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Denver Westword •

Can Wine Bars Survive in Beer-Soaked Denver?

In August, the Denver wine scene mourned the closure of one of the city’s most well-known and most respected wine bars, Noble Riot. Among the many reactions of those grieving its loss was a sort of self-loathing lamentation that the wine scene in Denver — and the opportunities for wine bars in particular — is forever stuck in the lasting shadow of the city’s world-renowned craft beer culture. 

Viewed through that lens, wine bars in Denver are a curiosity. An anomaly. A square peg in the round h...
Denver Westword •

Boulder Bakery Closing After Thirty Years in Business

The metro area seems to be going through a bakery renaissance of late, with the likes of Tokyo Premium Bakery making Yelp’s top 100 list and Poulette Bakeshop nabbing a James Beard nomination, plus the opening of notable new additions like Moon Racoon. But this week, there is some sad bakery news coming out of Boulder as longtime staple Breadworks Bakery & Cafe has announced that it is closing for good.

“It is with equal measures of sadness and gratitude that we must inform you that the final...
Denver Westword •

Eat Up Havana: Pardon the Dust at Maandeeq Restaurant & Cafe

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...
Denver Westword •

Denver Man Launches New App to Make Wine Tasting Less Boring

Drinking wine is fun. Learning about wine…not so much. 

Denverite Eric Senescu discovered that firsthand during the pandemic lockdown, when he and his wife took an online wine course to relieve the monotony and try learning something new. “It was more boring than we already were,” he says of the experience. “There were parts of it that were interesting, but there was a lot that was very dense and kind of textbook heavy.”
So he created BlindVine, an interactive wine tasting game that pits player...
Denver Westword •

Eat Up Havana: Aurora Eatery Serves East African Specialties

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...
Denver Westword •

White Truffle Season Means Denver’s Most Expensive Dinners Are Back

Year-end expenses can add up quickly. There are ski passes to buy, holiday gifts to plan for — and this year is particularly tough for those facing food insecurity with the interruption of SNAP benefits (and for federal workers, paychecks), thanks to the ongoing government shutdown.
Ironically, it’s also the time of year that the most expensive ingredient to hit restaurant menus becomes available: the elusive white truffle. If that’s a luxury you can afford (after first contributing to meal assi...
Denver Westword •

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...
Denver Westword •

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...
Denver Westword •

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...
Denver Westword •

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...
Denver Westword •

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...
DiningOut Denver - The Voice of the Independent Re •

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...
Denver Westword •

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...
Denver Westword •

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...
Denver Westword •

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...
Denver Westword •

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...
Denver Westword •

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...
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