cherry Cree...
Denver Westword •

Every Opening and Closing This Week: Three Local Chains Expand Their Footprint

We’re $2,500 away from our spring campaign goal!We’re aiming to raise $20,000 by April 26. Your support ensures Westword can continue watching out for you and our community. No paywall. Always accessible. Daily online and weekly in print. Leading this week’s openings are several expansions of home-grown culinary empires, including Olive & Finch, Marczyk Fine Foods, and Chili Shack. 
Olive & Finch is celebrating the grand opening of its largest location yet in the Golden Triangle on Saturday...
Denver Westword •

New Upscale Restaurant Opening in Former Fruition Space on May 7

We’re $3,500 away from our spring campaign goal!We’re aiming to raise $20,000 by April 26. Your support ensures Westword can continue watching out for you and our community. No paywall. Always accessible. Daily online and weekly in print. Among the most-anticipated restaurant openings this spring is Madeline, which will fill the former Fruition space at 1313 East Sixth Avenue. Now, just over a year after Fruition closed and four months after plans for Madeline were initially unveiled, we fi...
Denver Westword •

Westword Is Seeking Food and Drink Freelancers

We’re $4,500 away from our spring campaign goal!We’re aiming to raise $20,000 by April 26. Your support ensures Westword can continue watching out for you and our community. No paywall. Always accessible. Daily online and weekly in print. Denver’s food and drink scene is vast, varied, and growing rapidly. That’s why we’re expanding our roster of contributors who are passionate about bringing to life all the people, places, and products that make our dining scene unique. 
We’re looking for s...
Denver Westword •

Three Denver Spots Nominated as Best New Bars in U.S.

We’re $4,500 away from our spring campaign goal!We’re aiming to raise $20,000 by April 26. Your support ensures Westword can continue watching out for you and our community. No paywall. Always accessible. Daily online and weekly in print. Denver has long been known as a beer town. But the city’s cocktail scene has come on strong in recent years (pun intended), with several recent additions making waves both locally and nationally: Three Denver watering holes are now in the running for Best...
Denver Westword •

Do Recent Bankruptcy Filings Herald More Denver Restaurant Closures? 

We’re aiming to raise $20,000 by April 26. Your support ensures Westword can continue watching out for you and our community. No paywall. Always accessible. Daily online and weekly in print. We’ve heard again and again how tough it is for restaurants these days, and by all accounts things aren’t getting any easier. Every week, we report on a new closing — sometimes sudden, sometimes long-expected. 
Somewhere between opening and closing are two chains that recently filed for Chapter 11 bankr...
Denver Westword •

Meet Antony Bruno, New Westword Food and Drink Editor

We’re aiming to raise $20,000 by April 26. Your support ensures Westword can continue watching out for you and our community. No paywall. Always accessible. Daily online and weekly in print. When Molly Martin told me she was stepping down as Westword Food and Drink editor and asked if I was interested in taking her place, I was not only humbled but more than a little intimidated. 
She is the very definition of a tough act to follow, and a class act to boot. 
While I’ve been a journalist mos...
Denver Westword •

DIA Named Among Top U.S. Airports for Food 

We’re aiming to raise $20,000 by April 26. Your support ensures Westword can continue watching out for you and our community. No paywall. Always accessible. Daily online and weekly in print. Denver International Airport is one of the country’s busiest airports, sometimes with up to 8 million passengers passing through in a month. And while the travel hub’s restaurants aren’t tasked with feeding every single one of them, making sure there’s something for every potential hungry traveler is a...
Denver Westword •

Acclaimed Chef Finds Home for His Long-Awaited Restaurant

We’re aiming to raise $20,000 by April 26. Your support ensures Westword can continue watching out for you and our community. No paywall. Always accessible. Daily online and weekly in print. Well, they warned us. Back in 2023, when we first wrote about the search that chef Justin Freeman and partner Danny Matthews were undertaking for their pizza-and-rustic-food concept Monarch, they intended to take the time needed to find the perfect spot. 
“We’re going to be picky about it,” Matthews sai...
Denver Westword •

Two Denver Coffee Shops Ranked Among the Best in the World

We’re aiming to raise $20,000 by April 26. Your support ensures Westword can continue watching out for you and our community. No paywall. Always accessible. Daily online and weekly in print. Denver has a robust coffee scene that includes a wave of new additions offering a taste of global coffee culture. It’s a part of the culinary culture beloved by locals, but increasingly, the national experts are getting wise to the quality of the scene as well. 
Just last year, Tokyo Premium Bakery land...
Denver Westword •

Peyton Manning Plans a “Southern-Inspired but Colorado-Rooted” Restaurant

We’re aiming to raise $20,000 by April 26. Your support ensures Westword can continue watching out for you and our community. No paywall. Always accessible. Daily online and weekly in print.
When Manning’s Steaks and Spirits opened in Littleton in December 2024, more than a few people got excited, thinking that former Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was bringing a new food venture to the metro area. 
That turned out not to be the case. But if a proposal made April 14 to Littleton City C...
Denver Westword •

No Bees, No Food: These Denver Restaurants Are Going All-In on Honey

We’re aiming to raise $20,000 by April 26. Your support ensures Westword can continue watching out for you and our community. No paywall. Always accessible. Daily online and weekly in print. Facing an unseasonably hot spring this year, the issue of climate change is top of mind for many Denverites even more than usual this year. And with the imminent arrival of Earth Day on April 22, local chefs and restaurants are making no shortage of noise about their sustainability initiatives. Top amon...
Denver Westword •

One of the World’s Biggest Wine Events Is Coming to Denver This Month

We’re aiming to raise $20,000 by April 26. Your support ensures Westword can continue watching out for you and our community. No paywall. Always accessible. Daily online and weekly in print. The culinary spotlight shining on Denver continues to grow brighter. Along with the recent expansion of the Michelin Guide’s coverage to include the entire state, and the highest number of James Beard Award nominations yet, now even the wine world is turning its attention to the city. 
On Saturday, Apri...
Denver Westword •

Harvey Park Is Getting a New Farmers' Market This Summer

There’s certainly no shortage of farmers’ markets in the greater metro area. There’s even a gluten-free market held once a month. But few are within an easy commute for residents of Harvey Park, which is somewhat surprising given that the neighborhood is within the highest-populated zip code in the city and has several urban farms nearby. This summer, that will change.
Most people who can’t find certain items on their shopping list just try a different grocery store. But not Allie Bronston, who...
Denver Westword •

Japanese Restaurant to Replace Longtime Centennial Barbecue Staple

Late last year, the only Colorado location of the popular Florida chain Bono’s Pit Bar-B-Q shut its doors after a twenty-year run, and ever since, the space at 9393 East Dry Creek Road in Centennial has sat vacant. 
Shortly after, the neighboring Arrow Electronics HQ building was demolished, with plans to replace the lot with apartment complexes. With the pending addition of this residential inventory, the Drury Inn & Suites hotel next door, and the Dry Creek light rail station just across the s...
Denver Westword •

James Beard-Nominated Bakery Moves Into Its New, Bigger Home

After four years, three James Beard nominations, and seemingly countless fawning reviews, the highly acclaimed Poulette Bakeshop in Parker is starting a new chapter. 
On Wednesday, March 11, husband-and-wife owners Alen Ramos and Carolyn Nugent opened the doors to a line of people over twenty deep, all waiting patiently in the 25-degree cold at 8 a.m. Lines are nothing new for Poulette, but for the first time, the crowd was gathered 2.5 miles north of the bakery’s original location in a nondescr...
Denver Westword •

Denver Restaurant Prices Are High — But Owners Say They’re Still Losing

The cost of dining out in Denver these days is higher than ever, and it’s hard to find anyone not fed up with the situation, from diners to restaurant owners to workers alike. 
“Everything costs more – labor, food, insurance, trash,” said one restaurateur quoted in a report released by the Denver Restaurant Liaison Project last week. “But our guests have hit their limit on what they can pay for a night out. We are absorbing more and more of the cost just to keep the doors open.”
“The prices simp...
Denver Westword •

New Littleton Eatery Aims to be a 'Burb-Friendly French Bistro

As Denver continues to struggle to keep its French restaurants open, some operators are turning their attention to the southern suburbs. But while the rent may be cheaper and the labor costs lower, opening a restaurant in a market farther from downtown carries a different set of challenges. 
Bistro 36 opened in Littleton some eight months ago, fueled by the memories of co-owner Michael Cote’s childhood and cooking with his grandmother, Danielle, whom the restaurant is named after (“36” refers to...
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