T-Street Roadhouse: Redefining Fine Dining in Lakewood

The T-Street Roadhouse in Belmar is just about ready to open, and a peak inside reveals a modern vibe that's stylish and hip in a way I've never seen before in Lakewood.

With marble topped tables, Chesterfield sofas in saddle tan leather, and a long bar illuminated by Isamu Noguchi-inspired pendants, the T-Street Roadhouse would be right at home in Denver's LoHi, RiNo, or Cherry Creek.

I'll come right out and say it: if the food's as good as the decor, T-Street is going to be Belmar and downtown Lakewood's first "it" restaurant.

This isn't to say that I don't enjoy the decor in Belmar's current crop of restaurants, but T-Street is clearly going for a more designed, more contemporary look. The only space in Belmar that's as nice, in my view, is the elegant dining room at Little India, which the owners inherited in large part from the now-defunct Mark & Isabella's.

Of course, if nice decor was all that mattered, Mark & Isabella's would still be around. Service matters, as does value, and of course there's the little matter of the food.

So, will the food at T-Street be any good? We'll find out soon enough, but the owners have a good track record, and they're clearly trying to raise the bar on what qualifies as fine dining in Lakewood.

In Photos: New Vistas

For those of us who've lived in Belmar since the beginning (or even the near beginning), it's pretty amazing to walk down the streets of downtown Lakewood and see the new, urban vistas that have sprung up out of the vacant lots to become a part of our daily routine.

Huge Turnout for Democratic Caucuses in Downtown Lakewood

The Democratic caucuses brought out huge crowds in downtown Lakewood last night for the contest between candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Organizers said that, although they were expecting large crowds, actual turnout was four times what had been predicted. Parking was non existent, and long lines formed as people waited to get in.

Owing to the crowds, the process took over three hours. Caucus-goers gathered in the gymnasium at Alameda Junior/Senior High School. Speeches were kept to a minimum, and runners guided voters to the individual classrooms where their precincts organized.

Official results haven't been posted, but my impression from asking around was that Bernie Sanders won roughly two thirds of the delegates in most precincts, with Hillary Clinton picking up the remainder.