DENVER

BAKERIES, COFFEE, ICE CREAM, JUICE & TEA
●Babette’s Bakery – 3350 Brighton Boulevard; 303-993-8602; babettesbakery.com; try barley-flake porridge bread.
●Little Man Ice Cream – 2620 16^th Street; 303-455-3811; littlemanicecream.com.



BARS & NIGHTCLUBS
●CapRock Farm Bar – 3350 Brighton Boulevard (at Source marketplace); 303-828-7887; facebook.com/CapRockFarmBar.
●Cholon – 1555 Blake Street; 303-353-5223; cholon.com; Vietnamese; great bar scene.
●City, O City – 206 East 13^th Avenue; 303-831-6443; cityocitydenver.com; Vegetarian restaurant & Bohemian haunt.
●Green Russell – 1422 Larimer Street; 303-893-6505; greenrussell.com; all signs on outside are for actual pie shop; when enter, either go to pie shop (excellent Banana Cream Pie) or Green Russell, where someone will lead you through “employees only” door down into basement, which looks like old school speakeasy; can order off menu or just tell bartenders favorite liquor and let them create something; takes while (they handcraft your drink using hand-chipped ice, crushed fruits/herbs, hand shaking).
●Punch Bowl Social – 65 Broadway; 303-765-2695; punchbowlsocial.com; so you want to play arcade games, bowl & have a drink.
●Root Down – 1600 West 33^rd Avenue; 303-993-4200; rootdowndenver.com; try Blackberry Smash.
●Williams & Graham – 3160 Tejon Street; 303-997-8886; williamsandgraham.com; speakeasy-type atmosphere.



HOTELS
●Brown Palace Hotel – 321 17^th Street; 303-297-3111 or 800-321-2599; brownpalace.com; 100 years-old; interesting history, romantic atmosphere, regional personality, and impeccable service; National Historic Landmark; Colorado red granite and Arizona sandstone; lobby walls paneled with Mexican onyx and elaborate cast-iron grillwork surrounds 6 balcony tiers up to stained-glass ceiling; every president since 1905 (except Calvin Coolidge) has visited hotel; ask for stateroom on 9^th floor (cordless phones, big-screen TVs, fridges, fax/printers, and safes).
●Hotel Teatro – 1100 14^th Street; 303-228-1100 or 888-727-1200; hotelteatro.com; gorgeous rooms, updated, spacious, and comfortable.
●Lodge & Spa at Cordillera – 2205 Cordillera Way; 970-926-2200 or 800-877-3529; cordilleralodge.com; 20-year mountain top property; outdoor fire-pit very romantic.
●Oxford Hotel – 1600 17^th Street; 303-628-5400 or 800-228-5838; theoxfordhotel.com; simple red sandstone facade and interior with marble walls, stained-glass windows, frescoes, and silver chandeliers, all restored using Edbrooke’s original drawings; on National Register of Historic Places; no 2 units are alike (they’re either Art Deco or Victorian in style).



RESTAURANTS
●Acorn – 3350 Brighton Boulevard (at Source marketplace); 720-542-3721; denveracorn.com/about-acorn; sk for table 23.
●Buckhorn Exchange – 1000 Osage Street; 303-534-9505; buckhorn.com; American regional; in same rickety premises where established in 1893; displays its Colorado Liquor License No. 1 above bar in upstairs saloon; densely decorated dining room, dominated by daunting taxidermy menagerie; game dishes (slow-roasted buffalo prime rib, elk, pheasant, and quail) are good; for dessert, try hot Dutch apple pie.
●Cholon – 1555 Blake Street; 303-353-5223; cholon.com; Vietnamese.
●City, O City – 206 East 13^th Avenue; 303-831-6443; cityocitydenver.com; Vegetarian restaurant & Bohemian haunt.
●Colt & Gray – 1533 Platte Street; 303-477-1447; coltandgray.com; part gastropub, part serious restaurant; farm-sourced and local ingredients; fireplace decorated with antlers; stick with “small plates”; make sure to try Bacon & Cashew Caramel Corn.
●El Taco de Mexico – 714 Santa Fe Drive; 303-623-3926; hole-in-wall; famous for green chile with borchata.
●Fort – 19192 Colorado 8 (just north of intersection of Colorado 8 and West Hampden Avenue/U.S. 285, Morrison, 18 miles southwest (and 800' up) from downtown); 303-697-4771; thefort.com; American regional food; building hand-constructed of adobe bricks in 1962 as full-scale reproduction of Bent’s Fort, Colorado’s 1^st fur-trading post; late owner, Sam Arnold, gregarious master chef known to open champagne bottles with tomahawk; reputation built on buffalo, of which it claims to serve largest variety and greatest quantity in world.
●Fruition – 1313 East 6^th Avenue; 303-831-1962; fruitionrestaurant.com; exterior looks deceptively like neighborhood bistro; perfect pasta carbonara; owns farm that produces much on menu; reasonably priced.
●Green Russell – 1422 Larimer Street; 303-893-6505; greenrussell.com; described as chef-driven, cocktail restaurant; highly regarded.
●Interstate Kitchen & Bar – 1001 Santa Fe Drive; 720-479-8829; interstaterestaurant.com; Lori Spence Galloway’s favorite Denver restaurant; comfort food & hooch; mean, no-frills ground chuck burger stuffed inside brioche bun can be adorned with applewood-smoked bacon, fried egg, avocado, grilled mushrooms, and/or bleu cheese; meat comes from Mile High’s Anderson Family Steak.
●Lou’s Food Bar – 1851 38^th Avenue (Sunnyside); 303-458-0336; lousfoodbar.com; American rendition of French bistro; emphasis on appetizers.
●Mizuna – 225 East 7^th Avenue; 303-832-4778; mizunadenver.com; legendary; lobster mac & cheese is decadent and must-have item.
●Novo – 1200 Acoma, Unit A101; 720-496-4146; novocoffee.com; in Denver Art Museum; coffee and eats.
●Osaka Ramen – 2611 Walnut Street; 303-955-7938; osakaramendenver.com; busy restaurant & bar specializing in ramen bowls plus other Japanese food in playful setting.
●Park Burger – 1890 South Pearl Street; 720-242-9951; parkburger.com; build your own burger options (Harris Ranch beef); also, try Croque.
●Rioja – 1431 Larimer Square; 303-820-2282; riojadenver.com; Mediterranean; national standout and critical darling; copper-topped bar and atmosphere that’s formal without being stuffy; offerings range from curried cauliflower soup served with fresh apple salad to expertly grilled leg of Colorado lamb on goat-cheese polenta.
●Root Down – 1600 West 33^rd Avenue; 303-993-4200; rootdowndenver.com; “field to fork” credo; cocktails are cheap, dangerous, and potent; served by staff in grease monkey outfits, homage to former gas station existence; large deck offers great city views; try hoisin duck sliders.
●Squeaky Bean – 1500 Wynkoop Street, #101; 303-623-2665; thesqueakybean.net; owned in part by Bill Murray; fresh local ingredients; worth special trip; mixed drinks available.



SHOPPING
●Denver Bread Co. – 3200 Irving Street; 303-455-7194; thedenverbreadcompany.com; all varieties with seasonal emphasis.
●Leopold Bros. – 4950 Nome Street, E; 303-307-1515; leopoldbros.com; artisanal alcohol.
●Source – 3350 Brighton Boulevard; 720-443-1135; facebook.com/thesourcedenver; foodie marketplace.
●Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey – 200 South Kalamath Street; 303-286-7440; stranahans.com; tours.



SIGHTS & SITES
●Denver Art Museum – 100 West 14^th Avenue Parkway; 720-865-5000; denverartmuseum.org.
●Denver Botanical Gardens – 1007 York Street; 720-865-3501; botanicgardens.org; features North America’s largest collection of plants from cold temperate climates around world, as well as 7 diverse gardens that mostly include plants from Colorado & neighboring states; world’s first Xeriscape Demonstration Garden; Japanese Garden is called Shofu-en (“Garden of Wind & Pines”), designed by Koichi Kawana in collaboration with Kai Kwahara; spectacular Alpine Rock Garden.
●Denver Museum of Nature & Science – 2001 Colorado Boulevard; 303-322-7009; dmns.org; taxidermy.
●MCA Denver – 1485 Delgany Street; 303-298-7554; mcadenver.org; museum of contemporary art.
●Red Rocks Amphitheater – 16351 County Road 93 (in Morrison); 303-295-4444; redrocksonline.com; country’s best and most beautiful venue for top-name outdoor summer concerts; in Rocky Mountains’ foothills, 15 miles southwest of city; 400' high red sandstone rocks; 9K-seat amphitheater.
●Clyfford Still Museum – 1250 Bannock Street; 720-865-4317; clyffordstillmuseum.org; abstract expressionism.