Denver's Best Restaurants For A Night Out With Friends

Denver’s Best Restaurants for a Night Out with Friends

There are very few things in life better than a great meal shared with your closest friends. One of the best places to grab dinner with your buddies is in Mile High City, known for its rich and thriving food culture. Indeed, Denver has slowly morphed into a culinary melting pot, giving you a unique multitude of dining experiences that can satisfy pretty much every craving. Given the number of choices, where would one even begin? We've got you covered. Read on to discover the best restaurants in Denver for your next night out with friends!

Acorn

Acorn Facebook Page

From the creative minds of the people behind Boulder's OAK at Fourteenth restaurant, Acorn is one of the city's must-try culinary stops. This restaurant seamlessly blends together local Colorado fare grounded in a strong Southern tradition, sending all who dine there on a culinary trip you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the city — or even the country. Be sure to try the cured Rocky Mountain Trout and the 14-day dry-aged Hudson Duck Confit.

Other than the great food, another reason to stop by here with a couple of friends is its proximity to the Mission Ballroom. Acorn is located in the Source Hotel, so be sure you and your friends stop by the next time you go out to see a show.

Mead St. Station

M

If you're looking for something a little more casual, USA Today recommend restaurant Mead St. Station. The restaurant, established in 1994, is a Coloradan institution. They specialize in rustic no-nonsense American food where everything is made from scratch. Be sure to grab their famous Mead Street Burger with a healthy serving of sweet potato fries.

As an added bonus, if you and your friends happen to drop by on a Tuesday night then you should enter their weekly rock n' roll bingo night. Foxy Bingo’s guide on how to play 75-ball points out how it's especially fun for groups – the more friends you convince to join, the bigger the prize pool! So, be sure to grab some friends before heading on over to the Mead St. Station for a night of fun and food.

Root Down

Root Down

From culinary whiz Justin Cucci, who also happens to be behind culinary hotspots Linger and Ophelia's Electric Soapbox, Root Down is your one-stop-shop for good conscious eating. Root Down prides itself on its sustainability practices that both benefit the environment and produce delicious food. They have a 4,000 square-foot garden in the middle of the city that accounts for 20% of the seasonal vegetables they use in their restaurant. They provide diners with non-GMO fed cows, and all their seafood is certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, assuring that their diners get the best and most humane products. Their menu also indicates where the ingredients on the items are sourced, letting you know just what you're eating and how it was grown.

Be sure to try the Three Chile Chicken and their Flat Iron Steak with meat sourced from Callicrate Meats.

Free Market's Sole Restaurant BRUTØ Opens

BRUTØ, located inside the Denver Free Market, is a sustainability focused American restaurant officially opening Friday, September 27, 2019. The word BRUTØ means crude or directly from the earth, which is a reflection of the menu and vibe here.

The Denver Free Market opened in downtown Denver’s Dairy Block earlier this year and was created by local Id Est Hospitality. Their vision was to create a marketplace that connects people, objects, and ideas with hospitality at the forefront and a very thoughtful food and beverage partnership. The eight shops inside have not had a presence yet in Colorado, but bring great products and services, uphold good corporate values and exude a personable spirit. By incorporating the culinary and hospitality worlds into the Free Market, visitors are more comfortable browsing, shopping and more likely return again.

West Coast Oysters, Carrot & Fennel Salad, Sobrasada with Wildflower soda

The team behind BRUTØ is known for the beloved Basta in Boulder and the funky Wolf’s Tailor in Denver, all led by James Beard Foundation nominee Chef Kelly Whitaker. The menu is small but broad, centering around their Italian wood-fired oven and heritage grain-based items milled on-site or at Dry Storage, their baking counterpart of Basta in Boulder. Expect fresh-baked breads, seasonal crudités, hearty wood-fired meat dishes, and a raw-bar. They also have a full bar with a few craft beers, wines, local Stem Cider and cocktails and a coffee bar named called BØH (for back of house) around the corner inside Free Market.

Bruto’s menu

Socca (milled chickpeas) with Ricotta & basil

BRUTØ’s open kitchen with a wrap around bar is situated in a floor-to-ceiling glass corner of the market exposing it to passerby’s, making it perfect for cooking workshops and other events that are in the works. Their location also situates them one block from the Union Station farmers market, which was a selling point for Chef Whitaker who aims to provide Colorado-grown vegetables year-round.

BRUTØ during construction

The interior was a collaboration between three design groups: one from Berlin, one from LA, and a furniture and lighting artist in CA. The architect was a local CO company that designed Denver hot spots like Hop Alley.

Open during Free Market hours Tuesday -Sunday 11am-7pm.

Written & photographed by Tiffany Candelaria @TCdoesFnB

Seawell Ballroom Teams Up with Phantom Circus for Two Show Run

Phantom Circus is back after a year plus hiatus of its full-length spectacles in the Mile High City, and the troupe will be taking over Seawell Ballroom in the Denver Performing Arts Complex for two all-ages shows on July 13th. Seawell Ballroom, who has signed on as presenting sponsor, will transform into a circus ring and will feature a variety of acts and performances from Colorado’s best aerialists, acrobats, hoopers, stilt walkers, and much more. Phantom premiered in 2016 at the Oriental Theater, and grew audiences over a span of five shows in the succeeding years, filling the theater by the third show and selling out in advance by the fifth.  Phantom set their sights on a larger, more centrally located venue to host their show. “We were bursting at the seams,” Phantom owner and director Natalie Brown explains. “Our acts needed more space, our aerial corps needed more rig points, and our fans needed more seats.”


Phantom Circus and Seawell Ballroom have enjoyed a collaborative working relationship over the past two years on a multitude of private and corporate events.  “We love Seawell; it’s our favorite venue and favorite crew to work with when we’re on the gig circuit,” says Brown. “We’re excited to design this project together.”

Brown has been on a mission to grow her circus since moving to Denver in 2013 and is excited to get back on stage for a public circus performance this summer. “Denver is a big girl city now, and I realized when I moved here that it needed a big girl circus company.” Focusing on diversity of performers, diversity in the style of acts and ensuring that all of her performers are treated well, Brown has made a name for herself across the country for creating a one of a kind experience for attendees and performers alike.

Brown was working in New Orleans as a journalist when Hurricane Katrina devastated the city. Permanently displaced in Columbia, South Carolina, Brown started her first circus in a bar parking lot a block from the Confederate Flag on the Statehouse steps in 2007, and began advocating for performing arts legislation. After diligently working to build the arts community, she set her sights on Colorado and creating a new and improved circus experience. She completed Pro Track "circus school" aerial intensive training at Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance in Boulder in 2015, and started her dream company The Phantom Circus in 2016. Phantom has performed all over the state privately and publicly and has become a favorite among locals and event planners. Their most recent endeavor had Natalie and aerialists dancing off the roof and on the side of the new Hilton Garden Inn Union Station for their grand opening.

The Seawell ballroom show will feature their VIP ticket packages, which includes aerial bartending at intermission. VIP Ringmaster gets you premier seats, a goodie bag from sponsors and drink tickets to aerial bartending. The shows at will run 2 hours long and has a 2pm matinee for families and an 8pm evening showing. Tickets: $30-$35 (GA) $50- $100 (VIP) Kids: $12 www.phantomcircus.com




Breckenridge Brewery and Pop Culture Con Launch 2019 Pop Culture Con Beer: Bocks Machina

Breckenridge Brewery and Pop Culture Con (PCC) will officially launch the 2019 Pop Culture Con Beer, Bocks Machina, on May 25th at Monkey Barrel with music, games, cosplay, and the first collectible pint glass giveaway. The beer’s name was the winner of the annual “Name the Beer” contest which beat out hundreds of submissions during the online contest. “Bocks Machina” is a play on the adventure group Vox Machina from the widely popular web series “Critical Role.” The entire cast of the series will be appearing at Pop Culture Con (Critical Role is not affiliated with this promotion).

The 2019 PCC beer features Breckenridge Brewery’s Maibock recipe, which won a bronze medal at the Great American Beer Festival. The party is challenged with concocting a malty lager that casts a joyful spell on all whom taste it. Maibock  is a refreshing golden liquid which tastes of honey and grain and smells of sweet fruit.

For the eighth straight year, Breck will be releasing the beer along with limited edition PCC pint glasses. This year’s glass features artwork by local artist Nick Hughes.

After the launch party, Bocks Machina will stay on tap at Monkey Barrel through Pop Culture Con. Other pubs within walking distance to the Colorado Convention Center will serve the beer leading up to and during the event. Follow Breckenridge Brewery on Facebook and Twitter for information on other pint glass giveaway events during Pop Culture Con. This information will also be posted on breckbrew.com in the weeks prior to the PCC.

WHAT:  

For eight Breckenridge Brewery has brewed a special beer exclusively for Pop Culture Con (formally Denver Comic Con). The first 200 people to this FREE event will receive a limited collector’s series “Bock Machina” pint glass featuring custom design by Colorado artist Nick Hughes. The event will feature an LED Dance Floor, Cosplay contest and a DJ.

WHERE:

Monkey Barrel

4401 Tejon St.

Denver, CO

When:

Saturday,  May 25th

- Doors 7pm

-Cosplay Contest: Winners will get tickets to Pop Culture Con  

- LED Dance Floor

About “Bock Machina!”

Past winners of the "Name the Comic Con Beer" contest are Razznarock, The Fantastic Pour, The Caped Brewsader, Brews Wayne, Hulk's Mash, Snape-ricot, and I Am Brewt.

Denver Mini Derby Review

In our opinion, Denver’s best KY Derby party is the Denver Mini Derby. This event started a couple years ago by Eleven Creative, the same group who created the Mile High Beer Festival, Whiskey+Doughnuts, and RiNo Prom (to name a few). This year’s Mini Derby moved from its former location at Stanley Marketplace to the bigger Conservatory Green Park in Stapleton.

Proceeds from the ticket sales helped support their charity partners Next Step Horse Rescue and Minds Matter of Denver. The Mini Derby is names such because the event actually has a mini horse race: mini-sized race course with mini-sized horses! The horses are all rescue horses from Next Step Horse Rescue and guests could visit with them before and after the race and take photos with the little cuties.

 

One of the best parts is all tickets included open bar access complete with Bulleit Frontier Whiskey mint juleps, Smirnoff vodka cocktails, Avery Brewing Company beer, wines, champagne, Red Bull and KeVita kombucha! I’d argue this open bar was better than at most events and kept everyone refreshed, energized and extra-cheery. 

 

Petting the ponies

And boy was there plenty to cheer for! The 145th annual Running of the Kentucky Derby was just one of the races at the Denver Mini Derby. The real reason people pick this Derby party over any other is to see the live mini horse race and Corgi race take place on the greens right in front of them! Guys and gals alike we’re so excited to see these races and exuberantly cheered the cute animals on. It was adorable. 

 

The Corgis line up

Prizes were awarded for Best Dressed Woman, Best Dressed Man, Best Hat, and Cutest Couple which made for a beautiful event. Rollin Smoke BBQ and Infinitus Pie’s food trucks sold tasty eats and Groove ‘N Motion provided the live music before the race.  We had a fantastic time and we highly recommend you join in the fun next May!

Live music before the race!

The Passport Program Supper Social Program: Smök, The Family Jones Spirit House and New Belgium

BBQ, Booze and fun……Don’t threaten us with a good time!

Join us for The Passport Program Supper Social, a shared dining experience exclusively for Passport insiders. We're teaming up with our friends at Smōk for a night of tasty barbecue paired with a cocktail from The Family Jones Spirit House and beers from New Belgium Brewing, and you're invited! Tickets to this event are limited, so get them before they're gone!

Your $50 Ticket Includes:
→ Automatic Jones “Rock and Rye” cocktail from The Family Jones Spirit House
→ Three-course meal from Smōk
→ Two beers from New Belgium Brewery including the debut of their Smoked Banana Stout brewed downstairs in The Source Hotel

Menu:
First Course
Paired with a cocktail from The Family Jones Spirit House
→ Jalapeño Poppers -or- Deviled Eggs

Second Course
Paired with an Astral Traveler DIPA from New Belgium Brewing
→ Two Meats and Two Sides
Choose 2: brisket, pulled pork, pork belly, turkey, chicken, burnt ends, and sausage.
Choose 2: creamed corn, mac & cheese, coleslaw, pit beans, cornbread, and potato salad.

Dessert
Paired with a Smoked Banana Stout from New Belgium Brewing
→ Banana Pudding

Things To Remember:
→ All guests must be 21+ and are required to have a valid ID with proof of age.
→ We ask that you arrive at least 10-15 minutes prior to the start of your session.
→ You must have a Denver Passport Winter Edition and a ticket to attend.

DVSN WEST x Be A Good Person Celebrate Air Max Day With The Art Max Gallery

DVSN West was transformed into a sneaker heads paradise with amazing art celebrating the much heralded and iconic sneaker the Air Max. In conjunction with Be A Good Person the event helped raise money via a silent auction to help local schools in our community, local art by local artists featured Air Max themed exclusives for this event with one of a kind pieces. The event took place on what is known as Air Max Day  all over the world. It is celebrated every year on March 26th (1987) the day the Air Max 1 was released. Themed pieces featuring the Air Max 1, Air Max 90, Air Max 97 and more adorned the walls while patrons enjoyed complimentary cocktails courtesy of Deep Eddy Vodka and Waterloo Sparkling Water. Local DJ KDJ Above had to the music bumping all night long for what may become an annual tradition here in Denver. (Words and Images: Robert Castro)

What's on your 2019 Wish List?

New Year’s Eve in Aspen Photo by Jamie Finn

Whilst everybody else is slowly but surely giving up on their new year’s resolutions to drink less alcohol, eat more greens and get back into their running shoes, we suggest that you focus on your wish list instead. “What wish list?” you ask. Well, the idea of creating a lifelong ‘bucket list’ has been around a little while now, but a smaller, more manageable wish list for 2019 will see you achieve more in a shorter space of time. And have plenty of fun doing so.

The idea is to go big or go home! This could be the year you tick off those lifelong dreams that you've had in your head since high school. Take the plunge and get your first tattoo, travel to Las Vegas and experience everything it has to offer, or even organise a charity skydive. The sky's your limit so don’t be afraid to set the bar high. Even if you don’t manage to tick off everything, you’ll still have done some crazy cool stuff in 2019.

Aerial view of Red Rocks Amphitheatre Photo by Alex Mertz

Visit a National Park

It might seem like we’re starting off on a gentle one, but how many locals have actually been out to take a look around Colorado’s stunning array of national parks? With plenty of amazing natural wonders right on the doorstep, there’s no excuse not to venture into the great outdoors this year.

As a reader of this site, there’s no doubt that you’re into music in a big way. The perfect place to check out some sweet sounds bang in the middle of nature is the world-renowned Red Rocks Amphitheatre. At this gorgeous venue, you can experience everything from classical opera to modern rock bands in the open air, surrounded by incredible undulating rock formations.

Self-built Wonders

Moving on from the wonders of Mother Nature, there’s also plenty of manmade and reappropriated structures in Colorado that are not to be missed. The International Church of Cannabis is a rainbow dream in vivid technicolour from floor to ceiling; even if you don’t partake yourself, it’s well worth a visit to this incredibly decorated place of worship. On a similarly psychedelic theme, the Magic Mushroom House in Aspen is a groovy building conceptualised by 70s architect Andre Ulrych. Certainly an unusual piece of architecture to have a look round.

Other notable sites include: the UFO Watchtower in Crestone, which involves everything alien-related that you always wanted to see – as well as everything you didn’t; Denver’s Buckhorn Exchange, which contains an unbelievable number of taxidermied animals; and Cano’s Castle in Antonito, which is an impressive structure built, strangely enough, entirely from beer cans.

Inside the International Church of Cannabis Photo by Nicole Harrington

Detox Like Never Before

If you do fancy a bit of a health kick after all, go for something a little more interesting than the usual wilted salad and underused gym membership. In Denver, you can visit the city’s Flotation Center where you can spend time floating in salt water, completely quiet and comfortingly weightless. This should refresh your mind before you head to SunSpa Oxygen Bar in nearby Lakewood. Here you can get a concentrated oxygen hit – in your choice of fruity flavour, no less – to put you back on top form and feeling fighting fit for the year to come.

Go Extreme

Of course, one of the most extreme activities you can put on your list is the good old bungee jump. Colorado has some truly fantastic places where you can experience this ultimate thrill, including from the suspension bridge over the Arkansas River gorge, or above the spectacular Glenwood Canyon. Choosing an outdoor venue with brilliant views like the two mentioned here means that you can enjoy the whole experience and not just the few minutes’ thrill of the jump itself. Make a day of it and return home that evening feeling like you’re on top of the world.

Whatever you decide to put on your 2019 wish list, make sure it’s something fun, memorable and gives you the chance to fulfil a personal dream. After all, that’s what the idea of a ‘bucket list’ is all about and we only get one life – we might as well live it to the full!

It's The Most Wonderful Time For A Beer....Denver Beer Festivals Is Upon Us

Denver Beer Festivus Has Arrived.

It’s that time of the year once again. Time to don that ugly holiday sweater and head out to Denver Beer Festivus. Always in our top five events we cover every year. The Denver Festival is a celebration of all things….beer. With over 70 breweries set to take over the Sports Castle this year, add to that fun activities such as silent disco, lucha libra wrestlers, food trucks, and a pop-up coffee shop from Method Roasters paying homage to a Seinfeld cafe it’s sure to be an amazing time.

The event takes place this Saturday, December 15th at the Sports Castle located at 1000 Broadway from 3PM to 6PM. Special VIP packages include perks such as early entrance and an awesome Festivus Koozie. More ticket information can be found here.

Festivus With the Best of Us!


Cheesman Bark's Charlie Brown Holiday Portraits

Good grief! The holidays are upon us and it’s only appropriate that we celebrate with portraits of our pups. Thursday December 6th, CheesmanBark will be photographing pups in honor of the beloved Charlie Brown character, Snoopy.

We will be creating a custom photo set that will include this iconic scene from Charlie Brown! A sad Christmas tree and a reproduction of Snoopy’s doghouse will bring the set, and your pups pic, to life!

As if you needed another reason to attend, 10% of all of the portrait sales will go to the MaxFund Animal Adoption Center! A wonderful organization who we are proud to align with once again.

CheesmanBark’s Charlie Brown Holiday Portraits:

Thursday Dec 6th 6-8pm @ Skylight

There will be 100 portrait spots for this event and it’s sure to sell out! As of right now, we will only be accepting online reservations.

Each portrait spot is $40 and will include just a few minutes in front of the lens. The purchase of $40 include one printable digital image. Additional images are $25

We’ve done over 40 of these events and typically photograph between 7 and 9 dogs every ten minutes! 1-3 minutes is enough for you to have 3-5 GREAT images to choose from.

IMPORTANT: We will only be photographing one dog per portrait spot, so if you have multiple dogs you must purchase multiple spots! No exceptions!

Things you can do to make sure your dog is a perfect poser:

Exercise them before they come

Arrive early 15-20 minutes early to let them sniff the area and get comfortable

Practice sit and stay in an environment of high stimulation

If your pet has reactivity concerns, let us know! We will gladly make accommodations to ensure your pet’s portrait experience is a successful one!

The Rise of VR Arcades in Colorado

It’s been a couple years since advanced virtual reality (VR) consoles entered the mainstream market and broke everyone’s idea of what VR can actually do. These latest developments in VR technology are lightweight, intuitive to operate, and adaptable to a number of applications and multi-sensory inputs – essentially pulling our science fiction-based conceptions of VR much closer to reality. However, when retail prices for modern VR systems proved to be too expensive for common households, the media hype surrounding VR took a slow turn.

Enter the VR arcade. Thanks to these futuristic establishments suddenly popping up in Denver and other cities in the state, you no longer need to spend hundreds of bucks to get your hands and eyes on the latest entertainment tech. But can Colorado’s currently available VR entertainment facilities actually live up to the hype? Is this new VR the experience that gamers and tech enthusiasts have been waiting for? The short answer to that is a resounding yes..

Head Games: the First Public VR Arcade in Denver

"This is somewhere anyone of any age or background could come and try out VR and any kind of experience they want to – have a different experience every time, explains Head Games co-founder Nathan Hostetler in an inverview with 9 News. But why take anyone’s word for it when you can just go there yourself. Located at W. Colfax Avenue, right in the heart of the state capital, this VR arcade opened just last year as the first public VR facility in the city. Today, they offer four separate HTC Vive headsets, each connected to a HyperX Cloud II headphone and assigned to its own open space – designed for free omni-directional movement of up to five feet. With over 40 games and experiences offered here, it’s the perfect place for first-timers to sample VR’s never-before-seen capabilities brought to life.

Veterans, Take Your Places at Kaboom VR

Meanwhile, near Windsor Lake is a VR arcade that has a total of 15 machines – comprised of not just VR headsets, but also the auxiliary controllers that expand the VR experience in this youthful place. But don’t let the chill vibe fool you. This is one of those arcades that make veteran gamers both excited and comfortable. It’s all thanks to the fact that Kaboom VR actually holds regular player tournaments to show off stuff like their racing cockpits, other sports controllers, and top-of-the-line PCs (for more “traditional” gaming). If you’re confident in your skills, you can work your way to the top rankings of games like Project Cars 2, Beat Saber, and Holoball, with the added chance of your name being features at Kaboom VR’s website.

Epic VR's Growing Epic Community

This one’s all the way down in Citadel Mall at Colorado Springs. Epic VR is proof positive that even sleepy mountain towns appreciate cutting edge entertainment technologies. The rather huge spaces available here allows Oculus and HTC Vive headset users to move freely, with facilities that also allow your guests to watch your virtual experience. Much like the founders of the other pioneering VR arcades operating in Colorado, Epic VR’s Joseph Johnson is all about sharing potentially groundbreaking experiences with the rest of the community. I saw an opportunity, and I’d like to give people an opportunity as well, to do things that they sometimes can’t afford. So we tried to make it affordable, where people could come in and play anytime.”

VR Literally Shows the Future of Real Estate

While these arcades started opening for business just last year, VR-enabled tools for enhancing business processes have actually been gestating in this state for quite some time now. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Colorado's red hot property market. The Denver Post provides an in-depth look at how real estate firms like Kentwood City Properties and NAVA Developments have already been using the same tech to attract early buyers of their yet-to-be-finished residential units. “We started our pre-sales very early with several years to go before move-ins,” explains NAVA’s director of marketing Sarah Stone. As potential luxury condo buyers walk through the completed, fully-furnished, and completely digital versions of their future homes, it’s easy to see how useful and influential practical VR tech can eventually become.

VR: An Emerging Central Player in Nearly Every Key Industry

As you can probably already imagine, different applications of VR have already been making similar leaps and bounds across other states and industries. Where do you think the equipment for the above-mentioned arcades were sourced from? In the east coast, it's doubtless that there’s serious money to be made via VR. In fact, online casino guide Gambling.com offers a comprehensive list of New Jersey-based virtual casinos already delving into VR-enabled game play. It is in fact not rare for regular players of live VR casinos to sometimes develop friendly, amiable relationships with the live dealers that they consistently encounter online, some of which have actually garnered their own small group of loyal fans. Meanwhile, in institutions like the University of California, VR has taken a central role in the practical training of both students and professionals in various medical fields and specializations. In fact, during the last couple years, VR developers and engineers have been collaborating with some of the most experienced doctors in the country with one goal in mind: to create the most efficient, medically-accurate, realistic, and intuitively-designed VR training modules for nearly every medical procedure that can be considered essential, extremely risky, or impossibly difficult.

Yes, you read that right: the same advanced entertainment system which rewards you for accurately swinging virtual sabers to a given beat could also be responsible for creating the most well-informed and well-trained generation of medical professionals in history.

Given these recent and major developments in VR, we’d likely have to feign surprise when concert organizers eventually offer VR passes for absent but dedicated fans. This bodes well for the unlucky folks who live in Colorado but somehow often miss the best nights at Red Rocks – like that one time when visionary trip-hop musician Bonobo shared the stage with Chet Faker. Of course, nothing beats actually being physically present at your favorite artists' performances. But with VR tech already undergoing heavy development in a number of significant American industries, who knows just how epic it will be to attend future gigs from the comfort of your own virtual reality.

Denver Holiday Markets

Denver Christkindl Market | Nov. 16 - Dec. 23 

This annual event brings authentic German and European holiday traditions to Denver’s downtown (1515 Arapahoe St.)! Guests can find delicious cuisine, festive German drinks, handmade jewelry, toys, clothing, gifts and much more. Live entertainment is featured inside the festival tent every evening, and dancing is encouraged! This market is planned and executed by the German American Chamber of Commerce – Colorado Chapter (GACC-CO).

Denver Christkindl Market

Union Station Holiday Market by Denver Flea | Friday's-Sunday's Nov. 23-25, 30-Dec. 2, Dec. 7-9 & Dec. 14-16th, 2018

The Union Station Holiday Market by Denver Flea will include four weekends of shopping, festivities and winter fun - kicking off on Black Friday, Nov. 23 at the historic Denver Union Station! 100s of Colorado’s best makers and artisan brands will pack the Plaza of Union Station each weekend throughout the season along with music, eats, drinks, activities and more. We’ll be there opening day (Friday 23rd) so check our Instagram @ultra5280 to see this year’s market in action! Tickets are $5.

Denver Flea

Stapleton Holiday BAZAAR | November 29, 2018

Shop, Sip, and Mingle with Colorado’s finest craft, fashion, and art makers for one night only at Stapleton Holiday BAZAAR inside The Shops at Northfield. This BAZAAR will feature over 40 craft vendors including Beer, Cider, Wine & Spirit tastings throughout the evening, along with festive music and more! 4-10 PM, GA Admission is free.

RiNo Holiday BAZAAR

RiNo Holiday BAZAAR | December 7-9, 2018

Taking over Walnut Street at 28th St. from December 7 – December 9, the RiNo Holiday BAZAAR hosts over 100 hand-picked local craft, fashion, and food vendors, with local breweries, cideries and mead booths onsite pouring holiday-themed drinks and participating in the BAAZAR’s Shop & Sip program.

A combination of outdoor pop-up shops sprinkled with fashion trucks and cozy, heated tents, the RiNo Holiday BAZAAR will spark the festive spirit for all with warm drinks and fire pits, funky music, and a selection of Denver Metro’s best food trucks on hand and a full bar! RiNo BOOZ hall, located in the heart of the BAZAAR, will be open all weekend long serving an array of Colorado crafted spirits and has bottles available to purchase.

Admission to RiNo Holiday BAZAAR is free until 7 PM on Friday, and before 12 PM on Saturday and Sunday, with GA tickets available for $5 at the door. Or RSVP at denverbazaar.com for free admission all weekend! Drink sampling packages are also available, with a range of options to fit your Shop & Sip experience. Please click here for details and more information on all Shop & Sip packages.

Yes Please Makers Market | December 8 & 9, 2018
Keeping it real this holiday season with a free, maker-hosted, vendor-friendly market starring 100(ish) of our favorite makers. After being part of the local Denver market circuit, Yes Please founders Kiwi Schloffel (of Craft Boner) and Taylor Barkin (of Moore Collection) wanted to create something with the vendor experience in mind: accessible, affordable booth pricing, attention to locals-only goods, and a friendly, supportive community. Tickets are free, but an RSVP is required. The first 50 people to show up each day get awesome totes from Craft Boner. 

Yes Please Makers Market

By Tiffany Candelaria

5 Neighborhoods, 5 Restaurants in Denver

Here are some restaurants to check out in five Denver neighborhoods. This is a great list to refer to the next time you're looking for a new dining destination or happen to be in one of the areas enjoying some night life. Plan on checking them out with a group? A Denver Charter Bus Service is the perfect way to make sure you're having the most convenient and safe transportation, and it's a lot easier than ordering multiple Uber rides!

LoDo

Rioja

1431 Larimer Street

Rioja is a Spanish and Mediterranean fusion style restaurant with some seriously impressive dishes throughout their menu. Their happy hour changes each month, inspired by a different country each time. Don't miss out on their weekend brunch menu, either! It features items like donuts with lemon marscapone and blueberry compote, sweet potato hash, and the rioja benedict.

Highland

Puerto Rico 5280 Cuisine

3109 Federal Blvd

This new Puerto Rican restaurant offers a comfortable atmosphere to dine and drink when you're in the neighborhood. How can you go wrong with comfort food options like the light, flaky authentic pastries named Pastelillos? The mofongo is another amazing dish to consider ordering when you're here. It's all super fresh!

Rino

Rino Beer Garden

3800 Walnut Street

Beer lovers consider Rino to be a haven for nightlife, and they aren't wrong! With their selection of beer and enhanced bar food, this will easily become of your regular stops if it isn't already. There are large outdoor patio with fire pits and easy to share dishes, so this is always a fitting spot to gather with your friends in Denver.

SoBro

Colore Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria

2700 S Broadway

It can be hard to find good Italian food, but Colore definitely knows what they're doing. We recommend making reservations if you plan on coming here for a holiday such as Mother's Day or Valentine's Day. Some of the highlights on this menu include the roasted jalapeno artichoke dip, chicken marsala and linguine pescatore.

Cherry Creek

True Food Kitchen

2800 E 2nd Avenue

Are you looking for a healthy option? True Food Kitchen is the place to be for flavorful vegan and vegetarian eats. Try their edamame dumplings, spaghetti squash casserole, or the inside out quinoa burger if you want to stick to the tried and true favorites. We highly recommend taking a look at their dessert menu while you're here, too.

Pepper X Ultra5280: Bad-ass Babes Behind Denver Based Brassieres

Photos courtesy of Jaclyn Fu

We decided to highlight Denver based brand Pepper, for small boobies, and bad asses alike, take a peek into the journey of Jaclyn Fu.

Tell me a little about yourself, and the brand, Pepper? You must’ve reached a point where underrepresentation got frustrating if you were possessed to start your own brand. Do you feel as though the brand represents you as a person? 

I'm Jaclyn Fu, Co-founder & CEO of Pepper, the first and only body positive bra company for small-chested women that wants you to celebrate your body exactly as it is. Pepper was very much inspired by own frustrations of not being able to find a bra that fit because my size is typically an afterthought for bra companies. The brand does reflect my views on promoting self love and inclusivity, but more-so it represents our vibrant community of women who may be small but are mighty.

How do you even begin a project like this? How does one begin to make a model of a bra? 

Good question, my co-founder Lia and I had zero bra design experience when we started! We did get really good at talking to potential customers and listening to their pains, so we used that research to help design what a better fitting bra for this audience could look and feel like. We started by talking to friends, family, even people I met on Craigslist, to try to understand why current bras don't fit and how it makes them feel. We then did a lot of market research and came up with hypotheses on how to improve on the designs that are out there.

What struggles did you face getting started? Did anyone give you slack for what you wanted to bring onto the market? 

It was a constant uphill battle to show we were onto something with Pepper. We were doing something completely new, made most men uncomfortable to talk about, and so had a hard time being taken seriously. However we were able to find some really awesome investors who believe in us and our mission and are grateful to partner with them now to bring Pepper to the masses.

So after the Kickstarters extreme success (470% in the first 13 days is wild, btw), did you get reached out to by major brands/distributors? Who will be carrying Pepper? 

We are a direct-to-consumer brand, so for the time being will only be selling online. This allows us to really get to know our customers and develop authentic relationships with them so we can keep creating designs they'll love. We are open to major distributors in the future, however.

 

What is next for the brand? What’s next for you?

Our customers are already asking for more styles! We're currently working on a new wireless bra, and expanding our All You Bra collection with more colors and fabrics. We're also doing a lot of thinking on what it means to be a body positive brand and how we can live our ethos in everything that we do. For myself, I'm fired up to take Pepper to the next level and make an impact on an industry that hasn't been disrupted in so long!

 

What’s your favorite boobie related saying/slogan/catch phrase/silly saying? 

Embrace the 'flat' in flattering ;)

Thank you for being a Denver babe, working hard to represent all of us. Now onto a few random questions I’m sure our readers will be keen on learning about you. 

Favorite musician lately? I've been listening to a lot of Bazzi, Anthony Russo and Post Malone 
 

Favorite Denver hangout for a drink? for food? for music?

Bar Dough and Sushi Den are a few of my favorite restaurants. Love getting drinks at Death & Co and dancing at Temple!
 

Favorite Denver store?

Alas, I don't do much shopping anymore (the founder life)

Shop the brand at https://www.wearpepper.com/.

Safeword X Ultra5280 : A Look Into the Boss Babes of Denver

Logo by Justine Henderson

We took some time to interview Bryn Carter and Shayla Preeshl, to talk about the amazing girl power forward collective that they started. Bringing boss babes from all walks of life together, creating connections, promoting local businesses, and sharing good quality time together,

Photo by Sara Palandeng

Tell me a little about the bad ass babes that created Safeword. What are each of your backgrounds? What brought the two of you together? What things started happening in your life that drove you to wanting a project of this nature? What was the turning point in your life that brought you to this thing that is Safeword.

B: I’m a Midwest girl, I moved here from a city outside of Chicago called Rockford after living in Australia for a while. The two of us actually met on a shoot a year ago – Shayla was styling and I was modeling. We clicked immediately and started hanging out after that. In all honesty, the idea for Safeword was really finalized one night at my house after a lot of wine haha. But before that, we had attended creative meet-ups (where we found a lack of female attendees) and women entrepreneur events (which we found to be full of cliques) and realized there was a real need for a place for female creatives and entrepreneurs to come together and network while growing alongside one another both personally and professionally. We refer to it as our coming-to-Jesus moment that night but between the two of us, we know so many amazing women in this city and our hope is to get these women working with one another and eventually take this to other cities as well.

 

S: I hail from small-town Montana, and have a background in wardrobe styling and marketing. I had lived in Denver for a few years, and found it difficult in my time here to connect with fellow creative women. Another turning point for us was when we had attended a local meetup, and it felt the opposite of welcoming for the babes who attended. We realized we need to do something for the ladies, there is too much talent here that is underrepresented!

 

Tell me a little about Safeword itself. What does the word mean/why did you choose this title?. Y’all have thrown some awesome events over the last few months, I attended the last at Ft. Greene and had an awesome time. What’s the purpose of events like these?

Well, we like to play a lot with words and their meanings. For example, on our website we have a section called ‘Centerfolds’ which has always referred to usually a sexy woman in the middle of some raunchy magazine. We wanted to reclaim these words that may have been used to degrade or to put down women and now our ‘Centerfold’ section is where we interview amazing creative women and entrepreneurs who share their stories. Safeword is the same – we wanted to use a work that represented a safe place that women could come together and feel comfortable.

The purpose of these events is to do networking differently – we like to have amazing artists and business owners there who can show their work, do their work, sell their products and meet some incredible women along the way. From our previous networking experiences, we had felt a sense of in-authenticity. Interactions felt robotic and forced. We always describe our events as hanging out with your girlfriends. We have a ton of ladies who come to them alone, and end up leaving with a babe squad worth of contacts and friendships by the end.

 

What was the goal in creating this group? How has it been going and how can local babes keep perpetuating the growth of that?

The goal is simple really – get all these amazing women together in one spot so they can network and build this business while also building their friend groups. We had a lot of women who just moved to the city come to our last event and reach out to thank us after because they were having such a hard time meeting women, and after our event they had some genuine new friends to hang out with. It’s things like those moments that let us know we are doing something right and hopefully will keep growing Safeword into something great. We hope to bring this to a national level, as we know of markets that are even more difficult to meet women in these industries than Denver. One other goal we focus on is creating an open dialogue amongst women, so instead of being pit against one another we can conquer avenues together through those relationships. The support we have received locally has been overwhelming. We launched this as a passion project, but had no idea how our audience would react. The fact that it has exceeded our expectations in growth by a long shot continues to motivate us.

Photo by Sara Palandeng

 

What upcoming events do we have to look forward to? Any extra awesome stuff coming in the near future?

 People always ask why we aren’t doing events all the time haha and we get asked weekly to partner with people on other events, but end of the day, we are not an event company and we really have to commit to why we started Safeword and stick to the quarterly networking events. Shayla and I also do this as a side hustle – she works full -time for a bad ass, women-owned and operated PR firm in town, I am a realtor and working to open a women’s co-working space (details coming soon babes). This is something we feel so strongly about and we are beyond thankful for all the amazing women we have met and the support we have been shown. Safeword is what it is because of the incredible babes of this city. Look for our next big event in the winter but might be one or two beforehand – we will be sure to keep you informed.

Follow the Safeword website here and follow these lovely babes on Instagram to keep up with the amazing things to come!

Photo by Kim Desmond

OmFest Colorado Review

OmFest Colorado returned for its fifth year last Saturday to Founders Green bringing Denver a day full of free yoga, barre, meditation and mindfulness.

This year's OmFest featured the local yoga and fitness community, musicians, food trucks, artisans, local breweries and wineries! Again they incorporated fun for the whole family with yoga for all ages and free kids activities. Every hour from 9am to 6:30pm there was a yoga or fitness class, with the day culminating in a live band taking participants and the local community into the lovely summer evening. 

The day was sunny and warm, and many people filtered in and out of the festival thought the day. The final yoga flow took place as the sun set and a cool breeze cooled everyone off. What a wonderful day of practice and community in the grassy courtyard.

Photos by Samantha Bliss

Our Journey To A Place Called Tacolandia

Tacos and lowriders. (Photo Credit: Samantha Bliss)

As we have mentioned on many occasions we are pretty big fans of tacos here at Ultra5280. From al pastor to carnitas any edible morsel of goodness that can be filled in a warm tortilla we are big fans of. This year we were fortunate enough to cover another edition of Tacolandia presented by our good friends at Westword.

We had pretty large helpings of the vast selection of some of the cities best taco establishments. It is hard to pick a favorite amongst the wide selection so we will just say we enjoyed them all. What is becoming a taco lovers destination event was once again filled with food, music, a car show and an outrageous lucha libre ring.

Mariachi America (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Music from Mariachi America had everybody dancing to the rhythms of salsa and cumbias, while fellow Denver spanish rock bands such as iZCALLi and Los Mocochetes brought the local flavor. Members of the Saints and Sinner Car Club had their finest whips (it's what the cool kids say instead of cars) on display. With candy coated paint jobs to dizzying chrome wheels. The event is always a favorite of ours and if you have never been we suggest you mark it in your calendar asap for next year.

All the tacos. (Photo Credit: Samantha Bliss)

The proud traditions of the latino culture were on display. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Photo Gallery 1: Samantha Bliss (Staff Photographer)

Photo Gallery 2: Robert Castro (Editor in Chief)