It’s that time of year again: The WeeCycle Brews-and-Blues Fundraiser for the burping-and-bassinet set.
This is ‘s third annual fundraiser to gin up money to distribute new and gently-used baby gear to families in need. Running April 26 from 7 to 10 p.m. — hey folks, that’s a Saturday — the festival features brews and most importantly, barbecue. (Contrary to its name, this year’s music will be provided by what is billed as a bluegrass band, Charlie Provenza’s Gypsy Mandolin.)
The fundraiser will be held at 3960 High St. and will also showcase a collection of vintage cars and motorcycles. So you can get your “vrooom” on, too.
Dinner will include a pickle bar from The Real Dill, beer from Colorado Native, Prost Brewing & Hall Brewing Co., plus top-shelf desserts. Chris Vanderveen from 9 News will emcee, and there will be live and silent auctions.
Ticket are $75 and must be purchased in advance at weecycle.org
Old Major is going “Coloradical” on April 20 with a Sunday dinner featuring five Mile High chefs, plus Colorado brews and wines. Tickets are $75 and available at . Twenty percent of the proceeds will be donated to Metropolitan State University of Denver and .
It’s a fine lineup of kitchen honchos: Carrie Blake of , Aniedra Nichols of , Jenna Johansen of , Elise Wiggins of and Nadine Donovan of .
They’re part of concept to promote the area’s culinary image here and nationwide.
The event at Old Major (3316 Tejon St.,) kicks off with a 6 p.m. cocktail reception. Beer and wine for the dinner pairings include offerings from in Durango and Denver’s own winery.
If you were to hold a lecture about the virtues of the a protein-driven repast also featuring plenty of unprocessed veggies, what more appropriate Mile High venue than , that Morrison outpost featuring more wild game than you can shake a Clovis-point spear at.
The lecturer is , author of “The Paleo Diet” and the generally acknowledged godfather of the movement. The event will be held April 26. Cordain will deliver a one-hour lecture at 6 p.m., followed by a Paleo meal courtesy of Fort exec chef Matt Crow, plus some not-so-Paleo wine options.
Crow is preparing a game plate to meet purported Stone Age specs: The elk chop will be cooked with a huckleberry, strawberry and fresh-juiced apple sauce, black pepper and garlic rub; the bison medallion is made with a black pepper and red chile rub; and the quail comes with a black pepper, red chile, garlic and Mexican oregano rub.
A question-and-answer session and a book signing by Cordain follows dinner. The lecture, dinner and wine option, and book signing is $85 per person. You can make reservations by calling The Fort at 303-697-2282.
Fire up the grill! April 25 marks the kickoff of the 2014 grilling season and the groceries’ annual Friday burger bashes. The stores at both locations (770 E. 17th Ave. and 5100 E. Colfax Ave.) haul out their grills, load up the hardwood charcoal, and go to work on Niman Ranch ground beef. For $8.99, you get a burger with all the fixings, including their housemade bacon aioli. The event is mounted each Friday through October and runs 5-7:30 p.m.
And speaking of burgers, , the 260-chain outlet that began in Denver, opened its first Manhattan restaurant on April 10. It sits in midtown at 10 W. 33rd St. Just the place to cure your vertigo if you’re fresh off the observation deck of the Empire State Building next door.
It was a generous launch: Smashburger essentially invited everyone in the 212 area code to its new place for one free burger on opening day.
The Big Apple Smashburger features a menu with regional tastes in mind. Its menu includes the New Yorker, a burger topped with New York cheddar, garlic-grilled onions, spinach, tomato and peppercorn garlic aioli on a brioche bun.
Whether it takes Manhattan by storm as did Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack parlors remains to be seen. But good luck to them.
William Porter: 303-954-1877, wporter@denverpost.com or twitter.com/williamporterdp
