3 Days in Denver
Ohhh, Denver. There is just something about the Mile High City that I have loved for a long time. While I have spent decent time in and around Denver, this was the first trip out to Colorado that Justin & I took together.
For Christmas, I gave Justin tickets to Red Rocks to see The Revivalists. Red Rocks had been on our list for a long time and I figured what better way to make it happen than to give it as a gift.
THURSDAY
We arrived into Denver Thursday afternoon, checked into the Le Meridien and snagged some cocktails at their rooftop bar before dinner at El Five in the Highland neighborhood, a short 10 minute drive from downtown. El Five has sweeping views of the city, and the food was spectacular. I honestly think I had the best hummus and lamb, ever. We also ordered the paella to share. I LOVED the eggplant fries but Justin thought they were just okay.
FRIDAY
As we knew we were not going to run on Saturday, we got in a 5k along the Cherry Creek trail before heading to Bacon Social House in Sunnyside. I loved the vibe of this breakfast/lunch spot with a great indoor-outdoor area. I had a delicious veggie omelet and was feeling the GF pancake so I got the kids side of that and it came out as a bear head and made me smile. If you do go here for breakfast, we walked 0.2 miles to The Radiator for latte for Justin and a matcha for me.
We had a few hours to explore downtown so we walked by Larimer Square and through the Dairy Block/Denver Milk Market.
With an earlier dinner at Red Rocks before the show, we didn’t want to eat too much but we also didn’t want to skip lunch — we don’t do well on missed meals over here. We swung by Hapa Sushi. I had a delicious asparagus roll and a yellowfin tuna roll. Did you know asparagus can help to cleanse the liver? Which I knew I would be in need of…
NOW ONTO RED ROCKS
We opted for a car service vs. relying on an uber to have a specific drop off and pick up time. I’m so thrilled we did. The service was Denver Ride LLC and was a flat fee to and from Red Rocks (about 35-40 minutes from Denver). Additionally, with black car/limo, they are able to drop you off at the top of the entrance because they have special permits vs. with ride share you would have to walk, try to find your ride, etc. The cost seemed to be very reasonable considering if there was a surge with ride share—highly highly recommend.
Our reservations for Ship Rock Grill which is a restaurant AT Red Rocks was for 6:30 p.m. We planned to go early to get a drink. Big. Big mistake. First, they don’t let you in until your reservation time — which you should 100% make. Second, we only had one road soda with us which we finished on the way. So we had no alcohol, no people we knew tailgating (which there were plenty of), and no where to go other than to stand outside of the gates. Plan ahead.
I’m glad we did dinner on-site out of ease. Ship Rock Grill had GF buns so I had a sandwich with a side of fruit. It certainly wasn’t anything fancy or special but you are literally sitting within the rocks and with great views. We walked through the Red Rocks Hall of Fame which was actually pretty neat and settled into our seats—after battling the steps because y’all they are no joke— with some cocktails. Frozen, for Justin, of course. I did GA tickets which for this show were rows 50 and beyond. Had we been bigger fans I probably would have gotten something closer but there is not a bad seat anywhere. The show was spectacular. Absolutely out of this world. The sound is like nothing I could possibly even attempt to explain with words here because you just feel it when you are there. Just book the trip.
SATURDAY
I knew we’d be slower moving so I booked a brunch for 10:30 a.m. at Safta. It was buffet brunch with a set cost and while Justin is usually anti-buffet, this came highly recommended so I convinced him and WOW y’all... It was an Israeli-Mediterranean spread from a beautiful open kitchen. The flavors were developed, and I might have gone back for thirds. From lox to fresh bagels (not GF tho), to charred grapefruit, to a full cheeseboard, to lamb and an entire dessert table any party would be envious of, this brunch lived up to the hype. If you do decide to put this on your list, Safta is located sort of in a co-working type of multi-use area with a hotel below it. You are in the right spot! We were convinced we went to the wrong place at first. Don’t worry!
We walked about 2 miles from Safta along the South Platte River through some parks. It was a long walk, not 100% I would recommend it, but I’m always glad to get some steps in. We ended in the Platte Street area and swung into Wonder Press for some hydrating juices. There’s a decent bit of shops and restaurants around here and I did a little shopping at Patterns & Pops. We visited Denver Beer Co while here—lots of great beer on tap and they had a seltzer which I really enjoyed. After a little siesta at the hotel, we went to Union Station to the Terminal Bar in the Hotel Crawford for a little apertivo. Looking back, I wish we stayed closer to Union Station…
We made our way to RiNo for dinner at The Greenwich. RiNo reminded me a lot of NoDa if you are from Charlotte. Cool, mixed-use buildings and lots of street art. They had a great patio space, too. My dirty martini was perfectly balanced and Justin’s Manhattan was excellent. We split the simple salad to start and the shallot champagne vinaigrette was perfectly punchy-wish I had the recipe. Justin had a calzone which he thought was just okay but I LOVED my meal. Maybe I just love food more, I don’t know…I had the chicken and we split sides of asparagus (hi, liver!), and the thrice cooked potatoes which I wish I didn’t tap out of fullness from this meal because I would have loved to finish them.
We walked up?down? the street and landed at the Block Distilling Company for a few more cocktails — I did have one NA drink which was really tasty. We walked across the street to Heaven Creamery for some ice cream and they had GF cones! Amazing!
While to me, RiNo seemed to be an ‘up and coming’ place, there was a lot to do if you want to be walkable to some restaurants and bars.
SUNDAY
I wish I had something fun to share here, but alas, with the time change we needed to make our way home and back to the little dog. We were home in time for dinner and walked through the door around 4 p.m. ET.
RECAP
Stay
Le Meridien - though I only touched on it, this hotel was fine for us but not great in regards to location and being walkable to things… I wouldn’t stay here again.
Eat & Drink
Bacon Social House in Sunnyside
Do
Car Service to Red Rocks: Denver Ride LLC
