Out with the old, in with the new.
Tante Louise, the traditional French restaurant that has cooked it up on East Colfax Avenue since ’73, will shut down Saturday night after a private dinner.
And last Friday, Black Pearl, a “new American” restaurant, opened at 1529 S. Pearl St.
They come, they go.
But they have little in common – except oysters and steak tartare on their menus.
Tante has low ceilings, a dark interior, fabric on the walls, a cozy, hushed romantic feel of the Old World. Black Pearl has two-story ceilings; a modern, sleek, clean feel; and a large stone community table on the patio with a fire pit.
Tante’s menu includes its signature garlic dusted veal sweetbreads. Black Pearl serves steak frites, corn risotto, a Cuban sandwich, spooned tuna and mac & cheese.
You can still smoke in the bar at Tante. No smoking at Black Pearl.
“I have hugely mixed feelings,” said Tante’s owner Corky Douglass at dinner Tuesday night. “We have been a memory in so many people’s lives.”
Steve Whited, owner of Black Pearl, also runs a place in Nantucket. “We hope to become part of the neighborhood,” he said. “We’re just going to have some fun.”
Girl talk
Forget “Debbie Does Dallas.” The new travelgirl magazine has an 11-page feature called “doing denver.”
Aimed at single women who hit the road, the mag calls our town a “hip, young, happenin’ place.”
travelgirl – which affects an all lower case type style – likes to sleep at JW Marriott, Inn at Cherry Creek, Brown Palace, Hotel Monaco, Hotel Teatro and Luna. For eats and drinks, she goes to Elway’s, Adega, Sambuca, Vesta, Mao and Cherry Cricket.
Start your engines
Jason Priestley, former star of “Beverly Hill 90210” and future star of the upcoming CBS pilot “Love Monkey,” slid through town Tuesday to promote the Grand Prix of Denver. He’ll be the grand marshal, which means he’ll start the race and host a Celebrity Bowling, Billiards and Texas Hold ‘Em Tourney for charity the Wednesday night before the Aug. 14 race.
In addition to Priestley, organizers say Jimmy Vasser, Anthony Edwards and Paul Newman will participate in the bowling/poker tourney. Well, I’ll look for Edwards and Vasser – but Paul Newman coming to town five days before the race to go bowling and play poker at Lucky Strike Lanes? I dunno.
City spirit
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan’s son Kyle, a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaching staff, will marry Mandy O’Donnell on Sunday, followed by a reception for 500 at the Shanahan house in Cherry Hills … Ran into Roger Wolf at Tante Louise Tuesday night. He played the piano at the Colorado Mine Co. 1971-1986 – and he always amazed owner Buck Scott at how long he could go without a pit stop. Sometimes more than seven hours! “I was ‘Iron Kidneys,”‘ he said. “But not anymore.” … The $1 million giant toilet bowl ride, The Revolution, opens 11:30 a.m. today at Water World … Adele Arakawa spotted in her 1995 Porsche 911 on Woody Creek Raceway at last weekend’s gathering of Rocky Mountain Region Porsche Club … Sez who: “There are more of them than us.” Herb Caen
Bill Husted’s column appears Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Husted also appears on Fox 31 News. You can reach him at 303-820-1486 or at bhusted@denverpost.com.
