This past weekend, I had a little impromptu trip to the Mile High City. I had not previously visited Denver, except to stop on the way to Breckenridge for skiing. I had always heard about the laid back, comfortable feel of Denver and I was anxious to see it for myself. I was not disappointed. Spending Friday on my own, navigating downtown was easy and the people were genuinely friendly. Saturday was a journey through Rocky Mountain Park and sunday resulted in brunch, football, and patios. The list below is every stop on my whirlwind tour of this terrifically urban city.
Giggling Grizzley: Victory drinks for friends kickball team (Coors Field)
Pablo’s Coffee: One of the best/strongest Americano’s ever (Washington/6th Ave)
Tattered Cover Bookstore: Awesome alternative to national chains (loDo)
Wahoo’s Fish Tacos: Blackened Tilapia Tacos (15th and Blake)
Denver Art Museum: Even the buildings look like mountains (downtown)
Sushi Den: Some of the freshest fish I’ve eaten not on a coast (south Pearl)
Red Rocks: The most amazing concert venue ever (outside Denver)
Rio Grande: Strict 3 Margarita Limit (Boulder)
Grand Lake: Gorgeous lake/town in the middle of the mountains
Trail Ridge Road: Highest Road in the US. Pretty damn scenic (Rocky Mtn. Park)
Lazy Dog Tavern: Caught the first half of the game (Boulder)
Govnr’s Park: Comfortable, local tavern (7th and Logan)
Atomic Cowboy: Where the West meets Hipster (Colfax)
RockBar: Dirty 70’s bar with dance music and hipsters (Colfax)
Snooze an A.M. Eatery: The wait is long but completely worth it. (Larimer)
The Tavern: Denver’s largest downtown patio (lodo)
Swanky’s: GreenBay Packer’s dive bar (20th and Blake)
LaLa’s Wine Bar + Pizzeria: Sunday 3 course dinner for $10 (Capitol Hill)
OKC has been involved in some major national press lately and much of it is due to what is happening down on the Oklahoma River. Over the past couple months I have spent a good amount of time downtown, whether it be for Red Coyote running club at the Chesapeake Boathouse or most recently the Head of Oklahoma Regatta at the Devon Boathouse. I never fail to capture an image, like the ones above, each time I make the trip to this uniquely OKC attraction. If you haven’t yet gotten the chance to experience this part of downtown, I highly recommend making the trip.
This past weekend I got spend more time in Dallas and on Sunday I spent much of the day exploring new places. So I thought I would share a few of the places that I love in the big D.
The Pearl Cup - best latte in Dallas
Form - Mid-Century modern furniture store (next door to The Pearl Cup)
Sputnick Modern - Mid-Century furniture store (across from Form)
Mattito’s - Tex-Mex Brunch with a huge buffet and bottomless mimosas
Eatzi’s - European Style market with food to die for
Bishop Arts District - Think Plaza district but a little more developed and with food
Belmont Hotel - historic hotel with one of the best downtown views (the picture above)
Dallas Arts District - contains the Dallas Museum of Art and the new Opera House
Crooked Tree Coffeehouse - Uptown handcrafted coffee shop
Granada Theater - Favorite place to catch a show
Gloria’s - Salvadorian food but really the bean dip is the best part
Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday. I have been catching up with friends and attending the Art Director’s Club of Tulsa’s speaker event. It was a fast and furious 24 hours and now I am off to Dallas. More to come.
Oh, and I can’t forget to mention stopping in at my favorite eyewear store, Black Optical.
Gray Owl Coffee is redefining the local coffee shop. Sitting with a nice cup of cold press, I feel transported to the Northwest. And that is a great feeling.
