This Simple Denver Life

Swing-top obsession -

2010-11-08T16:48:00.002-07:00

What is this? I googled "Moosebadier", which presented several articles about Moose and Badgers. That's not what I'm looking for! Anyhow, on my recent trip to the Liquor Barn I decided to just pick up some swing-top bottled beers for the tastin'. Yes, there is a Grolsch in there, too...

This beer was UH-MAZING. Clearly it's a wheat, that much we know. Whether it was made from the hairs of moose and badgers is yet to be determined. But if it was in fact made from moose and badger, I'm impressed.

The head on this beer was out of control. I still don't know enough about beer to know if it was the icy-cold temperature at which it was poured that caused this or what, but it took a solid five minutes to get this pour.

It had a great earthy wheat flavor, but also an incredible amount of sweet citrus. There was just a fantastic balance going on. As it warmed up it cleared a bit, but that is a beautiful hazy orange beer right there.

Dinner was homemade chicken noodle soup and havarti grilled cheese. I also felt like this paired well. I'm sure beeradvocate.com could tell us exactly what one might want to eat with this beer, but I'm going to say mild grilled cheeses are suitable.

....

Now, I've learned a lot about beer in the last few years, and I've even tried my hand at homebrewing... but I'm no expert and this is no blog to end all blogs about beers. But right now beers are what interest me, and beers are what I'm going to blog about. I would ABSOLUTELY love to hear comments from folks that have tried the beers I'm tasting, or might know more about the beers than I do... if this could be a way for me to learn something while maybe teaching someone else, that would please me to no end.

Treating myself to a new beer:

2010-11-02T08:51:00.005-06:00

(Now, I'm no beer expert, but I'm going to give this a try. I know enough about tasty brews to tell you what a beer lover wants to know.)

*sidenote: I realize my blog is all over the place. I haven't posted a single item that I promised last month, and my most recent entry was poorly written. I will eventually figure out what I want to do (if anything) with my blog... but until then, enjoy the post of the moment... a beer review!!!

And now, on to the actual blog entry!
...
I recently received some very good news. I was told that my temporary job assignment would be transferred to a permanent position. I am extremely happy at my new company and very exicted to be a real live employee! It was cause for celebration... and what better way to celebrate good news than to try a new beer. I recently made it my mission to expand my beer pallate and step out of the sweet malty comfort of stouts, brown ales, and ambers. I've not ventured too far, although I'd never turn down a sour or belgian ale...

It has been quite a pleasant suprise to see that many craft beers are sold in a large single bottle, measuring 22 ounces. The pint-and-a-half-ish sized bottle of beer has always stuck in my mind as a means for young people to get a lot of Mickey's or Corona into their systems. My very first experience with beer was in the form of a large bottle of Mickey's, given to me by an older co-worker for my 17th birthday. That's the way we kept things exciting at the fast-food job: Underaged drinking and a lot of horseplay around open fryers.

On this particular beer-tasting occassion, I didn't stray too far from the norm... I had an American Bock Ale (Three Daughters, from Leieritz Brewing Company). The name of the beer struck my interest in the fact that it's called a Bock Ale. Bock beers are a type of lager, meaning they are fermented at colder temperatures and for longer amounts of time. An ale uses a completely different type of yeast, and ferments at a warmer temperature. Ales and Lagers are the two "parent styles" of beer. They just don't have the same parts, you know? This beer appeared from the name to be somewhat of an enigma.

Bocks are medium copper colored and tend to have little hop flavor. This beer certainly had a gorgeous copper color, and a nice head. The flavor was malty and smooth at first. The flavor finished with some dry bitterness.. which I'm guessing is where the ale characteristics come in. An interesting beer that I would probably enjoy with bratwursts cheeseburgers.

I noticed quite a few Rogue beers in the case on my last visit to the Liquor Barn (no really, it's a liquor store, shaped like a barn)... and I'll probably be trying one of the Rogue Ales next!

WEEKDAY WEENIES!!!

2010-10-14T16:44:00.003-06:00

We dog-sat for Sean's parents recently, which means that our weenies parents and sister were over! They play pretty hard, so getting pics was pretty much only going to happen during nap time.

Falling Rock

2010-10-13T12:10:00.000-06:00

Now, where were we? Hello? Does anyone come around here anymore? I wouldn't blame you if you didn't... I'm quite the lazy blogger.

ahhhh yes... GABF at Falling Rock!

As I promised... I'll tell you who this is. His name is Mark and he's the Director of Operations for New Belgium Brewery. He was friendly and smart, and talked with me at lenght about things he loves about New Belgium. It was truly an honor to have such a nice conversation with someone from the brewery.

New Belgium Brewery is located in Fort Collins, Colorado and has to be one of the most incredible companies around. They strive to be environmental stewards and take care of the land and environment that allows them to produce incredible beers. They have taken measure to reduce their carbon footprint, to treat their own waste water, and to use solar power. Read more here.

And why was Kelli being hugged to death?

Pratik is the gentleman above. He and his cousin Jay were sitting in a booth when Kelli and I arrived at the bar. I'll spare you the boring details, but I rochambeaued someone for the honor to share their booth. *side fact: getting a booth past 6:00pm on a Saturday night: nearly impossible. getting a booth past 6:00pm on a GABF Saturday night: incredibly impossible. Unless you know someone. Or know how to smooth your way into sharing.

So, now we are sharing a booth with Pratik and Jay, and being talking beer with them, as people at Falling Rock tend to do. Pratik decided that Kelli was very smart about beer and she's one of very few people that get that his name is "Pratik" and not "Patrick". (and I think maybe he took a fancy to her cuteness as well.)

And was was that exciting thing that happened? Well, do you want a build-up or do you want to just know?

I had La Folie Love beer. It was amazing. It made me see angels. It tasted like sugar-coated stars. Now to the details:

La Folie is a sour beer. Sour beers are ales that have used a specific type of yeast and are aged in wine barrels. The brewery took some La Folie, aged to magical perfection, and put it in to blueberry whiskey barrels for an additional aging.

So, here were at at Falling Rock, Chris is getting ready to introduce the special kegs they are about to tap, and I'm standing on our booth seat, waiting on baited breath.

Chris proceeds to tell us about the Love beer... that it's been aged in the Colorado-local blueberry whiskey barrel... and before he can set down that microphone, I've turned to our watier, Paul and said, "PAUL. PLEASE. La Folie and Love."

He brought our beers, and I didn't know if I should start tasting or continue taking pictures... but, for the sake of blog, I took a picture:

And then Kelli took a pic while I kissed my beers:

And while the beers kissed each other:

And then I had to taste it, and it was like a rollercoaster of wonderful... Sour and clean, it has a slight hint of vinegar. Then the blueberries hit your tongue and it's sweet and smooth, and at the end, the whiskey gives you that warming burn.

"Whhhooooaaaaa..... this beer is awesome...."

Keene then ordered a Love for himself, exclaiming, "This might be important."

ZHANG.

Falling Rock Tap House and the GABF

2010-09-22T08:52:00.003-06:00

I didn't actually attend the Great American Beer festival, but I did attend a pretty sweet 'after party' at Falling Rock Tap House. The Great American Beer Festival takes place in the fall in Denver every year. Apparently it used to be a pretty classy event... nice commemorative glasses and fun times. The word is that now you get little plastic cups for your tasting, and the number of sheer drunk people has gotten humongous. I understand the plastic cups though, as the liability of hundreds of drunk people toting around glassware was probably just too much for GABF. I don't blame them... the liability of one drunk girlfriend with glassware is more than Sean's homeowners policy can handle.

This year GABF came a little earlier than usual and caught me by suprise. Falling Rock always has great events in the week leading up to the GABF. It was Thursday and GABF was in full swing before Kelli and I realized that we were missing Falling Rock parties.

Now, I've been meaning to check out a bunch of things on the internet:
O roadsideamerica.com for places to stop on me and Kelli's next roadtrip.
O Information on the proper documents for custody change of a teen. The best way to store dry pastas.
O A recipe using artichokes (which I really need to do before the artichokes go bad)...
O But the only real internet search I've done in weeks was finding out what kind of stuff was going on at Falling Rock. In case it's not been apparent through the course of my baby-aged blog, beer is a high priority for me. I'm not a drunk, I just think beer is freaking amazing. There's a great history and culture in the beer world.. a history and culture I could go on about all day.

But enough of this rambling on about my crush on beer. Let's get to the pictures!!

Falling Rock is located in the heart of LoDo, just a half block south of Coors Field. It's always a happenin' place on Saturday nights... but on a GABF Saturday night, it's actually chock full o'people that love beer. Not just drunk chicks that accidentally wander in when they get lost on their way to some club on Larimer Street. Look at all those beer geeks!!

Chris is one of the owners of the bar, and he's a super friendly guy. He's also SUPER SMART about beer and seems to love his job. When you spend your days around tons of great beers and have beautiful women asking to take pictures with you, consider yourself a winner. I'm pretty sure Chris does.

Really, doesn't that guy look like one happy dude?

I really could go on all day about this event and the fun I had and the people we met and the beers I drank, but I think this will have to suffice for the moment. I have quite the short attention span, so the actual act of creating a blog post can sometimes take me a while. It makes me wonder if I'm actually cut out for this blogging thing. Which, I have great stories, so I feel I'm a good candidate for blogging.. but wonder if maybe this is why some people have others write their memoirs. A friend with ADD will be with you through good times, help you find the fun times and, oh... have you seen my keys?

So without further adieu, I'm going to give you some teasers and get on with my other various tasks that I may or may not finish in any certain terms. I'll post another thread in the extremely near or possibly very cose future... You'll just have to wait and see if anything amazing happens later in the night (something does.)

You'll find out who this guy is:

Why Kelli is being hugged to death:

And what a beer named "Love" tastes like... (It's not as bitter as you'd imagine)

May 22? Really?

2010-09-14T16:44:00.003-06:00

Apparently it was May 22 the last time I posted a blog entry. I warned everyone it would be a while, but I didn't realize just how long I'd be. I got busy, ok?

Luckily I'm back with a new camera, a more promising employment status, and more piss and vinegar than I thought possible.

Coming up:

Roller Derby and why I want to be a Roller Rebel
Retro Denver - Where I go to get my vintage on
DINER REVIEWS!! -Annie's -Pete's Kitchen - Pete's Cafe
An ode to my boyfriend
I like airplanes and birds - a look into my eight-year-old mind

An absence and a redirection

2010-05-12T16:55:00.003-06:00

I've been busy. Too busy to blog, but not busy enough to feel overwhelmed. This may be due in part to going back on my meds, but it may also be due to the fact that I've made some real, tangible moves toward the things I want out of life.

And I think I've decided to give my blog a little more direction too. I'm pretty good at talking about things I like and do, but I talk about them all in a very matter-of-fact way. Very good for instruction manuals and Dear John letters... but nothing like me. I'm funny. I'm snarky and a little conceited. The only thing I talk about in a matter-of-fact way is the birds and bees conversations with my daughter.

So stay tuned... there are some great things ahead. Until then, check out what I'm doing with Kelli at her blog.

Oh, and here's a picture for your troubles:

This is a picture of my yard from the new seating area and path my boyfriend built. I love this yard and sit here to drink my coffee every morning.

C'est freaking delicious

2010-05-04T16:54:00.000-06:00

I wasn't looking for a high-class cupcake. But when I found C'est Chic Cupcakes & Cakes in Greenwood Village, I couldn't just walk by. Well, in all honesty, the first time I saw it I did just walk by. They were closed.

I had been on a quest for frozen yogurt. Some friends have been telling me 'fro-yo' is a wild new craze. I googled for frozen yogurt places, but hadn't found any near my neighborhood. I remembered that there used to be a TCBY in a strip mall not far from my place, and I set off to see if it was still there. TCBY is gone, but there is now a "Best Treats Frozen Yogurt" in it's place. I pulled into a spot a couple doors down from "Best Treats"... Right in front of "C'est Chic Cupcakes and Cakes." In the shop windows in front of my car I could see delicate bakery cases and shelving. The shop was closed at the time, but I had to peek in. There were cupcake displays and intricately cut out cupcake wrappers and little boxes to hold single cupcakes. I swore I would go back and have a fancy cupcake. But first, I had some frozen yogurt to attend to. Now, I don't know much about retail frozen yogurt establishments, but I paid about $3 for a pretty good sized cup of cheesecake flavored 'fro-yo'. It was cool, cheesecake-y, and just sweet enough.

A few days later that sweet tooth started tugging at my sweater... "please can we get a cupcake now? Pllleeeaaaassseee??" I couldn't say no. I headed back to Greenwood Village to have a fancy cupcake. The shop smelled great.. the young lady behind the counter was chipper and greeted me with a kind, "Welcome to C'est Chic Cupcakes and Cakes!" ... I tried to say hello, but all I could do was smile. The display case was beautifully stocked with about two dozen cupcakes. There were about five different flavors to choose from, like Red Velvet and Snickerdoodle, but the New Orleans Lemon cupcake caught my eye. I asked the girl behind the counter what "New Orleans Lemon" was, exactly, and she said, "Lemon pound cake with lemon cream cheese frosting and fresh lemon custard in the middle." "Oh god." I thought. I may have said it aloud, I'm not sure. I paid $3.25 for this New Orleans Lemon cupcake, grabbed a fork, and floated right out the door. I knew I wanted to take a photo and share this with the world, but I had stuck my fork in the frosting before I had a chance to think twice. I decided I should set the cupcake on the hood of my car and take a picture before I shoved the whole thing in my mouth. That's real lemon zest on top, by the way.

The cake was heavy, moist and full of flavor. The frosting was light and creamy. The lemon flavor was just right. I can't even drive within six blocks of this place for fear my sweet tooth will take over my body and go back. It is a luxurious, decadent treat and I recommend trying the cupcakes, using them for your cake-catering needs, and telling all of your friends about them, too.

Check out their website. Once you read the list of flavors your sweet tooth is going to try to talk you into going too. They're open from 9:30am-6:30pm Monday Through Friday, 10:00am-4:00pm Saturday and 9:00am-3:00pm Sunday.

C'est Chic Cupcakes and Cakes

5910 S. University Blvd. #A-5

Greenwood Village, CO 80121

CHUN People's Fair is coming!

2010-04-27T15:37:00.001-06:00

The Capitol Hill United Neighborhood will be hosting the 39th Annual People's Fair June 5th and 6th. People's Fair is entirely volunteer-driven, and raises funds for non-profit organizations in the Denver area. I have been attending the People's Fair for as long as I can remember, and last year I began volunteering as well.

The People's Fair takes place in Civic Center Park downtown- with artisans, music, food, and kids' rides and games. Admission is free, but the people watching is PRICELESS. All of the vendors are carefully selected to offer the best hand crafted goods, and all of the musicians are local. The bands are selected by us, the Denver locals (and some sponsored judges, such as Kelli Petersen, writer for the Colorado Music Buzz Magazine) at an event called UMX. You can read my blog post about my Sunday at this year's UMX. ... and THIS post from Kelli about UMX.

The lineup hasn't been announced for the bands that will be playing, but rest assured that the music will be interesting and enjoyable! There are always fun carnival rides... half of the fun is the adrenaline from not knowing if you'll die in the gravity saucer or catch something incurable on the blow-up slide. There's a kids area with family-friendly music, face painting... stuff that I assume children enjoy when their parents have dragged them into the summer heat to experience their community.

The People's Fair does it's best to be eco-conscious and each year adds something new to its green festivities. This year they are up for nomination in the Pepsi Refresh Grant. If the People's Fair is selected, they will recieve a $25,000 grant to support the community! You can vote for the People's Fair through Friday, April 30th at the People's Fair website.

Last year they had water fountains attached to the fire hydrants, trash and recycling cans, and loads of information on keeping Denver green and beautiful. There is just not enough time in the world for me to tell you just how great I think the People's Fair is. Well, except maybe the food system. All of the food and death-rides are paid for through a ticket system. I think last year I paid $7 for 10 tickets, and most beers were seven tickets. That comes out to about five dollars for a beer, which in the scheme of things isn't much... but what do you do with those other three tickets? Many of the food vendors will have snack sized or samples for about three tickets, but if you want to eat or have another beer, you're dropping another $7. Other than that though, it's something that should not be missed.

Just go. Put on some sunscreen and go listen to some bands and browse some crafts. Spend a few bucks and have a beer and some snacks. It will be worth it.

"HITMAN SHOOTERS"

2010-04-20T17:15:00.004-06:00

-when you need to stay awake in a dangerous way.

Energy drinks are my kryptonite. Well, I like to have them even though I shouldn't. That's probably more 'crack' than 'kryptonite'... either way, my co-workers know I'm a fan of things that make me jittery. And I think they may be fans of my jittery nature- I am funny when I can't sit still.

A co-worker here has some sort of connection man at Monster Energy Drinks (this is starting to sound more and more like crack, isn't it?). Today he brought me a new Monster product to try out. They're low-cal shooters. I know we've all seen the little shooter bottles on the checkout counter at the liquor store, but are they really worth it? Can they really pack all of that jittery goodness in a little tiny bottle? It seems to work for Crown Royal's warming goodness, why can't it work for Monster?

So, I put my sugar-free Red Bulls in the fridge and decided to try a Monster Hitman Shooter. The flavor is Lobo, which I believe is Spanish for "liquid crack". I took a sip and it was sickly sweet. And also sour. And I think maybe tangy too. After the initial sweetness wore off, a bitter sensation filled my mouth and I puckered up like a baby when you give it pickles. I had to see if I could document this phenomenon. Sure enough, the second sip did the same thing:

So, I drank the rest in one gulp, like any shooter should be drank. The aftertaste is simliar to that of full-sugar energy drinks. The bonus is that this only had 15 calories and I don't think it will make me have to pee more than once.

It seems to work well too: I took the pic and sent it to photobucket, drank the rest of the shooter, and had this review typed before the photo hit my inbox. Well, not quite that fast, but I definitely feel like I could do lots of active things that would necessitate a Hitman Shooter energy drink.

Cooking with MY beer

2010-04-20T16:14:00.005-06:00

I really love cooking. And I try to cook with wines and beers as often as possible. The flavors that a good beer or wine will impart in a dish adds that extra little layer that makes it special. Today I made a beef stew. I normally put some beer in my stews and chilis... whatever dark malty brew I have on hand. I've found that a porter makes red bean chili something magical and stouts taste delicious when they help baste a roast. In an extra-special twist, I decided to use my own amber ale in the stew I planned to make today.

My amber ale has been done for some time. One afternoon I gave Kelli and her boyfriend Keene several bottles to take home and he said, "What's it called?" ... I said, "It's an amber ale... it's called 'kortney loves amber.'"

I had a couple bottles in the fridge for a little over a week, and I decided to pull one out and savor it. I uncapped the bottle and didn't hear any fizzle sounds like I normally would when opening a great bottle of beer. Turns out my bottle-capper does a horrible job of actually capping beer bottles. About three out of every four bottles is flat. Thank goodness flat beer will still taste okay when cooking with it.

So, I tossed my beef stew meat in a mixture of flour, corn starch, salt and pepper and dropped it in a hot, olive-oil-y pot. I love pre-searing meat. While the beef pieces were browning I cut my onion, celery, carrots and garlic. Once the meat was thorougly browned I removed it from the pot and tossed my veggies right on top of the crust left by the beef. Once I felt my vegetables were sweated just enough, I used half a bottle of flat 'kortney loves amber' to deglaze the pan. After adding some beef stock and putting my meat back in I continued to add my super-secret spices of choice and brought the mess to a simmer.

Tasting and adjusting spices is probably the best part of cooking. I tasted and tasted my stew, and burned my tongue just enough to know it. It was worth it. The stew got nice and rich and thick, and just enough of a sweet carmelized meat and malt flavor to make your mouth water.

I realize that it's probably unfair to tell you all about my stew without providing a picture, so if there's any left when I get home tonight I'll have to add one.

Dazzle Restaurant & Lounge

2010-04-14T16:00:00.005-06:00

This past Sunday night I joined Kelli for a show at Dazzle Restaurant & Lounge. This is a jazz bar that I had always wanted to check out. I pictured something in my head like that scene in "Great Balls Of Fire" when Jerry Lee Lewis sneaks up on that place where the black people are all dancing and gettin' down. Kelli was writing an article for the Colorado Music Buzz on an up and coming blues artist.

We arrived at the bar a little before Seven, and it was really a very nice looking place. There was a heavy velvet curtain separating two areas of the club: a bright funky retro bar, and a dim, somber music room. Kelli paid our $7 covers to get in, and we were seated at a fancy table with a kerosene lamp candle and everything. It's a very nice looking place. It appears that there may have been a dress code, because all of the men were wearing button up shirts and slacks, and the ladies were all dressed in really cute little outfits. I was really thankful I changed out of my sneakers, and Kelli was glad she wore her best thrift store cordouroy jacket.

It looks like there are signatures all over this lighted wall. I didn't check it out much closer, because just as we were seated the lights were dimmed and everyone got pretty quiet. It was at this point I glanced over at my date for the evening and smiled... she smiled back, and I knew she was thinking the same thing I was, "Damn it, I bet we look like a lesbian couple. AGAIN."

The wine list was actually a wine binder. I like wine as much as the next gal, but I didn't spend much time looking through the selection. One glance at the beverage menu and I knew what I wanted: a small carafe of french press coffee. Oh, and a double Crown Royal. Crown and rich coffee is a luxurious treat for me. Kelli ordered a chai and the waitress grabbed our food menus and silverware from our table and dashed off to the kitchen. I later wished she hadn't take our napkins as well, as I dribbled coffee down my chin a little later in the evening.

Just before the performer came on stage, an employee of Dazzle came on to introduce her. He also reminded us to turn off our cell phones and keep conversations to a minimum, as this is a 'listening lounge'. Luckily, we didn't order chips and salsa.

It was Easter Sunday evening, and there were quite a few patrons, but I wouldn't have called it busy. Nevertheless, it took nearly 30 minutes to get my whisky, and 45 minutes to get my coffee. Kelli's chai was delicious, and the smooth Crown Royal and real cream in my coffee was a relaxing addition to the jazzy blues music. If only it had arrived during the first half of the show, so I could have really enjoyed it. Instead I drank rather fast... it was Sunday after all, and it was getting late. After asking for our tab, our waitress apologized for the delay in our drinks, noting that she recieved a 'whole bunch' of coffee orders all at once.

Overall, I don't think I would visit Dazzle on my own accord. I know there are lots of people out there that like to experience high class dining and entertainment, and I think those people would love Dazzle. I love jazz, blues, latin jazz... but I don't really love places that seem to be fancy and expensive for the hell of it. As I get older my tastes may change, and I never know if maybe some time in the future there will be an act at Dazzle that I just cannot miss, but until then I'll leave Dazzle to the upscale crowd.

Atomic Cowboy makes my short list in a big way

2010-04-12T19:00:00.010-06:00

Atomic Cowboy is fantastic. On a recent Sunday afternoon, Kelli and I stopped off for a gigantic slice of pizza and a beer. We had a sweet kid named Maia with us, so we made sure to grab one of the board games sitting just inside the doors. Who am I kidding... Kelli and I would have grabbed a game either way... Anyway, we headed to a big vinyl booth near the windows and started a rousing game of Chutes and Ladders. The floor to ceiling windows facing Colfax are great for people watching, and there's a small patio outside, too.

The have plenty of beers on tap, including several local brews, and the bar looked well stocked. Atomic Cowboy is also home to the Denver Biscuit Company, which was closed when we visited, and Fat Sully's Pizza.

For $2.50 you get a slice of pizza, and as many toppings as you can handle for $.35 each. They also serve whole pizzas, a 20" goes for $16.95 with $2.50 toppings. I had a slice of pizza with pepperoni, tomato and jalapenos. Kelli had Canadian Bacon, spinach and feta cheese. It looked tasty! Other than being a bit watery from my chopped tomatos, my slice was delicious, too! Oh, and huge. These pizza slices are huge.

Now, on to the part I loved the very most: The decor. The painting above the booths is amazing. With a futuristic.. one might say atomic cowboy fighing a giant space alien.

The pool tables sit under lights covered in newspaper clippings, and the buffalo head on the wall adds a good amount of Mile-High kitch.

This bar has just enough of everything I love; good food, great mid-century inspired art, comfortable booths, and incredible food. Don't forget a good selection of beers, games for playing, and blues in the background. There's a jukebox on the wall, but it wasn't on during our lunch. I hope it works- I think its great that for a few bucks I can hear my favorite tunes.

It's a great spot to go on a Sunday afternoon, and it's definitely kid-friendly for lunch. It's location on east Colfax makes it a natural stop on a bar-hop or dinner before a show at the Bluebird. I plan to make Atomic Cowboy a frequent favorite on my short list of places I can't get enough of. I just hope to have a biscuit next time I'm there, too!

Check them out:
http://www.atomiccowboy.net/

Atomic Cowboy

3237 E. Colfax Ave

Denver, CO

Reading in the Park

2010-04-09T18:50:00.005-06:00

I went to the park this morning.

Did you know that Robert W. Speer, a city planner in the late 1800s called Denver "The Paris of America"? His dream was for every resident of Denver to have a park within walking distance. He is responsible for the tree-lined streets such as Monaco and (of course) Speer Blvd. I found a great article on his accomplishments at the denvergov.org website, here. If you asked me who my favorite Denver historical figure is, my response would probably be Speer.

I grabbed a coffee, some of my library books, and my sunglasses and headed to a sunny, grassy spot in Bates and Logan Park. It's actually called Pennsylvania Park, but anyone that grew up in Englewood in the 90s calls it Bates and Logan, for the intersection to the north west of the park.

I didn't take any pictures today. I was far too consumed with how relaxing it was to be outside in the mid-morning. There was just enough breeze that I angled myself just so, and all I had to do was lift my hand off the book and my page would turn. I'm reading a book called Retro Desserts. It has recipes (from scratch) for many of the cakes and treats that were popular during the middle of the last century. There's also a lot of mid-century foodie trivia and great photos from past marketing.

Things were going great.. I felt at one with my enviornment.. and then a van showed up. A grandma and a couple of kids hopped out and went directly to the playground. I'm sure the sound of sneakers in playground gravel illicited some kind of nostalgic happiness response in my brain. However, the blood-curdling screams of siblings harassing each other definitely illicited a response from my blood pressure, and I decided it was time to get back to my errands.

The season is still setting in, though. This won't be my last visit to the park. As much as I love sitting in my own yard with the dogs, there is nothing like the parks around Denver.

UMX at Bender's Tavern

2010-04-06T19:11:00.006-06:00

Each year in March, Capitol Hill United Neighborhood puts on the UMX event at Bender's Tavern. Over two long days, hundreds of artists from Colorado play 10-minute sets, competing for our votes. The votes are tallied, and the People's Fair musicians are chosen! Downtown Denver will be home to the 39th Annual CHUN People's Fair June 5th and 6th this year. I'll be posting more about that soon!

This year I was only able to attend Sunday's UMX, but it looks like there is going to be some great stuff to hear at the People's Fair! Here are a couple of photos from UMX past:

At 314 E. 13th Ave. in the Heart of Capitol Hill, Bender's Tavern is a great little bar. There are two sides, both with a stage and bar. They have live music and various acts nightly. It's a rock and roll bar for sure, and they serve up the best Bloody Marys I've ever had. Sometimes they have pickled string beans in them, and when you ask for it extra hot, they bring the heat. Beer is cheap, restrooms are rather clean... it's the best little dive bar in Cap Hill.

WEEKLY WEENIES - April 5

2010-04-05T16:10:00.005-06:00

A couple days late, but I included a pic of my favorite dachshund in a sweater...

Master Chef reality TV auditions

2010-04-01T19:59:00.006-06:00

I recently tried out for a reality TV show. That same week I committed to an open mic night for my standup and planned a dinner for some friends. It was a busy, hectic week.

The requirements of the audition stated that you create a dish that can be served cold. They also required that you bring a plate and utensils- enough to serve one person. With some help and ideas from my friends, I went with a chicken salad wrapped in buttermilk crepes. I made a trial run of the dish, and it was pretty tasty.

The night before the audition, as I was obsessively reading the Frequently Asked Questions section on the audition's website, I found some information I shouldn't have passed up. Not only did I need to fill out a 12-page application, but I also needed a photo of my dish and a head shot. This is information that probably should have been on the main requirements pages... I didn't have any questions to ask, and had I not been goofing around in the FAQ I wouldn't have had all of my required materials! Luckily I had made extra chicken salad and crepes, so just before leaving for the audition I made up a plate, snapped a picture, then took a picture of myself. On my way to the audition, I stopped by my local Walgreens to 10-minute photo myself some pictures.

I met some fun people while standing in line for over three hours. A guy that missed his audition in New York the week prior, and flew out to visit a friend and tryout here. A single mom that not only didn't read the FAQs about the pictures, she also didn't read the instructions thoroughly... she had a huge cassarole dish of orange chicken that was getting cold and sticky with a quickness. No plate, no utensils whatsoever... I really felt bad for her as I saw the panic building on her face while we waited. I also met a guy that brought his brother and two of his kids, a giant buffet-style hotplate and the most ornate gold silverware I've ever seen. He was a character.. He snuck himself into my picture, too:

Did I mention we waited for three hours? It was a long and tedious time. I had to go pee twice while waiting. I shouldn't have brought that to-go coffee.

There were staging areas, and waiting areas, and prep areas... and then there was the interview area. Which smelled good, and bad, and like fish and fear. I saw (and smelled) a lot of weird food. Well, at least I guess it was probably weird, because I coudn't identify it. One dish looked like a meatloaf encased in orange jello. Someone opened a tupperware container that could have only contained gym-sock-wrapped scallops. Another dish I overheard was 'elk chili', but it looked more like elk puke. Another guy had used all local ingredients, but had to use the notes function on his iPhone to list them off and explain the cooking process. We were a colorful group, that's for sure.

You see that guy in the back? With the brown and white striped shirt? He brought a specialty cocktail to serve with his dish. Clever, buddy. Get em drunk and they can't taste your slop!

Everyone had to plate their dishes and wait for two interviewers to come around. One interviewed the food, the other interviewed the people. The food interviewer took about two mini-tastes of my dish, asked me how I made it, turned her nose up at my commoner gruel, and thanked me for coming. And I'm pretty sure the personality interviewer purposely tried to make me cry. She flipped right to the question on my 12-page application about a struggle I've had to overcome, and asked me about it. And once I elaborated a bit, she asked me how that affects my cooking. ZING! "This guy is good." I'm thinking to myself. At this point I've lost all interest in being on television. I don't want to be made to cry, and then asked how my life struggles have affected my cooking. I was saved by my bland food, though, because I didn't get a call back.

... and what became of the single mom with the cassarole of cold orange chicken? Well, she managed to swipe a paper plate from one of the many staging areas, and the funny guy that snuck into my 'waiting in line' pics let her borrow one of his fancy gold forks. If I were an actual writer, or some kind of smarty pants, I'd figure out a way to use the word juxtaposition. But I'm giving myself points for knowing it belongs here somewhere. Additionally, something about 'cassarole dish of cold orange chicken' really epitomizes 'single mom' to me.

So, watch for this Fox hit some time in the near future (rumor has it, July 29 '10 to be exact). Not because I will be watching it myself, but because you might like this sort of thing.

Diner review - Breakfast on Broadway

2010-04-01T18:25:00.008-06:00

I should probably take this chance to tell you that I'm not impressed with deliberate impressiveness. I'd rather eat at a tiny old hole in the wall where I can get a sloppy plate of hasbrowns, eggs, and bacon than any nice restaurant that has a kind of fancy air about it.

Earlier this week Kelli and I went to Breakfast on Broadway Cafe, in Englewood. The cute, almost kitchy sign and it's location in an unassuming strip mall at 2109 S. Broadway leads one to believe it's a run of the mill diner. It even keeps the common diner hours of 6:00am to 2:30pm. The sign says, "Breakfast, Lunch, Blood Marys", which would make this an extra cool diner.

But I don't think Breakfast on Broadway is a diner at all. It's more of a 'brunch restaurant in diner's clothing'. The decor is classy. The tablecovers are cloth, the furniture is all matching, the picture frames on the walls match the wood tables and chairs. The bar is clean and shiny. It looked like the kind of restaurant Kelli and I would go on an universary⁺.

The host showed us to a table on the patio and gave us our menus. The waiter quickly arrived, and in his best professional waiter impression, pleasantly took our orders and brought us coffee and real cream in a little stainless steel cream cup. I do love pouring out of miniature pitchers...

This was not typical diner fare, either. Things like Fresh Fettuccini and Calves Liver stood out among the pancakes and biscuits and gravy. And the prices were higher than we had expected. Apparently there's a groupon.com coupon available for 'buy one, get one half off' on entrees, and I would recommend procuring one before choosing to visit.

I had the breakfast burrito. Which tasted fine enough, but it was eight dollars. And it was actually in a wrap of some kind. Maybe a whole wheat wrap, I'm not sure. It also came with sliced fruit on the side, which was a nice, albiet unexpected treat. I'm pretty sure the green chili came out of a can, which I thought was strange for a restaurant that seemed to have a pretty large selection of fresh items on the menu. It just wasn't what I expected- any of it.

The coffee was rich and just strong enough though. I gotta give them that. They had black and white photos of Englewood on the wall, too. Being the fourth generation of women in my family to call Englewood home, it's a beautiful place I hold dear. Breakfast on Broadway wins points with my heart.

Their website says they have live music on Sundays and bottomless Mimosas Saturday-Monday. I may visit again at a different time, under different expectations, because I think it probably has potential as a nice place to eat. It's just not a diner.

Kelli, who accompanied me on this dining experience is a very skilled writer. She has been writing for the Colorado Music Buzz for some time, and writes for several other great publications. I am flattered and excited to provide her own review of Breakfast on Broadway here. (I link to Kelli's blog frequently, but please go check it out HERE.

Kelli: First, I *love* the line about "a brunch restaurant in diner's clothing." That is so true. It was like Le Peep decided to appeal to a hipper crowd by getting a down-to-earth sign and vintage photos.

I got the Broadway Breakfast (at Breakfast on Broadway...go figure) for $7.00. The pancakes were okay...just pancakes, hard to go wrong there. The turkey bacon was...okay. The eggs were...okay. That seems to be the theme: completely average. The potato cakes, however, were pretty tasty and, as you mentioned, the coffee was good. On the whole, though, it definitely wasn't worth the price when you could go a few blocks to a *real* diner for half the price.

______________________________________________________

⁺universary: A date some time in early May that Kelli and I celebrate our pure, unadulterated amazingness.

WEEKLY WEENIES - March 27

2010-03-27T13:31:00.002-06:00

The snow has a nice little icy top coat, so they just run right on top!

We aren't in Denny's anymore...

2010-03-26T19:46:00.003-06:00

I love diners. Probably more than I should. I don't mean those corporate big-box breakfast eateries with the catchy-named combo meals. I'm talking about those greasy spoon diners. Diners that are open 24 hours, have waitresses that look like they could work a full 24 hour shift, and coffee so dark it makes my French Press have performance anxiety.

Today I ate at Tom's Diner at 601 E. Colfax Ave. I also really love Colfax Ave., but that's for another day... Tom's is popular with the gay population of Denver, as well as folks living in the Capitol Hill and Uptown neighborhoods. Although I've been in Tom's at all different times of day, it's busy but never packed. There's an outdoor patio area, lots of booths, including a couple of two-person booths, and a great view of the Central downtown Colfax culture.

Tom's Diner is open 24 hours, the way a diner should be. Here is a picture of it at it's finest, some time in the night:

Today I visited Tom's in the late morning. I hadn't had my coffee yet, and cold spring weather called for some biscuits and gravy.

Some of the paint has been updated, but for the most part, I think this diner has the original fixtures from back when it was a White Spot. The booths are worn from decades of guests sliding in and out, and the tables are smooth from endless nights of frequent coffee-spill clean ups. There is an ancient Hamilton Beach shake machine on the counter.

The view from my table shows the rock inlay wall that lines the back side of the diner on both sides of the kitchen, and although it's not clear in this picture, the carved woodworking near the counter pass-through is quirky and fun.

I had the Biscuits and Gravy and Stuff. There is a whole menu area of "and stuff" options. The "and stuff" is the eggs and meat (sausage, ham, or bacon); for various prices you can add to that stuff- biscuits and gravy, french toast, chicken fried steak, oatmeal... you get the idea... And it was HUGE. Look at that plate of biscuits and gravy. Or should I say, gravy and biscuits?? And that's FOUR slices of bacon. I paid $11.09 for this meal, and it was worth it. I couldn't finish it! The eggs were tasty, the bacon cooked properly, and the biscuits and gravy sufficiently ... gravied.

I was also served coffee AND a glass of water, which has lately been something you have to specifically request. Not having to ask for water with my coffee made me feel like I was back in the 1950s, when people didn't know to worry about the effects on the environment of wasting water. Or wasting anything, really.

This is the first of what will probably be a frequent feature on my blog... diner reviews. Tom's Diner is definitely a spot to visit in the downtown area. No matter what time of day or night.

Kansas doesn't 'get' retro

2010-03-23T17:37:00.001-06:00

Retro. Vintage. Atomic Era. These catchprases make my mouth water and my eyes glaze over. I have loved mid-century decor for as long as I can remember. Over the course of my adult life I have collected some of the coolest housewares and furniture produced between 1940 and 1970.

The thrift store used to be packed with collectables neat-o knick-knacks. And then eBay came along and made it hard for thrifty old-stuff-lovers like me to find anything worth paying a few bucks for. Suddenly people were combing the aisles of my local Goodwill, snatching up all the cool space-aged cookware, Eames-inspired wall hangings, and Naugahyde furniture and hawking that stuff on the internet. Well, at least they were in Denver.

And then I visited a Goodwill in Kansas. My teen daughter moved out there last year to live with her dad. She's found Jesus, joined track, and gotten taller than me. And she loves Goodwill, just like her mom. During my visit last weekend, she asked to go to Goodwill in Hays, Kansas. We walked in and made our usual rounds... she started combing the jeans and t-shirts, and I headed straight for the records. As I'm examining a well-maintained copy of "The Lonely Bull" (which was Herb Alpert's debut album, with the Tijuana Brass) I notice a kelly green suitcase that looks like something my grandma would have used. I tuck "The Lonely Bull" under my arm and step over to see the suitcase. There are actually two suitcases, a carry-on bag and a garment bag... I'm thinking to myself, "Man.. I wish I could afford this fab luggage!" ... and then I see the tag "4 piece set: $15" ... I read it out loud, "Four.. piece.. set.. Fifteen.. Dollars.." The luggage is in immaculate condition. The travel tags are old. The luggage is old. It's perfect.

As I'm carrying the luggage to the front of the store I spot a wall hanging. A gaudy, metal, sunburst wall hanging. I have died and gone to retro heaven... the wall hanging is $9.99.

I put the luggage on the side counter at the register, I set the wall hanging on the floor, and with a glazed over look I say to the cashier, "I'm still shopping... please don't let anyone take my things." and the lady looks at me, looks at the wall hanging and says, "that wall hanging... is... interesting."

I track down my daughter and my best friend Kelli, who was so kind in driving, and accompanying me on this trip to Kansas. I tell them of my amazing finds and see that they've found some adorable clothes too. This Goodwill is the true shopping mecca of the midwest. As I'm telling them about my finds, and we're wandering around the store, I spot a chair. A blue, shiny, vinyl chair with the neatest metal-capped legs... the chair is calling my name.. I'm floating toward it in a daze... the tags on the chair say, "Old phone chair. $19.99." This isn't just any old phone chair. This is a piece of gold. A testament to mid-century functionality. The coolest chair I've ever seen.

(It has a small tear in the seat, about three inches long. If anyone knows the best way to repair this, please let me know! Otherwise I'll be using clear packing tape to seal it up.)

Additionally, I came into possession of four 36" hairpin legs. I don't have a picture of the legs, but I will have an update post with the final table using said legs, and the wall hanging after I paint it a more appropriately vintage color scheme.

Now, Kelli and I had originally planned to take a luxury sedan on our road trip to Kansas, but due to a nasty March storm, her boyfriend loaned us his 4WD Subaru station wagon for the trip. And you know, it was a good thing, because we never would have had room for all of my great finds in that sedan. She has a great post about the trip here, complete with actual trip photos! So, I visited my amazing daughter, celebrated her 14th birthday, and found incredible deals on even more incredible housewares.

Kansas might not be so bad after all...

WEEKLY WEENIES - March 20

2010-03-20T20:00:00.002-06:00

Adventures in beer making

2010-03-17T20:16:00.002-06:00

I think beer is neat. I like reading about the history of beer, the sociology of beer, the science of beer. I like drinking beer. I thought for quite some time that I should totally brew my own beer. So, I totally did. I bought a beer making kit. But before I ever made beer, I used the kit to make wine from the grapes in my yard... but back to the beer: I sanitized all of my equipment, boiled two gallons of water to sanitize ... itself.. and then put all of that hot water in a six gallon carboy. Which is a fancy word for a huge, heavy glass bottle. Once the water cooled a bit, I sat the carboy outside in the snow. Because this water has to get cold. The colder the better.

And then, I boiled more water. Three gallons more. The pot I have to use is gigantic.

I added a malt extract to the boiling water. This is a concentrate of all of the sugars and things that makes beer delicious. There's a very scientific method to all of this, but that's not important at this point because once I started boiling the malt extract my entire house smelled of a delicious combination of baking bread and beer.

I boiled my delicious smelling concoction, now called a wort and added it to my previously-boiled-and-then-made-cold water. Last thing to do- add the yeast. And that's pretty much it for a couple weeks. The yeast eats the sugars in the beer, making alcohol. It looks creepy and gross for a few days, and then you have to transfer the beer to a clean container. I decided to use an opaque beer bucket so I wouldn't have to see the carnage of the yeast feasting on the microscopic bodies of my beer's sugar.

This is about the time my attention span wanes. The beer sat in the carboy for a couple weeks, I transferred it to the opaque beer bucket to clear for another couple of weeks, and in the meantime, I've drank half a dozen six packs of store-bought craft beer.

I finally bottled my beer, using the bottles I saved from those six packs of store bought beer. Recycling! I felt like I had done my planet justice... and then, about halfway through bottling I realize that one of my favorite brewery's bottles have too wide a mouth to accept my bottle caps. I was bottling in a snowstorm... but that didn't stop me from walking to the neighborhood liquor store to get more beer, drinking several beers, sanitizing the bottles, and replacing them with my own brew.

A wise homebrewer once told me, "You should use kegs. You'll get sick of sanitizing and bottling entire batches of beer." After drinking a few beers in the service of making more beer, I understood exactly what he meant.

As I had mentioned before, I had lost my beer making excitement a few weeks prior, so once the beer got in the bottles I really didn't care where it went. So, it sat in a cold storage room for a couple weeks. Unfortunately, (and this is where the science part comes in again) the room was too cold for the yeast to finish its job of carbonating the beer.

I've since moved the beers to a sufficiently warm room, but I've sampled the flat beer and the flavor is magnificient. Once the beer has carbonated, I'll have to update on the finished product.

-That's the cool thing about beer making though... time can really work to your benefit... because craft beers aren't filtered, the more time they have to clear, the better they're going to taste. And thank god for that.

This Simple Denver Life

2010-03-16T23:22:00.001-06:00

Born and raised just south of Denver, Broadway is my main street and the 'cash register building' is my North Star. I've never lived anywhere else, and I don't ever care to.

I love festivals, live music, BBQs, camping.. crafts, diners, running, and telling jokes. I've tried out for a reality TV show, brewed my own beer, slept on the only patch of grass in New Mexico, and never had any broken bones. And I'll probably mention all of those things and then some at one point or another.