This foolproof tart is ready to feed a party

By Genevieve Ko, The New York Times It’s been a hard year, and finding small joys feels particularly important right now around the holidays. When I considered which treat could deliver that happiness in this season (aside from cookies, of course), I remembered the first pastry I learned as a restaurant cook. In the basement … Read more

Competition between Colorado hot springs is getting steamy

Hot springs have long been a major draw to Pagosa Springs, a small southwestern town in the shadow of the San Juan Mountains. Hundreds of years ago, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe uncovered the bubbling waters of the Mother Spring — now recognized as the world’s deepest geothermal hot spring — and its medicinal powers. … Read more

Alma Fonda Fina, elevated Mexican, opens in Denver

Johnny Curiel grew up in his parents’ “fonda” – “a mom-and-pop place, where blue-collar workers go for lunch” – in downtown Guadalajara, Mexico. “I was inspired by what they did, but not necessarily the lifestyle,” Curiel added. “But the more I started growing up, the more I fell in love with hospitality.” Curiel’s parents still … Read more

Banh & Butter owner competes in Food Network finale

Thoa Nguyen struggles with the feeling that she disappointed her family “by leaving the family business that was built for me,” she said Monday on the final episode of “Holiday Baking Championship,” a competition show that has been airing on the Food Network. But after making it into the final four — and garnering praise … Read more

Prost Brewing opens huge new biergarten and production facility

As the craft beer industry in Colorado has matured and settled in the two years since the end of the pandemic, there has been a spate of small buyouts, closures and consolidations. For some, this has meant difficult times. For others, it has created opportunities to expand. On Dec. 20. Prost Brewing, which was founded … Read more

Seven fishes (not seven dishes) for Christmas Eve

By Dan Pelosi, The New York Times A marinara-stained kitchen timer ticks as Donna Berzatto choreographs a complex dance of dishes around limited oven space. “I need you to remember to put the Rockefellers in, and take out the artichokes, which leaves an open oven,” she commands her son Carmy. “I need you to put … Read more

Denver’s saddest restaurant closures of 2023

Losing a favorite go-to restaurant can feel like a stab to the heart, especially if it was the kind of place that always had an extra smile ready for you, or where everyone knew your name and your order. Saying goodbye to that part of your routine stings. While the city has been riding a … Read more

Oskar Blues Brewery’s CHUBurger reopens in Longmont after 4 years

Ten years after it first opened as part of the Oskar Blues Brewery’s group of “fooderies,” CHUBurger has returned to Longmont in a slightly different form. The fast-casual burger spot has opened in a permanent mobile kitchen at 3rd Shot Pickleball, 20 S. Bowen St., which Oskar Blues founder Dale Katechis debuted in November with … Read more

Chef Michael Diaz de Leon steps down from Bruto as executive chef

When chef Michael Diaz de Leon took over Bruto in 2020, he was handed “four walls, a hearth oven and a couple of induction burners,” he said. Three years later, Diaz de Leon has transformed Bruto into a Michelin-starred restaurant with a Michelin sustainability award and a 2023 James Beard nomination. “No one really understands … Read more

For Venezuelans, hallacas are a nostalgic taste of home – The Denver Post

By Christina Morales, The New York Times In 2015, the first year Héctor Arguinzones celebrated Christmas in the United States, he longed to share his mother’s hallacas with his wife, Niurka Meléndez, and their son, Samuel. Hallacas, similar to tamales, are a signature dish of the holiday in Venezuela, where he and his family had … Read more