You’ve never seen charoset like this before. The relish of fruit, nuts and red wine — it represents the mortar used by Jewish slaves in the building of the Egyptian pyramids — is one of the symbolic foods on the Passover seder plate. And its resemblance to actual mortar is probably why most of us don’t think to make and eat it more than once a year, despite its sweetness. Enter these beautiful charoset bars, created by Busy in Brooklyn blogger Chanie Apfelbaum. Apfelbaum starts with an almond flour dough as the base, which she tops with a pulverized pear-date-wine charoset and walnut crumble ..read more

After six years, Comal Heritage Food Incubator is closing up shop in the Taxi mixed-used development in the River North Art District. But that won’t last long: This summer, the award-winning operation will reopen nearby as a bigger restaurant and teaching kitchen within the 2,600-square-foot space of RiNo ArtPark, at 1900 35th St. “The ArtPark outpost has twice as much space as Comal’s current location, which will allow us to better serve the community with larger cohorts of participants and more diverse equipment to accommodate a variety of businesses and trainees,” said Jules Kelty, executiv ..read more

Atomic Provisions wanted to be ahead of the game in Golden before the new CoorsTek redevelopment transforms its downtown. The restaurant group, which owns Denver Biscuit Co., Fat Sully’s and Atomic Cowboy, plans to open all three brands at 1100 Washington Ave. this summer. “Golden is a hot place to live, and it really covers us too for Arvada and Lakewood and gives us a Western location far enough from Tennyson,” said Atomic Provisions owner Drew Shader. “And the tourism aspect is awesome too. The amount of tourists coming to and from the mountains is great, and the bonus is everything happeni ..read more

Just minutes after opening its doors Friday afternoon, Cerebral Brewing’s new weekend-only taproom was already full. Customers ordered hazy IPAs and other beers from a makeshift bar and sat at brand new tables just a few feet from Cerebral’s brewing equipment. It was a good sign for brewery founder and co-owner Sean Buchan, who decided two years ago to take a risk on a part of the metro area that he really, truly loves: Aurora. Cerebral Brewing’s pop-up taproom is located at 9990 E. Colfax Ave. in Aurora. (Jonathan Shikes) Located next to the historic Fox Theatre, and in the heart of the Auror ..read more

A new restaurant is planned for a downtown space that’s been empty for over two years. The Velvet Cellar, which aims to be an approachable wine and cocktail lounge, will open at 1500 Wynkoop St., near Union Station in LoDo. The 4,000-square-foot space was formerly home to Chow Morso Osteria, which closed in November 2020 after two years, and the Squeaky Bean for five years before that. “It’s a nice wine bar with spirits and beer, but it’s also going to have a great, from-scratch menu,” executive chef Todd Bobrovicz said of the concept. “That’s not really being done right now.” According to Bob ..read more

This cookie recipe combines the satisfyingly crumbly texture of a classic shortbread with all three of my favorite gelato flavors — cinnamon, hazelnut and chocolate. Who says you can’t have it all? This cookie is the perfect pairing for that afternoon coffee or steamed chai latte. And the secret to the shortbread’s crunchy texture is — you’ll never guess — Cream of Wheat. The Cream of Wheat adds a lovely crunch to the dough, but you can substitute cornmeal or cornstarch for a similar crumbly texture. Not a fan of hazelnuts? Try toasted almonds or walnuts instead. Cinnamon Shortbread with Choco ..read more

If there’s one thing to remember about the late Flagstaff House owner Don Monette it’s that he would do anything to make sure his customers had a special experience at his restaurant. On Mother’s Day weekend in 1971, not long after he bought the restaurant, rain washed away part of the old gravel road leading up to the top of Flagstaff Mountain, where Flagstaff House has sat since the 1920s, overlooking Boulder below. So Don and his sons, Scott and Mark, flagged down cars on their way up from the bottom and shuttled guests part way up in a van. At the washout, they laid down plywood for people ..read more

Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems). Everyone falls in love with their first ski mountain, and mine was Steamboat Springs. In college, I went on a group trip there even though I didn’t know how to ski, just so I could get a free vacation. I envied my classmates who spent their time on blue runs, while I was stuck on the bunny hill, but at least the views on the greens were just as bre ..read more

Four months after Domo Japanese Country Restaurant owner Gaku Homma announced he was permanently closing the business, he’s decided to give it another go. Homma said on Facebook this week that he will return to the kitchen after a brief hiatus and plans to reopen the restaurant, 1365 Osage St., although, he didn’t specify exactly when because of inspections and other necessary processes, like cleaning the backyard garden. In his Facebook post, Homma, 73, also said he has been using his time off to take a series of trips to Turkey, Nepal and Thailand to teach the practices of Aikido, a modern J ..read more

By Priya Krishna, The New York Times Think of this as the most luxurious Hamburger Helper you’ve ever had. The entire dish — even the pasta — is made in one pot, and melds the indelible comfort of macaroni and cheese with the complexity of a good Bolognese. This definitely has a kick, so adjust the hot sauce according to taste. Yield: 4 servings Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes Ingredients 1/4 cup neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable 1 large yellow onion, diced into 1/2-inch pieces Salt and black pepper 3 garlic cloves, minced 5 strips uncooked smoked bacon, finely chopped 1 pound ground bee ..read more