Ten things to BBQ on Memorial Day besides burgers and brats

Categories: The List

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Flickr
Or ribs, or chicken, or fish, or steak, or any of the stuff that you normally think of when you consider what exactly to toss on the grill for the three-day weekend. If you're limiting your grill to just hot dogs and ground beef, you're just not optimizing your grill ownership, friend.

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Today: Squeaky Bean celebrates its first birthday with a block party

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Squeaky Bean opened a year ago this weekend at 3301 Tejon Street, and against all odds in the twelve months since, this little restaurant with the much littler kitchen has managed to turn out big meals and attract big crowds.

There should be as big crowd today, when the Squeaky Bean will host a block party to celebrate its first birthday and make some money for Work Options for Women. "We can't believe it's been a year," says owner Johnny Ballen, "and we thank you all for your support." And how will he give thanks? By dressing Ben parsons of the Infinite Monkey Theorem as Mr. Bean. And by dunking many of this town's top chefs in a "snazzy dunktank."

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Fox Fire Farms' wine-tasting room opens this weekend

Categories: Wine

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A Flickr photo
One of the highest-altitude wineries in Colorado is opening a tasting room this weekend and launching two new wines. Starting today, Fox Fire Farms' new wine-tasting room will be open daily from 1 to 6 p.m. The farm is in Ignacio, about half an hour southeast of Durango, at about 6,500 feet altitude.

The two new wines, a riesling and a merlot, are available only at the Fox Fire tasting room. Fox Fire riesling is made with a blend of Fox Fire's own grapes, along with grapes from a vineyard in Moab, Utah, says marketing director Brent Walter. The Fox Fire Red, described by Walter as a "sweet" merlot, is made with grapes from Cortez's Guy Drew Vineyards.

While Fox Fire welcomes walk-ins at the tasting room, Walter suggests calling ahead to make sure someone is there, as the place is a fully operational farm. The $5 tasting room fee can go toward the purchase of any of the farm's products, he adds, which include grass-fed lamb, beef and goat as well as eggs.

For more information, call 970-563-4675.

Changing of the Guard as mixologist Mike Henderson leaves TAG

For the past year, under sexy lighting in TAG's chic modern dining room, Troy Guard has put out his particular brand of East meets West fusion,while Mike Henderson and his staff of mixologists craft equally flashy spirits concoctions to pair.

There's a changing of the guard under way, though: Henderson has put in his notice.

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Chef Christopher Cina is jumping for Jax

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Chef Christopher Cina will be cooking at Jax Denver in June
Christopher Cina, who's done hard time in galleys all over the metro area, including the Fourth Story, Aubergine Cafe, Tuscany, Zenith and Twig's Wine Bar and Pickles Deli in Tipsy's, a Goliath-size liquor store in Littleton, and is now manning the stoves at the Timberline Grill, a steak house at the Ameristar Casino in Black Hawk, is two weeks away from coming down the mountain and back to Denver.

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The Cheeky Monk opens new location Sunday in Westminster with rare beers on tap

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The Cheeky Monk will open its third location Sunday in the Orchard Town Center, at 14694 Orchard Parkway, in Westminster, with two separate bars - one that focuses on old-world Belgian beers and one featuring U.S. craft brews.

The Belgian beer café, which also has spots on Colfax Avenue and in Winter Park, has typically featured Old World beers, but owners Tina and James Pachorek decided to explore rare, unusual and Belgian-inspired American microbrews at the new spot.

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Washington Park will soon have the Local Daylight Diner

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Lori Midson
Washington Park will soon have a Daylight Diner
Back in March, Dino's Soda Bar, the Washington Park ice cream parlor at 2217 East Mississippi, was shuttered for non-payment of taxes, a move that shattered the lives of god knows how many children. But according to Jeff Estey, who owns Dino's, along with Washington Park Grille and Max Gill & Grill, it's all good in the 'hood.

That's because Estey is opening the Local Daylight Diner in the former Dino's space, and according to him, not a whole lot is going to change. "Everyone in the neighborhood wanted us to pretty much leave things the same, so we're still going to be that place where families can stroll in and have ice cream and cheap eats," promises Estey.

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Crepe demo is an excuse to spend a night on Le Central's patio

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The Le Central patio is surprisingly secluded from Lincoln Avenue's traffic, a long greenery-encapsulated oasis that, during summer months, invites diners to sit low in their chairs, nursing a glass of bubble-gummy Beaujolais wine long past twilight.

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The Denver Roller Dolls announce the name of their signature beer, Lead Jammer Lager

Categories: Booze News

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Denver Roller Dolls Lead Jammer Lager: A refreshing mouthful
One hundred and sixty nine votes later, the Denver Roller Dolls have a name for their signature Wynkoop Brewing Company beer: Denver Roller Dolls Lead Jammer Lager.

The beer, brewed especially for the Dolls, is reportedly a "pre-Prohibition-style lager" that's "smooth and elegant." The Dolls held a contest to name it, and by Monday, had narrowed down the selection to ten possible monikers. Then, last night, the Wynkoop threw a launch party for the brew, where attendees voted on which name they liked best. One beer = one vote.

So, more accurately, one hundred and sixty-nine beers later, the Dolls's brew was christened. The chosen name is a mouthful and may not mean much to non-roller derby fans. For all you newbies, the "jammer" is the skater who scores points during a "jam," which is a two-minute countdown period during which points are scored, by passing the other team's skaters. But what's a "lead jammer," you ask? Here's a definition, courtesy of Wikipedia:

The first jammer to legally pass all pivots and blockers once the jam begins wins the status of lead jammer for the remainder of the jam. The lead jammer can decide to end the jam at any time before the 2 minutes are up. She does this by placing her hands on her hips repeatedly, which signals the referee to officially call off the jam.

Got it? Good. Now go get drunk.

Oscar Mayer's auctioning off a chance to ride "shotbun" in one of its Wienermobiles

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A Flickr photo
Last we checked, thirteen bids had been placed on an eBay auction for a chance to have an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile haul your ass around for a day and host a cookout for you and fifty of your tube steak-loving friends. There's a week left to get in on the action, bidders. The current winning bid? $1,111.11. All proceeds go to Feeding America, which runs food banks all over the country.

We're hoping someone decides to class it up and use the opportunity to have an Oscar Mayer-themed wedding. C'mon, we know you are out there. The auction ends Friday, June 4.

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