This plaque featuring Billie Holiday graces the old Rossonian Hotel and harks back to the days when Five Points drew musicians from all over the country to perform. The Rossonian, which reminds me a bit of the Brown Palace, is a beautiful old building. The last few times I’ve been to Five Points, I’ve noticed the plastic on the inside of the windows, indicating that a remodel might be taking place. I’ve never seen any activity from the outside, though.

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Head over to the Uptown neighborhood on Tuesday night (the vernal equinox) from 5 to 8:30 for the Uptown Sampler. There will be a bus to haul you from restaurant to restaurant for the samples. (It’s a pretty long walk from one end of Uptown to the other, so you’ll probably want the bus. To get to Uptown itself, take the 12 or the 20 from Market Street Station.)

It looks like D Bar Desserts is not participating, sadly, but their food isn’t very expensive. Go there after the sampler ends for one of their superb desserts (see the cake and shake below).

On Wednesday, the Fillmore is hosting Dish Westword Menu Affair, an event along the same lines as the Uptown Sampler and Tasty Colfax and LoDo Bites. There will be a chef cookoff, with Keegan Gerhard of D Bar Desserts providing commentary and the Informants providing “background” music. Dish, which runs from 7 to 10:30, benefits Food Bank of the Rockies. The Fillmore is located at Colfax and Clarkson; the 15 bus will get you there.

Advance tickets for both events are $20; more the day of the event.

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For the first time this season, we turned on the heat. Fall is here.