4 JUNE 20-26, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 10 COLORFUL COLORADO Waving the fl ag for Denver’s fi ftieth PrideFest. BY EMILY FERGUSON 6 GET TO THE POINTS Developers have plans for the Rossonian Hotel. Again. BY CATIE CHESHIRE 17 MAKING HER MARK Emerging chef Carolina Zubiate is fi nding her culinary voice. BY CHRIS MARHEVKA 21 FIELD OF DREAMS A look back at the making of Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre. BY TONI TRESCA 10 Culture 17 Cafe 21 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 24 32 Marijuana CANNABIS CALENDAR ............................ 32 ASK A STONER ......................................... 34 VOLUME 47 NUMBER 43 JUNE 20-26, 2024 E D I T O R I A L Editor Patricia Calhoun Editorial Operations Manager Jane R. 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ILLUSTRATION BY MARCUS MURRAY “NOSTALGIA IS A BITCH,” CRISTIAN SALAZAR, JUNE 13 B I T C H , B I T C H , B I T C H Best article written about this awful, sad saga. Jejune. That is all. Michael Segler Denver What a racist pile of crap! Keep point- ing out that Casa Bonita is for white kids. I am a Denver native since 1973; when I was growing up here, no one cared about the color of the skin of kids going to Casa Bonita. Everyone there had fun. You have your Bronx gentrifi cation blind- ers on. Lakewood could use some gentrifi - cation; it doesn’t need to be so disgustingly economically depressed. It’s called progress. Name withheld Former diver at Casa Bonita here: I never knew about this. I thought the biggest danger was slicing my feet on the fake rocks. Darren Hone Denver They don’t want to invite me in. I’m not going to watch their documentary! Art Valdez Denver I am a 25-year restaurant industry vet- eran, and had the (mis)fortune of dining at the OG Casa Bonita multiple times growing up in Denver. Once the process for dining at the revamped version was announced, I signed up using as many email addresses as possible, including my son’s, my wife’s and my own personal three email addresses. After nearly a year on the list, we got the good news last month and went in with our group of seven on a Saturday evening. First, the entry process was fast and fl uid: easy to order and get where you needed to go. We did not pay for the upgraded seating, but our table had a good view of the waterfall/ cliff divers, and that was a pleasant surprise. The other surprise was that some of those tables were empty for the entirety of our din- ing experience. In fact, there were multiple tables around us that never had patrons seated while we ate. We all found that odd. I thought this was a tough ticket? As far as the food goes, well, quite mid in my opinion. I had the enchilada plate, some at our table had the rellenos and we had a couple of the other options as well. Nothing stood out as great, especially for the price you have to pay to eat there. I know that anyone going is paying for more than the food, but my good- ness, it should be so much better. If this were any other restaurant, based on food alone, I would never have the urge to return. The rest of our time there was spent at the expensive arcade, with the young diners from our group wandering all of the other special areas of Casa Bonita. They had a great time! The renovation was amazing, and it felt clean and overall had a great vibe. Still, tons of empty seats at a peak time? Maybe they don’t seat to capacity? Big picture: After visiting once, I doubt I will go back once one of my other fi ve emails gets selected. I don’t quite have the nostalgic viewpoint that others have about Casa Bonita, so one and done will be it for me. I get why people want to go, but I will never understand paying for it twice. Denver has so many other better food options at a fraction of the cost. Go eat at one of those family-owned joints and help out the ones that need it. Richard Colaizzi Lakewood After being on the email list for nearly a year, my husband and I each got emails to make reservations. The fi rst time we went was general dining. The service was very good and the food was better, but the food was not overly impressive. On our second visit, we obtained cliffside dining after I viewed their reservations every morning for weeks waiting for an opening. That was a much better dining experience, with tableside service and a nice view of the divers. I feel the food was better seasoned this time, as well. Overall, Casa Bonita is a unique experi- ence and I highly recommend it. The bar- tenders and entertainers are very engaging and make it fun. It is the Disneyland of Colorado. Jenny Rossi Denver
