Best Food and Drink Things to Do in Denver This Week

It’s going to take some time to recover from the twelve-month-long hangover that was 2020. But when you emerge from under the covers — refreshed, revived and rejuvenated — you’ll find a welcome sight in the restaurant world: Dining rooms across Colorado can reopen on January 4, though with limited capacity.

Here are other events you’ll want to mark on your culinary calendar:

Wednesday, January 6
Nab a giant burrito gratis on Wednesday, January 6, at Tacos Tequila Whiskey, 215 East Seventh Avenue. The Governor’s Park location of this mini-chain is expanding beyond its namesake items by offering the full menu from Burrorito (a pop-up concept launched out of Fish N Beer last March) starting Friday, January 8 — but if you show up between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Wednesday, you can get a sneak preview for free. Pre-orders aren’t accepted; just show up with your mask and a willingness to wait in line with fellow burritophiles. More info and the full menu are available on Burrorito’s Instagram page. 

Thursday, January 7
New year, new you, new (and better) vegan recipes. On Thursday, January 7, Cook Street School, 43 West Ninth Avenue, is hosting an online plant-based cooking class, with recipes like farro salad with orange-turmeric dressing, harissa cauliflower steaks with white-bean purée, and apple-ginger crisp. Register for $50 (the cost includes an ingredient kit, which you can pick up between 3 and 5 p.m.) on Cook Street’s website for the 6 p.m. interactive livestream.

Taking the easy route — pouring a beer and turning on a tried-and-true playlist — has its place, but sometimes we’re in the mood for something new. On Thursday, January 7, scratch that itch with Nocturne’s cocktail class. For $30 per person, you’ll get a cocktail kit with ingredients and recipes for multiple drinks along with a Zoom link for the lesson. Your bartender will also provide recommended tunes, and you can add on dinner (fried chicken, frites, a burger or a charcuterie board) for a full evening of bites and beverages. Pick up your cocktail kit after 4 p.m. at the jazz bar, 1330 27th Street, on Thursday, then log on to Zoom at 6:30 p.m. for the lesson. Can’t make it at the stroke of 6:30, or even this Thursday? No worries: You’ll get a recording of the lesson to access any time, and Nocturne offers a new lesson every week. Order on Tock.

Sunday, January 10
Rebel Bread bakery, which is currently selling its wheaty wares at the Farmers Market LSQ, 1445 Larimer Street, is launching a virtual baking academy this month, with online classes tackling a variety of sweet and savory baked goods. Up first? The Art of Tarts from 9 to 11 a.m. on Sunday, January 10, where you’ll learn how to make a pat-in-the-pan crust and a pastry cream tart. Sign up for $39 on Rebel Bread’s website, where you can also find a list of ingredients you’ll need as well as details on future classes. Mark your calendars for classes on pierogi (February 7 and 21), sourdough bread (a whole week of baking at Camp Bread from January 25 through 30), and bagels (February 7 and March 7)

Monday, January 11
Adrian Miller (also known as the Soul Food Scholar and the hustling-est Denver native we know) is hosting two virtual events in January. The first, Books & Beyond, is in partnership with the Denver Public Library Friends Foundation on Monday, January 11, at 5:30 p.m. It will focus on Miller’s change of career from attorney to food historian and author, and include the lowdown on his favorite restaurants and recipes. RSVP no later than Tuesday, January 5, on the Foundation’s website; while the discussion is free, a donation to the Foundation is encouraged.

Plan ahead:

And on Wednesday, January 20, Miller is celebrating the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris with Presidential Soul: A Virtual Presidential Inauguration Event. Attendees will get recipes for four tribute menus being prepared by chefs around the country; music and dancing; discussions with Black chefs who worked for previous presidential administrations and were subjects of Miller’s second book, The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families From the Washingtons to the Obamas; and author Jesse J. Holland, who’s written two books on the history of enslaved people in Washington, D.C., and the White House. Buy your ticket ($46 before January 15, $70 after) on Eventbrite, where you can also find the program for the entire evening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRUWVT87mt8

Thursday, January 28
Major props to the Flatirons Food Film Festival, one of the few food events that knows the true meaning of the word “postpone.” As in: The festival was postponed from October 2020, to January 2021. We implore other food event organizers to take a page out of FFFF’s book and stop claiming, “Our bacon-brownie-burger-burger bash has been postponed from July 2020 to July 2021,” when what they really mean is, “We’ve canceled our overcrowded festival this year because the world is on fire.” In addition to the correct and not-common-enough understanding of the term, the Fest has made another great decision in moving the celebration completely online from Thursday, January 28, through Friday, February 5. See films about about Los Angeles chef Evan Funke’s life after walking away from his restaurant Bucato (Funke); indigenous chefs fighting to maintain their traditional food ways (Gather); the quest for elusive wild cacao and the perfect, sustainable chocolate (Setting the Bar); and a period piece about a cook seeking his fortune in the early-nineteenth-century Wild West (First Cow). You can get an all-access pass to watch the complete festival schedule — ten features and three short films — for just $90, or two-, four- and six-packs for $22 to $80 on the Fest’s website.

Know of an event that belongs on this calendar? Send information to [email protected].