Two weekends ago, we took a small trip to Denver, Colorado. In fact, it was my first time flying there!! Ever since I graduated from nursing school, I have this travel bug and want to see the world more. Slowly, but surely I will now that I am not confined within the limits of tests, homework, and deadlines. But why Denver as one of my first choices? Well, Southwest Airlines had a fare sale going on so why not? It was just for the weekend. Instead of eating good food in one of the LA cities, I ate in Denver. Not THAT much of a difference..
Our flight was 6AM on Saturday morning and was only a little over an hour. We stayed at Doubletree by Hilton Hotel. It was nice!! Their logo was chocolate chip cookies? They gave out freshly baked chocolate chip cookies!! And they were good..
Our first meal in Denver was breakfast at Snooze An AM Eatery. They have a couple of locations in SoCal, but this was the highest rating restaurant in Denver by far! So why not? There was about an hour wait, but guess what?! They give free coffee for all the waiting customers! It is self serve in these plastic orange cups. There is history with these cups. The reusable orange cups helps Snooze avoid using over 500,000 disposable cups per year. It helps them save the environment and earth one small step at a time. I love that idea.
Pancake Flight includes your choice of any of the 3 pancakes offered. We picked pineapple upside down pancakes (buttermilk pancakes with caramelized pineapple chunks, homemade vanilla creme anglaise and cinnamon butter), sweet potato pancakes (sweet potato pumpkin pancakes topped with homemade caramel, candied pecans and ginger butter), and smashing’ pumpkin pancakes (homemade pumpkin pancakes with a cream cheese filling, topped with bourbon infused maple syrup, sweet cream drizzle and maple spread pepitas).
Each pancake had its unique, delicious sweetness that was never too overwhelming. My favorite pancake was probably the pumpkin pancakes!
Breakfast Pot Pie (Snooze’s homemade rosemary sausage gravy smothers a flaky puff pastry, topped with an egg sunny side up, complete with hash browns. This was good, but surprisingly, wasn’t as filling as I had hoped. Thank god for the pancakes!
We were completely stuffed afterwards! How was I going to eat lunch afterwards??! It didn’t happen.. Our next meal would be dinner, but until then, we walked off our late breakfast by visiting some parks and stores. With our recent addiction of REI, we visited REI in Denver! 😀 It was huge!! I wish I took pictures of the store now, but the Denver location is one of the flagship stores in the U.S. Furthermore, the middle of their store had a huge rock climbing structure for rock climbing and to try out shoes. Outside the front of the store was a bouldering rock too! There was even a small bike trail set up for bikers to test out their bikes prior to purchase! That is so awesome. 🙂
By the time dinner time rolled around, we found ourselves at an American bar restaurant called Root Down. With 4.5 stars on Yelp from almost 2500 reviews, this place caught our eye immediately. Dining there, we understood why. There was a lot of life here. Many parties of families came for the weekend meal. Many parties of the young ones celebrating their 21st birthday. Many adults came to just unwind from a long week at work. THIS was the spot. 🙂
Columbian Arepas – Corn Cake, Mozzarella, Poblano, Pistachio Pesto, Achiote Crema & Pico de Gallo. A Root Down favorite that was highly recommended by our server. We trusted and we chose right. It was a crispy corn cake made savory from its toppings and condiments.
Korean BBQ Short Rib – Napa Cabbage Kimchi, Yam Noodles, Salt Roasted Turnips, Marinated Mushrooms, Fried Egg & Pear Daikon Salsa. We were skeptical about ordering an asian dish, but the fusion from the American take on this short rib was on point! It was good and most important of all, the short ribs were tender, soft, and savory. Full of juicy flavors.
Butternut Squash Gnocchi – Hazel Deli Mushrooms, Currants, Midnight Moon Gouda, Chili Flake, Balsamic, Brown Butter & Hazelnut. This was such a chewy delight to eat! Filled my stomach from the satisfactory carbs.
The next morning was the exciting part! We had to make sure to eat a filling breakfast before the drive up to the Rocky Mountains! YAY!
We tried an interesting Indian tea house for breakfast for a change. This place was called Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse. Our drinks weren’t even straight-up tea. It was alcoholic iced tea drinks!
Indian Samosas – fried pastry of spiced potato, onion, peas, cucumber yogurt, huckleberry tea-balsamic reduction. Lightly savory and hot pastries with a hint of sweetness from whatever sauce you pair it up with.
I completely cannot recall what the next two dishes were! 🙁
This was like a small tortilla with beef wrapped inside.
This dish was like vegetable-infused Indian bread.
Now we are ready for the drive up to the Rocky Mountains! Upon entering, there are many different trails and routes you can take to not only see the Rocky Mountains, but many of the other attractions this mountain has to offer! We did take a detour stop at one of the resting spots to soak in the mountain ambience and air while eating a snack.
The TBA (turkey, bacon, avocado, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, red onion, yellow mustard & mayo on cracked wheat) from Lindsay’s Boulder Deli. We got this sandwich to-go for our ride up the mountain as a snack. I love enjoying my view while eating!
This is us! This picture was taken before we hit the 12000 feet mark up on the Rocky Mountains. I think this was just 1000 feet so far. 🙂 There are no words to describe how exhilarating it was to drive near the edge of the mountain and just going higher and higher. Even though we were in our car, it was scary at the same time. Scary and fun. Full of adrenaline. Gotta love the heights! <3
Even driving around the Rocky Mountains ring up an appetite! For our last meal in Denver, we wanted to make it special. We went to Cholon Modern Asian Bistro. This turned out to be my favorite restaurant in Denver! Everything was presented so exquisitely and tasted so wonderful.
Complimentary sesame rice cracker/cake served with a roasted red pepper sauce. If you’re not asian, you wouldn’t be too familiar with these fried rice cake/crackers! These are an Asian favorite as a snack! Just break off pieces as you go!
Citrus Blossom (Anders’ Vodka, Lemongrass, Kaffir Lime, Grapefruit) and Zen Master (Leopol Bros, Gin, Sake, Mint, Cucumber)
Pork Belly Buns, Sesame-Honey Glaze, Pickles. This was absolutely delicious! Very sweet and savory at the same time. The meat was tender and flaky. The steamed buns were hot and soft.
The lightly pickled grapes weren’t too overpowering! It highlighted the savory flavors of the pork.
Grilled Octopus, Chinese Sausage, Young Potatoes, Pickled Grapes. It’s always scary to order octopus at a restaurant because you can easily overcook it to the point where it becomes rubbery. That fine line of cooked and overcooked is delicate. This place nailed it! Soft grilled octopus. You were so chewy and soft, I love you.
Tandoori Lamb Chops, Potato “Biryani,” Caramelized Yogurt, Candied Ginger. Again, another protein dish they totally nailed down! The perfect lamb chops had that nice smooth glaze on top. Very juicy and sweet.
And last but not least, Spiced Doughnuts, Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream, Condensed Milk. This was a must order for us! The name of the dessert sounded so interesting, yummy, and inviting. The spiced donuts were crunchy and warm. The ice-cold coffee ice cream was dense and contrasted with the warm donuts perfectly! The sweet and thick condensed milk brought the two together in harmony. It was yummy!
I am so glad that we ended Denver with the best meal ever!! On our return flight, we were so full that we didn’t even care for their free nuts! I already cannot wait until the next weekend trip, which I have not planned yet!
