Things to do in Denver
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Outdoors Geek
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SAME Café
- Denver, USA
- Restaurants › Café
This nonprofit cafe was founded by two former food-bank workers, who wanted to provide healthy, by-donation lunches for those who were struggling to make ends meet. The standard American cafeteria fare is delicious. Walk-in volunteers are welcome, though you can reserve a spot in advance online.
Volunteering here or dropping in for lunch is one of the most unique and heart-warming dining options in Denver, and demonstrates the most progressive thinking in the city's sustainable, local, community-oriented food movement.
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Dancers
Frozen in joyful two-step, Jonathan Borofsky's whimsical Dancers invite rushing traffic to stop and play. The centerpiece of Sculpture Park, they supervise live music and lounging picnickers in summer and rise eerily from the snow in winter. Initially a controversial buy for conservative citizens, they're a symbol on scale with Denver's ambition to be the cultural capital of the West.
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Stranahans Colorado Whiskey
Only a dozen barrels of whiskey are produced from this family distillery each week...and they’re damn good. Using water from the Rockies, barley from Colorado and white-oak barrels, it’s a rare taste of quality over quantity. Short tours of the facility are available, though limited space means it's best to sign up online.
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Rocky Mountain Diner
If you're into things 'old-fashioned' and 'chicken-fried', then yee-haw yourself to this comfy-boothed, family-friendly restaurant. It serves sandwiches, salads and hearty American fare, and for the curious (and very hungry), more exotic dishes such as venison soup or buffalo meatloaf.
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Washington Park
Denver's best local park, this great little strip of green is where moms zip by on in-line skates, Frisbees float around all afternoon and clusters of friends lounge beneath the proud Denver skyline. A bike path around the park makes for an excellent ride.
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Coors Field
Denver is a city known for manic sports fans, and boasts five pro teams. The Colorado Rockies play baseball at the highly rated Coors Field.
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EVOO Marketplace
This specialty shop sells extra-virgin olive oils and balsamic vinegars from across the US and around the world.
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Ogden Theatre
One of Denver's best live-music venues, the Ogden Theatre has a checkered past. Built in 1917, it was derelict for many years and might have been dozed in the early 1990s, but it's now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Bands such as Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and Lady Gaga have played here.
Harry Houdini performed here in 1919 and it appeared in the movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Jack Nicholson drove his Winnebago past the Ogden pulling into Denver in About Schmidt. If the house is packed, make for the upstairs level, where the catwalk extends on the wings and you'll have a beautiful bird's eye view and plenty of room to move.
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Steuben's Food Service
Although styled as a midcentury drive-in, the upscale treatment of comfort food (mac and cheese, fried chicken, lobster rolls) and the solar-powered kitchen demonstrate Stuben's contemporary smarts. In summer, open garage doors lining the street create a breezy atmosphere and after 10pm they have the most unbeatable deal around: a burger, hand-cut fries and beer for $5.
Look around town for Stuben's mobile truck, powered by recycled veggie oil and often seen dishing out portable versions of the restaurant's staples to thankful politicos at Civic Park. Follow the restaurant on Facebook or Twitter to get details about where the mobile unit will park.
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Root Down
In a converted gas station, chef Justin Cucci has undertaken one of the city's most ambitious culinary concepts, marrying sustainable 'field-to-fork' practices, high-concept culinary fusions and a low-impact, energy efficient ethos. The menu changes seasonally, but consider yourself lucky if it includes the sweet potato falafel or hoisin duck confit sliders.
Unlike the troupe of restaurants jumping on the sustainable bandwagon, Root Down is largely wind powered, decorated with reused and reclaimed materials, and recycles everything. It's conceptually brilliant and one of Denver's most thrilling dining experiences.
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Colorado State Capitol
Sitting commandingly atop Capitol Hill, this stately neoclassical government building looks out across the grand Civic Center Park region. The ornate interior befits such a grand building; visitors can join free tours that depart every 45 minutes.
Construction began in the 1890s from locally quarried rose onyx (Beulah red marble) and in 1908, to celebrate the Colorado gold rush, the superb dome was covered in 200 ounces of gold leaf. In 1909 the 15th step on the western entrance was designated one mile above sea level. Subsequent measures inscribed this marker at the 17th step in 1969 and the 13th in 2003.
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Biker Jim's Dogs
Biker Jim's passion for Harleys is only outpaced by his visionary zeal for encased meat. No kidding: the man is a revolutionary. The standard hits are an Elk Jalapeno Cheddar Brat and the Alaska Reindeer Sausage, but on What the ... Wednesdays the experimental menu seems designed by Willie Wonka with a John Wayne complex.
Some Wednesday highlights include rattle snake, Guinness beer brat and pheasant.
Don't be fooled by the tough-guy Easy Rider routine either; Jim is fully tapped into the social networking sites, which are a great place to find menus and his occasional after-hours locations.
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Beatrice & Woodsley
The menu of small plates is whimsical (like the corn-fed scallop – a scallop served with toasted cornbread and spicy slaw) and brunch here is the fanciest on S Broadway, but it’s the cocktails that kill us. The Europa ’51 exemplifies their artistry, combining gin, cynar, apple juice, citrus pepper tincture (whatever that is) and orange.
Beatrice and Woodsley is also the most artfully designed dining room in Denver. Chainsaws are buried into the wall to support shelves, there's an aspen growing through the back of the dining room and the feel is that of a mountain cabin being elegantly reclaimed by nature.
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Denver Public Library
Hardly a dusty bibliotheca, the Denver Public Library is an active and hip place. In addition to its voluminous stacks, the library lends CDs and DVDs from its extensive archive and it streams music from its website. There's a schedule of lectures, and self-help and skills courses. Shifting exhibits feature local historical and contemporary photography.
Book a meeting room or join one of the community learning sessions. On the 5th floor is the Western History & Genealogy Department, and affiliate campuses include the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library.
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Wolfe's Barbeque
Owner Louis Wolfe sunk his life savings into building a custom smoker near Capitol Hill and his hickory-smoked platters of ribs have stained the oxfords of Denver's power brokers for two decades. After ordering at the counter (likely from the curmudgeonly Wolfe himself) find a red-checkered table and begin the lunchtime entertainment: eavesdropping on the Colorado's wheelers and dealers.
Also, vegetarians take note: Wolfe's is far more accommodating to the meatless than most; while your carnivorous friends pig out, you can enjoy BBQ tofu and vegetarian baked beans.
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REI
The flagship store of this outdoor equipment supplier is an essential stop for those using Denver as a springboard into the great outdoors. In addition to top gear for camping, cycling, climbing and skiing, they have a rental department, maps and the Pinnacle: a 47ft indoor structure of simulated red sandstone for climbing and repelling.
There's also a desk of Colorado's Outdoor Recreation Information Center, where you can get information on state and national parks and an on-site Starbucks, in case you need some caffeine to accompany the adrenaline.
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Sputnik
The Sputnik does it all – it’s simultaneously a plucky brunch spot, a neighborhood dive bar and an excellent place for espresso. Still, it’s never more fun than when there’s a show next door at the Hi-Dive and the indie rockers spill over for strong pours and a seat in the old school photo booth.
If spending a long night of drinks, snacks, and rock and roll still isn't enough for you, the long-running ‘Hangover Brunch’ does it right, with spicy Bloody Marys and lots of ragged morning-after style.
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Denver Art Museum
The DAM is home to one of the largest Native American art collections in the USA, and puts on special avant-garde multimedia exhibits. The Western American Art section of the permanent collection is justifiably famous.
The $110-million Frederic C Hamilton wing, designed by Daniel Libeskind, is a strange, angular, fanlike edifice. It's inspired and mesmerizing. If you think the place looks weird from the outside, look inside: shapes shift with each turn thanks to a combination of design and uncanny natural-light tricks.
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Cooks Fresh Market
- Denver, USA
- Restaurants › Deli
Far and away the best deli Downtown, the attention to quality is obvious in their take-away salads and sandwiches, selection of cheeses and expert pastries. Some gourmet cooking staples and bulk selection complete the picture, making an ideal stop for supplies if you‘re picnicking in the park or heading out of town.
Though mostly for take out, there are a few tables to eat inside and a small sidewalk patio. The partner team running the place, Ed and Kristi Janos, are some of Denver's most highly credentialed chefs.
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Thin Man Tavern
The Thin Man is a damn sight more stylish than most neighborhood taverns; it's decked out in all kinds of old Catholic paintings, and vintage lampshades cast the place in a warm, sentimental glow. Since a local magazine named it among the best low-key singles' spots in the city, the crowd is looking a bit more stylish too.
In addition to a good beer selection and stiff drinks, it also hosts free art films in the basement-level Ubisububi Room and, in the summer, show classics flicks outside in the parking lot.
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Fancy Tiger
So you dig crochet and record collecting? You knit a mean sweater and have a few too many tattoos? Welcome to Fancy Tiger, a sophisticated remodel of granny’s yarn barn that’s ground zero for Denver's crafty hipsters. There are classes in the basement (including ones by Jessica, ‘mistress of patchwork’) and a rad selection of fabric, yarn and books.
If you are a little bit more hands-off with your homemade clothes, try the Fancy Tiger Boutique across the street, where local designers hock their wares.
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Confluence Park
This wonderful place of healthy outdoors activity is a magnet for families with picnic blankets and prepared lunches, smooching young lovers and singles buried in a book or newspaper. Cool off on a hot summer's day by swimming or wading over the rocks.
Confluence Park is where the Cherry Creek and Platte River meet, and bike/jogging trails connect it to all the other waterfront parks. It's a wonderfully egalitarian place where all types from all backgrounds come to celebrate their city.
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El Taco De Mexico
Forget about ambiance – it's a big yellow counter, florescent lights and a couple of slouching figures shoveling down tacos – but it's all too easy to forgive when you rip into the chilli relleno burrito – a glorious disaster of peppers, cheese, refried pinto beans and salsa verde.
Remember, when the nice lady asks: yes, you want it smothered and yes, you want salsa and onions. This is the best place to get cheap eats in the Santa Fe Arts district, to the west of Capitol Hill.
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Grizzly Rose
This is one kick-ass honky-tonk – 40,000 sq ft of hot live music – attracting real cowboys from as far as Cheyenne. The Country Music Association called it the best country bar in America. If you've never experienced line dancing, then put on the boots, grab the Stetson and let loose.
Just north of the city limits off I-25 (you'll have to drive or cab it), the Grizzly is famous for bringing in huge industry stars – Willie Nelson, Lee Ann Rimes – and only charging $10 per ticket.
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