There were six key things we took away from Aspen Food & Wine 2017, but we didn’t stop there. We chased down some of the biggest names that were wandering Aspen to ask them what the best restaurants are in Denver. Johnny Iuzzini, head judge on “Top Chef: Just Desserts”: Avanti Food & Beverage, ChoLon, Beast + Bottle, Cart Driver, Uncle. For dessert: Duo, D Bar, Spuntino, Sweet Action, Little Man Ice Cream Andrew Zimmern, host of “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern”: Tacos Jaliscos Graham Elliot, judge on “MasterChef,” “MasterChef Junior” and “Top Chef”: The Kitchen Next Door and Acorn Gail Simmons, judge on “Top Chef”: Mercantile Dining & Provision, Acorn, Hop Alley, Euclid Hall Nilou Motamed, Food & Wine magazine editor: Snooze, Departure, Hop Alley, Acorn, Mercantile Dining & Provision, Poka Lola Social Club (“I’m obsessed with their margaritas”), Pigtrain Coffee Company Stephanie Izard, “Top Chef” winner and newest Iron Chef: Concourse Restaurant Moderne, Mercantile Dining & Provision Daniel Boulud, host of “After Hours with Daniel” and all-around culinary deity: Frasca Food and Wine
Graham Elliott giving dap to Next Door (I work for the restaurant group for The Kitchens and Next Doors). He used to work with our Culinary Director though so he's def helping out a friend. Have to think that's what the Wine Editor is doing by naming Snooze.
Bummer. I was actually curious if there would be any snow still up there, despite the recent wave of very warm weather across the state. May be up around Steamboat the weekend after the 4th of July and was going to entertain the idea of hiking it.
From what I heard in town they got 4 miles in then the creek was impassable, then somebody did go through and turned around due to snow. Park service is out cleaning the trails to the extent possible but said looking like mid July at this rate.
So wondering where I should stay, golden or in Denver in a few nights. We want to hit up the Coors brewery but also want to be able to get to the airport easily. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Probably depends on if you want city or more relaxing attractions. Did airbnb in downtown golden within a stone's throw of the coor's factory last year. We loved it. Great hiking nearby and downtown was fun in a quiet way.
Stay in Denver. The Coors tour really isn't that great. A ton of better breweries within 10 minutes of downtown Denver.
This is right next to my office. It has been posted up all day http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_31099266/bear-climbs-up-tree-at-16th-and-spruce A bear has decided to take an early nap in a tree near 16th and Spruce streets today. The bear was first spotted at around 8 a.m. today. Officials have closed the entire block off from16th and Spruce in front of The Bradley Inn to the alley near Pearl and 16th streets, and are asking people to stay away from the area. Rangers are hoping the bear will come down on its own later in the day and make its way towards the foothills.
For any resident Gator fans in the area (CUgator ?) or just Rockies fans in general, the Gator club in Denver is doing a Rockies game night on Aug 2nd. $15 gets you a rooftop ticket and a $6 voucher to use toward concessions (so almost a free beer). Just use the code FLA17 to access. https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/co...home/b40eed0cbf4a89acb64562fcf97dbeaae1e27bb0
Unfortunately, I live in Tampa. Not a day (or hour, this time of year) that goes by that I don't think about moving back or what the hell I was thinking when I left.
Had lunch at Hedge Row today as part of their soft open. Very impressed. All of the vegetables my group tried (asparagus, roasted carrots and the green beans) were outstanding. Fish taco lettuce wraps were awesome and the hummus was quite good too, although the hummus needed some pita or better veggies to dip in it. The burger I had was probably the least favorite thing I had but was still good and a big portion. The salmon my girlfriend got was better, though.
Appreciate the feedback. I just went tonight with a few friends. Like you said, the food was on point. Everyone enjoyed what they got. I was there at about 7:30 so they began 86'ing things, which is good that they were going through everything but selfishly I wanted them available to try. But as an employee, I'll be back to try more (mole short rib is one that got away). Think there is some real potential to do well with the location and having the corner of that busy intersection.
I've seen a lot of really cool places posted in here lately but it's hard to choose one or two.. Me and the best friend are heading to denver for the weekend and need to know of a restaurant and bar we must try while there
Yeah think it's a pretty standard offering that they do and one they frequently will offer large groups as well. Nothing too special. But if you want to talk about William Larry Muschamp then I'm all ears.
El Five is pretty badass and has great views of the city. It's new and I'd definitely look into booking a reservation. Also if you did go here, prepare to spend like $100. Not nearly as expensive, but really awesome in a tiny setting is Hop Alley. Where are you staying? You live in the Springs now, right?
what kind of places are you into? what kind of food? dive bar or club or brewery? where are you staying?
dive bars and breweries were into more. not picky eaters at all, enjoy good food..as long as it's not vegetarian
haven't picked a place where we are staying yet..we have visited RiNo which is a really cool place and wouldn't mind staying around there.
I'd recommend staying near the Highlands. Close proximity to downtown ($10 uber), very walkable neighborhood with lots of cool spots to eat and drink. Highland tap and burger has good beer and bar food Uncle is next door with very good ramen The matador is also there with very good Mexican Sushi Hi is nearby You can uber to explore some good breweries, I'd check- Cerebral Brewing Great divide Epic brewing Ratio beerworks Denver beer company Spangalang Brewing Call to arms Brewing Wynkoop brewing I'd also look at first draft as a cool spot to hit. And tap 14 if you want a spot with a bunch of different CO brews.
I also direct people to Denver biscuit company to all out of towners, the franklin is very popular in this thread
When I was parking my jeep at the airport last week in Denver I walked by a vehicle that had a sticker on it saying, "Thanks for visiting, now get the hell out of my state"
Gonna read this thread later for ideas, but just booked a flight in September for a long weekend and show at Red Rocks. What's the best part of town to look for a hotel?
Go on Priceline and book one of the 4 star express deals downtown. Always get Hyatt, Sheraton, Weston etc. You can uber or walk to any area from downtown.
Sturgill? I'm staying at the Sheraton downtown. Seems to be relatively well located to a bunch of shit.
The people who go out of their way to let you know they're a native are fucking worse than I-25 traffic at the Mile High curve on Friday at 3:45pm in a rain storm.
I will be in town 9/29-10/2 for a couples trip. Staying downtown at the Sheraton. The other couple are good friends w/ a local and she has volunteered to drive us around to brewery hop. We started a shared google map and have about 40 breweries on the list. Are there particular parts of town you would recommend we concentrate our focus? It seems like Lodo and Rino seem the most logical. Somebody recommended this brewery tour ( https://www.denvermicrobrewtour.com/ ) but you only stop at four in Lodo, or four in Rino (one of which is a cidery). I know we're going to hit up Highland Tap and Burger for the KSU/Baylor game Saturday as they have a alumni watch party. I'm hoping the kickoff is 10:00 MST so we can do brunch and brewery hop afterwards. Food-wise we aren't picky and plan to go with the flow and get recommendations from bartenders/brewers while drinking. Do Rockies or Broncos games jam up the breweries/bars pretty bad or are there enough options where it isn't crazy? Rockies have a home game Saturday evening and both the Rockies/Broncos play at home on Sunday afternoon
Places will definitely be busier for the Broncos. Anything near Coors Field on Saturday night is going to be busy as far as bars go, regardless of the Rockies, since so many popular places are within a few blocks of there. But there will likely be a pre-game rush on the bars, then it'll die down until later when most people come out. Probably better off hanging in RiNo or Highlands that night. If you're going to have a person to drive you around, Tennyson St area up in Berkeley neighborhood is a cool area. Hops & Pie (a personal favorite of mine) is there. Great pizza/sandwiches and always one of the better rotating taps around town for great beer. More of a laid back area too. Also checking out Golden would be a cool option during the day. Could do a short little hike to get some views overlooking Golden. They've got a few good breweries (other than Coors) and some great little places to eat. Another area that has a good concentration of bars and some solid restaurants is South Broadway a few miles south of downtown. More hipster, less douche down that way. Those are just a few other options outside of the immediate downtown area if you guys are wanting to expand out. But RiNo may be the best overall place in terms of rock solid bars/breweries/restaurants and a little bit less debauchery from LoDo and the college age type crowd. If you have a type of food or restaurant you prefer, let me know. Should have plenty of suggestions.
appreciate the info. I've been to Golden on a couple occasions for the Coors brewery tour as a ski-trip rest day. We're thinking of checking out Boulder, is it worth the drive? We definitely want to do something outside even if it is just a brief hike
Yes, totally worth it. Hit up The Sink and Pearl St. If you're planning on hiking you should go up Chautauqua which is on the South side of Boulder by The Hill.