Restaurant Rumblings

No Excuse For Bad Ribs At Home
First Tracy brought some good ole fashioned Kansas City barbecue to his Longmont restaurant, The Rib House, a perennial winner in our annual Best of the West contest. That wasn’t quite good enough for area connoisseurs who longed for Tracy’s BBQ sauce for their own backyard grilling. Its popularity has grown enough that the complete line—from mild to XXX Hot Sauce—is now available at area King Soopers. The trick is figuring how to perfectly cook a rib rack at home—so trips to The Rib House will still be a necessity. For information on The Rib House, 1920 S. Coffman St, call 303.485.6988.

Colorado Wine Is Good, Really
It’s still an uphill battle, but lately Colorado’s bustling wine business has been garnering a bit of respect—including wins over California vinos in a blind taste test performed by one of the metro-area dailies. Still, your typical wine drinker will select a variety from Italy or Sonoma or France before one from Grand Junction. Shame on you. But here’s your chance to make up for it. The first Boulder Food & Wine Festival is noon to 5 p.m. Aug. 12 in Central Park. Vineyards such as Two Rivers, BookCliff and DeBeque will be represented. Still skeptical? Then go for the food provided by Aji, 14th Street, Dushanbe Teahouse and others.

Sky High Happy Hour
Sure there are plenty of great happy hours in the North Metro area, but we couldn’t resist lauding one that encourages women to wear the largest stiletto heels possible. Here’s the deal, every Wednesday at Fusion Food & Spirits in Longmont is Stiletto Night. The restaurant offers $1 off a martini for each inch of stiletto over two inches. Wear sky-high sexy shoes, and you could be drinking for free. Tread carefully! For information on Fusion, 1900 Ken Pratt Blvd, call 303.774.7399.