Since moving to Denver from Southern California last year I’ve been faced with many challenges. All things considered, I’ve adjusted quite well. I bought an ice scraper and stopped looking around for a beach, but the one thing that I have yet to accept is being 1,200 miles away from a Pinkberry. […]

Growing up, I found myself immersed in Hispanic culture by my best amigo Ferdinand, who I met the first day of kindergarten. His mother always made sure we were well fed in between our endless adventures and shenanigans, and the meals usually involved tortillas, rice and beans. I quickly learned the taste of the culture, […]

Your Destination: The Corner Office
Happy Hours: Monday thru Sunday, 5 – 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. – 12 a.m.
Atmosphere: Modern and sleek. Downtown office workers sip fancy martinis and draft beer as they talk about whose boss is more annoying and compare their plans to get their very own corner office someday.
The Necessary Special: $3.50 […]

Mike and Janet Johnston moved to Denver in 2004 with a simple plan: Open up a gourmet spice shop. With a second location added a couple of years later and a third currently in the works, the Savory Spice Shop has become a hot commodity in the Denver culinary world. Chefs and foodies alike have […]

Your Destination: Gov’nrs Park
Happy Hours: Monday thru Sunday, 4 – 7 p.m. and 9 – 12 a.m.
Atmosphere: Rustic and cozy, attracting young people looking for a great time without any wild expectations.
The Necessary Special: $2 Coors Light on Mondays, 2 for 1 Bloody Marys on Saturday and Sunday
Single ladies, attention please! Tired of going out […]

Walking into Snooze midday on a Wednesday I found the place full of creative, downtown types. In fact, while I was there, I ran into two film makers, a musician and a designer that I know — all in the hour it took me to eat breakfast. The decor encourages a hip, young clientele and […]

Cheese is an ultimate comfort food. It is loved, in a virtually universal way, at every course, is compatible with almost every dish and has seduced vegans that I’ve known to go vegetarian. It is, along with bread and fermented beverages, perhaps one of our most primal and satisfying foods. Ask any little kid and […]

Your Destination: Via
Happy Hours: Monday thru Friday, 3:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Atmosphere: A great, urban place with a twist of European style – exceptionally warm and cozy, while keeping a daring edge on style.
The Necessary Specials: Drinks – $4.50 martini specials, $3.00 shot specials. Food – Half-priced starters from main menu, $5 […]

Ever notice how the wine world is chock full of rules.
1) Merlot is for plebs
2) Chablis is a dirty word
3) Four glasses of wine equals one mighty hangover
4) Good wine is always expensive
Conversely, expensive wines aren’t always great, and contrary to popular belief, a nice fruity merlot does in fact pair well with a Big […]

Vita, a dim-lit, contemporary Mediterranean bistro located on Boulder Street at the metropolitan fringes of the Highlands, happens to be right next door to This Week In Denver’s international, state-of-the-art headquarters. And it just so happens to be so excellent that our staff has found a regular home at the chic restaurant.
[…]

People-watching and good eats aside, half the fun of dining out in LoDo is recalling the history behind each new joint.
In the space formerly known to Del Mar Crab House, comes Osteria Marco, a casual tavern that serves-up straightforward Italian fare. According to owner Frank Bonanno who brought us Mizuna and Luca d’ Italia, […]

Your post-work martini turned into five, plus two beers and a shot of tequila. It’s 1:45 a.m., the bouncer’s booted you to the curb and now you’re stranded, sloshed and ready for food. Problem is, late-night eating downtown usually means a curbside burrito, stale bag of chips from 7-11, or worse yet, a trip to […]

“This is the world’s largest single malt [scotch] selection outside Britain,” reads the sign above the labyrinthian display of bottles dangling above the bar. That’s right, we Denver-ites have a record-setting little gem in the Pint’s Pub, a cozy and affable British tavern that has absolutely refused to assimilate since 1993.
[…]

If you know me personally then you need not read any further, because chances are I’ve already talked your ear off about Aviano Coffee. For all of you newbies, pay close attention.
There seems to be a generally accepted mentality with us (Americans, that is) suggesting that Europe will always carry the torch when it comes […]

The calm before the storm, in my eyes, is one of the most interesting and rare occasions. Thought and reconciliation flourish in this state, juxtaposed with a flurry of anxiety, fear, meditation, anticipation, and all forms of orderly chaos. Master Artisan Chocolatier William Poole of Wen Chocolates is in this place, whether he openly acknowledges […]

I was the very first customer to walk through the doors of the Uptown location of WaterCourse when they recently opened. I, of course, worked another all-night marathon (hell will freeze over the day I actually wake up that early in the morning). It was really a coincidence, as I didn’t intend to be there […]

I suppose as a food critic it’s my job to notice things about a restaurant that would be otherwise superfluous. Dissecting every dish with dour vision, checking for leftover lipstick stains on my glass, being especially “sensitive” to the service, and otherwise keen to all the concerns that would distract hungry diners from their main […]

Toshi and Yasu. The brothers that set the standard for “fresh” in the American sushi restaurant. These boys were the first to actually serve sea-going fare in a western sushi bar within 48 hours of said fare being delivered to the ports of Japan. They figured out a way to do it for real decades […]

I distinctly remember the scene from The English Patient where a dusty Count Almasy stumbles into a British fort deep in the Sahara, and to the priggish bewilderment of the resident clerk and officer he gasps, “I have been walking… in the desert, I have been walking for three days!” and I remember thinking to […]

Have you ever encountered a seemingly intimidating person who simply existed on a higher level - one who manifests wisdom with total clarity, knowing all of the answers and exhibiting so with commanding authority - only to find yourself cast under a spell, completely at ease and in blissful fidelity? Well, if this person were […]