Welcome back to our monthly Dig Into Denver series. At the beginning of each month, we deliver a food and beverage-based itinerary for the best ways eat and drink your way through the city — including what’s recently opened and what’s worth celebrating for no reason at all.
Bookmark this page to reference these Denver food events all month long, and let us know in the comments what Denver food events you’d like to see included in Dig Into October next month.
But First… Food News
In case you missed it, here are the biggest announcements in Denver food news from last month.
Call Lands on Bon Appetit’s 10 Best Restaurants List
Photo by Rebecca Grant
The Lowdown: Call — the cafe concept twin to Beckon, opening later this year — landed a spot on Bon Appetit’s hot 100 new restaurants list. Read about their initial shock here.
GQue Barbecue to Open Second Location and Ice Cream Farm
Photo courtesy of Ice Cream Farm
The Lowdown: GQue Barbecue opened in Westminster in 2015, and this month owner Jason Ganahl announced plans for a second location and an ice cream shop called The Ice Cream Farm in November. Details here.
Seattle Fish Co. Turns 100 Years Old
Photo courtesy of Seattle Fish Co.
The Lowdown: If you’ve had fresh fish in Denver, you likely have the Denver-based Seattle Fish Company to thank. This August, the company turned 100 years old and celebrated with a sustainability symposium to discuss the industry’s future for many more years to come.
Stowaway Kitchen Offers Weekend Dinner
Photo by Amanda Piela
The Lowdown: The popular RiNo daytime cafe now offers dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as part of its Supper Club venture. It’s been going on since March, but we tried it and want to show you why it’s worth a visit now.
Em’s Ice Cream Truck Opens Park Hill Brick-And-Mortar
Photo by Brittany Werges.
The Lowdown: This popular ice cream truck opened a brick-and-mortar scoop shop in Park Hill. Head there for organic, high-fat, creamy New England-style ice cream.
Voodoo Doughnut Announces Second Denver Location
Photos courtesy of Voodoo Doughnut via Facebook
The Lowdown: You’ll rarely head to Voodoo Doughnut without seeing a line snaking out of the front door. Although they haven’t announced an official date, the team plans to open a second location in the former Famous Pizza space on South Broadway.
Newly Open
These are notable restaurants, coffee shops and bars that opened in Denver last month. And, don’t miss our round-up on 100+ patios to eat and drink on this summer.
Leven
Pastrami sandwich. Photo by Brittni Bell
The Lowdown: The Golden Triangle welcomed Leven — a delicatessen with killer sandwiches, salads, dips and treats. Learn more here.
Bistro Georgette
Photo by Rebecca Grant.
The Lowdown: After The Regional left Avanti last month, it was replaced by French concept Bistro Georgette. Head here for beef bourguignon hand pies, moules-frites, potato croquettes and more.
Spur Coffee
Photo by Brittni Bell Warshaw.
The Lowdown: Are you caffeinated enough yet, Denver? This Littleton Coffee shop just opened its newest location on 1st and Lincoln. Learn more about the drinks and snacks here.
Smok
Brisket sandwich, house made sausage, beans and slaw. Photo by Rebecca Grant.
The Lowdown: After a lot of anticipation and a handful of delicious pop-ups, Smok barbecue is finally here. This meat-lover’s paradise is a can’t-miss in the Source Hotel. Details here.
Safta
Lamb ragu hummus. Photo by Brittni Bell.
The Lowdown: Award-winning chef Alon Shaya has opened his first restaurant in Denver named Safta, which is “grandma” in Hebrew. Shaya has a great story, grand plans to boost HR within the company and a menu that no one can stop talking about. More here.
Lady Jane
Photo by Danielle Webster.
The Lowdown: The team behind cocktail favorite Hudson Hill opened Lady Jane – a new cocktail concept in LoHi.
The Wolf’s Tailor
Photo by Brittni Bell Warshaw.
The Lowdown: After four years of travel and lots of tinkering, Sunnyside now has The Wolf’s Tailor. From the mind of Kelly Whitaker of Basta and formerly Cart-Driver, this restaurant brings together global cooking techniques for world-ly cuisine. Go here to read about its zero waste mission.
Don’t miss Morin, Chow Morso and Mila — all opening within the first few days of September.
Excuses to Celebrate
Celebrate the remainder of summer at local farmers markets, sipping on our list of favorite summer beers or celebrating a few of these ever-popular food holidays.
September 5: National Cheese Pizza Day
Photo courtesy of Patxi’s
The Lowdown: October is technically National Pizza Month, but you can squeeze in an extra excuse to grab a slice during September’s National Cheese Pizza Day.
Don’t Miss: From deep dish days to drunken nights, we’ve shared five of our favorite pizza joints in Denver here.
September 7: National Beer Lover’s Day
Photo courtesy of Paradox.
The Lowdown: Everyday is National Beer Lover’s Day in Denver, but that doesn’t mean we won’t take an excuse to celebrate extra hard on September 7 — especially when it’s a Friday.
Don’t Miss: Branch out and try something new. See if you’ve hit every brewery on our newest list of six Colorado breweries that deserve your attention. Also, if you’re into learning something new, check out this piece on the story behind Colorado craft beer labels.
September 10: National Hot Dog Day
Photo by Rachelle Foos.
The Lowdown: Is there any summer staple quite like a hot dog? One of life’s greatest pleasures is downing a hot dog and a beer at a Rockies game. But, you don’t have to watch baseball to get a great brat, though.
Don’t Miss: If we’re hot dogging it outside of Coors Field, this is where you’ll find us.
September 18: National Cheeseburger Day
Photo by Amanda Piela
The Lowdown: If you’re anything like us, every week has a National Cheeseburger Day. But, just in case you’re more sporadic in your celebrating, this is the official date.
Don’t Miss: Try one of these favorites from the 2018 Denver Burger Battle or get a classic burger from the one and only Shake Shack in RiNo.
September 22: National Ice Cream Cone Day
Photo by Rachelle Foos.
The Lowdown: It’s the last day of summer on September 22. Not that a change in seasons would ever stop our appetite for ice cream…
Don’t Miss: At the beginning of the summer, we told you 11 ice cream flavors to get your hands on this season. How many have you tried?
September 29: National Coffee Day
Photo by Amanda Piela.
The Lowdown: Are you feeling the weight of back-to-school yet? Let’s turn it around with a little caffeine on National Coffee Day.
Don’t Miss: If you don’t have a go-to place to visit on Friday mornings, try one of our favorite under-the-radar coffee shops to switch up your morning routine.
Eat Well, Give Back
Denver is a giving community, and there are countless events every month benefitting non-profits across the city. However, for Dig In, we specifically highlight food and beverage events that support food-focused causes and non-profits — those that tackle hunger, service industry assistance and more.
Hungry for Change Summit
Photo courtesy of Colorado Proud.
When: Thursday, September 20, 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Where: Cable Center Events — 2000 Buchtel Blvd., Denver
The Lowdown: If you’re interested in discussing combatting hunger in our state, meet the team at Hunger Free Colorado at this Change Summit to discuss opportunities for activation. Learn more here.
Slow Food Celebrate Local Dinner
Photo by Meg O’Neill.
When: Monday, September 17, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Where: Citizen Rail — 1899 16th St., Denver
The Lowdown: Join the Slow Food Denver team for a three-course night of eating and discussion at Citizen Rail. Tickets are $75, and $35 goes directly to Slow Food Denver. Can’t make it? There’s another at The Kitchen on September 27.