For a Californian, my taste buds are firmly planted in the South.

So, I was more than thrilled when Sassafras recently opened a second location at 320 E. Colfax, a few blocks from my abode.

I had heard about the legendary lines at the original Jefferson Park location at 2637 W. 26th Ave., and put it on my mental list to try at an off time some day. But then Sassafras came to my ‘hood, and not too soon.

I checked out the place Saturday for breakfast/lunch with my BBFF (best boy friend forever), Bradley Joseph. I ordered the Cajun Benedict, a sassy plate of jumbo lump crab cakes, house-made tasso, crawfish hash, poached eggs and smoked cayenne hollandaise. Bless its little Southern heart.

With my coaxing, my BBFF ordered the fried chicken, a simply named dish of marvelous marinated local free range fried cluckiness with a choice of sides: dirty rice or mac and cheese and pickled pepper slaw or collard greens. A fluffy buttermilk biscuit completes the plate.

Sassafras serves breakfast and lunch daily from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. No reservations, which I find annoying, so be prepared to to wait or grab a couple of seats at the bar (we did), and let the amiable bartender Abe enhance your dining experience with a guava hurricane and more Southern inspired cocktails.

More information at www.sassafrasamericaneatery.com or by calling 303-831-6233.

(Penny Parker photos)

Eavesdropping on a man talking about a conversation with his grandparents:

Grandma: “Where do we turn? I’m so turned around.”
Grandpa to grandson: “She gets turned around in the bathtub.”

Every year, foodies flock to The Big Eat to sip, snack and celebrate the culinary diversity of Denver’s indie restaurants.This year, while strolling the new event site in The Galleria at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (on 14th Street between Champa and Curtis), you’ll get wined and dined by local chefs from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. (VIPs enter at 6:30) Thursday.

Some of the participating restaurants:  Ace Eat Serve, Adelita’s, Ambli Gourmet Eatery, Appaloosa Grill, Argyle Whiskey Beer, Bones, Carmine’s on Penn, Central Bistro & Bar, dbar , Euclid Hall, Gallo di Nero, Harman’s Eat Drink, Interstate, Jonesy’s Eat Bar, Krewe BBQ, Limelight, Little India, Lou’s Food Bar, LowDown Brewery + Kitchen, Marco’s Coal-Fired Pizza, Panzano, Rialto Café, Snooze, an A.M. Eatery, St. Ellie, Steuben’s Food Service, Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs, Stoney’s Bar & Grill, Tana’s Delights, The Lobby, Trillium, Uber Eats, Vesper Lounge, Vesta Dipping Grill, Work & Class and the Wynkoop Brewing Company.

Tickets are $55 per person, which includes tastings from 36-plus restaurants, craft beer, wine, entertainment, cocktail demos and more. VIP tickets are $75 per person, which includes early entry with special tastings from newly opened restaurants plus a VIP only hangout.

The Big Eat Private Balconies for a party of 10 are $1,250. Includes early entry and a private space with a balcony overlooking the event. Platters of food will be waiting for your arrival with an to an open bar with craft cocktails, beer and wine.

As a tribute to President Barack Obama‘s surprise visit to the Wazee Supper Club on Tuesday night, the folks behind the bar have created, and are now offering, a special Presidential Punch.

Comprised of vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup, mint and champagne, it’s a not-too-political punch for hot summer days at $6 a pop.

Also, at Wazee the President had pepperoni and sausage pizza and a Prost Pilsner beer with his dinner companion Gov. John Hickenlooper. Hick’s former restaurant company owns the venerable Wazee at 15th and Wazee streets.

Local lawyer Craig Silverman has resurrected his radio voice with a new show from 10 am. to 3 p.m. Saturdays on 710-KNUS.

Silverman, a frequent legal commentator on local and national television, was cut by Clear Channel a couple of years ago when the station opted to drop the (Dan) Caplis and Silverman Show, for which I was a contributor.

On KNUS, Silverman will join the lineup of former Clear Channel personalities Peter Boyles, previous radio partner Caplis and Steve Kelley.

Here’s what Silverman posted on Facebook:

“I am excited to announce The Craig Silverman Show which will air weekly between 9:00 and noon on Saturday mornings. From 2004 – 2012, I was one half of the award winning Caplis and Silverman Show. I’m pleased to follow several of my former radio colleagues to 710KNUS which has taken the local lead in compelling talk.

“Unlike many of my KNUS colleagues, I am neither a Republican nor a Christian. I am pro-liberty and generally anti-prohibition. I definitely don’t like people who harm others. I voted for Barack Obama in 2008 but I’m seriously disenchanted with this President and his Democrat teammates. Let’s see if we can do better. KNUS has welcomed some smart and different voices and that is why it is such a winning station.

“I’m a fourth generation Coloradan blessed by the support of my wife, Trish, and our sons Ben and Sam. I’ve been a Colorado attorney for 32 years. The first half of my legal career was spent as a Denver prosecutor and since then, I’ve worked as a Colorado trial lawyer focusing on personal injury and helping people harmed by others. During the workweek, I’ll continue to work on my clients’ legal issues, but on Saturday mornings, let’s puzzle out some of the great issues that affect us all.

“The Craig Silverman Show will entertain listeners with the latest news, thought-provoking conversations, interesting sound bites and interviews with prominent newsmakers. I’ll cover the current events of Colorado, our country and the world. Let’s have fun as we look at the week that was, enjoy the weekend, and look ahead. Please join me this Saturday.”

Perry’s Restaurants, a Texas-based, family-owned group of award-winning steakhouses, will open its first location in Colorado this summer in the outside portion of Park Meadows mall. The Denver location marks the 11th steakhouse location, and its second outside Texas after launching in Chicago last November.

The location will occupy 11,000 square feet, accommodate 350 guests, and include design features such as views of the kitchen from the main dining area, a towering wine wall, an island bar and four private dining rooms for groups and special occasions.

“From our roots as a meat market, we’ve grown to focus not only on great food, but also the experience of our guests,” said Chris Perry, founder and owner of Perry’s Restaurants. “At Perry’s, you can expect distinctive signature dishes carved tableside, flaming desserts prepared tableside, mixology creations made with ingredients fresh from the kitchen, and live music daily, all adding up to an atmosphere that is elegant, yet casual and welcoming.”

By incorporating light, airy, modern touches to the various dining areas, Perry’s will create an environment that appeals to both men and women and whisks away the notion of a traditional stuffy steakhouse.

Known for its selection of butcher-fresh prime beef, Perry’s is also known for its unexpected steakhouse specialty – Perry’s Famous Pork Chop, a seven-finger tall chop that is dried, cured and roasted, then caramelized and topped with Perry’s signature herb-garlic butter. Perry’s is also home to Bar 79, named after the year Perry’s was founded.

For more information and reservations, go to www.perryssteakhouse.com.

Eavesdropping on a woman on Facebook: “Oh my gawd ! They are repairing sidewalks across the street and it sounds like giant fingernails on a concrete chalkboard.”

OpenTable, the online restaurant reservation site (www.opentable.com), hosted a pre-opening VIP party at Stoic & Genuine, the Jennifer Jasinski-Beth Gruitch seafood and granita bar concept at the Union Station location Monday night.

In a previous column, I wrote about sampling S&G menu items at Jasinski-Gruitch’s original eatery Rioja on Larimer Square. The menu runs the gamut from fried whole-belly clams to caviar.

The place is tiny (62 seats inside; 40 on the patio), so getting a reservation early on may be a challenge. But going to any restaurant on opening week is risky business. Best to wait until all the kinks are worked out.

The restaurant, with the kitchen helmed by chef de cuisine Jorel Pierce, opens to the public on today serving lunch and dinner daily.

“It’s gorgeous, stunning like an executive suite in a train!” said party patron Pat “Gabby Gourmet” Miller, whose been to more restaurant pre-openings than she’d care to count. “It’s super looking, great fun and the food was divine. The open kitchen and the bars are focal points.”

The fourth restaurant from owners Jasinski, a James Beard award-winning chef and business partner Gruitch, owners of Rioja, Bistro Vendôme and Euclid Hall, Stoic & Genuine is committed to impeccably fresh, sustainable and creative seafood preparations set in the grand ambiance of Denver’s newly renovated historic Union Station. 

Gruitch, general manager Alaina Silva and bar manager Jessica Cann crafted beverages centered on a granita bar, craft and classic cocktails. estate wines and a broad champagne selection by the bottle and glass.

Designed by Denver’s Boss Architecture, an exhibition kitchen opens up to a fresh bar with an ever-changing selection of shellfish. Clean lines and basic colors provide the backdrop for finishes and architectural elements that might surprise including the colorful original art octopus mural hand painted by Denver artist Lui Ferreyra that pops off one wall and the “float wall” – a glass “sandwich” of green and blue reclaimed fishing net floats gathered from the beaches of Alaska, LED lighted from above and below.

A ceiling backdrop of classic beach sand fencing stained with a recycled combination of iron filings and vinegar sets the stage and a stained concrete floor provides a base. Lighting reminiscent of barnacles dot the ceiling above and around the raw bar. Other lights that suggest shrimp boat outriggers decorate and light various areas of the dining room. Local millwork company Fin Art Co. executed many of the interior elements including the “float wall”, a unique wine wall, the sand fencing, host stand and the raw bar and cocktail bar counter tops from solid reclaimed wood, sanded, stained and finished.

Stoic & Genuine is located at 1701 Wynkoop St. and will be open for lunch and dinner daily from 11 a.m. serving food Sunday-Thursday until 10 p.m. and Friday-Saturday until 11 p.m. The bar will remain open one hour after these times. For more information, go to www.stoicandgenuine.com or call 303.640.FISH (3474).

Jennifer Jasinski, left, and Beth Gruitch (Bryan Grant photo). Below, menu items from Stoic & Genuine (Pat ‘Gabby Gourmet’ Miller photos)

America’s television comedy competition is coming to the Paramount Theatre Oct. 22 when NBC’s Emmy Award-nominated series “Last Comic Standing” showcases live.

Season eight of “Last Comic Standing” premiered May 22 on NBC with celebrity judges Roseanne Barr, Keenen Ivory Wayans and Russell Peters and executive producer Wanda Sykes. The laugh-fest returns with an all new group of the world’s funniest comics. 

In “Last Comic Standing”, the top 100 comics in America compete for the top 20 spots. These 20 comics compete in a semifinal round, and as the best of the best emerge, the top 10 move into the challenge rounds. In this phase, they compete in different comedy disciplines – sketch, improv and stand-up – to prove themselves individually and in teams. Then the funniest of all takes the coveted title of “Last Comic Standing,” winning a prize package that includes an NBC talent deal and a half-hour scripted project to be developed by Universal Television.

Tickets are priced at $29.50 and $39.50 and can be purchased at www.AltitudeTickets.com or by phone at 303-893-8497.