* Chefs Up Front, a culinary event slated for 5:30 p.m. March 15 at the Colorado Convention Center, has lined up several top Denver restaurants, including Beatrice & Woodsley (38 S. Broadway), Deluxe (30 S. Broadway), Elway's Cherry Creek (2500 E. First Ave.) and Elway's Downtown (1881 Curtis St.), Rioja (1433 Larimer St.), Table 6 (609 Corona St.), Vesta Dipping Grill (1822 Blake St.), Steuben's (523 E. 17th Ave.) and Restaurant Kevin Taylor (1106 14th St.).

Proceeds from the $200-per-person dinner, which also includes a cocktail reception and silent auction, benefit Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline, a nutrition and education program that teaches families to prepare healthy meals on a budget. For information and tickets: 303-892-8480 or visit join.strength.org/cuf_denver.

* Can you stomach four days of solid gluttony? If so, make plans now to attend the Taste of Vail, the ritzy resort's annual food and wine bonanza that returns for its 19th year beginning April 1. The event kicks off with a Colorado lamb cook-off and ends with a Grand Tasting and dance at the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort & Spa, where local and visiting chefs, plus winemakers, roll out a feast of samples.

The festival also includes a cocktail square-off, numerous food and wine seminars and demonstrations, cigar tastings, wine luncheons and dinners and a mountaintop picnic, which is my favorite culinary distraction of the year.

This year's guest chef lineup is also notable, with toques like Martin Rios of Santa Fe's Geronimo; Marc Forgione, whose namesake New York City restaurant is legendary; Giuseppe Tentori, executive chef at Chicago's Boka; and Enzo Fagione of Teatro Goldini in Washington, D.C., making appearances.

An all-inclusive pass, which gets you into all the signature events and private parties, is $995 per person, while a festival pass (excludes chef showcase dinners) is $600. Tickets are also available for individual events. For all the gustatory details, go to tasteofvail.com.

* All of us are looking for the next best meal deal, and Bistro Vendome, the lovely French restaurant at 1420 Larimer St., is offering several of them. Every night, between 5 and 7 p.m., the romantic food temple is offering a three-course, pre-theater menu for $29 per person, with a starter, entree and dessert. The only stipulation is that you must be seated by 7 p.m.

There is no time constraint, however, Sunday through Thursday evenings, when heaping bowls of mussels and frites are only $9 and Hoegaarden beers, $3. If you'd rather slouch at the bar, don't miss the bistro bites every Monday evening, where you can choose three small bites (from a roster of five) and three wine tastes (from among five selections) for $9. On Tuesday nights, the bistro proffers 10 wines for $20, and on Wednesday evenings chef de cuisine Matt Anderson serves three cheeses (plus accoutrements like poached pears, rose jam and olive tapenade) paired with the same number of wines for $15 per person. Information: bistrovendome.com.

* If you haven't had the opportunity to attend the excellent lecture/tasting series at the Laboratory of Art and Ideas at Belmar (404 S. Upham St.), you're missing out.

The discussions, called Taste Test: Random Encounters in the History and Science of Food, combine food topics (like salt, bacon and mushrooms) with two relevant lectures and a three-course dinner whipped up by a Denver chef. The Thursday night chat-and-chew gatherings start at 6 p.m. with an informal reception, and lectures begin at 6:30 p.m.

The upcoming March lineup spins sugar with D Bar Desserts owner-chef Keegan Gerhard on March 12, followed by an exploration of green chiles with Kevin Taylor, chef-owner of the Kevin Taylor Restaurant Group, on March 19. On March 26, the topic will revolve around pizza with Mark Dym of Marco's Coal-Fired Pizza. The cost is $20 for members and $25 for nonmembers. Call 303-934-1777 or visit belmarlab.org/tastetest09.php for tickets and additional info.