It’s truffle time, Barolo Grill’s tastiest time of the year, Tuesday through Nov. 8 at the fine dining establishment with free valet at 3030 E. Sixth Ave.

Join chef Darrel Truett during Barolo Grill’s Truffle Celebration Week where Truett and his team will prepare a five-course tasting menu with optional wine pairings to complement each course.

If you want to pare down your truffle indulgence there’s an a la carte pasta with fresh black or white truffles shaved table side.

“This was an excellent year for Truffles (with) lots of summer rain and a cool fall,” said Barolo owner and top truffle-teer Blair Taylor, who recently returned from Italy. “(The truffles are) high quality with strong aromas.”

For reservations, call 303-393-1040 or e-mail info@barologrilldenver.com.

In an effort to raise awareness of men’s health issues, the Tavern Hospitality Group has created an official Movember USA team called “StacheTag Tavern.”  People can join Tavern’s team to support the cause at www.moteam.co/stachetag-tavern.

The Movember Foundation is dedicated to having an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health.  Their annual Movember campaign involves the growing of mustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer and other male cancers and associated charities.  As Movember USA team members grow mustaches, they try to encourage friends and family to support the cause by pledging funds to their particular page.

“This is our first year to participate in Movember,” said Frank Schultz, owner of Tavern Hospitality Group.  “I think most people know someone who’s been affected by a health issue that is specific to men.  We wanted to help raise funds for research and treatment.  I hope we have a lot of people join our team so we can make an impact.”

To add some fun and competition to the mix, Tavern is giving a free shave at Floyd’s Barbershop and a $150 Tavern gift card to the “StacheTag Tavern” team member who ends up with the best mustache at the end of the month.

Tavern Hospitality Group has eight locations in Uptown, Downtown, Lowry, Tech Center, Wash Park, Littleton, Mile High and Ballpark. For additional information, visit www.tavernhg.com.

Eavesdropping on a mother to her teenage son at King Soopers: “Do you think I’m ever going to let you get behind a wheel of car if you can’t even successfully navigate a grocery cart through the store without running into someone or something?”

Do you dare to be scared?

Since Halloween is merely two days away, I thought I’d share with you some Front Range (allegedly) haunted spots that want you to get in touch with your inner ghost.

Food & Wine magazine included the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park in its list of of America’s Haunted Restaurants and Hotels. Here’s what the writer said:

“A stay at this hotel near Rocky Mountain National Park inspired Stephen King to write ‘The Shining.’ Resident paranormal investigator Callea Sherrill first encountered the hotel’s otherworldly inhabitants in Room 407, where she was staying one night with two friends. ‘I heard footsteps come down the hallway,’Sherrill recalls. ‘They stopped outside the door. I waited for a knock, but nobody knocked. Just then I felt someone sit down next to me on the bed—I even saw the mattress dip.’ The next morning her friend Terry, whom Sherrill had thought was asleep, asked, ‘Who sat down on the bed with us last night?’ Sherrill, who now leads the hotel’s ghost hunts from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., believes it could have been the ghost of one of the nannies who used to be employed on the fourth floor. There have been many reports of the nannies still hard at work, tucking in hotel guests as if they were children and making beds – occasionally while guests are still in them. www.stanleyhotel.com.

Elizabeth Woessner, a Jill of all trades in Denver’s culinary scene, picked her top seven spooky spots for her on-line column for Dining Out magazine. She wrote:

“In Chinese tradition, hungry ghosts are the spirits of ancestors who return to the home of their living family annually with monstrous appetites. Known as gaki to Japanese Buddhists, hungry ghosts are struggling specters of the zombie kind.

“This Halloween, we’ve dreamt up a new definition for the hungry ghost—a phantom that lingers at a restaurant, spooking out customers and staff alike. We sat around the proverbial campfire with folks from the Denver area’s most haunted restaurants to unearth their spookiest tales. Not surprisingly, many of these restaurants are located in hotels, and we also included a historic house that occasionally hosts culinary events. So turn out the lights, bust out the Ouija board, and listen in.”

Here are Woessner’s picks:

1. The Buckhorn Exchange

2. Linger

3. Salt

4. Hotel Teatro

5. The Stanley Hotel

6. The Oxford Hotel

7. The Molly Brown House Museum

Lucky Strike, the nationally acclaimed bowling and entertainment brand in the Denver Pavilions, will throw an epic Halloween costume bash so sinister that it could wake the dead.

Bowlloween 2014, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, invites guests 21 and older to don a scary costume, possess a new identity and embrace the cornucopia of fun at Lucky Strike’s unique venue – offering a perfect storm of bowling, food and music.  Bowlloween will feature a live DJ, dancing, drink specials and more.  Guest can also enter an Instagram contest, awarding a $500 cash prize for the best costume that hashtags #BOWLLOWEEN @MADENIGHTLIFE. For tickets and more information, visit www.bowlloween.com.

After a seemingly endless wait, Sarto’s Italian Eatery opened Tuesday in the Jefferson Park district of Denver, anchoring the southwest corner on the historic square at 2900 W. 25th Ave. The sister spot, Sarto’s Pantry, will open next month.

Led by entrepreneur Taylor Swallow, his wife Kajsa, and award-winning Executive Chef Brian Laird, Sarto’s offers metropolitan Italian “tailored” cuisine in a food-and-drink-forward social environment. “We’re so fortunate to have Brian on board because of his experience and track record, and we know his food is going to be spectacular,” Taylor said. “The incredible thing about Brian is that when he is cooking, what he is creating isn’t about him; it’s about engaging the guest and the experience they want to have. That is rare to find.”

At Sarto’s, Chef Laird is bringing a piece of today’s metropolitan Italy to Denver.  “The beauty of the food scene in Italy is that you have this incredible blend of the old and the new, the centuries old recipes, classic and simple, blended with modern, global influences. It’s amazing,” Laird said. The menu is ingredient-driven and will change seasonally.

Named for the Italian word “tailor,” Sarto’s is focused on providing an experience that is fit to their individual guests, from dish “alterations” to tailored protein portions. In addition to the exceptional cuisine that Chef Laird is known for, there is great buzz about Sarto’s cicchetti bar, a chef’s table style bar where guests can chat with the chef and sample authentic Italian small bites of every configuration. “You can’t beat having that kind of personal interaction with someone’s dining experience, creating for them and hopefully introducing them to something new,” Laird said.

The owners designed the turn-of-the-century space to be clean, simple and comfortably sophisticated. “We wanted to work with the great bones of the building to create a simple backdrop for Sarto’s that was warm and inviting,” Swallow said. Working with Matt Lawton of Sexton Lawton Architecture, Tom Sprung of Sprung Construction, Kirsten Brundage of The Interior and Lacroux Streeb Lighting Design, the space has been transformed into something unexpected and classically handsome.

Open Tuesday through Sunday, 5 to 10 p.m, Sarto’s is 4,000 square feet and can accommodate 60 guests in the dining room and another 30 guests between the bar and cicchetti bar. Sliding walls allow part of the dining room to be closed off for meetings, private tastings or parties of up to 24 guests. Another 30 al fresco seats are available for Denver’s warm weather months.

Sharing the space’s north side storefront is Sarto’s Pantry, a gourmet market and deli where guests can purchase many of the ingredients used by Laird, including pre-packaged handmade pastas, or enjoy a casual dining experience. Pantry guests choose from panini, pizza, soup, salads, or meat and cheese boards to take home or enjoy onsite with a glass of wine. Sarto’s Pantry will open on November 3 and will be open 11 to 8 p.m. seven days a week.

“I think my favorite part of Sarto’s is that guests can enjoy a different experience every time they com” Swallow said. Whether it is an afternoon to enjoy light bites at the cicchetti bar, a great multi-course dinner experience, a cooking class or a casual outing to Sarto’s Pantry, every visit and experience will be different.”

“The Home Hunter” television show, which showcases builders, new communities and a variety of home-related services, has a new host and a new time slot. The half-hour show is now co-hosted by local interior designer Linnore Gonzales and airs at 9:30 a.m. Sundays on KWGN Channel 2.

“The Home Hunter” launched in Denver in January, after running for more than three decades in the Phoenix market. The metro-area’s strong residential growth prompted The Home Hunter’s creator, Diane Hunter, to bring her long-running real estate talk show to Denver.

The Denver version of “The Home Hunter” began airing in January and has featured new communities stretching from Castle Rock to Erie. The show has also highlighted local mortgage bankers, paint companies and other specialty products.

Gonzales, whose firm, Décor and You, is a chief sponsor of “The Home Hunter”, joined the show in September. She co-hosts with Tiffany Hunter, (Diane Hunter’s daughter), who also produces and hosts the Phoenix version of “The Home Hunter.”

“I look forward to continuing ‘The Home Hunter’ tradition in Denver and providing potential home buyers with a one-stop shop where they can view new housing options and a range of essential home products and services,” Gonzales said.

The Home Hunter is filmed at the Denver Media Center. For more information, visit www.homehuntertv.com/denver.

Ack! Denver International Airport received scary news this week when it landed on Travel + Leisure magazine’s list of America’s Best and Worst Airports for Flight Delays.DIA landed at the No. 3 spot. Here are the stats:

“Flights Delayed: 27.9%

“A 4.6 percent surge in delays moved DIA from fifth place on last year’s naughty list to third this year. Leave by lunchtime to avoid a Rocky Mountain meltdown: starting at 2 p.m., nearly a third of flights depart later than planned, a figure that only gets worse as the day wears on.

“Best Time Window: Before 9 a.m.

“Worst Time Window: 8–10 p.m.”

For the whole story, go to www.travelandleisure.com/articles/best-and-worst-airports-for-delays/2.

TAG restaurant, the signature spot owned by celebrated chef Troy Guard at 1441 Larimer St., invites you to raise a glass to Italy during a five-course dinner paired with seven wines from Mondo Vino, beginning at 7 p.m. Nov. 6. Cost is $89 per person.

Italian stallion winemaker Sergio Germano will orchestrate the evening beginning with Ettore Germano, Langhe Chardonnay 2013 during the reception.

Here’s the rest of the menu:

First course: Kampachi crudo, pumpkin seeds, candied fennel, burnt orange vinaigrette, evoo wine, Ettore German sparkling Nebbiolo Rose.

Second course: Braised octopus terrine, fingerling potato chips, olives, grilled lemon vinaigrette with Ettore Germano Riesleing ‘Herzu’ 2012.

Third course: Roasted Meditteranean sea bass, chestnut ravioli, Brussel sprout cream with Ettore Geramno Barbera Vigna Dela Madre 2010.

Fourth course: 48-hour leg of lamb, kim chee risotto, roasted tomato, garlic chip with Ettore Germano Barolo Lazzanito Riserva 2006 versus Ettore Germano Ceretta Barolo 2008.

Fifth course: Hazelnut and pear honey cake, creme fraiche, ice cream, ginger tea sabayon with Marolo Camomillo Grappa.

For reservations, go to www.tag-restaurant.com.