RESTAURANT, BAR AND ESCAPE ROOM A COMPELLING IDEA
Denverites are probably already familiar with chef Justin Brunson’s love of meat; his restaurant, Old Major, is pretty much a shrine to swine.
Now, Brunson is bringing his meaty obsession to a broader audience. Over the summer, the chef shot a pilot for the TV show “SEARious Meat,” which is set to debut on the Cooking Channel and Food Network.
“It’s so much different than anything I’ve ever done before,” Brunson said. “We want to teach people about food and meat and sustainability and where it all comes from.”
SEARious Meats: Cooking Channel Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. and Food Network Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m.
Stop complaining about $34 entrees; apparently, that’s affordable.
According to finance website WalletHub’s 2017’s Best Foodie Cities in America report, Denver ranks first for Affordability & Accessibility of Highly Rated Restaurants. Which is strange because “affordable” is not a word I hear very often to describe the city’s restaurant scene.
We also got first for Craft Breweries & Wineries Per Capita, which makes sense because we do have loads of those. Another head-scratcher, though, was our ranking as the 18th Best Foodie City in America, behind St. Louis, Mo., and just ahead of Washington, D.C.
Other cities scoring higher than Denver for best overall foodie city: Orlando, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Houston, Texas.
The Santa Fe Cookie Co. is back, and all is right with the world. No? Well, at least we have cookies. Following beloved Cookie Lady Debbie Kuehn’s death in June, her niece Alexis McLean decided to take up her aunt’s oven mitts and plastic jug and re-open the downtown cookie factory. McLean, who, because this is 2017, had to up the three-fora-$1 cookie price to threefor-$2, started selling on Oct. 2. 303 16th St. #12A, Denver, 303-623-0919; Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
There will be one less spot to get Camarones a la Diabla tacos and queso fundido in Longmont: The original brick-and-mortar Comida will close at the end of the month.
Rayme Rossello began Comida as a big pink food truck before going on to open restaurants in Longmont’s Prospect neighborhood, The Source and The Stanley Marketplace.
Rossello’s decision to close the Longmont restaurant stemmed from less traffic and revenue at that location.
The last day for service at Comida Longmont will be Saturday, Oct. 28.
Comida: 721 Confidence Dr., Longmont, 720-2046455; Denver and Aurora locations will remain open; eatcomida.com
Ohana Grille — not to be confused with Ohana Island Kitchen on 15th Street — opened in Sloan’s Lake last week. Yes, Ohana Grille will serve the requisite poke, but the main draw is an island-centric menu of loco moco, spam fried rice, teriyaki tacos and macadamia nut-crusted mahi mahi. 2045 Sheridan Blvd., Edgewater, 303232-0787
For more poke bowls, check out Avanti’s QuickFish Poke, which is basically your favorite sushi rolls in bowl form, which opened Oct. 11. QuickFish replaces Bamboo Sushi, which graduated from the fast-casual food hall and is opening a brick-and-mortar shop down the street in November. The poke bowls at QuickFish will be made with sushi-grade, sustainable fish, so you don’t have to worry about killing off Nemo’s population. 3200 Pecos St., Denver, 720-269-4778; avantifandb.com; Sun.-Wed. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Thurs.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Just in time for barbecue season, Proud Souls Barbecue & Provisions opened on Oct. 10 in northwest Denver. It’s not a restaurant, but the Proud Souls BBQ supply store has everything you need to turn your backyard into a competitive barbecue circuit. 2485 Federal Blvd., Denver; 720-233-0398; proudsoulsbarbecue.com
Where can you pick up a ready-to-eat Curry Noodle Bowl, a pound of raw bacon and toothpaste all at the same spot? Why at the new Choice Market ,a 24/7 convenience store that sells made-to-order meals, groceries, produce and toiletries under one roof. Choice opened Oct. 13. 1770 Broadway, Denver, 720-459-7233; choicemarket.co
Tex-Mex fans looking for more Chuy’s, your prayers have been answered with a second Colorado location in Greenwood Village and a third in Belmar.
The crazy-popular Austin chain opened its first Colorado restaurant in Westminster in June. Texans rejoiced, driving miles to get their lips on spicy, green chile-infused martinis and queso dip.
Chuy’s: 8121 E. Arapahoe Road, Greenwood Village (opening February 2018), Belmar location TBD (opening spring 2018) and 6595 W. 104th Ave., Westminster; chuys.com
Last October, restaurateur Dan Landes (City, O’ City), along with developer partners, took over the Campus Lounge after longtime owner Jim Wiste retired.
Renovations to the Bonnie Brae landmark were supposed to be fairly minor, and the Campus Lounge was originally supposed to reopen last Thanksgiving.
“I thought it would be a quick turnaround, but it turned out to be a full gut job,” Landes said. “We remodeled the whole thing down to the floor boards. We built exactly what we wanted. We built a restaurant that will last another 40 years.”
Landes said that if all goes according to plan, it will reopen on Oct. 21.
“The only thing from the old Campus Lounge that survived is the Pac Man machine,” Landes said.
The beer menu has changed quite a bit, too, as Landes will focus on our exceptional local brews.
Campus Lounge: 701 S. University Blvd., Denver, 303-722-9696; opening Oct. 21