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:

Blake Harrison at a 3.2 taste test hosted by Westword back in 2005.

​Sick of that 3.2 swill at 7-Eleven? Tired of waiting for legislators to give you permission to buy a bottle of vodka at a grocery store? You may get a chance to change the rules yourself, if Initiative 48 makes the November ballot.

Although a proposal to allow convenience stores to sell full-strength beer didn't make it out of committee at the Colorado Legislature, Initiative 48 resurrects that concept -- and takes it much, much further. Not only would convenience stores be able to sell full-strength beer, but supermarkets could sell liquor (a similar proposal is pending at the legislature, but it's failed three times in the last three years), and liquor-store owners could own multiple stores, rather than the single outlet they're limited to now.

​"Is Tiger out of the Woods?" asks the headline of the March 5 Entertainment Weekly story (which is only in print, not on-line) that deals with whether the adulterous athlete's public apology will help repair his image. Among those interviewed is CNBC sports/business reporter Darren Rovell, who offers this:

"The best thing to happen to Tiger is if TMZ and RadarOnline and the National Enquirer follow his family and take genuine pictures of them spending time together. Tiger with his two kids and Elin at Chipotle. People need to see that."

​It was the Casa Bonita of bad steakhouses, a place where they'd cut off your tie if you dared to wear one into the place, and cut off your arteries with fatty meat and butter-laden spuds.

It was the Trail Dust Steak House, and Denver was once lucky enough to have a pair of these cow palaces. But in December, the sole survivor -- the Trail Dust at 7101 South Clinton in Centennial -- closed abruptly, two years after its Westminster sibling bit the dust.

​Keep chomping on your candy bar!

Although several Colorado sales tax exemptions have been removed effective today, including "nonessential items related to sales of food and beverages" (i.e., to-go containers), materials used in direct mail advertising and standardized computer software, candy and soft drinks -- and fans of these unhealthy snacks -- will continue to enjoy a sales tax-exemption until the end of April.

But as of May 1, according to the state, "purchases of candy or soft drinks, including candy and soft drinks sold in vending machines, are taxable at the state sales and use tax rate of 2.9 percent."

​I just stopped by La Fiesta for lunch, as people have been stopping by the Mexican restaurant at 2340 Champa Street since 1964, when the Herrera family turned an old Safeway into a Denver institution. (That's the original menu above.)

Which got me wondering: Is there a Mexican restaurant in town that's been in business longer than 46 years?

Come up with an older one, and I'll buy you a Calhoun Special (chile relleno and chicken enchilada) at La Fiesta.

Imagine this topped with green chiles -- smashing!

​Smashburger got its start here in Colorado in 2007, and since then the local chain has been a smashing success as it expanded into other markets, often offering up regional variations on the their great burger formula.

Now, finally, Smashburger is showing Colorado some home-state love. On February 14, it will roll out a few specialties with a very local flavor. "Smashburger's success has grown out of our own backyard here in Denver," says founder Tom Ryan (read his interview with Jason Sheehan here). "We can't think of a better way to show our gratitude for the fans that have supported us from the beginning than by giving them something new to sink their teeth into."

Mayor John Hickenlooper is stranded in Washington, D.C., where he went to make a fast speech -- and now is stuck in that snowbound city. Which means he probably won't make the Colorado Restaurant Association "Candidates & Cocktails" event that starts at 5 p.m. today at Elway's in Cherry Creek, where the CRA's HostPAC has arranged for appearances by Republican senatorial candidate Jane Norton, Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Hickenlooper.

Norton and McInnis are still on, but it's unlikely that Hickenlooper will make his 6:30 p.m. slot. "Maybe it'll happen, but it doesn't look good," says CRA head Pete Meersman.

They look good, right? But they're not ready yet.

​HBurgerCo, the new gourmet burger and contemporary cocktail joint going into 1555 Blake Street (fair warning: the entrance is on the 16th Street Mall) didn't open yesterday, as originally planned.

A series of parties and friends-and-families dinners over the last week highlighted a few glitches in the new space, which owner Pete Plum and executive chef Ian Kleinman are now smoothing out. The web page
gives February 13 as the new opening date.

Soon to be seen in Belmar

​The 4,547 square foot space in Belmar vacated by the doomed Mark & Isabella and, before that, Chama, has been snapped up -- by the fourth location of Little India, which should open this spring.

"Belmar is very excited about this new addition," spokeswoman Lisa Wieting says of the new entry into a restaurant space that would seem somewhat doomed, given the fate of the previous tenants. "The restaurant has a strong following in Denver and it will add to the diverse culinary mix at the center."