OK, OK, I get it. Enough with a few chefs or restaurants dominating Digest (you can thank James Beard). You want things snappy, breezy, fast. Hold on tight.
First, let’s head to , in Denver’s LoHi neighborhood (1691 Central St., 303-477-4582, centralbistrobar.com). The place has gone nuts for whiskey.
“We are an American bistro,” said general manager Seth Murty last week, sitting at one of the bar area’s long tables, where every glance east involves a gorgeous view of the Denver skyline. “What is more American than whiskey?”
Murty, a longtime wine guy, started investigating whiskeys about six months ago. He has gone all-in, stocking the joint with American whiskeys of every stripe and barrel-aging some just for the restaurant, too.
Beginning June 19, the bar will host Whiskey Wednesdays. Every hump day an ambassador from a distillery pours flights for $5, and talks about the hooch.
It launched the Whiskey Club, wherein you buy a bottle of whiskey from the joint’s vast reservoir, Central slaps a metal band around its neck with your name on it, and they stick it in a locker for you. Whenever you eat and drink at the restaurant and draw from your bottle, they whack 10 percent from the bill.
Check out the impressive Whiskey Book. Ask for the leather-bound tome — it sits behind the bar — and review the list of more than 100 American-made whiskeys, broken down alphabetically, by state, and by “mash bill” (the balance of corn and rye in the liquor).
And on June 19, a guy known as The Whiskey Professor — is the distiller North American whiskey ambassador, and a stand-up comedian — hosts an event called The Evolution of Bourbon. Drop $25 for pourings of six different whiskeys, each paired with small plates, while listening to the prof yak about the history and glories of bourbon.
Goodbye, whiskey. Hello and (3315 S. Broadway, 303-761-4510, cafe-180.org). Denver’s excellent and busy chef will devote his time on June 12, to , an event that helps support the cafe, which serves lunch to everybody, whether they can afford it or not. Bonanno will cook appetizers and dessert, and talk about his approach to cooking. Your $75 will help keep Cafe 180 thriving. , a Denver real estate firm that donates a portion of every commission towards a gift of a home to a person in need, is sponsoring the event.
You want more do-good-food? Check out the (303-602-2978), an event now in its fifth year, that supports the men’s health programs. The competition takes place at (2500 E. First Ave., 303-399-5353, elways.com) on June 12, putting the region’s top chefs in front of grills and pitting them against one another. Expect sliders with things like wild boar, country ham, and lamb sloppy joes. Side dishes with ingredients like pork-belly braised collard greens. Bold-name chefs: Paul Reilly ( ), Max Mackissock ( ), Jamey Fader ( and ), Jennifer Jasinski ( ).
Live music? Yep. Silent auction? You bet. Tickets start at $100, and the money goes to helping guys stay healthy.
One thing guys and gals could do to pump up the vigor is play more ping-pong. And eat healthy Asian food. Which means it is time to head to Uptown and check-out the dramatically overhauled new menu at (and polish off a few rounds with the little wooden paddle).
I could eat nothing but the healthiest dish on the menu — the side of sauteed ong choy greens — and be content for a few days of meals. But it would be more fun to include the shrimp pad Thai. Ace (501 E. 17th Ave., 303-800-7705, acedenver.com) has come up with what owner Josh Wolkon told me is a more authentically Thai version of the ubiquitous dish. It comes to the table looking like a gigantic omelet. Dig beneath the egg, and you’ll find those saucy noodles. It’s different from the standard pad Thai, and I think it’s better.
Congratulations, (321 17th St., 303-297-3111, brownpalace.com) and (3160 Tejon St., 303-997-8886, williamsandgraham.com). Esquire Magazine published a list of the (outside of New York and Washington, DC) and these two Denver gin joints made the cut. On Ship Tavern, the magazine says the Brown Palace bar “is at that peculiar stage in a fancy joint’s life when it wants to be a dive. It’s not decrepit per se, but you can feel the gravitational pull of decrepitude. Somehow that’s alluring.” Not exactly breathless praise, but hey, you take what you can get.
Williams & Graham? It is “a love letter to the old saloon, but one conceived by a third-generation bartender who knows the difference between playing bartender and really tending bar.”
There you have it, Digestans. Punchy. Quick. Greased lightning.
Douglas Brown: 303-954-1395, djbrown@denverpost.com or twitter.com/douglasjbrown
