Table Talk for April 22

BBQ Biz: Rockabilly and Ribs and the Q Worldly Barbeque
All of the sudden Cherry Creek North is becoming a hot spot for barbecue. On Sunday, Tambien Cantina kicked off its Rockabilly and Ribs throwdown of outdoor grilling, cold beer, and swinging tunes. The weekly event takes place on the Cherry Creek restaurant’s patio each Sunday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Eats include chile-rubbed chicken cooked on Tecate cans, chipotle barbecue spareribs, and lamb barbacoa—all to be washed down with strawberry-lemonade, Modelo Especial, bloody marias, and mimosas. 250 Steele St., 303-333-1763
A couple blocks down, David Pellegrin and Bekah Donovan of Soleil Mediterranean Grille & Wine Bar are taking on barbecue and live music with The Q Worldly Barbeque and The Q Blues & Jazz Lounge. The two have taken over the adjoining space that previously housed Upper Crust and Bacchus Wine Bar, and they plan to open in May. The bent: Meats smoked in an industrial-size smoker (it can hold 800 pounds of meat at a time), and a “worldly sauce” bar with 10 barbecue sauces for the slathering. Chef Pellegrin will whip up a special sauce each week that’ll pull from global influences—think along the lines of Korean or Hawaiian barbecue. The Q will be quick service (i.e., order at the counter), unless you’re sitting at the Q Blues bar, where you can get full service. 2817 E. Third Ave., www.theqbarbeque.com
Clearly Denver’s barbecue scene is hot and getting hotter—for a roundup of local spots, check out our story The ABCs of BBQ, Denver-style in the June issue. —Amanda M. Faison

Trend: Green Shopping Bags
Everywhere we look we see companies peddling reusuable shopping bags. You can pick up the environmentally friendly totes at stores such as Whole Foods, Safeway, and Marczyk Fine Foods, but we’ve seen more fashionable versions in publications ranging from the Rocky Mountain News to Gourmet magazine. Our favorite tribute to the trend comes in the form of Little Dreamers‘ large, durable canvas satchels. This small, Aspen-based company embroiders sayings on their bags (think: “Market,” “Groceries,” “Eggs on Top,” etc.)—just pick your typeface, color, and saying. Bonus: Little Dreamers bags are cute enough to take to the mall, and large enough to use as an overnight bag. Totes run $20, and turnaround time is a week. www.littledreamersaspen.com —AMF

Good Stuff: Alba’s Wine Library
In our March issue, critic Carol W. Maybach awarded three stars to Alba Ristorante. This northern Italian restaurant in Boulder is a solid choice for dishes such as crispy polenta and grilled Anjou pear with toasted pine nuts and Gorgonzola dolcelatte sauce—and now it’s also a place to go and read up on wine. Owner Rick Stein recently created a library with more than 100 books on Italian wines, and diners are encouraged to browse while sipping on vino and nibbling from a specially priced menu (from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.). 2480 Canyon Blvd., Boulder, 303-938-8800, www.albaboulder.com —AMF

News: Safeway Boos Chilean Salmon
For years, the southern coast of Chile has been a rich spawning ground for salmon, and approximately 1,035 farms exist in that area. But last July, salmon authorities discovered that a highly infectious virus was upsetting the Chilean salmon population. Now, Safeway, one of the nation’s largest supermarket chains, with 122 stores in Colorado, says it will no longer buy from its supplier of Chilean salmon. Not only is the virus changing the size, quality, and taste of farmed Chilean salmon, there is also some concern about the use of antibiotics in the farming industry. Luckily, Safeway’s change will have little affect on the Colorado consumer. Denver Safeway director of public affairs Kris Staaf says that the affected Chilean salmon never made it into stores, and that most of the salmon on Safeway’s shelves either from Canada or the Pacific Northwest. While we lament the infection in Chile, we’re happy that one of Colorado’s biggest supermarket chains will still make salmon grilling possible this summer. —Kazia Jankowski

Class: Babes and Blades
To ensure that Denver homecooks get the same basic knife training as professional chefs, chef Frank Bonanno is offering preparatory classes at his laidback Italian restaurant Osteria Marco. Nibble on antipasti-style snacks while Bonanno teaches you slicing skills, as well as how to sharpen and select knives. Saturday’s class covers chicken deboning techniques, and the following Saturday explains fish filleting. Saturday, April 26 and May 3, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. $45; 1453 Larimer St., 303-534-5855 —KJ