Old Major is known for it’s farm to table, nose to tail menu.  They have an in house butchery program, cure in house, use local ingredients when possible and have sustainable seafood.  The building Old Major is in used to be a skating rink, but they have turned it into a beautiful, American style restaurant.

Needless to say Old Major has received much attention and awards locally and nationally, including one of America’s best restaurants by Thrillist, restaurant of the year by Eater Denver and one of 12 hottest brunches across America by Zagat.  Old Major also offers an awesome happy hour menu 7 days a week with $5 cocktails including the Moscow Mule with vodka, lime juice and ginger beer or the Blood Orange Bee’s Knees with gin, lemon juice, honey and sparkling blood orange.  Happy hour also includes $6 wine glasses and $2 off draft beers.

You can taste some creations from Old Major chef Justin Brunson and bar manager Ryan Conklin at the Toques and Tails event on May 22 from 6-9pm. This event involves 8 different restaurants from Denver, and is a friendly judged competition based on food and drink pairings from each participating restaurant.  Guests at the event will be able to try samples from all chefs and bar tenders and have a say on the people’s choice vote for best dish, best cocktail and best dish and cocktail pairing.  Tickets are available now for this event, and the event also raises money for Share our Strength No Kid Hungry program.

Old Major is located at 3316 Tejon St. Denver 80211. Phone number: 720.420.0622

Dinner 7 days a week 5-10pm

Happy hour 7 days a week 3-6pm

Brunch Saturday and Sunday 9:30am-2pm

With a restaurant name like Squeaky Bean, what dining experience would you expect?  The results may pleasantly surprise your expectations.  Squeaky Bean has an eclectic feel to it, but the menu creations and the ambiance in their LoDo location are nothing short of exquisite.  Squeaky Bean has won numerous awards and attention, with Denver Westword recently naming them the “Best Sunday Funday Brunch“.  Besides offering delicious brunch items like pork belly hash with Brussels sprouts and parsnips, over night French toast with berries and banana butter or a veggie egg white frittata, Squeaky Bean offers full on, old fashioned Bingo games, complete with prizes at brunch.

Squeaky Bean uses local ingredients from their garden, The Bean Acre, in Lakewood, and their menu changes seasonally.  The seasonal brunch and dinner menu are equally worth trying.

On May 22 from 6-9pm MST, Squeaky Bean will participate in the chef and bar tender competition, Toques and Tails.  This event involves 8 different restaurants from Denver, and is a friendly judged competition based on food and drink pairings from each participating restaurant.  Guests at the event will be able to try samples from all chefs and bar tenders and have a say on the people’s choice vote for best dish, best cocktail and best dish and cocktail pairing.  Tickets are available now for this event, and the event also raises money for Share our Strength No Kid Hungry program.

Squeaky Bean is located at 1500 Wynkoop St. #101 Denver 80202.

Tuesday-Thursday 5-10pm

Friday-Saturday 5-11pm

Cocktail hour 4-6pm

Sunday Brunch 10am-3pm

Central Bistro and Bar is considered a true American restaurant with fine food in a relaxed, home feel environment.  Central Bistro and Bar has a vintage feel to it with a high end menu at affordable prices.  For example, you can enjoy unique American spins like chicken fried chicken oysters, lemon cured foie gras, lobster tail cioppinno, sofrito skirt steak, caramelized Brussels Sprouts or decadent chocolate fraiche cake and nutella waffle.

This week enjoy the beautiful weather during Central’s happy hour Wednesday-Friday from 4:30-6pm.  Enjoy 40% off bottled wines, $5 select wines by the glass, $3 draft beers and $5 specialty cocktails.  If you’re looking for something special, Central offers, in their words, “weird” cocktail concoctions, barrel aged cocktails and whiskey flights.

Central Bistro and Bar is a featured restaurant in Toques and Tails competition on May 22.  This is a fun competition between 8 restaurants in Denver that are judged on 1 dish and 1 beverage.  Chef Mat Selby and bar manager James Menkal will be representing Central Bistro and Bar.  Guests at the event will be able to walk around the venue trying the food and cocktails from each restaurant.  Tickets to Toques and Tails are available now, and the event is on from 6-9pm Thursday May 22.  This event benefits the charity Share Our Strength.

Central Bistro and Bar is located at 1691 Central St. Denver 80211

Lunch: Wednesday-Friday 11am-2pm

Dinner: Tuesday-Thursday 4:30-10pm

Friday-Saturday 4:30-10:30pm

Sunday 4:30-8pm

Sunday brunch: 10am-2pm

Happy Hour: Wednesday-Friday 4:30-6pm

This weekend, check out Lower 48 to see why Denver Westword awarded them the prestigious best new restaurant for 2014.  The menu at Lower 48 changes daily and is inspired by contemporary American cuisine from, of course, the lower 48 states.  The creative, homemade menu items are sure to leave an impression on any diner.  They elevate American inspired classics with small bites like corn dogs, crispy chicken salad and homemade English muffins with mashed peas, fruition farms cheese and 12 year aged balsamic.

Entrees range from Louisiana inspired crayfish, hanger steak with fork crushed mashed potatoes, leeks and fava beans, and Falgeolet Tortellini made with house made pasta, ham broth, cauliflower and piquillo peppers.

Besides the food, Lower 48 is known for their drink menu of local and internationally inspired beers, wines and cocktails.  They offer drinks from Japan, Germany, Scotland, Belgium and specialize in hand crafted cocktails with unique flavor profiles.

Lower 48 is also a featured restaurant in Toques and Tails competition on May 22.  This is a fun competition between 8 restaurants in Denver that are judged on 1 dish and 1 beverage.  Guests at the event will be able to walk around the venue trying the food and cocktails from each restaurant.  Tickets to Toques and Tails are available now, and the event is on from 6-9pm Thursday May 22.  This event benefits the charity Share Our Strength.

Lower 48 is located 2020 Lawrence St. Denver 80205.

Monday-Wednesday 5-9:30pm

Thursday-Saturday 5-10:30pm

Closed Sundays.

The Corner Office and Martini Bar is located in downtown Denver next to the Denver Center for Performing Arts and offers an outstanding drink menu and delicious global food pairings.  The Corner Office has won numerous awards for their cuisine and drinks, including Open Table’s 2014 Diner’s Choice Award.

The cocktails are hand crafted with house made ingredients, and happy hour includes $5-6 cocktails, $3 Colorado brewed beers and $5 wine glasses.  The cocktails delicately pair unique flavor combinations together like basil, lemon and raw sugar in the Rye me a River or blood orange liqueur, pomegranate, vanilla and lime in the Carousel.  The happy hour menu includes unique bites such as Koren style wings, duck poutine, veggie burger and saffron risotto fritters.

Taste more from The Corner Office at the Toques and Tails culinary event 6-9pm MST on May 22.  Toques and Tails is a friendly competitive competition between some of Denver’s best chefs and bar tenders.  Representing The Corner Office will be executive chef Rich Byers and Bar Manager Ben Anderson.  At the event, guests will have the opportunity to taste the food and drinks the chefs and bar tenders come up with from 8 of Denver’s best restaurants.  To purchase tickets for this event, click here.

The Corner Office is located at 1401 Curtis St. Denver 80202

Breakfast: M-F 6-11am

Lunch: M-F 11-3pm

Happy Hour: Every day 3-6pm; 9-11pm

Dinner: Sunday-Thursday 3pm-10pm

Dinner Friday and Saturday: 3pm-11pm

Chef/owner Troy Guard describes TAG cuisine as continental social food.  So what does that mean?  It means TAG incorporates local ingredients into diverse, international cultural dishes.   This concept combines Guard’s culinary travels; he was raised in Hawaii and has traveled through Asia and Latin America.

Dining at TAG is a true culinary adventure; menu profiles are unconventional and delicious- unique to anywhere else in Denver.  Where else can you find taco sushi, roasted octopus bruschetta, miso black cod or the surf and turf roll which combines steak and crab?  TAG has received numerous awards, including most recently being named Denver’s “Best Expense-Account Dinner” from Westword.

TAG is also a featured restaurant in Toques and Tails competition on May 22.  This is a fun competition between 8 restaurants in Denver that are judged on 1 dish and 1 beverage.  Guests at the event will be able to walk around the venue trying the food and cocktails from each restaurant.  Tickets to Toques and Tails are available now, and the event is on from 6-9pm Thursday May 22.

TAG is located on Larimer Square in downtown Denver at 1441 Larimer St. Denver CO 80202.

Monday-Thursday 11:30am-10pm

Friday 11:30am-11pm

Saturday 5pm-11pm

Sunday 5pm-9pm

According to Denver Westword, “Crave makes getting buzzed on caffeine and liquored up at the same time seem downright classy.”  Westword gave Crave “Best Hot Booze” for Denver 2014.  Located downtown by the Colorado Convention Center, crave offers a unique blend of savory, bitter, hand crafted, sweet and everything in between.

Crave offers brunch/lunch options and is also vibrant at night to pair homemade sweets with hand crafted cocktails.  Crave offers anything you crave with sweets from alcohol to coffee, and sometimes the two mixed together like the Irish coffee.

On the savory side, dinner and snack options like meat/cheese plates, bacon wrapped pheasant or brie and fig ravioli.  If you want something sweet and sassy, try the chocolate trio, Guinness chocolate cake or Rocky Mountain Semifreddo.

Crave offers an assortment of wine, beer, champagne, cocktails, non-alcohol drinks and hot coffee, so anytime of the day or night you are bound to find something you are “craving” for.

Crave is located at 891 14th St. Denver, CO 80202.

Monday-Closed

Tuesday-Sunday 11am-close

Lunch hours: 11am-4pm

Dinner hours: 4pm-close

Brunch is Saturday and Sundays 11am-2pm.

If you’re looking to go somewhere this weekend with a unique, refreshing menu, pleasant out door patio and extensive wine list, head on over to Row 14 Bistro and Wine Bar.  Row 14 offers light lunch and dinner options perfect for spring weather including grilled fish tacos, steelhead tartare, charred tomato bruschetta or grilled avocado salad.

Last weekend on the Culinary Connectors Top Restaurant Tour, guests tasted a first glimpse of a cucumber gazpacho newly offered at Row 14.  It had a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and shavings of red pepper to match the refreshing cleanse of cucumber; a delicious, refreshing cold soup.

Row 14 offers happy hour menu included on the weekends with $5 wine glasses, cocktails and $5 shared plates including crab cake sliders, trio of dips with hummus, tzatziki and olive tapenade or $8 shared plates of charred tomato bruschetta and steelhead tartatre.

Row 14 is located at 891 14th St. Denver, CO.

Row 14 is open Monday-Wednesday 11:30am-10pm

Thursday-Saturday 11:30am-12am

Sunday 3-9pm

Happy Hour Monday-Friday 2-6pm

Saturday 2-5pm, Sunday 3-6pm

One of the stops of Culinary Connectors Restaurant Tours Denver is the contemporary sushi bar Epernay.  Epernay is a unique concept that focuses on raw sushi and hot sous-vide items with an Asian flair mixed with European influences.  Chef Nick Shankland brings his diverse background in cooking to combine flavor and cooking styles unlike anywhere else.  A must try from the menu is Chef Nick’s banana bread pudding.

Choose to drink at Epernay this week and you won’t be disappointed.  They have an extensive wine and cocktail list, and they have the largest champagne menu in Colorado.  Epernay was also voted best lounge of the year for 2014 by the Night Club Hall of Fame.

Happy hour prices are 1/2 off wine and champagne glasses, $5 cocktails, hot sake is 2 for 1, and there are discounts on the appetizers.

Culinary Connectors Restaurant Tours Denver offer an inside look into some of the top restaurants in town, like Epernay.  Top restaurant tours offer sample bites from the chef, sometimes creations not on the menu, drinks to pair the tastings, and the opportunity to hear the chef/owner’s passion and expertise.

Epernay is located at 1080 14th St. Denver, CO 80202.

Hours are: Tuesday-Thursday 4-11pm, Friday and Saturday 4pm-2am, Sunday 4-11pm.