Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2024 i 5280 Magazine

I don’t know if I’m allowed to do this, but…I’m the editor, so I’m doing it anyway. Every July for more than two decades, 5280 has published its Top of the Town awards (see page 40) honoring the best of Denver. We pay tribute to the hippest new restaurant, highlight the hottest local author, and give kudos to the coolest craft brewery, among countless other awards. Those who receive these accolades do so (hopefully) knowing that these bestowals are the result of robust and unbiased reporting by hardworking journalists who make it their jobs to know Denver so our readers can better enjoy the city. I am in no way unbiased, however, when I say I believe the 5280 team has earned its own Top of the Town award this…

Released in March, Flora—a free AI texting service (sign up online) created by Boulder-based fertilizer company Love, Plants—provides instant answers to your botanical queries. But does the cheerful chatbot receive a green thumbs-up from a human expert? To find out, we interviewed Flora and then asked Jenny Cavanaugh, founder of edible-garden consultancy Denver Kitchen Gardens, to weigh in on its responses. 5280: Hi, Flora! Novice gardener here. What are the easiest vegetables to grow in Denver? Flora: Hey there, budding green thumb! Denver’s got that mile-high sun but can throw some curveballs with cool temps. For veggies, start with radishes, spinach, and lettuce—they’re not fussy and love a quick chill. Cavanaugh: Radishes, spinach, and lettuce are low maintenance, but they generally prefer cool, spring temps. In Denver, the transition to summer can…

One night each week, Somebody People, a vegan restaurant on South Broadway, throws an everyone-is-welcome dinner party. The Sunday Supper, as it’s called, is an all-hands-in effort, with every member of the kitchen staff cooking something and, often, executive chef Justin Freeman stepping aside to let someone else take the lead in an effort to encourage experimentation. The menu—which can skew Japanese, Thai, or even Irish, although the restaurant usually serves rustic Mediterranean fare during the week—is determined by the desire to use up whatever ingredients are in-house at the time. Although the Sunday Suppers have been around since Sam and Tricia Maher, who hail from Sydney, Australia, opened the spot in 2019, they fit neatly into Freeman’s ethos. The chef, who grew up in New York City with an…

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. Whether or not businesses advertise does not influence our selections. Sure, we could make some folks happy by “selling” winners, but in the end, we’d lose a lot more than we’d gain—like our integrity…

There are few countries with richer coffee cultures than Colombia, which is almost always one of the top three producers of the world’s favorite beverage. That caffeinated way of life is on full display at South Broadway’s LaTinto Café, a mural-bedecked, exposed-brick retreat that opened in spring 2023. In owners Jorge and Carmen Aguirre’s homeland, tinto refers to black coffee, but to Denverites, the word is now synonymous with specialty coffee beans imported from independent Colombian farms and roasted fresh in Colorado. The Aguirres don’t just serve liquid pick-me-ups, though. Their pastry case is full of South American treats: The pastel Gloria, filled with caramel sauce and guava; the pan de achira, bread that tastes a little like cornbread without the crumbly consistency; and acemas, wheat rolls made with panela…

Denverites, rejoice: Blackbelly took over the former home of Il Porcellino Salumi this past March, bringing an outpost of chef Hosea Rosenberg’s 10-year-old meat-centric market and restaurant in Boulder to the Mile High City’s Berkeley neighborhood. While the original Blackbelly location will continue to focus on using whole animal butchery to yield chops, steaks, and other cuts, the Denver iteration will center on curing salumi for both locations. The Berkeley shop has a fast-casual eatery serving breakfast and lunch and a deli stocked with fresh and cured meats, cheeses, and pantry items. We suggest curating a charcuterie and cheese board using this advice from head butcher Kelly Kawachi. MEATS Blackbelly offers 20 to 30 types of house-made salumi, including earthy coppa and well-marbled soppressata. Kawachi suggests choosing two whole-muscle varieties,…

We’re not always down with trendy ingredients in our cocktails. Fat-washed spirits are weird. Absinthe tastes like Good & Plenty. Sea-foam isn’t awful, but is it an improvement over the salted rim? In contrast, aloe liqueur—a low-calorie spirit made most famous by an 11-year-old California brand called Chareau—tastes fresh, is only slightly sweet, and has a velvety mouthfeel. That’s partially why we love the cocktail menu at Desert Social, which opened in late summer 2023 along South Broadway. A member of the family-run food-and-beverage empire behind Ni Tuyo, Adelitas, and La Doña, the former dive bar (you might remember Bowman’s) is now a breezy hangout with a Southwestern desert vibe that deploys aloe liberally. The spirit shines in the hibiscus-hued aloe margarita, but ordering the agua de casa, a ranch-water-style…

Cochino Taco doesn’t have happy hour or even happy hours: The local Mexican chain dubs its daily discount drink period “Happy Time.” It’s a fitting moniker because, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., patrons can snag a medley of drink specials, including $4 drafts, $6 margaritas, and a variety of playful cocktails—such as the Ahoy Chamoy, a boozy take on the savory-sweet fermented fruit sauce often found in Mexican street food—ranging from $5 to $7. Pair Cochino’s creative drinks with its equally ambitious small plates, such as the Doritos nachos (which are exactly what the name suggests). Warning: By small plates, we mean small. But at $5.50 to $6 each, you can afford a second helping. The only downside is that with seven hours of cheap drinks and locations in…

After running her eco-conscious floral business out of her home in Whittier for six years, Kim Zimmerman signed a lease on a brick-and-mortar shop in RiNo. The location, which was slated to open in June, will provide more space for creating her organic arrangements—for events, restaurants, and Rowdy Poppy’s flower subscription service—while also allowing her to host hands-on workshops that teach the fundamentals of sustainable floral design. As a primer, Zimmerman provided a quick tutorial for crafting a modern, personality-filled arrangement that’s easy on the environment at home. DITCH THE PLASTIC When it comes to eco-friendliness, not all floral mechanics—the materials that hold stems in place—are created equal. Instead of single-use plastic floral foam, Zimmerman employs recyclable and compostable materials in arrangements, noting that chicken wire is a tried-and-true mechanic.…

Although Mariele Ivy’s work is anchored in the West—she was born in Montana, lives in Boulder, and learned stone cutting in New Mexico—she used to source inlay materials from Afghanistan. Until 2017, that is, when she learned that the Taliban controls the supply of lapis lazuli, a popular inlay stone. Ivy immediately switched to domestic inlays, most of them coming from the West, instantly making Young in the Mountains more humane, not to mention more colorful and dynamic. Her Colorado collection, for example, pairs Centennial State stones—including topaz, aquamarine, smoky quartz, and Cripple Creek turquoise—with Ivy’s signature geometric and crownlike silver and gold settings. At its RiNo studio, which opened in 2019, Young in the Mountains will even switch in stones that customers collect in the wild—perfect for those who…

When he moved to Golden in summer 2023, Michael Tormey felt overwhelmed by his options. The Denver area teemed with so many trails—rural and urban—that the Maine-bred 26-year-old had no idea where to begin. A transportation engineer working in public lands, Tormey set his analytical mind to work connecting existing trails until he assembled a network that circled the Denver area. Called the Denver Orbital Trail (DOT), Tormey’s 177-mile creation comprises 28 segments, some you’ve likely tread before (Red Rocks Park in Segment Two) and some you haven’t (the riparian woodlands of Aurora’s Morrison Nature Center in Segment 16). A project independent of any agency or nonprofit, DOT’s specific routes debuted in April at denverorbital.org. Local striders are already flocking to the website. “Someone sent me a TikTok of them…

July 3 to 7: Range Call Meeker Meeker held its first rodeo in 1885 and hasn’t let a Fourth of July pass since without corralling another, making Range Call the oldest continuously operating rodeo in Colorado. Expect fireworks in the sky, the arena, and downtown, where performers will re-enact the 1896 shootout at the Bank of Meeker. $20 for admission per event; the fireworks show is free July 11 to 13: Cattlemen’s Days Gunnison Local ranchers began meeting along Main Street in the late 1800s to square off in informal roping and riding competitions before formalizing the contests in 1901. Today, Cattlemen’s Days is an official Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association event—one whose Thursday night edition has helped raise more than $7 million for cancer treatment, via the national Tough Enough…

On starting in the rodeo business Harry Vold traveled to the United States from Canada in the 1950s intending to trade horses. He ended up leasing them to a rodeo instead, spurring a dynasty that would provide stock for more than 100 rodeos throughout the country. Upon his death in 2017 at age 93, Harry’s daughter, Kirsten, picked up the company’s reins. On teaching a horse to buck “There’s no way to train them to buck,” Kirsten says. “They either want to or they don’t.” Mating two successful buckers improves your odds, but even then, Kirsten never knows how a horse will perform, so she often takes her stock to college practices to get a sense of their desire to dislodge unwanted passengers. On the mentality of a great bucker…

Rodeo bullfighters look very different than their counterparts in Spain: Instead of wearing a red cape and wielding a sword, they’re usually dressed like clowns. But their job is no joke. Bullfighters protect riders in the arena by drawing the attention of 1,500-pound animals away from vulnerable cowboys lying on the ground. Here, Burlington resident and 2009 PRCA Bullfighter of the Year Cory Wall explains the risks—and rewards—of the job. “Over my 25-year career, I’ve woken up in a couple of different hospitals, but I never felt like this was gonna be the end. I’ve broken all my ribs, fractured my skull, broken my collarbone, dislocated my shoulder, dislocated my hip, blown my knee out, dislocated both of my elbows at the same time, broken just about every finger, had…

PRICE KEY Average Entrée $ under $15 $$ $16 to $20 $$$ $21 to $30 $$$$ $31 and higher Asado Bravado “Pinche” may be a bad word in Spanish, but Pinche Pollo is, well, really effing good. In October, owners Jose Arreola and Brenda Veleta opened the fast-casual, familyoperated restaurant in Aurora, specializing in grilled chicken. Depending on your hunger level, go for a quarter or a half bird, both of which come with charred scallions and jalapeño, rice and beans, corn tortillas, pickled red onions, and two salsas (an extra-hot red and a milder green version). Wash everything down with a horchata, whose creamy texture and potent cinnamon flavor are sure signs that the drink, like everything else here, is homemade. SYMBOL KEY ● Indicates a restaurant featured in…

Features editor Features editor Spencer Campbell was just a little bit busy this issue: On top of co-editing 2024’s Top of the Town awards (page 40), he reported on Colorado’s growing number of firms dedicated to pet law (“See Spot Litigate,” page 30) and wrangled a feature on the Centennial State’s long history of roping and riding (“They Call The Thing Rodeo,” page 58). He leaned on his colleagues to help identify the city’s best coffeeshop, spa, and jewelry designer and relied on seven attorneys to break down the animal law scene. But chatting with cowboys, cowgirls, and the folks behind the chutes in towns small and large across the state came naturally to the native Texan. “In high school, I wore boots, drove a pickup, and listened to country…

For decades, Coloradans flocked to a privately managed yurt system inside beautiful State Forest State Park, a 71,000-acre woodland just outside Walden. Then, in 2022, things got ugly. Never Summer Nordic—the longtime park concessionaire that contracted with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to operate eight year-round yurts and two cabins—quit paying its bills, forcing the agency to terminate the agreement and order the company to close its shelters and refund its reservations. Instead, Never Summer’s owners kept booking stays, pocketed the money, and ghosted would-be guests, many of whom never realized they’d been had until they tried to check in at an empty office. It didn’t take long for authorities to get involved. In March, 19 months after CPW canceled the contract, Never Summer Nordic co-owner Bron Austin Deal was…

WELLNESS SUSHI This East Colfax hot spot serves plant-based sushi that goes far beyond a cucumber roll. Try the Ohnagi roll: tempura-fried green beans, avocado, and eggplant (a stand-in for eel). THRIVE Whole foods rule the soy-free and gluten-free menu at this Boulder eatery. The MC Green Salad—a jumble of greens, sprouts, purple cabbage, cilantro, cucumbers, and avocado tossed in a pumped-up pumpkin seed vinaigrette—is a nutrient-dense dream. VEGAN THAI CO. If you find yourself in Longmont, make time for a picnic with eats from Vegan Thai Co. The takeout-focused restaurant specializes in dishes such as the umami-rich vegan pad see ew (add jackfruit!). V REVOLUTION When scouring V Revolution’s Asian-inspired vegan menu, don’t overlook the Englewood restaurant’s black pepper mushroom bao buns. Pair the shiitake-and-king-oyster beauties with the V-fries,…

Johnny Curiel wants to be seen and heard. That’s why an eight-seat chef’s counter is the centerpiece of his first restaurant, Alma Fonda Fina, which opened in LoHi in December 2023. “If I’m going to do traditional Mexican food that is my heart, my story, my everything,” he says, “I have to be able to see the guests, and I have to be able to tell the story of why we’re here.” That story starts in Curiel’s native Guadalajara, Mexico, where he fell in love with the culinary traditions of his homeland while working at his father’s restaurant. Although Curiel grew up in a household of chefs, he isn’t serving family recipes at Alma Fonda Fina. Instead, he draws inspiration from those recipes and uses techniques from his tenures with…

Carolina Zubiate has had quite a year. Besides winning the Hispanic Restaurant Association’s Hispanic Top Chef competition and working as a line cook at North Park Hill’s Yuan Wonton, one of Denver’s hottest spots for Asian dumplings, Zubiate hosts in-demand pop-ups featuring her native Peruvian cooking. We caught up with the busy chef to talk about overcoming trauma and about chifa nights, aka the reservation you didn’t know you needed. 5280: You’re Peruvian, but you’re known for making dumplings at Yuan Wonton. How’d you get into Asian food? Carolina Zubiate: I worked at a Peruvian restaurant in D.C., and [the food] involves a lot of different fusions—Japanese, Latin American, African—so I was always intrigued by different cuisines. I never went to culinary school, so I wanted to learn different cuisines…

Chris Keeley still remembers how intimidating it was walking into a fly shop for the first time. “They didn’t want to pay attention to me because I didn’t know what I was doing,” he says. “I never forgot that.” So when he bought beloved Littleton fly shop Anglers All in 2009, he vowed to focus on customer service. It’s been a winning strategy: Not only is the business celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, but under Keeley’s stewardship, Anglers All has expanded, first in 2023 with the Boathouse, a separate showroom at the Littleton fly shop for oversize gear like fishing kayaks, and then with a second shop, on Sixth Avenue in Denver, in April. To put Keeley’s service-first approach to the test, we asked him to name his favorite…

Keenan Hayes pulls his hat down so low that the brim pushes his ears out wide, creating an endearing, mousy effect. That is, until you zoom out enough to take in the whole scene: Inside a chute at the Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs, the Hayden-born then 20-year-old’s eyes are obscured by shadow, his mouth is set in a firm line, and he sits bareback atop a horse named Pass the Hat. When the chute door opens, the announcer screams, “He belongs to youuuuuu!” to the crowd as rock music begins to blare. Pass the Hat slings Hayes back and forth—less like a ragdoll and more like a Whac-A-Mole, endlessly popping back up only to be drubbed again by the horse’s hindquarters. Almost a dozen collisions occur in…

For 100 years, this handle mount, called a rigging and placed around a horse’s shoulders, has been the only thing keeping cowboys tethered to bareback steeds bred to buck like popcorn kernels. For almost as long, cowboys have been finding new ways to cement themselves to it—and perhaps no rider had a stickier imagination than Coloradan Jim Houston. In the 1960s, Houston replaced the soft handle that had been in use since 1924 with fiberglass, which was subsequently outlawed by the PRCA, then aluminum, which was also banned, then hard rawhide, which was deemed acceptable and continues to be used today. Of course, the contriving didn’t end with Houston. Thicker gloves and a wedge discreetly placed between hand and grip make it almost impossible for riders to come loose these…

Think landing a reservation at Casa Bonita is difficult? Try snagging one for a weekday tour of the University of Denver’s Chamberlin Observatory. “They’re sold out for a year in advance, which shocks us,” says Ken Sturrock, a volunteer guide with the Denver Astronomical Society (DAS). The Romanesque sandstone building’s giant refracting telescope saw the stars for the first time 130 years ago this month, and Chamberlin hasn’t changed much since. Nearly everything in the structure is original, including the hand cranks that deftly maneuver the 26-foot-long telescope, which has charted stars, discovered comets, and almost confirmed Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity during June 1918’s total solar eclipse. (Another observatory got the honor due to unfortunate cloud coverage over the Mile High City.) But the instrument has actually been obsolete…

1. Pearl Lake, Clark With ceiling fans, window screens, and a nearby reservoir to explore, these yurts are hot commodities in summer. Available year-round; $90 per night 2. Golden Gate Canyon, Golden Just an hour’s ride from Denver, the park’s two drive-up shelters are some of CPW’s most accessible lodgings for Front Rangers. Available year-round; $90 per night 3. Sylvan Lake, Eagle County At 314 square feet, with two futons and a bunk bed, the yurts off East Brush Creek Road have plenty of room. Available May through November; $90 per night…

It can be difficult for restaurateurs to see the forest for the trees. When Mike Huggins and Lenka Juchelkova took over the former home of Beatrice & Woodsley, though, they immediately knew the 46 aspen trunks that seem to grow right out of the South Broadway space’s floorboards fit into their vision for La Forêt. “We tried to retain its essence,” says Huggins of the cabin-themed restaurant that closed during the pandemic, “the experience of feeling like you’re dining in the forest.” In fact, the husband-and-wife duo leaned in even further, adding more greenery to their French eatery and cocktail bar. The beverage program, directed by Williams & Graham alum Jason Patz, adds to the whimsical atmosphere. Start with the 4 to 5 p.m. pastis hour, during which you can…

DANELLE CONWAY doesn’t know much about Zion’s history, only that he was rescued in New Mexico and ended up at the Douglas County Canine Rescue. But she thinks there must have been some violence in his past: He’s got some scars, and a piece of one ear is missing. Nevertheless, Zion, a one-year-old, 75-pound bull mastiff mix, is beautiful, with golden brown fur and sad, imploring eyes. When she and her husband, Kent McKnight, met the dog and his foster family at a local park in May 2021, Zion seemed happy and craved human affection. The foster family said he also played well with their other dog. Zion seemed like the ideal pet to Conway and McKnight, whose 17-year-old Lhasapoo had died earlier that year. The couple adopted the bull…

DINING: BAKERY Olive & Finch BARBECUE Post Oak Barbecue BREAKFAST BURRITO Santiago’s BRUNCH Olive & Finch CHEF Mary Nguyen CHINESE MAKfam COFFEESHOP Little Finch DELI Curtis Park Delicatessen DESSERT D Bar DOUGHNUTS Voodoo Doughnut ETHIOPIAN HiRa Cafe & Patisserie FOOD HALL Edgewater Public Market FOOD TRUCK The Easy Vegan FRENCH Bistro Vendôme FRIED CHICKEN The Post Chicken & Beer GREEK Chef Zorba’s WINGS Fire on the Mountain ICE CREAM Liks Ice Cream INDIAN Spice Room ITALIAN Meatball Eatery & Libations JAPANESE Domo Japanese Country Restaurant KOREAN The Ginger Pig LATIN AMERICAN (NOT MEXICAN) Lucina Eatery & Bar MEXICAN Brewery Bar II MIDDLE EASTERN Jerusalem Restaurant NEW RESTAURANT Sap Sua PIZZA Blue Pan Pizza RAMEN Osaka Ramen SEAFOOD Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar SOUL FOOD Welton Street Cafe STEAK Bastien’s…

Angie Wells is changing how people think about vegan and plant-based food, one cake cup at a time. After her in-home cake operation exploded during the pandemic, Wells saw the former Make Believe Bakery space for rent and knew it was time to get a brick-and-mortar shop of her own. Not only was she jazzed about the 625-square-foot space—located next to vegan/vegetarian restaurant City, O’ City in Capitol Hill—but she also couldn’t wait to send the hundreds of people picking up her strawberry crunch cakes to a location that wasn’t her house. Wells moved in this past August and sells the custom cakes that first encouraged a line out her front door, along with vegan croissants, cookies, kouign-amann, and macarons from 20 Colorado vendors. But it’s those cake cups—filled on…

Charlie Billingsley celebrated her 31st birthday in 2019 by setting up a selfie museum honoring Black women at her friend’s clothing boutique in Aurora. Billingsley and her aunt Von Russ then took the experience on the road to Houston and Washington, D.C., but it wasn’t until last year that the duo found a home in their hometown. Thanks to a Downtown Denver Partnership initiative that provides temporary rent-free space on the 16th Street Mall, the museum brought its whimsical fusion of gallery chic and Instagram cool to the Denver Pavilions in October 2023. Inside the 6,000-square-foot venue, portraits of Michelle Obama, Maya Angelou, and local dance legend Cleo Parker Robinson sit next to works from local artists such as Shakerra Monét. The pieces rotate every three months or so, but…

Before May 2, 2023, Rebecca Yarros was living a quiet life in Colorado Springs—well, as quiet a life as an author of 20 moderately successful romance books and mother of six can have. Then Fourth Wing, her 512-page romantasy debut that follows a 20-year-old woman who enters a cutthroat dragon-riding school, was released. In the swiftly rising genre, the elaborate world-building of fantasy and science fiction is combined with romantic tropes and steamy sex scenes. Yarros excels at both, and readers responded to her self-assured, sex-positive female heroine and inclusive supporting cast. In fantasy, a literary realm long dominated by straight white men, more diverse representation is, apparently, welcome. Fourth Wing has sold more than two million copies globally and spent three months atop the New York Times’ hardcover fiction…

To understand the story of this teeny, blue-painted bike shop in the northeast corner of Five Points, you first need to know the numbers. Like three: how many years co-owner and founder Alyssa Gonzalez has been riding bikes. And one: the percentage of bike shops in the country owned and operated by women. Also, less than one: the percentage of those that are owned by women from marginalized communities. Gonzalez, who is half Asian and half Hispanic and queer, didn’t own a bike when she landed in Boulder for a master’s program in 2016. But like most transplants, she wanted to explore her new digs. There were a couple of problems with that, though, such as the sheer cost to get started cycling, rock climbing, backpacking, or skiing. The other…

I tried my first spin class in 2019 when, following a bad breakup, I hoped to ride my way to a revenge body. While the six-pack is still pending, I did discover sanctuary in the choreography-laced cardio workout. So when the first pangs of loneliness hit shortly after I moved to Denver in July 2023, I turned to my time-tested coping mechanism. To be clear: I didn’t think riding bikes in the dark with bass so loud it rattled my kidneys would lead me to my besties. I just didn’t want to spend another night wallowing in solitude. I expected to slip into the Monday night class, claim my bike in the corner, and pedal anonymously until the lights came on. Viv Cycle had other ideas. Since opening in July…

It would be easy to make Sweeney Todd jokes about R&R Head Labs, but it takes more nuance to appreciate the mission behind the five-month-old barbershop on East Colfax Avenue. As the text on the sleek space’s windows reads: “We are not a conventional barbershop.” Indeed, the staff at R&R is made up of formerly incarcerated individuals—the shop’s website describes them as “justice-impacted expert barbers and other returning community members”—who are invested in giving you more than a sharp haircut. On a blustery weekend this past spring, I sat down in a chair, described in detail the kind of cut I wanted, and then spent the next 45 minutes chatting with my barber about his past (including 14 years in prison); his present (not only cutting hair at R&R but…

Aleeyah: It’s almost like I’m sitting on a stack of dynamite and I’m holding the match. I know when I turn this horse loose it’s going to explode, and I mean explode. You know how much power you have underneath you, how much power you’re holding back. Your heart just starts to beat like—I don’t think it even compares with drinking five Monsters. Chugging them. And I feel my horse’s heartbeat at the same time. It’s the craziest feeling. Savannah: I think the only way you can really describe it is “insane.” It’s dark out. You’re under the lights. There are people everywhere. Last night, I was at a little Tuesday night race. There weren’t even 40 people entered. And I still found myself shaking. Aleeyah: I completely black out…