As soon as the sun begins to rear its hot head on warm spring and summer days, the familiar jingle of ice cream trucks returns to Denver neighborhoods. There’s still nostalgia in a trip to a local ice cream shop, even when you think you have no more room left in your stomach after dinner. Ice cream is still the best solution for a scraped knee, and a testimony to the simple pleasures of summer. Denver ice cream shops aren’t just scooping out vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. Whether you prefer soft-serve, sweet cream ice cream mixed with Cheez-Its or Mexican popsicles with fresh fruit, here a ..read more

Sushi Den’s lunch service has been on ice since COVID-19 hit in 2020. But this week, the beloved Denver restaurant has updated its hours for eager diners who have missed the power lunch. New Sushi Den lunch menu items include a katsu curry, pictured above. (Provided by Sushi Den) Sushi Den, located at 1487 S. Pearl St., is bringing back its familiar “Catch of the Day” menu, showcasing sushi, sashimi and nigiri shipped in daily from Japan. There are also a few new menu items, including tonkatsu, a Japanese version of schnitzel; katsudon, a bowl of rice topped with an omelet and fried pork tende ..read more

Big Choice Brewing moved from Broomfield to Brighton in 2017 and added a pizza kitchen so that it would stand out in a crowd of Colorado taprooms. But it didn’t change its name because beer was still the big draw at the time. The pizza just made people stay longer. These days, things are different. Big Choice, at 21 S. 1st Ave., said Monday that it has added a few words — Pizzeria & Pub — to its name, in hopes that they will make a big difference. “We have come to the realization in this ever-changing economic climate how important it is to let people know we do more than just brew our own ..read more

After five years in Middleman’s tiny kitchen, Misfit Snack Bar is making a name for itself. Chef and owner Bo Porytko is closing the playful bar-food concept within Middleman at 3401 E. Colfax at the end of May to search for its own brick-and-mortar space. “Middleman and Misfit were always two separate businesses,” Porytko told The Denver Post. “We were always meant to splinter off and do our own thing.” Jareb Parker, owner of Middleman, recruited Porytko to take over the cocktail bar’s kitchen in 2019, after Porytko closed down his whole-butcher restaurant Rebel. There, Porytko created a menu ..read more

Arvada is getting a bite of the In-N-Out madness. The California fast-food chain is bringing its famous Double-Doubles and Animal-Style fries to the southeast corner of Wadsworth Boulevard and 52nd Avenue in the Arvada Marketplace shopping center. The building is still under construction, so the opening is a ways off, according to a spokesperson for the city of Arvada. Related Articles Restaurants, Food and Drink | Colorado’s first Buc-ee’s opens its doors with Texas brisket, beaver nuggets and super-clean restrooms Restaurants, Food and Drink | In-N-Out Burger eyes Longmont location Resta ..read more

Before Snooze A.M. Eatery grew into a breakfast conglomerate with 70 locations nationwide, the brunch spot began humbly in Denver’s Ballpark neighborhood. Brothers Jon and Adam Schlegel opened the first Snooze at 2262 Larimer St. in 2006, and early birds flocked to its playful selection of pineapple upside-down pancakes, habanero pork belly eggs Benedict, and mimosas. Now, 18 years later, the original space is getting a facelift. “Ballpark is our first restaurant, it’s the foundation for everything we are and have become over the years,” Snooze CEO David Birzon wrote in a statement to The Denv ..read more

By Priya Krishna, The New York Times It’s a classic Trinidadian dessert — a chocolate cake soaked in overproof rum and topped with swoops of ultrapasteurized whipped cream. But wait: It’s also a signature Pakistani cake, saturated with cherry brandy essence. And a Chilean cake, festooned with locally grown cherries. And a Lebanese cake — not too sweet, with little to no alcohol. And a Nepali cake. And a Zimbabwean cake. It’s even popular on the remote islands of Fiji. What kind of dessert could inspire such a territorial dispute? It’s Black Forest cake, named for a corner of Germany that still ..read more

By Melissa Clark, The New York Times The first blush of asparagus season never gets old. Every April, seeing those violet-tipped bunches at the farmers’ market sends my pulse zipping and my mind whirling. Dreaming up new ways of preparing them is almost as thrilling as eating them, though clearly not as satiating. Because asparagus cook so quickly and are delightful at any stage of doneness — crisp-tender, velvety soft and even raw, if very fresh — they take well to a host of techniques. Lately, roasting has been my go-to. It’s not necessarily easier or faster than any other method, but I love ..read more

By Emily Weinstein, The New York Times Eric Kim wrote a luminous essay about Japanese breakfast, with its constellation of small savory dishes (rice, miso soup, fish, pickles), and the daily practice of preparing it. You could make it bespoke every day, but the more pragmatic approach is to cook some of the elements ahead and fill out the meal with leftovers and other scraps from the fridge — “cooking for future you, not present you,” as Eric says, an idea I love and one you can embrace for any meal. His new breakfast recipe for miso roasted salmon can be borrowed for dinner — it’s as satisfyi ..read more

By Christina Morales, The New York Times In the early 1950s, Lucinda Moore founded a church ministry from her home in Blounts Creek, North Carolina. The property anchored the charity work she became known for: nursing sick people back to health in her house, giving needy people the clothes that hung in her closet, leading religious ceremonies in the church she helped build in the backyard and cooking dozens of meals every Sunday with staples such as fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, candied yams and a favorite of the congregation, chew bread. Some of that community service stopped when she d ..read more