Hoofin' it in Denver

I spent a few days in Denver and I had a really lovely time hanging out with those 2 down there. Ryann, on the left, was our hostess, and a wonderful one at that. I thought Denver was a beautiful, happening city with great trees and, unfortunately, tons of tasty pollen. It seems a city of sports fans, outdoorsy types and just cool dudes. Every musical act ever goes through there, there's a gay bar called Hamburger Marys and most of the stores, bars and cafes aren't chains. Thumbs up.

I ate Mexican food three times in two days. They have this delicious green chili sauce that makes everything taste like heaven in a tortilla. For Mexican, I ate at Benny's and Las Delicias - both fantastic. Benny's was tastier, but less authentic than the other. 

On the first night in, we went for food and beer at the Cherry Cricket, which was featured on Man vs. Food. Drank some local beer - Odells - and ate half a sandwich (the other half was devoured the next night at like 3 a.m. in a hasty food binge). We spent both mornings at St. Mark's Coffeehouse, which had good coffee and scones. The best thing about it was that since the weather was out of this world, the front wall of the cafe rolls up, the picture down there at the bottom does it no justice. 

Chris and I decided to explore Denver a bit, so we headed downtown. It's clear that Denver is not a poor town. Everyone seemed well dressed, the streets were clean and the energy is laid back. I ate a bison burger at the Wyncoop Brewery, bought Blue Highways at the Tattered Cover, a huge and well-stocked indy bookstore and a kid's sale shirt at Rockmount Ranch Wear. After walking around, and before Chris went to a Rockies game, we grabbed a drink at the Cruise Room bar in the Oxford Hotel. The small, long bar is lit in red, features a juke box, chilled out oldies (music and people) and an art nouveau decor. Seriously, what a find! 

Drinks in Denver are CHEAP. I mean really, really inexpensive. We hit up the Horseshoe Lounge the first night, which had glitter walls, the vibe of a living room and a bar composed of probably over a thousand dice- forgot to take a picture of the bar due to the cheap drinks. I made a new friend, Matt who rock climbs and ended up sprawled out in that lounge chair up there - it was in the bathroom. I think it's the chair that God made because it has a saddle embroidered into it and it's green and has wagon wheels - only a clear-minded genius could create that. 

The next night we went to a Beauty Bar type place called Sputnik, a bar on South Broadway that was playing musica me likey, like some psychedelica. South Broadway is the street of "hip" bars and it actually appeared to be a freaking cool strip of places that I would love to visit one day. One day.