B&E: Not your typical “filling station” food.

A restaurant with the words “filling station” in its name could go a variety of ways. You might be walking into a too-cutesy converted gas station with ruffled curtains and roosters all over the tables, or some nightmare concept eatery with “pumps” of ketchup and servers with faux grease stains on their aprons and attitude to match.

Or it could be one of those places that really is a filling station with a few tables in the back and coffee that tastes like gasoline.

And then again, it could be that the space actually once was a gas station, and the name is just cool and also happens to refer to the fact that the artfully decorated, cozy space serves hearty portions that do indeed fill you up.

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Anyone with half a brain cell and interest in culture knows Denver has had a fertile underground music and arts scene for several years now. Less visible, however, is our alternative comics scene (and no, I don’t mean indie stand-ups, although we have a kickass scene of those, too). I mean comics, as in comic books and cartoons.

The Mile High City’s finest of the bunch will get together on Saturday at the Tattered Cover bookstore in LoDo for the Cowtown Alternative Comix Fest, which offers and presentations and exhibits of the work of John Porcellino, Noah Van Sciver, Lonnie Allen, Will Barnes, John Bueno, Patty Leidy, Ozzy Longoria, John Peters, Ron Ruelle, Felix Tannenbaum, Stan Yan and more.

I chatted with co-organizer Porcellino, of the internationally-renowned King Cat Comix, in advance of the event.

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Xiao Long Bao dumplings with broth steamed inside from Lao Wang Noodle House, 945 D S. Federal, Denver. File photo by Gil Asakawa of The Denver Post.

If you miss the doting presence of your grandparents, you’ll love Lao Wang Noodle House.

The 7-year-old Taiwanese storefront on South Federal Boulevard — along the same grubby strip as addictive eateries J’s Noodles and Pho Duy — is run by an elderly duo so hands-on and opinionated you’ll feel your grammy and gramps are looking over your shoulder every step of the way (if your grandparents were Asian immigrants, that is).

Noodles, as you may have guessed, are king here — so much so that ordering a soup without them will result in dissuading finger wags and furrowed brows. Fresh, chewy and flavorful, the noodles overflow from Lao Wang’s signature Niu Rou Mien beef soup ($7.95), a five-spice offering with lava-colored broth and liberal chunks of meat.

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The Regal Watering Hole is a slice of the good life in Aspen.

It’s a little disorienting going from Denver to Aspen. When Saturday nights frequently find you rambling home along Colfax Avenue, laughing it up with the beautiful people in the looming shadow of Aspen Mountain creates just a touch of cognitive dissonance: Who am I? Why am I here? What is this strange land of plenty, with private jets flying overhead?

At that moment of confusion, it’s best to just let go. Even though you’re the one from the big city, Aspen can make you feel like a rube — even now, in the off-season. The locals are ferociously proud, the adopted locals even more so and the tourists are there to feel pretty and rich.

With skiing out of the question, it’s a good thing there are plenty of places to get a drink.

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Twisters makes eminently American, car-friendly New Mexican meals. Photo from twistersgrill.com.

There’s really nothing good about eating while you’re driving. It’s dangerous, messy and an insult to whatever it is you’re munching on. Your lunch deserves your full attention.

But eating in a car, a parked car, is a different story. It’s still messy, but there’s something about sitting in your own little cage, cranking the radio as loud as you want, and munching on a drive-through burrito that’s just so American and wonderful.

You can’t beat Griff’s when it comes to car-bound burgers, but when it comes to hand-held burritos, don’t discount Twisters, a small New Mexico chain with three area locations.

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