Five things you shouldn't have to be told NOT to do in restaurants

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A couple took their infant to a Denver Starbucks this week, and when they didn't find a changing table in the restroom, they decided to do a ragey protest-change on a table in the dining room. This incident didn't end well. After being confronted by store employees about the public diaper change, the dynamic duo threw a hissy fit, one of them dumped coffee on the floor, and the cops were called in to keep the peace.

It's pretty gross to change a dirty diaper on a table where people eat and drink, with other people eating and drinking at tables around you. But sadly, this isn't the only bad behavior exhibited in dining rooms. Here are five things people shouldn't have to be told NOT to do in public eating spaces.

See also:
- Video: Alex and Ruth Burgos face cops after diaper change at Starbucks
- Five reasons why you should buy your coffee at Starbucks
- Name the candy in the poopy-looking diaper

More »

Five food gadgets and gimmicks that are impossible to resist

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Any food-nerd knows that it's almost impossible to keep up with every new culinary gadget or cool DIY kit -- but it's almost as tough to resist them. You contemplate giving up imported cheese or cartons of duck fat for a month just so you can buy some food-tastic item you really don't need -- but really, really have to have.

Here are five completely unnecessary, food-nerdy items that I dare you to resist.

See also:
- Denver chefs pick their favorite kitchen tools and gadgets
- Gastro Gift Guide: Kitchen Gadget edition
- Top five gadget infomercials that cluttered your kitchen


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From burnt eggs to brown cheese: Five more terrible foods -- and how we got stuck with them

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Like everyone else who eats and drinks, I have a list of certain grubs and sips that are so foul that I won't go near them, and it is a constant source of curiosity for me that other people would -- to the point that some of the grossest edibles are actually quite popular.

Here are five more terrible foods and drinks -- and how we got stuck with them.

See also:
- From Oreos to margarine: Five terrible foods -- and how we got stuck with them
- Eating a dead horse: Five reasons why horse meat isn't such a terrible tragedy
- Terrible tacos and Chocolate Overlord Cake: Denver's new Jack in the Box


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The five best new breakfast spots in Denver

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Devin Stallings and his brother just opened a sibling breakfast spot.
If breakfast means more to you than a cup (or three) of coffee, you're probably already acquainted with the pancakes, eggs and crepes at such perennial favorites as Gaia Bistro, Jelly, Snooze, Devil's Food and DJ's Berkeley Cafe. The latter's sibling restaurant, DJ's 9th Avenue Café, which opened in January and was the subject of my most recent review, isn't the only new eatery vying to brighten up your day. In no particular order, here's a list of the five best new breakfast spots in town...with a special bonus at the end.

See also:
- Review: DJ's 9th Avenue Cafe
- Photos: A closer look at DJ's 9th Avenue Cafe
- Best Eggs Benedict 2012: DJ's Berkeley Cafe


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Five fast-food meals to stimulate your 4/20 palate

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Here's the good stuff.
Tomorrow is April 20, which means that you are smoking your "4/20 Eve" stash today in preparation for smoking even more tomorrow. In order to properly pay homage to this greenest of green holidays, you should stay hydrated, stay stoned -- and keep the munchies fed with the best possible eats if you are cruising fast-food restaurants for fuel. The well-stoned palate is not particularly difficult to please, but there are definitely some foods that will stimulate THC taste buds better than others. So in advance of this year's 4/20 celebration, here are five fast-food meals to stimulate your 4/20 palate.

See also:
- Ask a Stoner: What's the deal with 4/20?
- Where to party in Denver on 4/20
- A new juice bar at Ace, 4/20 parties and more on the menu this week

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From Oreos to margarine: Five terrible foods -- and how we got stuck with them

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Fish sticks....
There are some foods that are so vile that it defies belief that they ever got created -- let alone stuck around through always-changing markets and tastes. Necessity is the mother of invention, in some cases with shortages and substitutions, but imitation can be flattery, or just cooked up to make a buck in a free, open market -- either way, some of the nargiest edible inventions that people have come up with keep hanging around despite being basically inedible curses upon humanity, and here's a list of five terrible foods -- and how we got stuck with them.

See also:
-McFish Bites: McDonald's sure knows how to bait a hook
- Five foods that are just fine to waste -- starting with Oreos
- Best Mashed Potatoes: Astoria Restaurant

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Denver's five best patios to celebrate the arrival of spring (despite the snow)

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Lori Midson

The crew at Crimson & Gold, a bar near the University of Denver, apparently didn't venture outside yesterday, because while Denver's finest meteorologists had it all wrong when they predicted that the city would be snowballed by Snowzilla-Snowmageddon-Snowpocalypse, it was definitely not "patio weather," despite the bar's signage pointing to the contrary. Nonetheless, this is still a good time to start thinking about where to hang once the blizzard-that-wasn't slips away. As a starter set, here are our five best patios that are sweet on spring.

See also:
- Best of Denver 2013: The Readers' Poll Winners
- 2013 Best of: Food & Drink
- Best of Denver 2013 Readers' Poll: Meet the Food & Drink winners

More »

Five reasons restaurant employees should be allowed to have tattoos and piercings

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Being stylish has its price: For restaurant employees, having a tongue barbell, ear plugs, bright pink locks or an anime tattoo on their arms could get them fired, bitched at -- or not hired in the first place. An unconventional look with body modifications and Manic Panic really should not be a deterrent to working in the food-service industry, but it often is -- and while some employers are rational and realistic, there are still other who actually believe that customers will be freaked out to the point of choking on their meatloaf and mashed potatoes at the sight of some ink or a nose ring.

I'm calling bullshit on all that. Here's my list of five reasons why restaurant employees should be allowed to have visible tattoos and piercings. Let the freak flags fly, with a side of fries and a Coke.

See also:
- Top eight Colorado flag tattoos
- Top ten most unusual Denver Broncos tattoos
- Tattoo artist/rock star Corey Miller on music, ink and television

More »

Five retro foods and drinks that should be resurrected

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We want wasabi!
There are certain snacks and sips that were just too good to last forever -- but they damn well should have! Some really great ideas didn't last much past their initial hype; the companies responsible hurled them almost as quickly as they'd unfurled them. And while discontinued items do, on occasion, pop up on eBay or Amazon, they cost tens to hundreds of dollars more than their original price tags -- and are lo-o-ong past their "use by" dates. So those of us who harbor sentimental attachments to products that got the ax can do little more than recall fond food memories.

Here are five retro foods and drinks that need to be resurrected. These products may be gone, but complaining about their loss lives on.

See also:
- Five discontinued fast-food items I want back
- Crystal Pepsi was murdered: Our top five misunderstood foods and drinks
- Ten foods you would only eat while high


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Denver's five best homegrown, fast-casual chains -- from Noodles to Chipotle

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The fajita burrito from Chipotle.
Fast-casual restaurants are taking over the world, one burrito, burger and bowl of pasta at a time, offering customers the convenience of quick-service joints and some of the atmosphere and ingredient quality of sit-down places. And given Colorado's casual lifestyle and entrepreneurial spirit, it's not surprising that this state has been the birthplace of some of the country's most popular -- and lucrative -- fast-casual concepts.

Here's our list of Colorado's top five homegrown chains -- and what customers love about them. The eateries may be fast-casual, but their fans' devotion is very, very serious.

See also:
- Larkburger lands in Northglenn...with a new BLT sandwich
- Smashburger offers many opportunities for delicious deviation
- New summer salads at Noodles & Company: two outta three ain't bad

More »

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