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Open since 1974, the Wazee Supper Club predates all the hipness, all the gentrification, all the retro this-and-that of LoDo. Founders Angelo and Jim Karagas actually opened their first spot, My Brother’s Bar, in 1969, nine blocks further down 15th, in a neighborhood known more for the rattle in the trap and the briskness of illicit trade than anything else. But the brothers obviously had a taste for sketchy ‘hoods (and the kinds of places where sketchy hoods might tip a bit of whiskey), because thirty-odd years ago, they took a look at this former plumbing supply warehouse and said to themselves, “Hey, you know what would work great here? A bar!”

And they were right.

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In the current issue, I published Matthew Brandon's spirited defense of Texas barbecue, and elaborated on my own obsession. Here's his reply:

I didn't expect little ol' me to be quoted in your column. You acquitted yourself just fine, though. One thing I didn't get a chance to cover in my letter was the way that BBQ in Texas is so much more than beef brisket. More even than beef. Aside from the various cuts of beef, there's the hot links, boudin, venison sausages and cuts; there's the chicken, quail and game birds; the goats and, not by any means the least, the pig. You see, BBQ in Texas pervades the psyche like no other place I've ever been. People raise cows to BBQ with. They hunt dear and javalina and quail to BBQ with. There's even BBQ cabbage! And the regional differences keep it from getting boring.

I hope you don't take offense. You apparently do dig the Q. It's a shame, though, that Texas gets such a bad rap when it comes to Q. You should get on the internet and order you up some good boudin, Elgin links and venison sausage, smoke 'em up and have a true
Texas BBQ experience. (Yes boudin is cajun, but there's lots of cajuns in Texas, too.) Serve it with jalapenos, pickled or fresh, and some good cowboy beans. I hope you enjoy it. -- Matthew Brandon

“Stop giving him pork chops!”

The woman is hissing, eyes flashing, using her mom voice on her husband, one arm thrown protectively over the top of the car seat beside her on the banquette, two tables down from me.

“I’m not giving him pork chops. I’m giving him pieces from the sandwich. Little pieces.”

The husband (a Chad, I think, or maybe a Lance -- right off the pages of the J. Crew summer catalogue in his polo shirt, cargo shorts and expensively disheveled haircut) drops his hands, palms flat on the table, just hard enough to make the silverware clatter. An expression of definace in defeat. He looks at his wife, then out the window, then at his wife again, and I just know what he’s thinking: If I make a break for it right now…

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Despite the much vaunted pooch-walking service, there wasn't a pet in sight at French 250, which hosted an opening party last night. But with plenty of pretty people pouring in and bottles of champagne pouring out, it doesn't look like this restaurant will be going to the dogs anytime soon.

French 250 took over the space at 250 Steele Street that was pioneered long ago by Bistro Adde Brewster. Since Adde's left, the spot has been a black hole of suck. But with French 250 now right next to two-week-old Tambien, which is making great margs in the former Sketch space, things are looking much brighter for this Cherry Creek address. -- Patricia Calhoun

I have good news for everyone who’s been bugging me since I mentioned back in March that Dunkin’ Donuts had signed a deal that would put its excellent coffee into retail locations across the country. Finally, Dunkin’ Donuts coffee is available at Colorado Rite Aid locations.

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On September 5, assorted chefs from the Oceanaire Seafood Room restaurants will offer up the Ultimate Seafood Experience at the James Beard House in New York City – and Matt Mine, chef at Denver’s Oceanaire that opened just a month ago at 1400 Arapahoe Street, will be among them.

On Wednesday, he debuted the six courses he cooked up that are in contention for the Ultimate menu, which will be chosen on Monday. “I was trying to get a lot of regional and seasonal products,” he said, which explains the Colorado peach tart and the corn in the lobster and summer vegetable confit (call it succotash) that came with the pan-seared Alaska halibut. But there wasn’t a trout in sight, and the best dish involved a fish very out of water in this state: pan-fried skate in a veal reduction, with escargot, arugula pesto and some inexplicable fava beans.

Sadly, the chicken-fried oysters with homemade sausage gravy appetizer that Mine cooked up for Oceanaire’s Denver menu aren’t being submitted for the Beard dinner – but then, New York foodies probably aren’t ready for such greasy goodness. – Patricia Calhoun

Rise and shine, hipsters! Two of Denver’s finest bar/pub hangouts are now serving brunch.

Sputnik -- located at 3 South Broadway next to the hi-dive -- has been serving up brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays for about a month now, and offers a nice, spicy bloody Mary for $3 and bottomless mimosas for $5. The hangover bowl is a true force to be reckoned with after a night of too many indulgences, brimming over with scrambled eggs, vegetarian green chile, cheese and sweet potato fries, all for just $6. You can add chorizo $1 more (a meatless version is available, too).

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I don't know why seeing Cedric the Entertainer would make you want to drink vodka, but clearly the people who sell Ceren Vodka think it's a great idea, because Cedric was at the Ceren launch party at the Mile High Station last week.

When I asked Cedric for his favorite cocktail, he said he liked to keep it "gangsta style" with Ceren (no surprise there) on the rocks with three (not two or four) limes squeezed in it, then tossed. No rind in his glass -- that's not street enough for "the entertainer." -- Nancy Levine

While art galleries keep looking for loopholes in the state liquor laws that would allow them to serve alcohol during openings, one bar has already come up with a solution. The Highland Tavern, located at 3400 Navajo Street, is passing out Art Bucks good for a dollar off your tab at the bar. And at the Tavern -- where drink specials already include $3 premium drafts during the daily happy “hour” that lasts from 4-7 p.m. — that extra buck can go a long way.

The paintings of local artist Jim Rase are featured in the bar this week. For more information on art bucks, hours and drink specials, call 303-433-1990 or visit www.highlandtavern.com.
– Aubrey Shoe

The Stapleton neighborhood just got a new place where you can grab a quick bite for breakfast. Udi’s Bread Café (7357 East 29th Avenue, 303-329-8888) -- already revered for dishing up some of the neighborhood’s best dinner and weekend brunch entrees -- began serving up a pared-down weekday breakfast menu last week.

The menu, which is served from 7-11 a.m. Monday through Friday, includes egg sandwiches, pastries, breakfast burritos and, of course, the ubiquitous granola that put Udi’s on the map. All of Udi’s breads and pastries, including the popular pecan rolls, are baked fresh at Udi’s Café and Bakery at 7000 Broadway; the Broadway location serves weekday breakfast from 7-10 a.m. and lunch until 2 p.m. (It’s closed on the weekends.)

While the new weekday menu at the Stapleton Udi’s doesn’t include the full menu of weekend brunch favorites -- such as huevos rancheros, omelets, pancakes and French toast -- it’s still a sure bet for a good, locally grown, freshly baked breakfast on the go.

-- Aubrey Shoe

I am spoiled. Most culinary adventurers would be happy to find one Peruvian restaurant in a town this size, but Denver has several, with more coming all the time. Early this year, Cebiche opened in the space once occupied by El Chalan, a Peruvian restaurant that pioneered this neighborhood more than a decade ago.I stopped in the dim, cool room, listened to the fish tank burbling away near the short bar and the hidden speakers dripping Spanish-language pop music, salsa, the occasional folk arrangement of drum and shepherd’s pipe, and looked at the menu. I saw lomo saltado. I saw empanadas, chupe, ceviche and papas a la huancaina and I actually caught myself thinking, “Oh, no. Not this again…”

Like I said: spoiled.

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Like beer, like ice cream, like truffles, the pig is proof on the hoof -- evidence that the food gods love us and want us to be happy. And the masa cake on the menu at Centro is proof (to me, anyway) that not only is Dave Query in league with them, but is the beneficiary of long, intimate and frequent conversations with those little deities that oversee the day-to-day ops of the restaurant industry and bring luck to their favored disciples.

This week I review Centro Latin Kitchen & Refreshment Palace -- the newest joint from Dave Query and, possibly, the closest that anyone has yet come to touching on what is truly a Colorado cuisine.

Don’t believe me? Well, that’s just fine because I’ve also got Mayor Hickenlooper in Bite Me this week, talking about Query. I’ve got bacon steaks (yeah, you read right: steaks made of bacon) and fried oysters, news from Duy Pham and a very early and well-deserved Second Helping on Aqua that may now hold the record for fastest bad-restaurant-turn-around ever.

It’s a good week, kids. Check it out here on Wednesday.
-- Jason Sheehan

My cell phone rang around one in the morning. For most people, this would be a harbinger of bad news -- kid in jail, someone in the hospital. For me, it almost always means work: a debriefing, confession, eleventh-hour emergency like a restaurant on fire or, worse, dead cold on a Saturday night. I was awake, of course -- watching Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla on cable and eating microwaved shrimp curry on the couch. I picked up the phone on the second ring and heard a panting voice on the other end: one of my regular informers, my spies. A trusted member of my extended kitchen network…

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