Lori Midson

Matt Selby at the 2009 Taste of the Nation event in Denver

​More than twenty of Denver's star chefs will converge on the Colorado Convention Center this Sunday, March 21, for Chefs Up Front, a culinary bash to benefit Operation Frontline Colorado, a local nonprofit that fights hunger and malnutrition through food education.

"This is such a fantastic event, because all of our local top chefs come together, have fun with the crowd, create their own, unique menus and rally around a great cause," says Carrie Packard, development director of Operation Frontline Colorado. The lineup of chefs rallying this year includes Sheila Lucero (Jax Fish House-Denver), Paul Reilly (Encore), Michael Long (Opus), Scott Parker (Table 6), James Rugile (Venue), Tyler Wiard (Elway's Cherry Creek), Matt Mine (Oceanaire) and Matt Selby and Wade Kirwan (Vesta Dipping Grill),

Lori Midson

​As a countdown to the Best of Denver 2010, coming April 1, Cafe Society is serving up, in no particular order, a hundred of our favorite dishes in Denver. Send your own nominations to cafe@westword.com.

​Made correctly, a Sazerac is one of my favorite cocktails. Made incorrectly, it tastes like an absinthe bomb.

Can you guess where I drank this shitty Sazerac that I review next week?

A Flickr photo.

​With the advent of such groundbreaking documentaries as Food, Inc., more than ever, we're learning about the cultural and environmental consequences of our diets -- particularly the consumption of meat. Food, Inc. was decades behind the times, though: Since 1985, people from around the planet have been trying to educate their peers about the benefits of going vegetarian (and the health and environmental dangers inherent in eating meat) via the Meatout, an annual event that takes place on March 20. (Which makes this year the 25th anniversary of the Meatout!)

Individuals in different regions, countries, states and cities put together talks, informational sessions, outreach programs and other such events to encourage people to "kick the meat habit." It's the world's largest annual grassroots diet education campaign -- and ironically, as healthy as Colorado is, this state has only two Meatout events planned: A retail outreach and public vegetarian meal on the Pearl Street Mall on Sunday, March 21, and a Durango information table and retail outreach from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow at the Natural Grocers, 123 Camino Del Rio.

Liz Kellermeyer

Thai-style bubble tea.

​Okay, so maybe the weather's not cooperating at this very second, but remember earlier in the week when we had that glorious glimpse of spring? That right there was reason enough to get our minds in gear for cool drinks to sip in warm weather.

We always welcome a delicious milkshake, but sometimes we need something lighter with a bit of a caffeinated kick. That's when we make a special trip to track down a cup of sweet boba tea. We like it cold and creamy with a bottom layer of fat tapioca pearls that we can suck up through an oversize straw. Several boba spots have popped up over the years, but Lollicup, the first place we ever tried boba, will always hold a place in our hearts.

Lori Midson

​Dino's Soda Bar, the Washington Park ice cream parlor, breakfast stop and burger barn at 2217 East Mississippi Avenue that was the 'hood hang-out for toned and tanned mommies and their stroller-strapped children, has defaulted on its lease, which hasn't gone unnoticed by the landlord, who's demanding "compliance or possession."

According to the sign taped to the front door, owner Dino McTaggart owes $5,925 for five months of back rent, plus an additional $50 a month in other changes. And unless he pays up, like pronto, the children of Wash Park will have to line up for their chocolate sprinkles and bubble gum ice cream at nearby Bonnie Brea Ice Cream, whose mile-long lines would make you think they're giving the stuff away for free.

Lori Midson

​I realize that it's still morning, but as I watch the snowflakes dance outside my window, all I can think about is a big plate of pasta and a bottle of vino. Perhaps not the exact heap of noodles in the above pic, which were less than ordinary, but another, better spaghetti alla carbonara.

Can you guess where I'm eating?

Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week's Where am I drinking/eating posts is entered into a pool -- and every Monday, we select one lucky winner who'll receive a DINR deck, worth up to $520 in discounts at independent restaurants.

Read all about DINR decks here.

Lori Midson

​Denver is suddenly getting very rustic. Earlier this month, the Lost Lake Lounge took over the former home of the Bulldog Bar at 3602 East Colfax Avenue.

Now the Cabin on Broadway has opened at 2479 South Broadway. That's the woodsy-looking building previously occupied by Olde Tyme Drafts & Dawgs (and, before that, Blue Walleye and, before that, the Great Divide).

​Steve Horner, go back to your corner.

This week, Westword received a packet that contained copies of a dozen letters sent to Horner, the anti-ladies' night crusader, from Steven Chavez, director of the Colorado Division of Civil Rights, all dated March 11 and all starting this way: "This letter is to inform you that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission has reviewed your appeal. The Commission has determined that there is insufficient basis to warrant further action and has affirmed the director's decision of No Probable Cause."

No probable cause to believe that Westword had discriminated against Horner by publishing advertisements that included references to ladies' nights. No probable cause to believe that I had discriminated against Horner by writing about his campaign against ladies' nights.

Sketch, one of the restaurants that opened in 2009, celebrates its first anniversary next week.

​Despite the lousy economy, 2009 was a great year for new restaurants. Some years, when we set out to pick the Best New Restaurant for the Best of Denver, we're hard-pressed to come up with one worthy contender. This round, we have more than a dozen restaurants that last year all miraculously managed to find their financing, get their doors open, and then, even more amazingly, consistently served up impressive fare.

Among the restaurants in the class of 2009: