Eavesdropping on Andrew Hudson’s Facebook page: “New job on AH jobs list! Governor, state of New Jersey.”

Restaurants and hotels in Denver make our economic world go ’round. Consider that together both sectors will generate more than $13 billion in sales this year, which generates more than $850 million in state and local taxes.

Also, restaurants and hotels employ roughly 286,000 employees in 11,500 establishments. A big deal.

So it makes total sense that the Colorado Restaurant Association and the Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association throw a joint event annually on the first day of the Colorado Legislature to wine and dine lawmakers that could affect the hospitality business.

I have attended this event for more years than I care to reveal, and I would say that the hearty party Wednesday on the 38th floor of the adjoining tower at the Grand Hyatt Hotel attracted more festive folks than I’ve ever seen.

We wined and dined from tasty treats from restaurants including: Angelo’s Taverna, Baca at Inverness Hotel & Resort, Hurricane Grill & Wings, Lala’s Wine Bar & Pizzeria, Mangia Bevi Café, Metropolitan State University Denver, Outback Steakhouse, Penrose Room at the Broadmoor, Ted’s Montana Grill, Texas Roadhouse,  The Airplane Restaurant, The Fort and The Fresh Fish Company.

Pete Meersman, the slowly retiring CEO of the Colorado Restaurant Association introduced Sonia Riggs, the new “chief cheese” who is taking over Meersman’s impressive reign. About restaurants, he said, “Restaurants and hotels are the cornerstone of Colorado’s economy.”

Christine O’Donnell, president of the Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association, more pointedly addressed the legislators attending the event. “It takes only a slight change in the laws to turn a profitable hotel or restaurant into an unprofitable business,” she said. “We ask you to keep that in mind during this year’s legislative session.”

And former Wynkoop Brewing Co. founder Gov. John Hickenlooper stopped by to speak and be among his “peeps,” as he would say. He referenced deceased The Fort founder Sam Arnold.

“I think about the people who aren’t here,” Hickenlooper said. “Sam Arnold really put Colorado on the map.”

Denver Five, the select chef lineup created by promoter Leigh Sullivan, has selected a new 2014 crop of talent.

“This year I want to celebrate all the women in our community who are truly redefining what it means to be a chef in Denver,” Sullivan said about her selections of an all-women team. The new chefs are Jenna Johansen of Bravo TV fame and innovation chef at Epicurean Catering; Elise Wiggins, executive chef at Panzano; Carrie Blake, executive chef at Table 6; Aniedra Nichols, executive chef at Elway’s Cherry Creek and Nadine Donovan, pastry chef at Old Major.

Congrats to all!

The Denver Five chefs: From left, Jenna Johansen, Nadine Donovan,Carrie Blake,Elise Wiggins and Aniedre Nichols. (Leigh Sullivan Enterprises photo)

Fruition chef Alex Seidel and business partners Stephanie Caraway and Matthew Vawter have settled on a name of their new restaurant concept opening this summer in Denver’s redeveloped Union Station.

Mercantile Dining & Provision will be a European-style restaurant and market open seven days a week. The gourmet market will serve early morning coffee and pastries along with a full menu of breakfast and lunch items.

The restaurant will serve dinner only featuring Colorado ingredients with as many items as possible sourced from Seidel’s Fruition Farms.

Seidel has been named “5280 Magazine’s” Chef of the Year and one of “Food & Wine Magazine’s” Best New Chefs for 2010. Vawter will serve as chef de cuisine.

Caraway, Mercantile’s wine director, who was named Sommelier of the Year by “Food & Wine”, will oversee the wine, beer and cocktail menu to pair with the restaurant’s food selections.

For more information, go to www.unionstationdenver.com.

Alex Seidel, chef of Fruition, and his partners are naming their new Union Station eatery, Mercantile Dining & Provision.

Are you ready for some broomball? The hearty competition at downtown’s Southwest Rink at Skyline Park will be the locale for the return of the Broomball Challenge Tuesday and Thursday nights through Feb. 6.

The Downtown Denver Partnership invites all businesses, posses of pals, alumni associations or other gathered groups to challenge their rivals in an icy match.

Two teams of six to 12 adults using brooms and a ball to try to score more goals than their opposition will take home bragging rights. Registration proceeds will benefit Volunteers of America and the Parade of Lights.

What is broomball, you ask? It’s a non-contact sport similar to ice hockey played in sneakers. The object is to score more goals than the opposition while preserving all of your teeth.

Gather a team, challenge a rival, pick a date and time to play. Teams must be co-ed (two women must be on the ice at all times). Each game consists of two 20-minute periods with a five-minute halftime.

Choose game times at 7:30, 8:30 or 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Registration is $200 per team. For more information, go to www.southwestrink.com or e-mail southwestrink@downtowndenver.com.

Broomball is a sport played with an actual broom that is taped up and ball smaller than a soccer ball. Some players use specially-made sticks.

I guess that Denver’s bar business has gone to the dogs … in a good way. Read all about Bark Bar where your four-legged furry friends can accompany you on a “barking break.”.

The spot at 4132 W. 38th Ave. is a dog park, bar and coffee house in northwest Denver. (No leg lifting allowed!). Check out the full story at http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2014/01/bark_bar.php.

Famed violinist Itzhak Perlman eating with Denver florist extraordinaire BJ Dyer at Seoul BBQ in Aurora (near my former digs) on Peoria Street. Dyer said on Facebook that Perlman “knew just the right Korean dishes to order for the table. What a great sense of humor.” Perlman performed with the Colorado Symphony Thursday night at Boettcher Hall.

Itzhak Perlman enjoying lunch with BJ Dyer, right, at Seoul BBQ in Aurora. (BJ Dyer Facebook photo)

Eavesdropping on a man: “I put vodka in my windshield washer tank. Now I know it won’t freeze. I’ll just hold a martini glass with my sunroof open while I spray my windows.”

Former Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow was almost on the money with his BCS Championship pick before Monday night’s national title game in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

In his debut as a college football analyst for ESPN, Tebow predicted No. 1 Florida State would beat No. 2 Auburn. Tebow said in the ESPN pre-game show: “Auburn might be a team of destiny, but tonight, Florida State is deeper from top to bottom … I think they win 35-31.”

Florida State rallied in the final seconds to win 34-31.

Tim Tebow was just a point off in his prediction before Monday night’s BCS Championship on ESPN’s pre-game telecast. It was Tebow’s first telecast for the sports network. (ESPN photo)