Susan Traveled to Denver

Long story short, this summer was a whirlwind of difficult days, and worry-filled nights. It was startling when the leaves started to turn, before I got to enjoy the ocean, the rooftop bars, and the many woodsy adventures of my usual summers in New York.  I needed to shake off the sad summer days.  Lucky for me, I have a fantastic-amazing-wonderful-across-the-country best friend who saw this, and also needed an escape from the real world.
 
We consulted our airline miles, our partners, our bosses, and our cats, and a few days later, we were waiting at airports on opposite sides of the country (SFO + LGA), ready to meet up in the mile-high city for an intensive best-friend-cation.
 
Denver seemed like a reasonable mid-point, neither of us had been before, and the airline miles worked out.  So, we went, and we explored.  I am absolutely smitten with Denver – just spending two nights there has me dreaming of a simpler life in a smaller city rooted in nature.  
 
Might I suggest, to anyone considering spending some time in Denver, some of my favorite places?  If you know more about Denver than I do, please share your favorites in the comments - I am eagerly awaiting my next visit to the area.

I was so happy with the selection of both vintage and locally sourced shops in Denver.  Our favorites were along Santa Fe and  West 11th.
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Sacred Thistle 1110 Acoma St
This was my personal favorite.  A mother-daughter team, Sacred Thistle is part florist, part carefully curated shop.  We were given a little look into the floral studio -- they have the most unique collection of brass planters that they use for centerpieces, and the most sophisticated, on-trend taste in flora.  They sell a gorgeous selecti0n of jewelry, home accessories, and stationary.

Meek Vintage 39 W 11th Ave
Just around the corner from Sacred Thistle, we found great vintage clothing here.  A bright, airy, plant filled space, Meek is full of treasures.  Their website shows a stunning selection of their vintage bridal gowns.

Garage Vintage 776 Santa Fe Dr
An enormous vintage shop with furniture, clothing, accessories, home goods, jewelry, lighting... Just about everything you could need.   I could have spent hours in here.

Candelaria 853 Santa Fe Dr
What luck that we came here on Saturday!  The shop owners husband and toddler were in charge of the store while the owner was running a booth at the ​Renegade Craft Fair (which you can find nation wide in several cities).  Renegade is amazing and we were overjoyed to hear it was one more day, and we could go before leaving!  This candle and more shop was so pretty, and the products were priced really well for local hand made items.  The shop hosts tons of classes in candle making, macrame, terrariums... aka instagram dream classes.  You can even host a private party.

The Room of Lost Things  985 Santa Fe Dr
One of those stores you can't possibly not go into.   Taxidermy, doll body parts, crystals, local art, jewelry, skulls, bugs, and all the oddities you can imagine.  

Ninni & Foffa's 987 Santa Fe Dr
Just next to The Room of Lost Things, Ninni & Hoffa's has a sweet selection of vintage.  I loved the milk glass and the brass selection  -- she had a very unique duck shaped lint-remover and a basset hound shaped pipe rest.

16th St Mall 16th St between Union Stati0n and RTD Civic Center
Just kidding, do NOT go here, unless you really love the Hard Rock Cafe and/or homeless people following you.  A girl we shared a lyft with recommended we go there, when we asked where the cool shopping was.  Her boyfriend said he didn't think we would like it, and we should have listened to him.  Major Times Square vibes.

Finally, I just wanted to list some of the most special vendors we met at the Renegade Craft Fair.  They are mostly Denver based, and all really cool people, making really cool things:

• Knotty Tie Co - If I go missing from NY, I've gone to work here, for the following reasons  (a) punny name (b) they make ties with whatever you want on them (c) fabric is made DOMESTICALLY from recycled bottles (d) they employ refugee women, creating opportunity and community (read: We Hire Humans)
• Imani Collective - (I believe her name was) Melissa, manning the booth, was so kind, and tracked me down hours later when she found the name of the shop they sell at in NY.  The make the loveliest block-printed pillows -- I am looking forward to giving these as new-baby gifts to loved ones.  They manufacture their goods directly with their team in Kenya and their mission is pure and effective, providing safe employment and education for the workers children.  Please buy from them.
• Lincoln + Hobbs - CA based, sculptural, industrial touch light.  Just go look at the site.  They're very special.
• Stitch + Shutter - Minimalist leather goods.  I bought this boob wallet.
• Candy Relics - I saw this whimsical vase out of the corner of my eye.  It turned out to not be a vase, but I was glad to find this company.  The owners are really kind, and their products are absolutely amazing.
• Wolf & Wren Press - i bought way too many of these letterpress note cards.   I have no willpower against special stationary, or tote bags that teach how to be good.
• Shara Porter - this designer is actually from my best friends hometown, so we had a bit of a chat with her, and I picked out a slim bi-fold printed with a wood grain design for my boyfriend.  He loves it. 
• The Craftsman & Apprentice - these fine folks were doing stamp making demo's and I took their flier for their studio, which hosts a Friday night Craft-o-Rama, among many other amazing workshops.

Voodoo Donut - 1520 E Colfax Ave
The Portland based donughtery's only other location.  The best Homer Simpson donut of my life.  SO MANY donut flavors, shapes, colors. Cash only, be prepared for a long wait (unless you go mid day like we did)
 

Olive + Finch - 1552 E 17th Ave
Apparently this is a chain, but do not discredit.  We had an amazing, simple, healthy lunch and fresh squeezed Greyhounds.  The pastries seemed very popular, but we did have a whole box of donuts on us.


​Linger - 2030 W 30th Ave
Despite all the hype, I really enjoyed the mixed genre tapas, and exotic cocktails.  Linger used to be a mortuary, and there are some remaining details.  We waited a while for our reservation, but the service was very fast once we were seated.  We *loved* the bar and the blistered shishito peppers with cheese curd.  Bonus points for selfie-worthy restrooms and a killer bar..

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Little Man Ice Cream - 2620 16th St
We saw the milk jug shaped ice cream shop from our table at Linger, and had to try it.  The line was horrifying, and we noticed the small stand that offers limited flavors.  Exactly what we needed!


Sassafras American Eatery - 320 E Colfax Ave
This soul-food breakfast was rich and comforting.  We waited ages, but I would do it again.  They had SO many flavors of bloody mary's - we each had a flight, and shared biscuits and gravy, deviled eggs, fried pickles, and the hash with fried egg (the only item we didn't love).  Can you open a NY location?


The Intrepid Sojourner Beer Project - 925 W 8th Ave
Located in the Santa Fe arts district, we took shelter here when the rain was too heavy.  The Imperial Basil IPA was so yummy - literally the only IPA that I have ever enjoyed.  We had the Jalapeño kettle corn, but weren't really into it.  They had a ton of board games available - It felt very welcoming.

 
Beast + Bottle - 719 E 17th Ave
We were all set to have dinner at Acorn, in RINO, when our Lyft driver talked us out of that, and into Beast + Bottle.  It was around the corner from our apartment, so we went for it.  Sydney made the reservation as a birthday dinner (a minor stretch, less than 2 months away, but we will not see each other again before then), and the staff was SO kind, binging us a spritzer, and a special dessert.  We had the chef's tasting dinner - where we each picked an appetizer, entree, and dessert, and the chef included an amuse bouche and handmade pasta course.   This was a magical farm to table experience, that I hope to enjoy again someday.  The crab risotto and escargot caviar were standouts.  Exactly what the inner foodie wanted to experience.


Waffle Brothers - 1707 N Lafayette St
We were so lucky to get to spend this day with my family friend Isabella.  She took us to Waffle Brothers for breakfast, and I had a bacon-egg-and-cheese-on-waffle-sandwich and a perfect fruit salad.  The bloody mary was way too spicy for me, but I'm kind of a wuss for spicy foods.  This location was in an old house and each room in the upstairs was full of dining tables.  it was really unique 

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​Crooked Stave - 3350 Brighton Blvd
Our last stop before leaving Denver!  We had just come from the craft fair, and found this tap room nearby, which featured Sours.   I LOVE a sour fruit beer, and they had so many to try.  The Sour Cherry was my favorite.  The best part, however, was the cheese shop in the same building.  We reviewed our cheese and meat preferences with the cheese-mongers, and they brought us the cheese platter of out dreams, to eat with our sours.   I may or may not have purchased 4 kinds of cheese to bring back to NY. 

Sydney and I were so lucky that a friend offered their place to us for the weekend.   We got to our apartment in North Capitol Hill by Lyft (it seems like the most commonly used ride-share there), and it took about 45 minutes.  North Capitol Hill had the charm of Tarrytown with a dash of Long Island City nightlife and dining -- almost suburban, but you could get by without a car.  The neighborhood had a mix of larger, modern apartment complexes (we stayed in a place sort of similar to this) and gorgeous old victorians.  Its not really a shopping area,  but its a really compact city, so we never spent more than $10 on a car to other neighborhoods.

Knowing the city a little better now, I might consider staying in RiNo (industrial, hip new arts district) or along Santa Fe (the other main arts area, older with more vintage shopping).  Both areas host "First Fridays" (Santa Fe + RiNo) and have great breweries.  Some rental suggestions:   Rino 1 2 3 4  / Santa Fe 5 6 7 8

The beauty of a trip like this is that we had literally no set plans, so there wasn't ​technically anything that we missed.  However, we did get some of Denver's crummiest weather (roughly 50% of people we  encountered cheerily told us "You know, Denver gets over 300 sunny days a year!", despite the cold misty rain we were experiencing), so we did not fit in much outdoors time.   Next visit, I hope to hike to Lake Isabelle, and see a show at the Red Rocks.   I would also love to rent a car and drive to Boulder for a day or two, and catch up with some special people I know there.   My favorite chef-friend, Sara, teaches hands on cooking classes at Sur la Table that would be so fun to try.   Next time!

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SUSAN TROTINER