Cliff Young, who left Denver in 1996 to open and run a French chateau, is returning to some of his roots by reopening the restaurant inside the Diamond Cabaret strip club next week. Ooh la la.
CY Steak, an upscale steakhouse with French twists, will offer traditional steakhouse fare along with dishes that Young picked up during his 12 years in France.
Almost no one knows that space better than Young, whose restaurant prowess is well known around these parts. He ran and consulted for the old Diamond Cabaret Steak House for 16 years when famed owner Bobby Rifkin was still alive.
Not long after Rifkin’s death, Lakewood-based VCG Holding Corp. bought the joint and brought in former restaurateur and developer Jim Sullivan to set up shop in the eatery space. He hired his son-in-law Troy Guard to take over the kitchen and transformed the place into Oscar’s, a more modern steakhouse.
Sullivan exited the scene, and VCG offered Young the chance to once again reinvent the place, complete with peelers who start strutting their stuff at 8:30 p.m.
“I’ve written a menu that reflects my years in France,” said Young, who’s probably best known for Cliff Young’s, the long-gone fancy-schmancy restaurant on East 17th Avenue where Hamburger Mary’s operates today. “The menu shows a lot of French influence in terms of garnishes, and a bona fide cheese presentation on a tray.”
Prices run from $22 for a pasta dish to $50 for a prime New York steak. Open nightly from 6 to midnight.
Doggone it.
Three Dog Bakery, a bark boutique with two metro-area locations, is closing both stores due to the doghouse economy.
“We are a small, unique bakery for dogs that carries boutique items,” said Mike Gacek, who managed the Cherry Creek (231 Clayton St.) and Greenwood Village (8000 E. Belleview Ave.) stores. “We carry the kind of things that our customer base was not coming in for anymore.”
Both stores are having liquidation sales with 40 percent off all items until Tuesday at the latest depending on how much merchandise is left.
“It is sad,” Gacek said. “We really built some good relationships with our two-legged and four- legged customers over the last five years.”
Cane cured.
I told you last week that PR pro Leanna Clark was limping around on a cane during a party, as she was healing following hip surgery.
Clark, senior vice president/corporate communications and executive director IMA Foundation, started in a walker, graduated to crutches for an expected three to six weeks, then to the cane she borrowed from former City Councilwoman Susan Barnes-Gelt.
Instead, she’s off crutches and cane-less four weeks after surgery.
“I started working out at the gym again, and I look forward to getting back into yoga and hiking with my kids this fall,” Clark said.
She’s also off to Cuba in two weeks with 10 community leaders to see the work Project CURE does to provide medical supplies and equipment to those in need.
No love lost.
Gov. Bill Ritter did the honors Wednesday night during the Girl Scouts of Colorado’s annual Women of Distinction presentation at the Seawell Ballroom by introducing first lady Jeanne Ritter, one of 20 award winners.
Because Jeanne was No. 17 on the program, the governor referred to her as “the 17th” during his remarks but quickly corrected himself when he heard the crowd cackle.
“She is No. 17 in the program, but No. 1 in my heart,” he assured.
Eavesdropping on two women at Elway’s Cherry Creek talking about spa treatments: “I like cucumbers on my eyes for any number of reasons.”
Penny Parker’s column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Listen to her on the Caplis and Silverman radio show between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KHOW-AM (630). Call her at 303-954-5224 or e-mail pparker@denverpost.com.
