Moving to a new city has its ups and downs. One of the weird things about living in a new city is that sometimes you feel like an outsider. Take for example Fourth of July weekend. Now if I had spent it in Cleveland I would have known exactly what we were doing. I know who hosts the annual cook outs. I know where the fireworks go off and how to avoid traffic. I probably would have made a theme appropriate side dish and spent the night following my mom to a party and then just sipping on something outside with Joe and Mom as the night wore down. But this Fourth of July we were like the new kids in school who didn't know where to sit during lunch. Nonetheless we had an amazing Fourth of July weekend, but that is a moot point. There is something to knowing what is happening in your city and where you fit into that, that is part of the feeling of belonging when you are "home."
Anyway we have been frequenting two fine establishments since we both arrived: Vesper Lounge for Tuesday Quiz Night and Attivo for any and every occasion. Vesper Lounge is a a sort of kitschy, wood walled bar with Greek bar fare. The inside is darker, but they have some nice garage windows that are always open to the patio that has little fire pits and is definitely a pleasant place to languish. Attivo is an Italian place with clean lines, an open kitchen, seriously good food and it is usually quiet which suits us most nights of the week. What both of these places have in common is friendly bartenders. We have come to know each others names and we share more than pleasantries. They are quick to fill your glass and just really make every visit enjoyable and more fun.
Being a regular creates a sense of belonging. I think people need to feel like they belong to something, even if it is only for an hour at your local bar.
Shout out to all the bartenders who know my name and a huge hug to those who know my drink of choice (cough cough Ivan)!
ttfn.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Monday, July 8, 2013
And A Very Merry Birthday To Me
This weekend was my 26th birthday. It fell on a Friday, which Joe ended up getting off due to the Fourth of July. It was a wonderful long weekend starting Wednesday night all the way through Sunday. We went out for dinner and had patio bevs almost every night and really got into all the city had to offer. To sort of some up the greatness of the weekend I am going to hit each day below...
Wednesday: Joe worked today, but once he got home it was on and we were down for some celebrating. So we went out for some happy hour shenanigans at the Cheeky Monk, which has a pretty extensive beer list, but more importantly a bunch of Moules Frites flavor combos! Joe started with a beer flight and I had a homemade blueberry lemonade and vodka and we ordered the beer and mustard mussels and fries to share. Well all of our bevvies were tasty as hell, but the star of the night were the mussels. The mussels came in a lidded pot with a crusty half baguette and skinny fries and aioli. Well the mussels were not only tasty but they were huge and the sauce was creamy, garlicky and full of whole mustard seeds to sop up with bread and fries. We were pretty happy walking home from this place.
If the excitement of mussels wasn't enough for us we also waltzed over to the capital building/civic center to see some fireworks and hear the Colorado Orchestra. We got some baller seats smack dab in the middle of the steps of the capital building looking at the behind of the Soldier's Monument and thoroughly enjoyed Stars and Stripes Forever. Post fireworks we people watched from Stoney's patio, which was pretty awesome since everyone was walking home passed us and Stoney's draws a bit of a "party" crowd.
Thursday: Thursday was the Fourth of July, but since we sort of did our celebration on Wednesday we had a bit of an open day to putz around and plan as we please. Aside from the usual lazing around in the morning and the requisite working out we walked to King Soopers to get some grillin goodies and then headed over to Cherry Creek North for lunch. We chose to go to Machete because of their legit menu and schnazzy patio. After some seriously tasty taco's, salsas and Joe's tequila ridden bloody maria we watched people set up for the festival, bought some tanks :D and some long grill tongs and headed home. To end our evening in true J n' R style we hit up Prohibition's patio for some cocktails and more people watching (hipsters and homeless people ftw).
Friday: Friday was my BIRTHDAY! And began as it should with a perfect breakfast in bed crafted by my one and only pre-hubs and a good workout! We decided today should be the day for a bit of a road trip and we chose Fort Collins about an hour down I-25 to explore. We tried to do a brew tour at Odell's Brewing Company, but they were packed and we didn't want to wait for an hour and half for the next go round. This was a pretty awesome issue because we ended up finding the Welsh Rabbit Cheese Shop.
The Welsh Rabbit was an adorable mom and pop shop where you could do wine (or beer) and cheese pairings and it was pretty freaking awesome. Joe and I had a simply wonderful time discussing the shit out of our cheese choices and we chose the Scharfe Max (from Switzerland) to bring home for later. You should probably go find some, because it is that good! Our little cheese snack was only the beginning of our food fun on Friday, because we also grilled out and enjoyed a MASSIVE steak (Joe) and some squashes, corn and veggie burgers (Moi!). If you haven't tried Annie's Quarter Pounder grillin veggie patties, you really should. They hit the spot when you are veg and think you want a juicy burger. I did mine with two slices of oozy American cheese, Sriracha, horseradish mustard and pickles! Yum!
Saturday: Saturday was a free museum day at the Denver Art Museum. So we accomplished one of the first particularly touristy things on our to do list. The museum was lovely, but it was not the most easy to navigate. Still we enjoyed our stay, especially some of the huge totem poles on display as well as the temporary Mark Rothko exhibit. By the time we got through a good chunk of the museum we were hungry so we made our way to the 16th street mall for some grub.
The walk over was rather interesting as we encountered a rally for women's rights at the civic center complete with partially naked women hailing from the slut walk and we got some free hummus snacks from a Sabba hummus cart. We shared an app and salad at Marlowe's to the beat of a drummer and watched the goofy crowds walk by. For some evening fun we went back to Cherry Creek for the art festival and walked around until the Moses Jones Band was set up. They did a pretty amazing job entertaining a bunch of old white couples with some funky oldies and a few newer songs too. But seriously there was a lot of terrible dancing to watch and the band really was good. We both thought this is probably what our wedding band will be like and got kind of excited!
Sunday: Sunday was half lazy, half cultural again as we decided to hit the festival for some reggae music and to see more of the stands. This festival is definitely the largest art fest I have ever been to and it did not disappoint. The whole Cherry Creek North shopping district is blocked off for it and there were never-ending stalls of art and a whole street of food from Indian to turkey legs to chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick! And again the people watching was pretty awesome :D
So my birthday weekend and Joe's much needed long weekend was a total success and I think it was a great start to my 26th year.
ttfn.
Wednesday: Joe worked today, but once he got home it was on and we were down for some celebrating. So we went out for some happy hour shenanigans at the Cheeky Monk, which has a pretty extensive beer list, but more importantly a bunch of Moules Frites flavor combos! Joe started with a beer flight and I had a homemade blueberry lemonade and vodka and we ordered the beer and mustard mussels and fries to share. Well all of our bevvies were tasty as hell, but the star of the night were the mussels. The mussels came in a lidded pot with a crusty half baguette and skinny fries and aioli. Well the mussels were not only tasty but they were huge and the sauce was creamy, garlicky and full of whole mustard seeds to sop up with bread and fries. We were pretty happy walking home from this place.
If the excitement of mussels wasn't enough for us we also waltzed over to the capital building/civic center to see some fireworks and hear the Colorado Orchestra. We got some baller seats smack dab in the middle of the steps of the capital building looking at the behind of the Soldier's Monument and thoroughly enjoyed Stars and Stripes Forever. Post fireworks we people watched from Stoney's patio, which was pretty awesome since everyone was walking home passed us and Stoney's draws a bit of a "party" crowd.
Thursday: Thursday was the Fourth of July, but since we sort of did our celebration on Wednesday we had a bit of an open day to putz around and plan as we please. Aside from the usual lazing around in the morning and the requisite working out we walked to King Soopers to get some grillin goodies and then headed over to Cherry Creek North for lunch. We chose to go to Machete because of their legit menu and schnazzy patio. After some seriously tasty taco's, salsas and Joe's tequila ridden bloody maria we watched people set up for the festival, bought some tanks :D and some long grill tongs and headed home. To end our evening in true J n' R style we hit up Prohibition's patio for some cocktails and more people watching (hipsters and homeless people ftw).
Friday: Friday was my BIRTHDAY! And began as it should with a perfect breakfast in bed crafted by my one and only pre-hubs and a good workout! We decided today should be the day for a bit of a road trip and we chose Fort Collins about an hour down I-25 to explore. We tried to do a brew tour at Odell's Brewing Company, but they were packed and we didn't want to wait for an hour and half for the next go round. This was a pretty awesome issue because we ended up finding the Welsh Rabbit Cheese Shop.
The Welsh Rabbit was an adorable mom and pop shop where you could do wine (or beer) and cheese pairings and it was pretty freaking awesome. Joe and I had a simply wonderful time discussing the shit out of our cheese choices and we chose the Scharfe Max (from Switzerland) to bring home for later. You should probably go find some, because it is that good! Our little cheese snack was only the beginning of our food fun on Friday, because we also grilled out and enjoyed a MASSIVE steak (Joe) and some squashes, corn and veggie burgers (Moi!). If you haven't tried Annie's Quarter Pounder grillin veggie patties, you really should. They hit the spot when you are veg and think you want a juicy burger. I did mine with two slices of oozy American cheese, Sriracha, horseradish mustard and pickles! Yum!
Saturday: Saturday was a free museum day at the Denver Art Museum. So we accomplished one of the first particularly touristy things on our to do list. The museum was lovely, but it was not the most easy to navigate. Still we enjoyed our stay, especially some of the huge totem poles on display as well as the temporary Mark Rothko exhibit. By the time we got through a good chunk of the museum we were hungry so we made our way to the 16th street mall for some grub.
The walk over was rather interesting as we encountered a rally for women's rights at the civic center complete with partially naked women hailing from the slut walk and we got some free hummus snacks from a Sabba hummus cart. We shared an app and salad at Marlowe's to the beat of a drummer and watched the goofy crowds walk by. For some evening fun we went back to Cherry Creek for the art festival and walked around until the Moses Jones Band was set up. They did a pretty amazing job entertaining a bunch of old white couples with some funky oldies and a few newer songs too. But seriously there was a lot of terrible dancing to watch and the band really was good. We both thought this is probably what our wedding band will be like and got kind of excited!
Sunday: Sunday was half lazy, half cultural again as we decided to hit the festival for some reggae music and to see more of the stands. This festival is definitely the largest art fest I have ever been to and it did not disappoint. The whole Cherry Creek North shopping district is blocked off for it and there were never-ending stalls of art and a whole street of food from Indian to turkey legs to chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick! And again the people watching was pretty awesome :D
So my birthday weekend and Joe's much needed long weekend was a total success and I think it was a great start to my 26th year.
ttfn.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)