Lifestyle | The Fleakin' Holiday Flea

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The Denver Flea is a contemporary marketplace showcasing various vendors who cultivate the Colorado lifestyle. The first Denver Flea was in May 2014 and since then it has grown into what we know today as the cool, community-curated, beer-forward collection of local makers and one of a kind items.  

This past weekend their largest event to date took place, the Holiday Flea, starting on Thursday December 3rd with their "Ultimate Shopping Experience." This $45 ticket allowed guests first access to the 150 plus vendors that spanned the 70,000 square-foot pop-up market in the River North neighborhood. Both Thursday and Friday night's tickets included live music, valet parking, five drink tickets, and access to come back for more Fleakin' fun on Saturday and Sunday when tickets dropped to $5.

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Friday night's theme was "The Un-Corporate Holiday Party" and for $35 you could kick your weekend off by shopping all of the vendors, tasting samples, and sipping on five free drinks of choice. Their festive cocktails included a hot apple cider Jameson Irish Whiskey, a winter twist on the summer Paloma with Olmeca Altos Tequila, a holiday Fris Vodka punch, and a couple clever concoctions served up from Stranahan's CO Whiskey. Beer, coffee, soda and water were also options.

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We were able to get an early peek and attend Friday's Un-Corporate Holiday Party. To be honest, shopping for 5 hours seemed like a lot to handle, but we ended up closing the place down and one point we even straddled a whiskey barrel.. we think? A love for holiday drinks, CRL CRRLL keeping spirits up as DJ, the array of food trucks outside and the free Ben & Jerry's ice cream with New Belgium beer floats kept us satiated long enough to linger and mingle through every row of the Holiday Flea.

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There was such an array of craftsmanship, artistry, culinary delights and creativity that left us feeling not only like we had made the best decision on where to do all our holiday shopping, but inspired as well. Browsing through all of the booths and chatting with the different artists and creators got us fired up to start creating more ourselves and in the meantime to give more attention to all the amazing local businesses here in Colorado. We had seen a handful of these vendors at other Flea events and similar markets, but we were still blown away by the vast array of local items and the talent displayed. By shopping at the Holiday Flea not only did we get to have a great time shopping and sipping, but we also got gifts that are incredibly unique and hand crafted while supporting the creativity in all. The Denver Flea will only continue to grow in the new year, so be sure to add "Attend a Denver Flea" to your New Year Resolutions Lists!

Words: Tiffany Candelaria | Photos: Robert Castro

For the full list of vendors visit: http://www.denverflea.com/vendors/

Lifestyle | Topgolf | Golf Just Got (More) Exciting

Topgolf is a futuristic, spruced up driving range where one can easily spend hours swinging (or swigging) the day away. Even if you aren't into golf at all or have never even played putt-putt, you will find that the time flies.

This was my second time at a Topgolf, the first being with my family in Scottsdale, AZ. It was my Dad, myself, a 10 and 13 year old, who had never played golf before, and everyone had a blast! There are seven different games that allow you to play, compete, or just practice that swing, and each offer a different level of difficulty. Each play/lounge area, called a bay, fits up to six people and has 14 men and women’s clubs for use. Or if you’re a pro, feel free to bring your own.

You might be thinking, I love golf, I love booze, but how does this work? It's so simple, a ball arrives at the swing of a club via sensor and each ball you hit is tracked for where it lands. Based on the game you select, a monitor displays what your objective or target is for each turn or each swing. There are eight main targets at the Denver location ranging from 20 to 240 yards with readers that detect your golf ball and then computes your score based on accuracy and distance and then your results appear on your game monitor. Paper and pencil are things of the past! There's not much work or stress involved at Topgolf, none if you just want to lounge on the couch with a cocktail and the TV remote. Another option, especially if you’re waiting for an open bay, is the downstairs bar and game room with Xbox, a pool table, shuffleboard, Wi-Fi and TVs.

Each bay, spread over three stories, has either a couch and coffee table or a high-top table that fits six players. They also come equipped with HDTVs and all of the sports channels, two game monitor screens depicting the scores/game, heat and A/C, and a bay host that will assist with F&B needs throughout the game. Time is purchased in 30 minute increments and you can go as long as you’re willing. Scores, stats and game objectives are displayed on a small and large monitor for you and your group to view which keeps everyone in the loop. Great for those competitive types.

There is a large food and drink menu with options like Mexican, Asian, Italian, burgers, breakfast, low-fat, and dessert. The drinks range from a big beer and wine list, to boozy punchbowls, cocktails, and energy drinks to help you hit the long shots. The food was fine, the service was sufficient, and the play prices peak as the day goes on. Top Golf is a bit on the expensive side, but it is a really fun and unique way to spend an afternoon with family or a twist on the typical night out.

100+ bays over 3 floors | Free Wi-Fi | Rooftop Terrace | 200+ HDTVs

Mon - Thu: 9:00am - 11:00pm
Fri - Sat: 9:00am - 1:00am
Sun: 9:00am - 11:00pm

http://topgolf.com/us/centennial/

Tiffany Candelaria

Lifestyle | Dish'n Bout Denver Dish

This may be a controversial statement to our native readers...but Denver has never been known for its restaurants... Weed? Yes. 14,000 foot peaks? Of course. But a decade ago the only place putting us on the map was Casa Bonita! Not until these past couple of years did Denver begin to rival New York, LA and Las Vegas and start to roar its head into the restaurant scene.

Throughout the past couple of years we've been able to see the Applebee's and Yard Houses of 16th street mall be replaced by the Linger's and Rosenberg's of Denver's thriving eclectic neighborhoods. Westword's Dish is a celebration of how far we've come as a city. We have so many amazing local and creative restaurants; it's definitely a proud time to be a Denverite. 

Happy bagel Bakers from RiNo's famous Rosenberg's.

Prior to the Dish we chose to forgo food as a life source and instead relied solely on ice water and rocky mountain air. Needless to say when we arrived at Discovery Park we were wide eyed and very hangry. Luckily, entry was a breeze and there were food trucks ready with samples waiting as soon as we entered! We hit up most of the food trucks first, starting with a healthy quinoa and mushroom cup at Keenwah, then ordered a GF beef and egg empanada, and a pork belly skewer from Orange Crunch, which were both very satisfying. Now that our stomachs weren't growling, we leisurely embarked into the main food area, looking like the sophisticated foodies that we are. 

The Nickel has a new executive chef (right) and an amazing new and innovative menu!

The main event space consisted of five designated "food areas" with beverage companies and exhibitor sponsors mixed in. It was a bit tricky to find a non-alcoholic beverage that we could just quench our thirst with after our warm walk to get in. I really just wanted a cold water or something simple to keep hydrated and for us to cleanse our palettes before the next dish. There was plenty of booze, which we finally worked up to sampling, and kind of couldn't resist given there were some pretty unique vendors. One was Golden Moon Speakeasy in Golden, who sampled an array of spirits such as Gin, Violet Liquor, and Absinthe. Another fun one was Bird Dog Whiskey, sampling a variety of all-natural flavored Kentucky whiskies such as apple, peach, chocolate, and maple. Then there were, of course, the Colorado staples such as Mile High Spirits and Stranahan's Whiskey, both mixing up Mules.

Stranahan's Whiskey charming the long lines. 

It's easy to get caught up when surrounded by the likes of OneFold, Deep Eddy Vodka, Alamo Draft House, The Nickel, Rosenberg's, Lola's, Adelita's and Little Man's Ice Cream... So many Denver staples in ONE place! Our inner "big-boned" child was in food heaven! We each found many dishes that appealed to our tastes, and some just out of curiosity. A few of my favorites included the quick, healthy quinoa bowl and the beef empanada I scarfed down when we entered. I went back for seconds at Biju's Little Curry Shop for their coconut curry chicken roll, and Onefold's organic congee bowl of savory rice porridge with chicken confit, poached egg, green onions, soy sauce, ginger, chili oil...shall I go on? Basically, it was good enough to convince me I have to go into their restaurant asap.

Sadly, some of the restaurants I was most excited to try had already run out of samples. This was because those damn VIP ticket holders were allowed in a couple hours earlier and ate up all the best bites! Such places included Los Chingones, Table 6, The Kitchen, Milk and Cake, Fooducopia and Little Man Ice Cream. *tear* Luckily I found some great ice cream to cool the pain at God Save the Cream and some with alcohol infused at Twisted Cream.

On the scene.

We waltzed, we ate, we mingled and in the end we sauntered home with full bellies and even bigger hearts. We're already proud Coloradans but attending an event like Denver Dish is just the cherry on top of an amazing city. Yet another great reminder to support local and try something new! So in love with you Denver!

Lifestyle | Tasty Colfax Review

Colfax is our very own Cinderella story. From drug deals to delicious farm-to-table restaurants. Colfax has transformed into a modern day Kim K, all without losing its street cred. It's still that eclectic street where hole in the wall coffee joints exist next door to dilapidated buildings. But, that's exactly what makes Colfax so amazing... that and also the fact that it's home to 4 of our favorite music venues..

Tasty Colfax is an event that celebrates the randomness of Colfax. It sheds light on a multifarious area that is growing and rapidly becoming a hub for foodies and hipsters alike. Which is why we jumped on the opportunity to stuff our faces, jam out to music and explore this ever expanding food haven.

With 22 stops on our list we set out with determination. At around our 5th stop we started to get a little sluggish, but that didn't stop us from hitting all the marks. A few standouts were New World Cheese, The Good Son, Annie's Cafe and Bar, Tommy's Thai, The Humble Pie Store, Bastien's Restaurant, Fat Sully's Pizza and Denver Biscuit Co.

With a list like that it's hard to not make Tasty Colfax an annual tradition. Count us in for next year...and the year after that. Who knows what our eclectic, evolving street will become by then.

Getting served some top notch beer cheese curds from New World Cheese.

Ain't nothing better than good old fashioned BBQ from Annie's Cafe and Bar.

Gettin' cheesy with Fat Sully's Pizza!