Denver Passport Part II

Lauren3 Comments

Slowly but surely, we are making our way through this Denver Passport book.  I swear at the beginning of the summer I was like “I’m gonna make it to all 64 of these places!” but here we are, almost at the end of July and I’m thinking I was maybe being a little overzealous with that declaration.  Oh and I totally only went to two of the places I said I most wanted to try in my last Passport post.  Oops!

8 Lou's

Lou’s Food Bar

There are soooo many Moscow Mules on this passport and I for one am totally okay with that!  We had a choice between beer and Mules at Lou’s and Joey surprised me by going for the latter over the former.  Then he extra surprised me by LOVING his Mule.  Who is this person??  I will admit that they tasted especially gingery, limey and carbonated so two thumbs up!

9 Tom's Urban

Tom’s Urban

We’d been here before and weren’t all that impressed but we had tickets to the Buell and could walk to dinner at Tom’s beforehand so we decided to give it another try.  Good thing we did because we all ended up having fun and enjoying our meals.  Another Mule for me because I like to change things up… and Joey got a margarita that I think I tried and I think I liked?  Perhaps I should start keeping notes on our passport adventures.

10 Goldspot

Goldspot Brewing Company

Funny story, as we were crossing the street to get to Goldspot, our friend Chris drove past.  Weird timing!  This place is over in the DU neighborhood so I thought it might be a college kids hangout but it was pretty quiet when we went it.  The bartender was super friendly and the beer was gooood.  I got some interesting saison and Joey got a red IPA and I think he was ready for another but I was like “But Big Brother is on!”

11 Illegal Pete's

Illegal Pete’s

Okay, I’m usually pretty loyal to my beloved Chipotle, BUT they don’t do breakfast and they don’t have an open bar so maybe Illegal Pete’s has a leg up on them in that regard.  I’m a sucker for a good Bloody Mary and sadly, this wasn’t one.  The house mix just wasn’t my taste (or Joey’s, for that matter).  But the good news is, that breakfast burrito has me hooked enough to go back.

12 Harman's

Harman’s Eat & Drink

Last but not least!  I took Joey here for his birthday and we LOOOOVED it so when Lori offered to take me to dinner for my birthday, I knew I wanted to go back.  Seriously though, I don’t get this place.  The space is open and bright, the service is top notch and the food is INCREDIBLE, yet it’s never busy in there.  Should I just keep my mouth closed and assume this is Cherry Creek’s best kept secret?  I ordered a sage Saison because that sounded like the most interesting thing ever and used it to wash down my pulled pork and smoked mozzarella grits.  MORE PLEASE.

Dying to go to next:

(Still) Colt & Gray // Two words: TIKI. DRINKS.

(Still) Gozo // Been there, wanna go back!

Leña // We went with my family for my birthday dinner but our waiter convinced me to save my passport for next time.

Argyll Whisky Beer // Because Hannah was selling the ish out of the drink they had at this place and now I need it.

Zengo // We can bike there AND get sushi.

Weekend Things: Breaking Breck 15

Lauren2 Comments

Actually, it’s #BreakingBreck15.  What, your weekends don’t have hashtags?

So remember how a big group of us went to Breckenridge last year for Hannah and Josh’s bachelor/bachelorette party?  And it turned out to be the most fun thing ever and we vowed to do it again the next year?  Well we actually followed through on that vow (Joey and I even spearheaded the planning).  And again, it turned out to be the most fun thing ever!

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Just… don’t even ask.  Okay fine, what’s really happening is that Stefan is using the bottle opener on Troy’s belt and I just happen to have the best timing when snapping pictures.  Joey and I brewed an American Amber just for the trip and it turned out to neither look nor taste like an Amber but oh well.  We strapped in the kegerator and made the drive into the mountains on Friday afternoon and then the fun/relaxing began.

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Our cabin had an awesome outdoor porch set up, complete with fire pit, chairs and hot tub.  Plus a teepee in the woods just behind it.  We even saw a little fox traipsing around out there!  After we all got settled and had some time to hang out on the porch, we started on dinner, ate family style at the dining room table, busted out a surprise birthday cake, started up the fire pit and played Catch Phrase before deciding it was hot tub time.  In a word, perfect.

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Insert an “easy hike” that took up most of Saturday (of course there was time for mimosas and breakfast beforehand).  We didn’t really know what we were getting ourselves into when we set out on said hike, but it turned out to be a lot further, more intense and uh rainier than we’d expected.  I don’t know how many times I heard “we’re almost there” but it was enough to stop believing it.  When all was said and done (and I had feeling back in my arms — whose idea was it not to bring jackets??) we still had a ton of fun.  Plus we found a piece of wood that looked like a seal, an old wooden cabin and plenty of picture taking opportunities.  So: worth it.

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Once we were all back at the cabin, we showered, made a dinner plan and set out for the town.  You would think Breckenridge Brewery would be a safe place to get a beer (and it was!) but food?  Not so much.  A bunch of us got pulled pork sandwiches or burgers and it was a unanimous let down.  I think Joey said it best when he announced his burger was “SO DRY, NOT GOOD.”  Afterwards we did a little bar hopping then headed back “home” for s’mores, pool, loud singing of Ashley Simpson and a bedtime that was about 3 1/2 hours later than normal.  When in Breck!

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We had to be out of the cabin by 10 AM the next morning, so we packed up, said our sad goodbyes and headed out.  We made it home by 1ish, then lounged until 5 PM when we headed over to my parents’ for dinner.  As I JOKINGLY described the corn my mom had boiled as “SO DRY, NOT GOOD,” to a table of blank faces, I realized inside jokes are probably left… inside.

Till next year, Cabin Crew!