Weekend Warrior: Denver Edition Part 1

Kyle and I on his visit in December. Ain’t he cute?

Have you ever had one of those friends or family members that always want to travel new places but can never find the time outside of work? Well, that’s how this trip came about. My cousin Dominic messaged me one Saturday morning in December and said “where you off to next and can I go?” After realizing the majority of my upcoming international trips were coming up too quickly he made he suggestion of Denver, as our other cousin lived just outside the city. His suggestion couldn’t have come at a better time as my friend Kyle (whom I had met in Scandinavia just a few months before) was coming to visit me. Kyle, was the gateway to Denver — aka he lived there. So after talking with him and securing our housing situation, flights were booked and Denver was on the books for MLK weekend in January.

It was like Christmas, Dominic wanted to travel with me. But then… I almost had to cancel! Almost. On my latest trip to Scotland I ended up with a terrible upper respiratory infection that included a double ear infection. I couldn’t hear out of either ear well and my ears wouldn’t pop. After a trip to an ENT and resting for a week with medicine, my ears finally decided to cooperate and I was cleared to fly.

The weekend arrived…

It was a short flight from my home in Texas to Denver and I was greeted by Kyle’s smiling face and then most importantly…. food. I took a late afternoon flight right after work so I was on the verge of needing snickers. Dominic arrived later in the evening as he was flying in from Georgia. The rest of the evening was spent just chit chatting and catching up on things we thought we already talked about. I swear the older I get the more I can’t remember who I’ve told what. I’m sure you have moments like that too.

Saturday proved to be an adventure by Kyle’s design. Dominic and I really didn’t have a plan and are extremely go with the flow. Granted, I had a few places on my list I wanted to venture to and he wanted to eat all the foods being the foodie that he is. So we started the day with breakfast at Apple Ridge Cafe where the cinnamon rolls are as big as your face. I think the frosting sealed the deal on the blooming bromance that was taking place in front of my eyes. If it wasn’t the frosting, it was definitely the drive through the Colorado mountains that had had fresh snow fall the night (or two nights) before.

I don’t think I will come across another person who was as excited to see snow in mountain passes like Dominic. I give him props for the viewing commitment, crawling out of windows to get full views. “Wow", “Oh my God,” “that’s beautiful,” and all the different awe-inspired expletives were a chorus from the passenger seat of the truck. I don’t know what I enjoyed better, Dominic’s sheer joy or the reactions that were given by Kyle and I to Dominic. It was the first time I had ever seen him so excited over weather.

On the way back down the mountain Kyle brought us to a brewery in Idaho Springs called Tommyknocker Brewery where we enjoyed a few beers (some of which I didn’t but good thing the guys didn’t let it go to waste) and shared some bomb pulled pork nachos. We didn’t want to over do it because our dinner spot required some room in our stomachs.

Continuing the drive Kyle made another detour to give us another beautiful this time of the city. This man is seriously full of surprises. Between the banter from both guys, the laughs, and the beautiful views, it was a fabulous day topped off with another stellar restaurant.

As an Italian, I tend to enjoy good pasta. Hence, Kyle’s dinner choice Cafe Jordano, a family owned Italian restaurant. The decor was modern but it felt homey as the old family photographs lining the walls gave you glimpse into their family history. Vodka penne, chicken parm, and pasta with salmon … all dishes that were pleasing to the eye and pallet.

The following day Dominic and I were left to our own devices for the morning so we got up and headed into the downtown area. I wanted to walk through their art museum while I had the chance. So we found a breakfast place (Dozens) within walking distance and enjoyed our morning meal and cups of coffee. After stuffing ourselves we walked through Civic Center Park to kill some time before heading to the museum.

Now I love museum going, however the Denver Museum of Art would not make it on my list of well done museums. I just think I couldn’t connect to any of the exhibits because of the design of the building and flow of the floors. Not my favorite place — or Dominic’s for that matter.

Due to the disappointment we needed a drink and not just any drink. We needed a scorpion shot from Retro Room.. Much to my dismay, Dominic was dead set on this haphazard suggestion from Kyle. However, it’s family. If one suffers we, we all suffer….. right?……… It wasn’t too bad until it came to swallowing the baby scorpion. That was rough. I’m not going to lie I almost threw it back up. Should have had a few shots of one of their infused vodka’s prior to. Might have helped.

Later that day we ventured out to Ft. Collins to visit our cousin and her finance. We had a wonderful home cooked meal and then we headed out for drinks in Old Town. They took us to Social, an underground cocktail bar that I would have missed if wasn’t for the street clock marking the stairwell you had to descend to enter. For all intents and purposes, it’s a modern day speakeasy. From the decor to the music to the cocktail and beverage choices, we felt right at home. The guys were even able to try absinthe for the first time.

Monday I was left to wander by myself as Dominic headed back to Georgia and Kyle had to work. So I got up and took myself to Snooze and had the Chili Verde Benedict. My love of green chile has no bounds, I think it’s a Southwest thing. The location I chose was close to the RiNo Arts District which consists of four historic neighborhoods in Denver; Five Points, Cole, Globeville and Elryia/Swansea. It’s an area (Blake St, Walnut, Larimer St) that has so much public street art that in the three hours I walked around to enjoy all of it, I doubt I saw it all. If you haven’t had a chance to do so I highly suggest it. It was a great way to spend the last day on this edition of Denver: Weekend Warrior.