Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2023 i 5280 Magazine

Tradition dictates that to celebrate an anniversary, one gives a formal, tangible gift. But the logistics, not to mention the cost, of handing out actual trinkets to 50,000 print subscribers and roughly 40,000 daily digital newsletter readers are, regrettably, prohibitive. To commemorate 5280 ’s three decades of covering Denver, a milestone the magazine reaches this month, I thought I’d instead share what I think is the most valuable lesson I’ve learned during my 22-year journalism career, all of which has been spent within these walls. Ready for it? Be generous. That may not seem like an axiom one would glean from an industry built on delivering the truth at all costs. And if I had worked at another media company, my takeaway might’ve been very different. Fortunately, 5280 ’s founder,…

What’s behind the beard? It’s been almost a decade since Charlie Blackmon hid the lower half of his face behind a majestic mane, but we used to know. When the Rockies first called Blackmon up to the big leagues in 2011, he sported sideburns but left his plump 24-year-old cheeks exposed to the world. Then he got hurt. Less than a week after hitting his first home run, Blackmon broke his left foot sliding into third. He grew a baby beard while rehabbing, shaved it for the start of the next season, bounced between the minors and majors for two more years, and then, finally, retired his razor for good before the 2014 season. Blackmon made his first All-Star team that year. He later told mlb.com that his facial hair…

Wild yeast, mold, and bacteria have led Mara King on a wild ride over the past 15 years—from roving the streets of her native Hong Kong in search of fermented delicacies for a YouTube series to crafting koji (an East Asian mold essential for miso and sake) out of buckwheat grown and milled by Boulder’s Dry Storage. This summer, the fermentation director for Id Est Hospitality Group—chef Kelly Whitaker’s restaurant conglomerate comprising the Wolf ’s Tailor, Brutø, and six-month-old farm-to-table spot Hey Kiddo—is reducing food waste by crafting fermented sauces, soups, and side dishes from eatery extras. Favorites at Hey Kiddo include gochujang chile paste created with leftover sourdough bread and chiles, tian mian jiang (sweet bean sauce) made from stale Hokkaido milk rolls, and banchan (Korean side dishes such…

FAQ How we selected this year’s Top of the Town honorees. How does 5280 pick Top of the Town winners? Our reporters and editors spend months exploring the city to choose winners for select categories on the ballot. We try to do our research anonymously and pay for all meals and services, where possible. Our readers also pick their favorites for every category by casting votes via our online ballot. The businesses that receive the most votes win. Don’t the magazine’s advertisers automatically win? Nope. Top of the Town recognitions are based only on our research and readers’ votes; there is zero connection between advertisers and winners. The fact that some winners happen to be advertisers does not influence our selections. Sure, we could make some folks happy by “selling”…

NOAH HUDSON SLAPPED HIS TINY HANDS on his parents’ kitchen table, pushed aside a half-eaten banana pancake, and tried to wriggle free from his highchair. His mother held on to him with one hand while steadying the computer screen she was looking at with the other. “So sorry,” Sarah Hudson told the occupational therapist on the video call. “One sec….” Noah flung his spoon to the floor and let out a cheerful squeal. Sarah gave an exhausted half-laugh. “You know, he can be a handful,” she said of her 22-month-old son, who was born with a developmental disability. It was early March, and morning sunlight filtered through the family room windows of the Hudsons’ rented Central Park home. Noah’s blue therapy mat was folded in one corner of the room;…

Taste Of Brazil Empanadas aren’t the only South American pastries available to Denverites, thanks in part to Paula Lowery. In 2021, the Brazil native opened Padoca Bakery & Market in the Montclair neighborhood. There, she serves pão de queijo (cheese bread), savory croquettes, brigadeiros (fudgelike truffles), and other tasty treats she grew up eating. Pair a latte made with beans from Boulder-based Bona Coffee Roasters with a pão de frango: shredded chicken, hearts of palm, and cream cheese wrapped in a flaky pastry. SYMBOL KEY ● Indicates a restaurant featured in 5280 for the first time (though not necessarily a restaurant that has just opened). ✪ Indicates inclusion in 5280’s 2022 list of Denver’s best restaurants. These selections are at the discretion of 5280 editors and are subject to change.…

Low And Behold Thanks to movies, the media, and plain ignorance, lowriders have been cast as the exclusive conveyance of drug dealers and gang members. That depiction couldn’t be further from the truth, says Carlos Frésquez, a local artist who has been creating vibrant paintings, prints, and murals inspired by the Mile High City for more than 40 years. Now he’ll help shatter the stereotype. Beginning July 9, the Denver Art Museum’s (DAM) Desert Rider: Dreaming in Motion exhibition will use the work of Latino and Indigenous artists to explore how vehicles have shaped Southwestern identity. Although the show originated at the Phoenix Art Museum, DAM curator Victoria Lyall tailored Denver’s version to the city by adding works—including Frésquez’s 1985 mixed media collage, “Cool Couple; Series #10” (pictured)—from seven Colorado…

Fungi have long been symbols of decay and witchcraft, but recently, our cultural mycophobia has been giving way to wellness-driven mushroom mania. Studies suggest that pompom-shaped lion’s mane (pictured), for instance, can promote brain health and that cordyceps—the cause of the zombie apocalypse in HBO’s The Last of Us—exhibit cancer-fighting properties. “I think these types of functional mushrooms have more potential to help humanity than psychedelic mushrooms and CBD combined,” says veteran Colorado mushroom forager Del Jolly. That prospect inspired him to co-found Longmont-based Umbo in 2020 with Rashad Evans, a former UFC fighter based in Boca Raton, Florida, and retired Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer. Plummer, who lives in Boulder, also co-owns MyCOLove Farms, a gourmet and functional mushroom grower in Fort Lupton. Umbo’s shroom-packed snack bars, tinctures, and…

POWER TOWER La Fillette Bakery Montclair Since opening La Fillette as a mostly takeout, French-inspired operation in 2015, pastry chef Keturah Fleming has crafted steadily more ambitious croissants, and in late March, she brought them to a larger, full-service space in Montclair. There, customers can devour signature creations such as the croissant muffin, a true feat of engineering: Although they’re made with the same laminated dough as La Fillette’s other pastries, Fleming perfected a secret rolling technique to achieve a flawless cylindrical form (with the help of a mold). Then she adds toppings and fillings in rotating flavors (think: chocolate pistachio and sticky toffee pudding) to the can-shaped beauties. While you’re there, scope out the new brunch menu, which has savory treats like a smash burger with melted white American…

Lynn Fisher-Dwyer didn’t need another job. Besides running Fisher-Dwyer Greens and Flowers, a nursery tucked into the ruddy hills of Garfield County’s New Castle, she had side gigs in landscape consulting and design, not to mention a teaching position at Colorado Mountain College. So when Auden Schendler called in 2008 and asked her to run for a seat on the board of their local electric utility, Fisher-Dwyer said no. Two weeks later, he called again: “We really need you,” he said. Schendler, then the director of environmental affairs for Aspen Skiing Company (SkiCo), had seen Fisher-Dwyer’s $100,000, ground-mounted solar array. He knew she heated her largest greenhouse with a solar thermal system. To him, she seemed like the perfect progressive candidate to help him lead a coup at Holy Cross…

YOU CAN’T TELL THE STORY OF TREY PARKER AND MATT STONE’S OWNERSHIP OF CASA BONITA WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT SOUTH PARK. Yes, there is the famous episode from 2003 that introduced so many people outside of Colorado to Lakewood’s iconic Mexican restaurant—you know, the one in which Cartman convinces his friend Butters that a meteor is going to hit Earth, so Butters needs to stay in a bomb shelter. And while he’s hunkered down, Butters will conveniently miss Kyle’s birthday party, which just so happens to be at Casa Bonita, Cartman’s favorite place in the world. So Cartman gets to go to Casa Bonita in Butters’ place. Well, sort of. The police find Butters and figure out Cartman’s plan, which means he has to rush through the eatery’s various attractions, ultimately…

Fully Realized You might not expect a less-is-more philosophy from an alum of Napa Valley’s three-Michelin-starred French Laundry. But you won’t find Jarred Russell, who took over as executive chef at 16-year-old Fruition late last summer, creating thyme-scented foam or freezing berries with liquid nitrogen in the Country Club establishment’s kitchen. Instead, at owner Alex Seidel’s classic farm-to-table eatery, Russell uses his love of working with local farmers and making ingredients shine with as few additives as possible to produce fare that’s approachable and injected with just the right touch of fanciness. That means serving dishes—such as asparagus with soft scrambled eggs and crispy prosciutto bits, roasted chicken with bacon-braised beans, and shrimp agnolotti with confit zucchini and basil (right)—that guests can feel comfortable enjoying any night of the week.…

As a kid, I would silently groan when my mom would plunk down a steaming bowl of magenta borscht for dinner. Teenage angst in full effect, I was convinced that no one I knew was being forcefed anything resembling beet soup. Fast-forward several decades and Molotov Kitschen & Cocktails, a new Ukrainian and Eastern European enclave on East Colfax Avenue, has me not only thinking about borscht anew, but also craving it. As our server explained it, there are a million and one versions of the soup, all dependent on time and place. Not all are rib-sticking, not every bowl is served hot, and many don’t even feature beets. Borscht’s origins are Ukrainian, and that makes it a perfect centerpiece for Molotov’s menu: The restaurant, which took over To The…