Who’s got the Milwaukee’s Best?

Bust out the Clorox. It’s Memorial Day weekend, the kickoff party for summer, and white threads are officially in for the season. While it’s true that the white-after-Memorial-Day rule is largely outmoded, clubs and bars are still throwing “white partiesâ€? all over town. Any excuse, right?

“It’s kind of a Miami thing,â€? says Brad Roulier, owner of LoDo club Beta (1909 Blake St.). “It definitely came from the gay scene, since Memorial Day is when it’s socially acceptable to wear white.â€?

For Roulier, Beta’s white party isn’t really about marking a change in fashion and seasons. In fact, he dismisses the parties as “cliché.� ‘We had no intention of doing a white party,� he says. “I think everyone in the city has a white party.� Then along came promoter JFly Presents with an interesting idea, and now Beta’s throwing a white party — but with a twist.

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Louisville’s Empire Lounge and Restaurant features well-executed American dishes.

You gotta love a place that puts “lounge” before “restaurant” in its name — Empire Lounge and Restaurant clearly has their priorities straight. Not that the well-executed American menu (grilled leg of lamb with goat cheese, polenta-crusted onion rings, charred-chili skirt steak) takes a back seat, but the cocktails (including the boozy house lemonade, made with a different infused vodka every week) set a relaxing, friends-and-family tone. 816 Main St., Louisville, 303-665-2521.

– Tucker Shaw

Born in the Flood (above) is one of several Denver acts that will play Stand By Your Band III on Saturday. Photo by Brian Carney.

You know that sense of community the local media writes so much about in the Denver music scene? It’ll be in full flower at the Hi-Dive on Saturday when it hosts Stand By Your Band III, the third installment of a local indie rock mix-and-match.

Members of Born in the Flood, Everything Absent or Distorted, Hot IQs, Mothership and d. biddle will unite to benefit DenverKickstand, a not-for-profit organization “committed to supporting, educating and developing the Denver independent music scene in order to further establish the cultural significance of Denver as a city and independent music as an art form.”

And wait until you see how it works.

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Encore (above) and other Denver restaurants and watering holes are opening their warm-weather patios soon.

It’s getting to be that excruciating, teeth-gritting time of year. The time when the trees are sprouting lovely new leaves, flowers are waving gently in the breeze, flip-flops are by the door — and then it snows.

Shake a fist at the sky, smack your forehead, do whatever it takes to release the frustration. Summer is taking its sweet time coming, but we must endure. Patio drinks are worth the wait.

Once we hit the dog days, strap on those flip-flops and explore some new places to enjoy a cold one in the sun. Just this week, two local favorites are opening brand-new patios to cater to Coloradans’ love of outdoor imbibing…

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Ignore Jaya Asian Grill’s unassuming exterior and dive into the host of tasty menu options.

Strip-mall location, nondescript storefront, generic name: Looking at Jaya Asian Grill from the outside, I was hard put to distinguish it from the average greasy chopstick where some jack-of-all-noodles, master of none, blurs the lines between pad, mein and bun. But I’m glad I finally managed, because from the inside, Jaya resembles the sort of Eastern gem that remains all too rare in these parts.

Granted, it doesn’t exactly sparkle. The entry staircase leads down to a small, spare basement space brightened only slightly by chile- red walls. But a full bar in the corner offers a glimmer of recognition that Jaya’s no typical takeout joint. So does the wine list, which promises “a constantly changing selection of wines to suit your palate.” Sure, it lists only four varietals. But order one and then watch, charmed, as your smiling waitress plucks three or four different bottles from a shelf behind the bar and plunks them down on your table for you to scrutinize.

Of course, it’s the multifaceted menu that really shines.

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