There are two ways to kick off or finish a baseball game: beer and French fries. The newly opened Ice House Tavern, which has taken over the old Via space at 18th and Wynkoop, has both—in great supply. The restaurant forgoes the standard fry (golden potato and salt) for generous portions of gourmet varieties, like rib-rub spiced fries with blue cheese ranch dressing, sticky sweet potato fries glazed with ginger and sprinkled with sesame seeds, and thick-cut steak fries with sea salt and vinegar.

Pair the snacks with a hoppy Sierra Nevada, Deschutes organic amber, or Ice House’s own ale—all of which come in 16- or 20-ounce glasses or by the pitcher—and enjoy the combination out on the breezy patio. Before or after a game, there’s not much more you could want.

1801 Wynkoop St., Ste. 150, 303-292-3775

The healthy-lunch revolution began in Berkeley with culinary gurus like Alice Waters of Chez Panisse and Ann Cooper, a former professional chef and the brain behind Berkeley’s reconcepted school lunches. It recently spread to Colorado, when Boulder Valley schools hired Cooper to reinvent their meal service for the coming school year. And starting next month, Revolution Foods (also a Bay area company) will bring its organic, homemade meals into Denver schools.

Revolution Foods set up shop three years ago, servicing charter schools, summer schools, and head-start programs. The company plans to take the same approach to growth in Colorado, first introducing its fresh meals (like barbecue chicken and corn, or fresh noodles and bok choy) into alternative schools, then going mainstream. (So far the company reports a lot of local interest.)

Revolution Foods has a key partnership with Whole Foods, which provides products for the company’s lunches when it can. When it can’t, the grocer connects the healthy-eats company with suppliers. So when kids are eating a peach in their Rev Foods lunch, they are enjoying the very same product that shoppers pick from Whole Foods’ shelves.

In the context of school lunches, this is almost ideal. Although Revolution Foods may be in its Denver infancy, the company promises great potential for local students’ nutrition.

The brother-and-sister duo behind Cherry Creek’s Cucina Colore and the founders of downtown’s Cafe Colore have opened a new eatery, Colore Pizzeria Moderna. With this restaurant, the siblings go beyond the central-Denver, Italian-bistro concept that brought them success. The new establishment holds down a corner in the heart of Englewood, and it serves up casual fare.

Place an order at the counter, where owner Caroline Momo-Torres often mans the register, and then grab a seat in the airy dining room. Shortly, a draft Moretti or a cold bottled Peroni will be on your table, with fresh salads, golden calzones, or bubbly pizzas to follow.

Momo-Torres says her pizza menu is a list of the best pies that Cucina Colore and Cafe Colore (now owned by Keith Arnold and Stephanie Bonin of Olivea and Duo) have served over the years, but the ambiance, salads, beer and wine selection are what stood out when I visited.

The entree-sized vegetale salad (leafy greens, roasted veggies, olives, feta, and sun-dried tomatoes) tosses together salty Mediterranean flavors. The pizza, however, is a more standard, Friday-night version of the cheesy pie. No Neapolitan crust, prosciutto, or European cheeses—just sausage, peppers, pineapple, and the like—which makes it a good option for take-out if you live nearby.

Bonus: Colore Pizzeria holds its ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, July 11 at 10:30 a.m., followed by a pizza party.

2700 S. Broadway, 303-761-4332

The late-season snowstorms that hit the Western Slope this spring put a damper on the cherry crop. While you can still drive to Paonia and find the dark, juicy fruits by the handful, they are in such sort supply that they haven’t been shipped widely across the state. But finding a Colorado Bing in the city isn’t entirely impossible.

Head to the Boulder Farmers’ Market, where the First Fruits stall sells Paonia-grown cherries. Macerate these in vodka, stir them into scone batter, or simply pop them plain like candy.

If you prefer to avoid shopping and kitchen prep, there are several local eateries that pay homage to the fruit, D Bar Desserts among them. The Uptown hotspot makes a Black Forest Cake Waffle—a tower of warm chocolate waffles, cherry compote (a blend of Amarena, Griottine, and farmers’ market cherries), Kirsch cream, and chocolate sauce.

The forecast predicts 90-degree highs throughout this week–meaning lunch is about finding the coolest seat and most refreshing eats possible. At the House of Commons, an English tea house in Lower Highland, the walls are painted in breezy whites and blues, lifting the day’s heavy heat as soon as you take a seat.

Order a lightly tart Royal Ascot iced tea and a Piccadilly sandwich. The cool tea blends sweet lemonade and crisp raspberry-rosehip tea–just the right mix to complement a sandwich of buttery Irish cheddar, English pickle relish, lettuce, tomato, and cucumber.

2401 15th St., 303-455-4832

When absinthe became legal in the United States in 2007 (95 years after its prohibition), bartenders served up the herbal liquor traditionally–with water and burned sugar–as well as in cocktails like the Sazerac, a nose-tingling concoction of rye whiskey, lemon, bitters, and absinthe.

Soon after legalization (although not without frustrations), chefs were making absinthe cakes and ice cream, and today, foodies are applying creative twists using the pungent drink. My favorite so far is Wen Chocolates‘ Rue Royal truffle.

Released a couple months ago, the elegant dark-chocolate candy is inspired by the Sazerac, and appropriately flavored with absinthe, rye whiskey, lemon peel, and bitters. Unlike the cocktail, the truffle, tempered by its rich chocolate, is a soft blend of its signature ingredients, and makes for a trendy dessert at home or at a dinner party.

Wen Chocolates, 1541 Platte St., 303-477-5765

When the restaurant smoking ban went into effect in 2006, the Cherry Cricket’s back patio effectively became the smokers’ patio. If you wanted to enjoy one of the restaurant’s signature juicy burgers outside, you’d have to do it in the air of lit cigarettes–which left many diners eating inside in the middle of summer.

The Cricket, though, has finally remedied this problem. While the back patio remains a smoker’s haven, the new outdoor seating area in front, which opened last week, counts about 20 tables that are smoke-free. The narrow row of two- and four-tops faces Second Avenue, making for good people-watching. And its awning keeps the patio shady almost all day long. For a laidback meal in Cherry Creek, it’s going to be hard to find a better spot during the summer.

Bonus: Snag a seat on the Cricket’s patio this weekend to catch all the activity of the Cherry Creek Arts Festival–with a cool brew in hand.

2641 E. Second Ave., 303-322-7666