Fuel Cafe gases up for expanded dinner hours

I've had a mad crush on Fuel Cafe, the urban-industrial restaurant at 3455 Ringsby Court in the Riverfront North Taxi project, ever since owner-chef Bob Blair started peddling housemade pastries, snickerdoodles and whoopee pies early last year.

I could have kissed the kitchen floor when I hit the joint up for lunch, stuffing myself like a sumo wrestler with fat sandwiches like the Reuben smeared with Russian dressing and heaped with pastrami, kraut and Swiss.

But you know what crushes are like: They either fade like your blue jeans or blossom into full-blown love affairs, which is exactly what happened when Blair added dinner to his lineup. The problem? Fuel's kitchen was only doling out dinner on Thursday nights, leaving befuddled fans wondering, WTF?

It took well over a year before Blair finally put the pedal to the metal, but starting March 19, you can fill up with fuel on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Fuel's new, expanded hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

The dinner menu will change weekly, but you can get a sneak peak of the night's offerings by visiting www.fuelcafedenver.com.

If you can't wait until next week to get your gas on, Fuel is hosting a beer dinner at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 13. The three-course menu, paired with brews from Great Divide Brewing Company, is $45 per person (excluding tax and gratuity), and reservations must be made in advance by calling 303-296-4642.