February 20, 2015 - Denver, CO - From the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal, Denver's dining scene has been hot in the press recently, and now residents and visitors will have an opportunity to see what all the buzz is about with substantial savings during Denver Restaurant Week, Feb. 20-March 1, 2015.

For ten days, nearly 300 of Denver's finest restaurants will offer multi-course dinners for the tasty price of just $30 per person. Menus and details can be found at DenverRestaurantWeek.com.

The only challenge? With so many choices, how do you decide where to go? Here are ten Denver Restaurant Week trends to get you thinking.

1. Gluten-free or vegan, no problem! There are 169 restaurants offering gluten-free items, and in true Colorado fashion, a whopping 93 have vegan options.

2. The new kids on the block. It's always exciting to try a restaurant brand new to Denver Restaurant Week! Here are a few hotspots that should make your list: Cart-Driver; Cebiche Highlands; Timberline Steakhouse DIA; Seasons 52; and Stoic & Genuine.

3. Tried and true. Many of Denver's top restaurants participate in this culinary event year after year, offering tasty multi-course meals of signature dishes and exciting new plates. You can't go wrong with one of these Denver Restaurant Week staples: Barolo Grill; Bistro Vendome; Carmine's on Penn; Denver Chophouse & Brewery; Elway's Cherry Creek; The Fort; The Greenbriar Inn; Luca; Maggiano's Little Italy and Rioja.

4. It's all about the extras. Many restaurants are offering a bottle of wine, cocktails, beer or a 4th course as part of their restaurant week menu. Here are a few of the restaurants offering something extra: Enjoy a glass of house wine or house-made limoncello at Colore Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria; iFish Japanese Grill & Sushi is offering both a sushi starter and large carafe of hot, cold or house-infused sake.

5. The spirit of dessert. With most restaurants offering some sort of dessert in their multi-course meal offering, this is not the time to count calories. This year, several restaurants are boozin' up their desserts with beer, wine or whiskey. Try one of these over-the-top desserts: the Figgy Pudding Brandy sauce with orange ice cream at Du; or bourbon Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée at Charcoal Restaurant.

6. No shortage of short ribs. It's all about the beef, ‘bout the beef...no chicken! Colorado is ranching country, and as you would suspect, beef is what's for dinner on many Denver Restaurant Week menus. Blackbird, Coohills, Spruce Farm and Fish and Spuntino are just a few of the restaurants offering short ribs, each with their own unique flavor. 

7. How would you like your mushrooms? Mushrooms are hot in 2015, and some of the tastiest offerings include: Crespelle ai Funghi from Panzano; Wild Mushroom Duzelle Arancini from Charcoal Restaurant; and Cup of Morel Mushroom Soup from Bent Fork American Grill.

8. What was that again? There is no shortage of exotic items on Denver Restaurant Week menus. Some of the more memorable ones: The Nickel will have Squid Ink cavatelli; Corridor 44 will have Caviar Potato Chips; and Coohills will offer Wild Burgundy Snails.

9. There's something "fishy" happening in Denver. When you realize most fish is shipped by airplanes, then airports become seaports - making Denver one of the largest and busiest "seafood ports" in America and Denver restaurants are offering excellent fish choices during Denver Restaurant Week. For example: Humboldt Farm Fish will be dishing out smoked trout dip with potato chips and sweet onion jam; while Kevin Taylor and Beatrice & Woodsley will offer their own versions of Colorado Striped Bass with plenty of delicious complementary sides.

10. Read all about it! Some of the restaurants recently featured in articles on Denver in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal that are participating in Denver Restaurant Week include: Rioja, Bistro Vendome and Jax Fish House.

See the full list of restaurants and menus at DenverRestaurantWeek.com.

Denver Restaurant Week, presented by Lexus, would not be possible without the generous support of sponsors including: Lexus, VISIT DENVER, Columbia Winery, Edna Valley Vineyard, Mirassou Winery, Louis M. Martini Winery, William Hill Estate Winery, US Foods, Johnson & Wales University, zTrip, Open Table, Comcast, 5280 Magazine, Westword, the Colorado Restaurant Association and the Downtown Denver Partnership Business Improvement District.

Photo Captions and Credits:

Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock received a lesson from some of the city's top chefs on how to decorate a plate of food to make it more appealing and attractive. The press event was held in Colorado's largest kitchen to draw attention to Denver's largest culinary festival, which kicks off for ten days Feb. 20-March 1, 2015 with 270 restaurants offering multi-course dinners for the fixed price of $30 each.
Pictured: Mayor Hancock, Chef Heath Stone of Johnson & Wales.
Credit: Evan Semon.

Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock leads a toast to kick off Denver Restaurant Week with some of the city's top chefs. Denver Restaurant Week is the city's largest culinary festival, runs for ten days Feb. 20-March 1, 2015 with 270 restaurants offering multi-course dinners for the fixed price of $30 each.
Pictured: Mayor Hancock, Justin Bresler of VISIT DENVER, and Denver Restaurant Week chefs.
Credit: Evan Semon.

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