Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2025 i 5280 Magazine

5280 often covers divisive topics. In the past couple of years alone, we’ve written features about Colorado’s status as an abortion haven, Denver’s immigration crisis, and gun violence in local schools. I acknowledge, then, that it’s a little silly to be nervous about sending this issue to the printer. But here I am, imagining the blowback. The name-calling. The controversy. Yes, I’m pretty sure “Best Sandwiches In Denver” (page 58)—a roundup of some of the tastiest local versions of regional specialties from around the globe—is going to incite reader rage. How did you idiots miss Odie B’s? Where’s the lobster roll? What kind of monster puts mayonnaise on an Italian combo??? I have an answer ready for the last question, at least: Joshua Pollack. His Bridge & Tunnel Restaurant Group…

This past January, less than two years after the U.S. Supreme Court made it illegal for colleges and universities to use affirmative action in admissions, President Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders that targeted broader DEI policies at schools (and many other places). His Education Department sent a letter to universities in February that expressly threatened to ax their federal funding should they factor race into scholarships, hiring, or “all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life.” Colleges seem to be capitulating: The University of Colorado Boulder drew headlines when it changed the name of its DEI department to the Office of Leadership Support and Programming. To find out how these changes may impact students, we spoke with CU Denver’s Antonio Farias—whose own title recently shifted from…

Ciao Down At Na Favola, a four-month-old trattoria in Greenwood Village, a warm “ciao” greets you at the door, and your tagliatelle al ragu arrives with a hearty “buon appetito.” Brothers Daniele and Silvio Pellico, who were born and raised near Rome’s Spanish Steps, opened the red-tablecloth eatery with an all-Italian team to channel the cozy charm of the trattorias in which they grew up. “There’s nothing fancy about it,” Silvio says, “just pasta, wine, family, and three or four ingredients.” From Caserta-made mozzarella di bufala to 24-month-aged prosciutto di Parma, each component is carefully sourced from the homeland. In the kitchen, the team hand-works imported wheat and semolina flours into fresh pasta and pizza dough; the latter is fired in the very same oven Daniele trained on in Rome.…

In September, against a backdrop of razor wire and imposing concrete walls rising from Colorado’s remote Eastern Plains, incarcerated men inside Sterling Correctional Facility took part in an ice cream fundraiser. Pints of chocolate, superchunky cookie dough, and something called Sea Salt Carmel Craze went for $5. Extra-large Neapolitan sandwiches cost $3, as did cookies and cream bars. Everything sold out immediately. The event was sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 12226, one of about 6,000 VFWs worldwide but the only one inside a prison. It was a unique assemblage: a collection of military combat veterans that included 24 inmates and four corrections officers from the Sterling facility, which houses men convicted of some of Colorado’s most violent crimes. For 11 months, the group had met often, discussing…

MAYA DAURIO’S MEMORIES ARE SHADED BY PONDEROSA PINES. As a child, she spent her summers about 30 miles up Poudre Canyon on her family’s property, a refuge called Pinehurst for the forest of vanilla-scented evergreens that blanketed the hills behind their house. The trees witnessed her baptism when she was two months old. Their trunks formed “living rooms” and “kitchens” during games of house with her cousins. She spent hours of her teenage years trying to catch her aunt’s free-roaming horses, occasionally succeeding and swinging herself up for a bareback ride through the woods. When a wildfire ignited near Cameron Pass on August 13, 2020, some 40 miles away, Daurio and her relatives weren’t worried. Pinehurst, removed from the inferno; surely the fire wouldn’t run that far down the canyon.…

OUT WITH A BANG You may have spent the winter perfecting your pizza, but the spring presents another shredding skill to conquer: pond skimming. This month, most resorts in Colorado will host end-of-season blowouts featuring the event, in which participants attempt to ski down a steep slope and across a small body of water in front of rowdy revelers. But don’t be intimidated. To ace this slush cup, simply gain enough downhill speed to propel yourself across the icy pool and keep your weight centered to avoid the most common types of wipeouts—belly flops and turtle shells (read: skidding across the water on your back). Then again, getting wet is the best way to make a splash. “Honestly, the most boring thing that can happen is an ordinary, successful traverse…

I don’t sleep. Not well, anyway. Specialists I’ve seen say the curse is likely attributable to anxiety and have suggested over-the-counter meds like Advil PM and prescribed Lunesta and Ambien—all to no avail. Because I live in Colorado, friends have encouraged me for years to give cannabis a chance to cure my insomnia, but the gummies I’ve tried failed to deliver lullabies or moments of euphoria. I came to wonder if I was simply immune to the wiles of weed. In January, I learned there was a way to know for sure. Denver’s three-yearold Police & Thieves dispensary, which has locations in Montclair and Cherry Creek, had just begun offering a service for people like me, who either haven’t had much experience with pot and/or who might like to understand…

There’s an industry joke that says an eatery’s age is measured in dog years. That would make Hop Alley, the RiNo Chinese spot turning 10 later this year, a septuagenarian. And yet it still somehow tastes and feels like the cool kid on the scene. Tommy Lee opened Hop Alley in late 2015, when local diners and food media were glorifying—neurotically, sometimes obnoxiously—the chaste simplicity of farm-to-table cuisine. Hop Alley was…not that. The flavors were, and remain, in-your-face and complicated. The kitchen tricks out bean paste and uses a heavy hand when sprinkling tongue-numbing Sichuan peppercorns into numerous dishes. And there’s salt—so much salt. A decade in, more than a third of the dishes remain from the restaurant’s opening menu, and the vibe—all gritty hip-hop energy—hasn’t budged. So how is…

PRICE KEY Average Entrée $ under $15 $$ $16 to $20 $$$ $21 to $30 $$$$ $31 and higher SYMBOL KEY • Indicates a restaurant featured in 5280 for the first time (though not necessarily a restaurant that has just opened). * Indicates inclusion in 5280’s 2024 list of Denver’s best restaurants. These selections are at the discretion of 5280 editors and are subject to change. ABEJAS $$$$ Golden / Seasonal Enjoy seasonal new American plates at this community restaurant. The ever-changing menu features farm-fresh produce, sustainable fish, and organic meats, and the bar highlights small wineries and local brewers. Reservations accepted. 807 13th St., Golden, 303-952-9745. Dinner, Brunch ACE EAT SERVE $$$ Uptown / Asian This Uptown restaurant and table-tennis hall features Asian-inspired cuisine and 10 ping-pong tables. Try the tuna tartare spring…

1 Brand names matter when buying secondhand goods. If you love mid-mod style, for example, Reinhart suggests hunting for items by icons like Drexel Declaration, Broyhill, Lane Furniture, and American of Martinsville. 2 Refound Goods thoroughly vets its sellers, but on platforms like Facebook Marketplace, scammers abound. “Trust your gut,” Reinhart says, “and be really vigilant about not sharing any personal information or exchanging money before you’ve seen an item in person.” 3 Struggling to score the canary yellow leather chair at the top of your wish list? “There’s a lot of patience required in secondhand shopping,” Reinhart says. “These pieces are mostly one-of-a-kind, so finding the right fit takes time. Try to enjoy the process.” 4 Two essential markers of quality: craftsmanship and materials. Skip the particle board and…

This month, the inaugural Denver Jazz Fest, April 3 to 6, will bring royalty (hello, five-time Grammy winner Dianne Reeves) and homegrown talent (like the Ken Walker Sextet) to venues across the metro, including Dazzle, Nocturne, and the Boulder Theater. The event aims to make Denver an epicenter of jazz, but according to Charleszine “Terry” Nelson, who worked at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library in Five Points for 23 years before her retirement in 2024, the city has been steeped in swing for a century. Here, the self-proclaimed History Diva of the West outlines four key evolutions in the Mile High City’s celebration of bebop and blues. 1920s Harlem of the West Discrimination was illegal in Colorado 1920s, but that didn’t stop racist hotel owners from turning away touring…

Asian restaurant wine lists have long been overlooked, but Hop Alley’s caught the attention of the James Beard Foundation, which shortlisted it in the Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program category earlier this year. We asked sommelier Jacob Roadhouse how he picks bottles that live up to the restaurant’s most iconic dishes. To go with:The tongue-tingling Sichuan peppercorns in the la zi ji You want:Powerful, high-acid, full-bodied wines, like expressions of Chenin Blanc from France’s Loire Valley Try:Jérôme Lambert Coule de Source ’22 ($118) To go with: Sweeter dishes, like the hoisin-heavy Beijing duck roll You want:A light-bodied Gamay to match the sweet, salty, and umami flavors Try:Gamay Yann Bertrand ’22 ($88) To go with:Everything, because, come on, you’re ordering the whole menu You want:A versatile orange wine, which has…

HUSTLE + HEART We’d bet good money you’re seated while reading this. How did we know? Because one in four Americans spend more than eight hours a day on their rear end, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All that time on your tush can result in high blood pressure, obesity, and an increased risk of heart disease—the leading cause of death in the United States. The good news? “Exercise is one of the best things you can do to reduce the risk of some of the biggest killers in America,” says Dr. William Cornwell, medical director of sports cardiology at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. Exercises that elevate your heart rate are particularly beneficial because they put good stress on…