LGBTQ+ journey in Denver: Red Rocks, artwork & queer nightlife

JENNY BLOCK | Contributing Writer
JennyEBlock@mac.com

EDITOR’S NOTE: Jenny Block additionally visited Boulder, Colo. on this similar journey. We will publish her article on Boulder at a later date.

Tony Bennett might have left his coronary heart in San Francisco, however I left mine — no less than a piece of it — in Colorado.

Maybe it was the climate. Maybe it was the vistas or the meals. Maybe it was the folks I encountered there or the chums I reconnected with there. Maybe it was the artwork of the music or the mile-high air of Denver.

Whatever it was, it grabbed maintain of me the minute I landed, and, a yr later, it nonetheless hasn’t let go.

I’d been to Colorado a number of instances earlier than, and I beloved it. But one thing about this journey, about these spots, felt extra like dwelling than, effectively, in some methods, dwelling.

I stayed within the coronary heart of LoDo on the Thompson Denver, which is tremendous stylish and in a extremely walkable space, which I like. It can be dwelling to a surprisingly swanky restaurant known as Chez Maggy.

Now I’ve to be sincere right here, I’m not the most important French meals fan. Too fussy, too sauce laden, too, effectively, French. But Chef Ludo Lefebvre has waved his wand of unconventionality and crafted a menu that’s as French as it’s artistic. I used to be in culinary heaven.

That night time I went to see The Head and the Heart at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre. I had heard of each the band and the venue, however nothing might have ready me for both.

The acoustics, the view, the ochre sandstone, the moon rising within the sky — it was different worldly. Red Rocks is designated as a National Historic Landmark for good cause. I felt such overwhelming gratitude simply being there.

And I’m certain every kind of musicians sound every kind of fantastic there, however the music of The Head and the Heart simply appeared prefer it belonged there among the many rocks and the skies in that gorgeous out of doors theater.

I grabbed breakfast at Levin Deli Co. the subsequent morning. It’s form of a contemporary model of an old-school, neighborhood deli targeted on Mediterranean components and recent greens with out skimping on Jewish deli classics, like their 12-day, dry-aged Pastrami Reuben. The meals and the espresso had been so good, and it sits proper behind the Denver Art Museum, which was good since that was my subsequent cease.

I used to be shocked to study that the Denver Art Museum is without doubt one of the largest artwork museums between Chicago and the West Coast. It boasts spectacular collections and exhibitions, with the bonus of plenty of hands-on actions. The Hamilton Building itself, designed by Daniel Libeskind is a murals. I couldn’t cease admiring it. And the collections inside effectively, let’s simply say, subsequent go to, I want to dam much more time to wander these galleries.

After the museum, I went and soaked in beer. No, actually. It was heavenly.

I went to Oakwell Beer Spa the place you get your personal personal room with a bathe and tub, and you may soak away alone or with a companion. You can convey a showering swimsuit or go ‘au natural.’ I choose the latter. Everything you might probably want is supplied, as is a Beer Therapy Minibar containing a spread of beer-infused spa merchandise for buy.

They even have a limitless self-serve taproom, showcasing a brand new Colorado-based brewery every month. And if beer’s not your factor — it’s positively not mine — additionally they serve exhausting cider, wine, kombucha and different non-alcoholic drinks for an extra payment.

And after you soak, you possibly can cuddle up in a zero gravity therapeutic massage chair. The hardest half was prying myself out of there. I might extremely advocate this joint. I’m undecided I’ve ever felt extra zenned out.

That night I met up with two longtime pals, musicians Tiffany Christopher and Mollie Rose Fischer, fab musicians who carry out collectively as Hit It Honey. We had dinner at Denver Central Market, Denver’s gourmand meals corridor and grocery, situated in RiNo. It is dwelling to 11 of Denver’s high cooks and meals purveyors. So, you possibly can go there to buy to make dinner or just seize dinner.

After dinner we walked over to Darkfield, offered by Denver Center for the Performing Arts. I don’t know if I appreciated this or not. There had been three transport containers parked in an in any other case empty lot. You step in inside, sit down, or a bunk, after which are enveloped in COMPLETE — and I do imply COMPLETE — darkness. You placed on a set of headphones after which you’re immersed in sound that might make you swear you had been in a séance, on a flight, or in a coma — therefore the names of the three experiences.

I made it via the primary. But it was simply too scary for me. I like to push myself and take a look at new issues, particularly in relation to immersive artwork experiences, so I’m glad I did it. But, I’ll be sincere, I couldn’t have managed it with out my pals there.

The subsequent morning, I grabbed breakfast at Little Finch, an excellent cute all-day café with every part from craft espresso and cocktails to pastries and flatbreads to soups and salads. It’s only a few blocks from Union Station on sixteenth Street Mall, which made it an ideal step from my lodge out into the day.

After a fast chew and a espresso, I had the possibility to fulfill up with a longtime good friend, Christina Cherry, at Meow Wolf Denver | Convergence Station, “an immersive art playground that transports guests of all ages into new dimensions of exploration throughout the four worlds of The Convergence. Arrive as you. Leave transformed” that’s what they are saying. And it’s true. Four hours disappeared earlier than our eyes as we allowed ourselves to get misplaced within the wild world of Meow Wolf.

That night time we had drinks at Traveling Mercies, the good and tiniest oyster and cocktail bar from James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef Caroline Glover. It gives tremendous considerate cocktails and a plethora of aperitivos and rums, in addition to a kick-ass wine checklist. It felt extra like hanging out on somebody’s porch with a view than being at a bar, and I beloved it.

After drinks, we had dinner at Annette, additionally the brainchild of Glover. The restaurant has wood-fired, seasonal, scratch-to-table fare in a extremely welcoming house tucked into the southeast nook of Stanley Marketplace. Rustic simplicity coupled with creative craft cocktails make for the proper combo of the best eating sans the stuffy advantageous eating really feel.
I left Denver wanting extra, which is exactly what I search for at any time when I’m delving into a brand new metropolis. Add this to my checklist of should return for certain!

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