Actor John C. McGinley dined at Elway’s Cherry Creek Monday night.

McGinley is most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in ‘Scrubs,’ Bob Slydell in ‘Office Space,’ Captain Hendrix in the ‘The Rock,’ Sergeant Red O’Neill in Oliver Stone’s ‘Platoon’ and Marv in Stone’s ‘Wall Street.’ ” His most recent role was playing sportscaster Red Barber in the Jackie Robinson biopic, “42.”

He’s in town for the Global Down Syndrome Foundation event, Be Beautiful, Be Yourself Fashion Show.

John C. McGinley in his role in the TV series, “Scrubs.”

Eavesdropping on a man in his late 50s at a local bar who was carded by the bartender: “What, am I too old?”

Sure Denver Restaurant Week tempts us to majorly pig out, but Cherry Creek North restaurants are offering healthy alternatives.

Cherry Creek North has partnered with the American Heart Association on an “I Heart Fridays” campaign in honor of Heart Month.

Here are some offers:

* Free chocolate and wine tasting compliments of the Vineyard Wine Shop and Enstrom Candies (major yum!) in Cherry Creek North. The stores are offering tastings of Enstrom Candies (you should be so lucky if it’s the toffee) along side heart-healthy wines (Lambrusco, Cabernet, Port and Late Harvest Zinfandel) from the Vineyard Wine Shop.

* Cooking demonstration at LeCrueset Heart on Healthy Side Dishes: roasted beets. Recipes provided. Beets are often described as Popeye’s power food (and I thought it was spinach!) for the vegetable’s strong folate and betaine content.

* Denver Restaurant Week kicked off Feb. 22 with 12 Cherry Creek North participating restaurants. The restaurants will offer a multi-course dinner for $30 per person. To keep your heart healthy goal, restaurants such as Happy Sushi & Sake Bar is offering Chukka (seaweed) salad, plus Harman’s Eat + Drink is serving chicken quinoa salad.

The full list of participating Cherry Creek North restaurants can be found at www.denverrestaurantweek.com.

Cherry Creek North has partnered with Denver’s American Heart Association to help raise awareness of heart disease. I Heart Fridays is a way to show some love to Cherry Creek North visitors.

For a full list of Heart Fridays events, locations and offers, visit www.cherrycreeknorth.com.

Colorado’s landmark restaurant, The Fort in Morrison, will host its first wedding expo and private dining showcase from noon. to 2 p.m. March 1.

This free event will feature vendors that specialize in a wide range of wedding services as well as highlight The Fort’s unique private dining spaces for meeting, ceremony and large gathering purposes.

The Fort has hosted many weddings and special events over the years including the G8 Summit hosted by President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton.

One of The Fort’s specialties for celebrations is to tomahawk the champagne, in place of sabering the champagne, as is the custom in France. There will be demonstrations at this Expo of tomahawking (and drinking) the champagne.

Many people including brides and grooms have chosen to arrive or leave their wedding event by helicopter, as The Fort has an official helipad, and commercial helicopter service is always available.

Brides, grooms and wedding planners are invited to attend this free event to connect with florists, photographers, bakeries, entertainers and more to sample and give vision to their very special days. The following companies have been hand-chosen to participate in the showcase:

Wedding Planning Services
My Wedding Cookbook

Beauty
Antoine Du Chez Salon

Florists
Plum Sage
Hawk Flowers

Bakeries
Mulberries Cake Shop
GiGi Cupcakes

Entertainment
Many Winds Music
Bill Barwick

Venues and Officiants
Christian Ministry
The Chapel at Red Rocks
Marriot Lakewood

Photography and Videography Vendors
ABC Music, Video and Photography
Katie Neuman Photography

Transportation
Premier Charters

Stationary
Good News Greeting Cards

Seamstress

Leanne Priday

Alongside the invited vendors, The Fort will also present samples of appetizers, game meats and unique desserts for guests to try. Attendees are encouraged to peruse the private dining spaces and beautiful views for weddings and rehearsal dinners.

“We’re very excited for our first Wedding Expo & Private Dining Showcase event,” said private dining manager Jennefer Weeks. “The vendors we’ve invited will provide a wide range of wedding details in one place, helping couples and wedding planners develop themes and draw inspiration. The Fort is such a beautiful venue, and we hope that presenting the property as we would on a wedding day will entice brides and grooms to share their special day here.”

The Showcase is not entirely wedding focused, but also presents The Fort’s private dining spaces as ideal corporate meeting or family gathering venues. The restaurant boasts nine unique private dining rooms, varying in size.

To RSVP and for more information on The Fort’s Wedding Expo & Private Dining Showcase, contact Weeks at banquets@thefort.com or call 303-697-2282. 

The Historic Downtown Littleton Merchant’s Association is hosting a two-night Mardi Gras party on Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, March 1. Live music, Cajun food, bead bars in several of the bars and restaurants.

People are being exhorted to wear their best purple, green and gold clothes. Among the participants are Reinke Brothers, Romano’s Italian Restaurant, The Tavern Littleton, Jake’s Brew Bar, In Tea, Olde Towne Tavern, Ned Kelly’s Irish Pub, Merle’s, McKinners Pizza Bar and Platte River Bar & Grill.

Lucile’s Creole Café (the Littleton locale) is having a Creole brunch on March 2 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. with live music.

I’d rather be in New Orleans but this will have to do. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Sign seen on South Broadway in Denver: “I’ve wanted to run away from home a lot more as a grownup than I did when I was a kid.”

Hold Please Productions delivers another comedy showcase with “Jokes, Frivolity & Stand Up: March Madness” at Jake’s Food & Spirits at 3800 Walnut St. on March 8.

March Madness stars headliner Stephanie McHugh, who is a regular in the Denver comedy scene; feature performer Brent Gill. Guest sets by comedian Rubi Nicholas who is a first generation Muslim woman of Pakistani descent, comedian Leah Mansfield, comedian Christine Lederman, and comedian Jeff Albright who started doing stand-up comedy on Feb. 20, 2013 (his 39th birthday) and has not looked back since.  The night’s emcee will be Terri Barton Gregg, AKA “The Hebrew Hairdresser” with host Gary Washington who blames everything on his manager.

Tickets are $5 at the door or in advance with priority seating at www.JakesDenver.com.  There is a two-drink minimum with an optional dinner package for four available with purchase of a ticket. The show starts at 8 p.m. For general admission reservations, call 303 295-3500.

Denver’s reputation for the thinnest residents in the nation may go on hold for seven days, when more than 300 of the city’s top eateries offer an astonishing array of steaks, fish, pasta, sushi, desserts, drinks, and more for Denver Restaurant Week.

Organized by Visit Denver, the 10^th annual Denver Restaurant Week will run from Feb. 22-28.  During DRW, some 313 participating restaurants will offer multi-course dinners for the fixed price of $30 per person, tax and tip not included.

“The fun of restaurant week is to grab some friends, go to the website, and go out on the town,” said Richard Scharf, president and CEO of Visit Denver. “You’ll get a great deal and a bill that is very easy to split.”

Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock wore chef’s “whites” and joined 50 of the participating chefs at a kick-off event, stating, “Denver Restaurant Week is a gift from restaurants to their most loyal patrons, the people who live, work and play in Denver.  In great cities, the chefs are as popular as the sports heroes, and we encourage everyone in the city to get out this week and be a restaurant fan,” he said.

DRW was created by Visit Denver in 2005 to elevate Denver’s dining reputation both locally and nationally.

Here are some tips to make Denver Restaurant Week be your best experience. Speakers at the press event stressed proper etiquette for DRW including:

• Never make more than one reservation for each night;
• If you cannot honor your reservation, cancel as soon as possible;
• Remember to tip your server on what the meal would cost without the Restaurant Week discount;
• Consider getting a bottle of wine with dinner (under Colorado law, you can take any unfinished wine with you.

All year long, but particularly during DRW, restaurants and diners alike are encouraged to use the new #denverYUM hashtag when posting photos of delicious food on all social media platforms, including Instagram.

Denver Restaurant Week is not possible without the support of sponsors including: Lexus, Alamos Winery, Edna Valley Vineyard, Mirassou Winery, Louis M. Martini Winery, William Hill Winery, US Foods, Frontier Airlines Johnson & Wales University, Open Table, the Colorado Restaurant Association and the Downtown Denver Partnership Business Improvement District. Media partners include Westword/Westword.com, 5280 The Denver Magazine, the Denver Post and Comcast.

For more information, visit: www.DenverRestaurantWeek.com, or www.EatDrinkDenver.com.

Ever wondered which cocktail to pair with your Korean takeout or European comfort food? Chef Rich Byers and beverage director Ben Anderson at The Corner Office Restaurant + Martini Bar in The Curtis Hotel in downtown Denver, have the answers.

Byers, Anderson and the rest of the culinary team regularly take guests on a multi-cultural journey with dishes and drinks inspired by various countries around the globe. Now, they are helping guests choose the best sips to wash down each regional cuisine:

• Mexican – Byers recommends pairing his Baja Fish Tacos with the “Just Another Goat Rodeo” cocktail (Milagro silver tequila, Liquor 43, blackberry, pepper, honey and lime).
• Korean – The restaurant’s Bibimbap pairs well with the” Starlight” cocktail (St. Germain, Leopold’s Absinthe, lime, mint + ginger beer).
• France – A dish as hearty as The Corner Office’s Steak Frites will complement the masculine elements of the TCO Manhattan (Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Carpano Antica Formula and Campari; aged in-house in 10 liter barrels for three weeks).
• Southern USA – The Templeton Sazerac (Templeton Rye, Demerara, Peychaud’s bitters and absinthe) with an order of a southern classic, shrimp and grits.

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