Denver’s getting some new hangouts – and I’m psyched.
Brix Basement opened softly Saturday night with some friends of owners Charles Master and Chuck Cattaneo. It’s open to the world this Wednesday through Saturday, 5 p.m.-2 a.m.
Brix Basement is downstairs from Brix, a huge patio and party room that’s housed everything from Mocha Cafe to Nectar. They’ll be serving cold apps and cool drinks. “It’ll be a chic lounge/bar without an attitude,” says Master.
Jay Dedrick and Siriporn “Duke” Tayaputch, owner-operators of Swing Thai restaurants in Denver, are set to open a Tiki bar on South Broadway near the Hornet and Mayan Theatre. They were in San Francisco over the weekend checking out the Tiki scene – which would go over big in Denver.
Encore!
Joseph Volpe has retired as the Metropolitan Opera’s general manager after 16 years on the job. He’s been with the Met in some capacity since 1964. The Met was set to salute the iconic opera man with a gala Saturday night that attracted plenty of swells.
Bold names from Denver at the party were to include Ellie Caulkins, Mary Caulkins, Karl Kister, Marcia Robinson, Dan Ritchie, Harry Lewis, Jack Finlaw, Greg Movesian, and Nat and Pam Merrill.
On the concert bill were Placido Domingo, Renee Fleming, Denyce Graves, Ben Heppner, Luciano Pavarotti, Kiri Te Kanawa and Deborah Voight to be broadcast June 1 on PBS.
Rachael, Rachael
Food Network diva Rachael Ray was in Denver in February to shoot her program “Tasty Travels.” She reportedly was unpleasant to just about everyone she met – but turned on the charm when the cameras started rolling.
Her Denver adventures will be on the Food Network 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. Friday. You’ll see her climbing the wall at REI, eating gnocchi at Ristorante Amore, shopping at Decade Home, trying the masa fried oysters at Deluxe and ending up at Vesta Dipping Grill for seafood, meats – and dips.
Wasted
Nuclia Waste, Denver’s favorite and most famous drag queen, will unveil her new glow-in- the-dark “Atomic Scooter” at 6:30 p.m. June 1 at Enrico Motorsports. Last year, her scooter was stolen, but she found the crooks and got a blurb in Newsweek. Now it’s time for a new ride, “fit for a Plutonium Princess. … Plus it gets 70 miles to the gallon, which is great for our environment and my purse.”
City spirit
The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists is in Denver for its annual convention June 7-10. Gary Hart will address the group at a luncheon; keynote speaker is Scott Simon from NPR’s “Weekend Edition” … The Junior League’s Sustainer Council welcomes motivational speaker Peter McLaughlin at its spring dinner Thursday at Cherry Hills Country Club … Andrew Hudson’s band, Mistura Fina, plays Sambuca on Wednesday night – and starting May 31, 6-10 p.m. every Wednesday at the patio at Maggiano’s at Denver Pavilions … Sez who: “The longer you stay in one place, the greater your chances of disillusionment.” Art Spander
Bill Husted’s column appears Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Husted also appears Tuesdays and Fridays on “Good Day Colorado” on Fox 31. You can reach him at 303-820-1486 or at bhusted@denverpost.com.
