Washington Park- Denver

Saturday in Denver started with morning snowfall! Very exciting for two Floridians exploring Colorado. Naturally the first thing I wanted after waking up was a hot cup of coffee. I think the most important part about traveling is avoiding chain coffee places/restaurants. A quick search will bring you to a cozy local coffee shop. My choice for Saturday morning was the Purple Door Coffee. They employ previously homeless/troubled teens that are trying to get their lives back on track. This was a win-win for me, I was able to get a delicious latte and contribute to a great organization. I made my latte vegan by replacing regular milk with soy milk (They also have almond milk available)

Latte with Soy Milk

After grabbing coffee we headed over to Voodoo Donuts which has been featured on Diners Drive-ins and Dives. This is a 24 hour donut shop that sells vegan donuts and regular donuts in endless different flavors. Below are my two vegan donut choices; one is vanilla icing with oreos and the other is a cinnamon sugar flavor. They were deliciously sweet :)

Voodoo Donuts

I wanted to see a few city parks so we went to Washington Park (or "Wash Park" as the locals call it) for a morning walk. The park was pretty barren except for a lot of birds and some crazy locals running around the park in shorts and a t-shirt in SEVEN degree weather... I imagine this park in the summer/early fall is absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed the snow covered grounds but it was incredibly cold so we did not last long. 

Washington Park

Washington Park

After walking around outside it was time to warm up so we headed to The Denver Tea Room and Coffee Saloon for some hot tea. We cozied up next to a window drinking rooibos tea and enjoying watching the snow fall. Its always nice to have a relaxing moment during a busy vacation.

After having tea we met up with a friend at Snooze which is a very popular breakfast spot, I was able to select three different sides (vegan chorizo, vegan sausage, and hash browns) for a vegan brunch. The food was flavorful but vegan options were definitely limited as with most breakfast restaurants.

Next we spent a few hours walking around the mall at Cherry Creek Shopping District. Then headed back to our Airbnb to relax for a bit. We found a place for dinner called Hops & Pie which specializes in pizza and beer. We put our names on the list as soon as we got there but the wait for a table was around 2 hours. If you plan to eat here I suggest snagging a few seats at the bar and just ordering food from there. We had the vegan mac & cheese and it was incredibly savory, creamy, and toasty because of the bread crumbs on top. It was amazing paired with the Denver pale ale I was drinking. The only complaint I have about this restaurant is that their options of dark beer are VERY limited, but this should be assumed with the name HOPS and pie. They like hops! We spent a few hours socializing and drinking beer, then headed home to get some rest before Sunday.

More later on Denver :)
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Denver Treats

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Denver, Colorado for the very first time. I am not sure why, but I have always felt very drawn towards Colorado, despite never visiting before. I have always desired to explore the snowy mountains, endless trails, and delicious food. Finally this past weekend I had the opportunity to do just that. 

The weekend started when my work conference ended on Friday at noon and I picked up my boyfriend from the airport. We went directly to Watercourse Foods for lunch thanks to the raving reviews I had heard from friends. The restaurant is 100% vegan and has tons of creative dishes that made my mouth water just looking at the menu. I decided on The Atlas Burger with a side of the Mac 'n Cheese. The Mac 'n Cheese was incredible; by far the creamiest and most flavorful vegan Mac 'n Cheese that I have ever tasted. Of course I had to finish the meal with something sweet, I chose the Resee's Cake and my boyfriend had the Samoa style "Scout" cookie. The cookie was coconuty, crunchy, and nutty while the cake was dense, moist and very rich. 

The Atlas Burger

Scout Cookie

Resee's Cake

After Watercourse we checked into our AirBnb rental. This was our first time renting through AirBnb and we had a great experience! The apartment we stayed in was very clean and charming and check-in was incredibly easy. I liked the idea of staying in an apartment and eating the local food instead of staying in a hotel where more chain-like restaurants would be located. If you are interested in giving it a try- let me know and I can send you a coupon for $25 off your first rental!

After an hour of relaxing we tried to catch the 5pm tour at Great Divide Brewery in downtown Denver. We caught some traffic along the way and unfortunately missed the tour by a few minutes, but we were still able to sample some great beers. I had the Denver Pale Ale, typically I would go for their Yeti beer but I felt it was time to try something new. The pale ale represented exactly what a pale ale should with the right amount of hop. A note of warning though, the tap room standing area is limited and the brewery was very crowded. However I enjoy seeing breweries in this state because it gives me hope that this craft beer movement is not just a phase but will be sticking around. 

If the crowd at Great Divide starts to overwhelm you, check out The Lobby right next-door. They have a great beer selection and plenty of tvs for watching sports. They also have different specials for days of the week. We ended up eating dinner there and I had a portobello cap burger. The food was pretty good, but definitely not as flavorful and unique as Watercourse.

Our first day there was only a half day but we were still able to try out some great restaurants and beers!