The restaurant-industry effort to take the sizzle out of the city’s intent to collect separate sales tax on frying oilclaiming that the oil in those fries, wings and other foods we hate to love is a separate ingredient — will soon boil over.
The issue, which The Post first brought to readers’ attention May 31, involves standard restaurant-industry audits that suddenly called for a separate sales-tax collection, claiming the food in the fryer didn’t absorb the oil, making them two separate products.
Colorado Restaurant Association Big Cheese Pete Meersman called the city’s intent to collect separate sales tax rancid. The finished product, which includes the oil, is already taxed on the meal tab paid by the diner.
When the City Council sniffed the stink of the heated issue, it was discovered that some newbie city employee had unilaterally made the decision to add the nonexistent tax. On Wednesday, the council’s finance committee added cooking oil to the list of tax-exempt items. The measure will go to a full City Council vote in December and will likely pass, said Councilwoman Carol Boigon.
“We should never make tax policy at the staff level just by reinterpreting the words,” Boigon said about the errant employee. “It’s never been a part of our tax base before.”
The estimated amount that the city would have gained from cooking-oil tax was $50,000, Boigon said, which is a drop in the coffers’ bucket in the long term.
“This is our way of saying to the community, ‘None of us intended this to happen,’ ” she said. “We will fix it now, and we don’t intend to make tax policy this way in the future.”
Bourdain’s train.
Food-and-travel guru Anthony Bourdain stormed the Buell Theatre stage Wednesday, spreading his wit and wisdom on all things Food Network, Travel Channel, chef-competition shows and his wild and crazy career leading up to fame with the dawn of his book “Kitchen Confidential.”
Bourdain says he’s at a crossroads with the future of his Travel Channel show “No Reservations” because the channel’s new majority owner is Scripps Networks Interactive — owner of the Food Network, an entity unadored by Bourdain.
During the “lecture,” he paid a nice nod to Denver’s Biker Jim’s, the hot-dog stand at 16th and Arapahoe. “It will be on our show soon,” he said.
Who ya gonna call? Dan Aykroyd. The “Saturday Night Live” alum and one-half of the Blues Brothers brings Crystal Head Vodka, his Canada-made elixir with roots based in mythology, to the metro area for bottle signings today and Saturday.
His five-times-distilled vodka comes in a skull-shaped glass bottle inspired by the legend of the 13 skulls, which are believed to have magic powers. Crystal Head sells for roughly $45 a bottle. The “Ghostbusters” star will sign bottles from 3 to 5 this afternoon at Argonaut Wine & Liquor, 760 E. Colfax Ave. He’ll also sign bottles from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Applejack Wine & Spirits, 3320 Youngfield St., Wheat Ridge.
Eavesdropping
on a man talking about an event in the Seawell Ballroom: “That’s the drunkest I’ve ever been on a cash bar.”
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.
