JENNY BLOCK | Contributing Writer
JennyEBlock@mac.com
EDITOR’S NOTE: Jenny Block also visited Boulder, Colo. on this same trip. We will publish her article on Boulder at a later date.
Tony Bennett may have left his heart in San Francisco, but I left mine — at least a chunk of it — in Colorado.
Maybe it was the weather. Maybe it was the vistas or the food. Maybe it was the people I encountered there or the friends I reconnected with there. Maybe it was the art of the music or the mile-high air of Denver.
Whatever it was, it grabbed hold of me the minute I landed, and, a year later, it still hasn’t let go.
I’d been to Colorado several times before, and I loved it. But something about this trip, about these spots, felt more like home than, well, in some ways, home.
I stayed in the heart of LoDo at the Thompson Denver, which is super chic and in a highly walkable area, which I love. It is also home to a surprisingly swanky restaurant called Chez Maggy.
Now I have to be honest here, I am not the biggest French food fan. Too fussy, too sauce laden, too, well, French. But Chef Ludo Lefebvre has waved his wand of unconventionality and crafted a menu that is as French as it is creative. I was in culinary heaven.
That night I went to see The Head and the Heart at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre. I had heard of both the band and the venue, but nothing could have prepared me for either.
The acoustics, the view, the ochre sandstone, the moon rising in the sky — it was other worldly. Red Rocks is designated as a National Historic Landmark for good reason. I felt such overwhelming gratitude just being there.
And I am sure all kinds of musicians sound all kinds of amazing there, but the music of The Head and the Heart just seemed like it belonged there among the rocks and the skies in that stunning outdoor theater.
I grabbed breakfast at Levin Deli Co. the next morning. It’s sort of a modern version of an old-school, neighborhood deli focused on Mediterranean ingredients and fresh vegetables without skimping on Jewish deli classics, like their 12-day, dry-aged Pastrami Reuben. The food and the coffee were so good, and it sits right behind the Denver Art Museum, which was perfect since that was my next stop.
I was surprised to learn that the Denver Art Museum is one of the largest art museums between Chicago and the West Coast. It boasts impressive collections and exhibitions, with the bonus of lots of hands-on activities. The Hamilton Building itself, designed by Daniel Libeskind is a work of art. I could not stop admiring it. And the collections inside well, let’s just say, next visit, I need to block a lot more time to wander those galleries.
After the museum, I went and soaked in beer. No, really. It was heavenly.
I went to Oakwell Beer Spa where you get your own private room with a shower and tub, and you can soak away alone or with a companion. You can bring a bathing suit or go ‘au natural.’ I prefer the latter. Everything you could possibly need is provided, as is a Beer Therapy Minibar containing a range of beer-infused spa products for purchase.
They also have a limitless self-serve taproom, showcasing a new Colorado-based brewery each month. And if beer’s not your thing — it’s definitely not mine — they also serve hard cider, wine, kombucha and other non-alcoholic beverages for an additional fee.
And after you soak, you can cuddle up in a zero gravity massage chair. The hardest part was prying myself out of there. I would highly recommend this joint. I’m not sure I have ever felt more zenned out.
That evening I met up with two longtime friends, musicians Tiffany Christopher and Mollie Rose Fischer, fab musicians who perform together as Hit It Honey. We had dinner at Denver Central Market, Denver’s gourmet food hall and grocery, located in RiNo. It is home to 11 of Denver’s top chefs and food purveyors. So, you can go there to shop to make dinner or simply grab dinner.
After dinner we walked over to Darkfield, presented by Denver Center for the Performing Arts. I don’t know if I liked this or not. There were three shipping containers parked in an otherwise empty lot. You step in inside, take a seat, or a bunk, and then are enveloped in COMPLETE — and I do mean COMPLETE — darkness. You put on a set of headphones and then you are immersed in sound that would make you swear you were in a séance, on a flight, or in a coma — hence the names of the three experiences.
I made it through the first. But it was just too scary for me. I love to push myself and try new things, especially when it comes to immersive art experiences, so I am glad I did it. But, I’ll be honest, I could not have managed it without my friends there.
The next morning, I grabbed breakfast at Little Finch, a super cute all-day café with everything from craft coffee and cocktails to pastries and flatbreads to soups and salads. It’s just a few blocks from Union Station on 16th Street Mall, which made it a perfect step from my hotel out into the day.
After a quick bite and a coffee, I had the chance to meet up with a longtime friend, Christina Cherry, at Meow Wolf Denver | Convergence Station, “an immersive art playground that transports guests of all ages into new dimensions of exploration throughout the four worlds of The Convergence. Arrive as you. Leave transformed” that’s what they say. And it is true. Four hours disappeared before our eyes as we allowed ourselves to get lost in the wild world of Meow Wolf.
That night we had drinks at Traveling Mercies, the coolest and tiniest oyster and cocktail bar from James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef Caroline Glover. It offers super thoughtful cocktails and a plethora of aperitivos and rums, as well as a kick-ass wine list. It felt more like hanging out on someone’s porch with a view than being at a bar, and I loved it.
After drinks, we had dinner at Annette, also the brainchild of Glover. The restaurant has wood-fired, seasonal, scratch-to-table fare in a really welcoming space tucked into the southeast corner of Stanley Marketplace. Rustic simplicity coupled with inventive craft cocktails make for the perfect combo of the finest dining sans the stuffy fine dining feel.
I left Denver wanting more, which is precisely what I look for whenever I am delving into a new city. Add this to my list of must go back for sure!