Denver Recommendations

[Daisy]

I am going to be in Denver for four or five days in early July. Any recommendations for restaurants and other attractions would be welcomed. The Yves St Laurent show at the art museum is already on my radar.

 

I am very excited to learn that the average July day in Denver is super dry, sunny and tops out in the mid-high 80s. Ideal.

[fredbram]

Give me some idea of what kind of restaurants you want to go to. Are you looking for anything good or more high end or more dive-like? We have good vietnamese and mexican in the ethnic area.

[AaronS]

I haven't been but I'd really like to go to the Clyfford Still Museum.

 

If you find yourself in Colorado Springs I had a decent lunch at the King Chef Diner over the summer. My wife had this steak sandwich with some kind of chili sauce that was really good. The Garden of the Gods, also in Colorado Springs, is nice enough.

[Daisy]

I'd say all of the above, high and low. Good Mexican I would be very interested in. I'll have my teenaged niece with me and she lives in the DC area where there's a lot of good Vietnamese available, but it could still be an option. She eats almost anything except very, very spicy food.

 

eta: in reply to fredbram

[Wilfrid]

I haven't been but I'd really like to go to the Clyfford Still Museum.

 

Right: as soon as I get a chance I plan to go to Denver specifically to see this museum.

[Daisy]

I haven't been but I'd really like to go to the Clyfford Still Museum.

 

Right: as soon as I get a chance I plan to go to Denver specifically to see this museum.

That's going on the list, that's something we'll both enjoy.

[fredbram]

I think that the best overall restaurant in the area is Frasca, in Boulder. While I feel that their menu isn't quite as distinctive as when they first opened, no other place around challenges them. The menu is based on the cuisine of the Friuli region of Italy, and the wine list and wine knowledge of the staff is excellent.

 

Fuel Cafe is a favorite of mine--doing very good creative cuisine in a funky, industrial neighborhood.

 

Fruition, in Denver, is very good as well, farm to table is an over used and abused phrase, but they do own their own farm.

 

Our favorite vietnamese place is Dalat, others will say New Saigon, but I prefer the homey vibe and excellent food at Dalat. There are also several good Pho joints around, Pho 79 being our go-to.

 

I don't eat mexican food out much lately, so maybe others will chime in. El Taco De Mexico is a longtime standby for us, we like Taqueria Patzcuaro also and there are many others.

 

I've heard good things about Euclid Hall, a sort of trendy casual place with lots of pork products on the menu, Cholon we've had mixed experiences at, but some have been good and they have an asian small plate concept.

 

Those are my initial thoughts--I'll chime in if anything else comes to mind.

[Daisy]

Thanks. I should add that I won't have a car but am not averse to spending fairly big bucks on taxis to get somewhere interesting.

[balex]

Drive to Boulder and eat at Frasca is good advice.

[Daisy]

God, balex, you really get around.

[balex]

I spent a whole month in Boulder last year .. and it was great.

 

Ate at Frasca quite often.

[mongo_jones]

alas, frasca will likely be on their annual summer break right around then.

[Rail Paul]

Boulder's Flagstaff House has received a lot of favorable comments.

 

Flagstaff

 

We're suckers for industrial tours, so the Hain's Celestial factory tour of their tea warehouses and blending facility was a must.

 

And, the National Center for Atmospheric Research might be a major attraction for a young person with interests in the sciences. It sits on a mesa overlooking Boulder.

[mongo_jones]

there's no real food reason to go to boulder other than frasca. at least not for anyone who lives in new york. this may have changed since my last visit a little over a year ago, but if so i've not heard it from my friends there. but there are other reasons to go to the boulder area--the peak to peak drive, lots of good beer, walking/hiking trails (if you're into that kind of folly).

[CheeseMonger]

there's no real food reason to go to boulder other than frasca. at least not for anyone who lives in new york. this may have changed since my last visit a little over a year ago, but if so i've not heard it from my friends there. but there are other reasons to go to the boulder area--the peak to peak drive, lots of good beer, walking/hiking trails (if you're into that kind of folly).

 

pffft, I say to you.

 

I love frasca as much as the next gal, but Oak at 14th is wonderful wonderful. Yes, both the owner and the chef are frasca alums, but Bryan has created an amazing cocktail program, and Steve cooks fantastic food.

 

As for transport- you can take the Denver-Boulder express bus from one downtown to the other, walk around Boulder, have lunch at Oak (weekdays for now- should be open weekend lunch in the summer) and early dinner at frasca... bring a pair of good walking shoes, take the creek path west to the base of Flagstaff mountain and get some exercise and then a good view as a reward.

 

Denver has some fun spots- A favorite of mine is the Lao Wang Noodle House on Federal at Kentucky. Great soup dumplings, potstickers, but don't be in a hurry, it's a real mom-n-pop, or grandmom-n-grandpop.

 

I've got to run right now, but I've got some other recs I'll post later.