obxgirl

I'll be in Denver for a couple of days this month and would love some recommendations.

We're staying at the Monaco in downtown (is that LoDo?) and will have a car.

My interests are the arts, history, quirky places and markets, book and paper stores, and sports. Love the Tattered Cover. We've visited Boulder a couple of times as well as Breckinridge, Frisco and Aspen.

Considering a return visit to Rocky Mtn National Park. That would be a full day trip?

We like good food, all varieties, but I wouldn't call us foodies. Am packing a very light carry on so biz casual would be the most I could pull together for a restaurant. We are arriving around 7 in the evening. Are we likely to find restaurants in the downtown area still serving in the 9-930 timeframe?

Just looked at the current forecast for Denver and the predicted daytime high temps range from the high 50s to the low 90s. Is that typical for this time of year? My last trip to Denver was in February so planning was a little easier.

Any and all suggestions welcome, and thanks in advance!

cmcfong

Sounds like a great time to visit Denver,obxgirl. I was there last fall and rented a bike to ride the Cherry St greenway. It was a short distance from the Monaco. I stayed next door and went to the Renaissance spa at the Monaco.
My notes:
"I ended up going to Renaissance Spa in the Hotel Monaco on Champa. It was extremely nice. It is a small facility but it kept clean and neat. The staff is very friendly and professional. I had a first rate facial done by Christina which included scalp, neck, and foot massage. It was sheer bliss and under $100. I was impressed by how concerned the staff was with the client comfort. I would recommend this spa highly"

The restaurants I enjoyed were:
Fruition
Rioja
Panzana
Osteria Marco

I stopped for a late snack and drinks at the Monaco. Ok, but not worth repeating.

Great city, have fun!

Gretchen

For cute quirky stuff you must go to Pearl Street and particularly the two locations of Five Green Boxes. Just WONderful shops!! I think you'd want a full day for the Park. Bring sunscreen and drink lots of water. The temps sound about right--and there won't be any rain except a quick afternoon thunderstorm, maybe.
Restaurants are tres casual.
I am currently in LOVE with the best pizzeria at Marco's Coal Fired Pizza on Larimer. Much more than just pizza and definitely a cut above a "pizzeria". Wings are coal fired, pizza a brick oven. Antipasto TDF as are the salads. Artisanal pizza.
Another really good restaurant in addition to the ones listed above is the Barolo Grill. And Mizuna or Luce's.
The Monaco was where DD went for their "in town vacations" for a night or weekend.
If you are there on a Saturday go to the Urban farmers market just to look around, and buy some artisan cheese--or pasta to take home. FUN and good. I can't remember the street--it's near the Sam's on Lincoln/Broadway. They even have a hitching post for your goat!!
Oh, if Domo is still there, it is a Japanese country restaurant that is really a wonderful experience and delicious food and sake. We haven't gone for a few years now.
And La Centrale for bistro style French food, and mussels fixed many ways. Our fave. And VERY reasonable.
The Botanic Gardens is a good destination for couple of hours.

hansman

I live along the Front Range in Colorado, about an hour north of Denver. RMNP would be a full day trip, probably 1.5 to 2 hours to get there from Denver, mapquest it to be sure. When you get to the RMNP entrance, ask the Ranger for recommended hikes or drives based on how much time you have and what you want to see. Take sunscreen and plenty of water to drink. RMNP is beautiful and one of my favorite places.

Gretchen

The Art Museum is also wonderful for many many areas. The restaurant there is EXCELLENT--Palettes, a Kevin Taylor restaurant.

obxgirl

Thank you all so much for these suggestions! I am really looking forward to the trip. I've taken good notes. FIve Green Boxes sounds right up my alley.

cmcfong, I love Kimpton hotels but have never found one of their restaurants to be especially remarkable. Never awful but never brilliant.

cmcfong

obxgirl, I am with you on that. The great thing about the Monaco (besides the spa) is the location is terrific. You can find many good alternatives for dining in just a couple of blocks.

If you are in the market for a classic suit or gorgeous sweater, Molly's of Denver on 16th is a fabulous shop. No bargains, but oh my goodness, what beautiful clothes.

Have a great trip.

fmpden

Monaco is just south of the general LoDo area. Panzano, a northern Italian restaurant, located in the Monaco is one of Denver's top restaurants. Monaco is on 17th Street which is one block east of the 16th Street Mall. A free shuttle bus runs the length of 16th from Union Station in LoDo to the Capitol and a couple blocks from the Art Museum. The is no need for a car in the downtown area.

All of the prior suggestions are good but a couple are some distance from the downtown area. Peal Street is reachable by the Southeast Light Rail line and would recommend it since parking can be problem in the area. The Cherry Creek area is a 10/15 min drive away but parking is good because of the Cherry Creek Mall. The little shops and restaurants will be north of the mall area and called, no surprise, North Cherry Creek. Gretchen favorite steak house, Elway's, is on the west side of the Cherry Creek Mall. Call reservations and bring your bank account.

We are now the first city in North American to have bike sharing similar to the European systems. There are 22 station located thought out the Denver metro area. The first 30 min are free and second 30 mins a dollar and a dime. After that it gets expensive. It is a transportation system and not a bike rental program. If you need to go from point A to point B, you take a bike from a station close to point A, ride to a station close to point B and put the bike back. For visitors there is a $5 daily charge so it is not quite free but it does provide unlimited use for that day. And very handy if you want to visit the new hot area, The Highlands, north of LoDo and the Platte Rive or REI and the park at the confluence of the Platte and Cherry Creek. The web site is Denver.Bcycle.com which has a map of all the station locations.

We are not a hick town and our restaurants will still be serving at 9PM. If it is a weekend you may still need a reservation at that time for some the better restaurants. What it will be jammed if the Rockies are home with an evening game.

RMNP would be an easy all day trip from downtown Denver. You could make a nice loop out of it through Estes Park, over Trailridge Road, back though Winter Park with a stop at the Fort in Morrison for a terrific dinner with a view of the plains at sundown.

fmpden

PS -- The Domo is still there. It is fun place, lots of atmosphere and above average food.

Gretchen

Oh, good to know. I need to put it on our next trip. Love your loop trip with the stop at The Fort. It is a one of a kind restaurant, and see the Red Rocks amphitheater would be a plus also.

obxgirl

Thank you, fmpden, for your thoughtful suggestions. We will have a car, regardless, but it's great to know that we won't have to use it to get around.

Since I don't know downtown Denver, I didn't know if it was primarily a business district which might not be very active on a Sunday evening. Thank you for clearing that up. I wasn't trying to cast aspersions on your city.

I saw a concert at Red Rocks a number of years ago. What an amazing venue.

fmpden

You are in the business district or what passes for the Denver business district. Most of our banks are on 17th street and the immediate couple blocks around your hotel is pretty dead. The Federal Court is just down the street and you are around the corner from the Federal Reserve building. Most restaurants will be on the 16th Street Mall and more towards the north end. There are no restaurants immediately around the hotel other than Panzano in the hotel and the Broker Restaurant in the basement of the old Denver National Bank Building on the corner south of the hotel. It is worth a visit. South diagonal across the 17th Street intersection is a little wine bar. It is a "make you own wine and bottle it" place where we spend too much time and money. They do have wine tastings and wine by the glass. Fun place. The wine is not going to wine any gold medals, especially mine, but it is very drinkable and a quiet place to enjoy a very reasonable glass of wine prior to dinner in either the Broker or Panzano.

Speaking of diagonals -- Denver has the Denver shuffle. It was invented here. On most intersections to get to the opposite corner you can walk diagonally through the enter of the intersection instead of crossing one street and then the other. There is a walk light that controls diagonal crossing so look for it. Also, carefully follow the walk/don't walk lights and not the green/red lights. Our walk lights are set or timed differently than a lot of cities. You can have a walk light against a red light -- it is that diagonal thing.

For a truly interesting and unique dinner experience -- try the Buckhorn Exchange. It is Denver's oldest restaurant and hold the first liquor license in Denver. It is south by the old railroad freight yards. It was an old bordello and saloon the serviced freight yard workers on pay day. Buffalo Bill hung out there. And more than one cowboy died either inside or outside. It hasn't changed much. The old rooms upstairs are open for view. Serves mostly a wild game and steak menu along with our famous Rocky Mountain oysters. Take any southbound light rail train. One stop south of the city and ALL trains stop directly in front of the Buckhorn Exchange. You cannot miss it even if you spent too much time in the wine bar.

Have fun.

Gretchen

I will have to say that our dinner at the Broker was expensive and not worth it. Just my opinion. Many many better places to eat in Denver.

fmpden

The Broker is not one of our top tier restaurants but it is well above average and has a great setting. It is an old restaurant and has been in that location for close to 40 years. Must be doing something right. The fixed price dinner for two including a decent bottle of wine is a good value. And, if by any chance you are there on the day of your birthday, you meal is free.

Gretchen, you are complaining about expense when you are a big fan of Elway's. There are only a couple restaurants more expensive than Elway's.

Gretchen

I don't complain about price when the VALUE is there. I just said there are many better restaurants better than the Broker--like the ones someone listed above, and the other ones you and I listed. If you want a QUALIYTY steak, because they employ their own butcher, then Elway's will deliver it, at the same price as other steak houses in Denver. They also have an award winning chef (last year's pork winner) and have a lovely menu, including Sunday brunch which is very reasonable. No one has to take that advice, but I will say that the Broker was a disappointment to us. I think that is valid information also. Especially since you say it isn't a top tier restaurant also.

Vttraveler

We recently stopped in Georgetown as part of a several day loop from Denver west/south/east ending in Colorado Springs. I think it would make an interesting, easy day trip from Denver. It has a lot of historic buildings from the era when first gold, then silver was mined. There is a scenic railway with an optional stop at a mine.

We had a good lunch at the Euro Grill in Georgetown

obxgirl

Thank you, everyone, for your ongoing suggestions. I am so appreciative of this forum's knowledge and willingness to share.

This trip will likely not include higher end restaurants but I am keeping notes b/c we'll be back later this year.

fmpden

Well, if you don't want to spend a lot of bucks then our favorite or most frequent restaurant is Wazee Supper Club, on block west of the 16th Mall on Wazee. It is a diner style place, a bit of a hole in the wall but great pizza, salads, local beer. etc. and once owned by the Mayor. Crocs is not a bad Mexican place on Market across from the Market Street bus station. Dixons at 16th and Wazee is a good choice. The have a wine special every night with a number of choices for $15/bottle.

Birdie

I love Denver! I'll second the recommendation for the art museum and add that I thought the Molly Brown mansion was interesting. When we were there a few years ago, DH and I enjoyed dinner in a jazz club downtown. Maybe locals can say whether it is still open and provide the name.

obxgirl

My list just got longer, thanks.

The Wazee Supper Club looks like especially like the sort of place my DH would like.