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    Hummusapien » Wellness » Lovely Meals Lately » Lovely Meals Lately 09-09-2020: Denver Edition!

    Lovely Meals Lately 09-09-2020: Denver Edition!

    Published Sep 9, 2020 · Modified Sep 6, 2022 · by Alexis Joseph · 9 Comments

    The hubs and I decided late last week to take a spontaneous trip to Denver over the long weekend to celebrate BABY BOY! We were both craving some mountain therapy and it was so wonderful.

    Denver has an amazing food scene and it's always such a treat to experience it. Be sure to check out my What to Do and Eat in Denver post from 2017 for more recommendations! We weren't on our phones very much as this wasn't a trip I wanted to "document" on Instagram, butI did snap some pics of our good eats.

    We stayed downtown at The Maven, which is neat because it's super close to Union Station and a quick drive to the surrounding areas we like. Next time I'd like to stay in the RiNo district at The Ramble. We didn't have a car so being in a walkable area was important.

    Saturday

    We flew in late Friday night and grabbed some sushi as a random weird late night snack. On Saturday, we slept in and then grabbed coffee at our hotel's spot, Huckleberry. Then we walked to Larimer Square for brunch at Rioja.

    We split the apple fritters as an app and they were divine. I ordered the Green Breakfast Bowl with spicy greens, eggs, crunchy seed mix, avocado, goat cheese, and jalapeño crema vinaigrette and Jeff got the Hangover cure with all the good stuff.

    We sat outside and it was lovely!

    We spent the afternoon walking all around the city, up to LoHi and the Highlands and through Sunny Side. My dogs were barking! It was insanely hot out so we stopped for a smoothie at Superfood Bar. The staff could not have been more friendly and you can tell they're really passionate about what they're doing. I love that!

    We got the Turmeric Tonic with pineapple, avocado, date, carrot, turmeric, and black pepper. It was the perfect combination of creamy, sweet, tart, and oh so refreshing. I'd totally order it again.

    Once we got to Sunny Side, Jeff was ready for lunch so we stopped at Bacon Social House. He got a crispy chicken sandwich and I got a big lemon poppyseed pancake. The food was nothing to write home about, but a fun atmosphere nonetheless!

    We took a Lyft back to the hotel and totally crashed for the rest of the afternoon. The relaxation was so needed!

    For dinner, we headed to Safta, an Israeli restaurant by James Beard Award-Winner Alon Shaya. What a talented human! Unfortunately I don't have photos because we sat outside and it was super dark...so just imagine all this goodness!

    This was the best meal I've had in recent memory. I think I said "mmmmm" seventy five times.

    We started with the wild roasted mushroom hummus with chermoula butter and herbs served with fluffy homemade pita. It was just like I remembered the hummus tasting in Israel...ridiculously smooth and luscious and incredible. I'm still drooling over this hummus!

    Next we ordered the charred cabbage with muhammara (made with hazelnuts...be still my heart) and arugula with citrusy tahini. You have not had cabbage until you've had this cabbage. It melted in your mouth and tasted like absolute heaven.

    Jeff ordered the lamb kebabs which were phenomenal, and we also shared delightfully seasoned sheba potatoes with paprika, ginger, and scallions.

    Obviously we got dessert. I forgot to write down exactly what it was but it was some sort of chocolate semifreddo and it was incredible, like everything Safta does.You must try it if you find yourself in Denver!

    Sunday

    We got an early start and walked to Snooze at Union Station around 8:30am. Luckily when we got there it was only a thirty minute wait, because by 9am it was an hour and a half! We shared the juevos tostados, a veggie omelette topped with goat cheese and avocado, and a pancake. A simple and delish start to the day!

    We then took a Lyft to Golden Gate Canyon State Park for a hike. What I wish I would have read in the reviews is that the roads to get the park are extremely windy. I'm quite shocked I kept my breakfast down.

    We also didn't have the foresight to realize we wouldn't have cell service for miles so getting home after the hike was an interesting adventure. Thankfully we made a couple friends who were happy to drive us into town!

    We stopped at Thump, our favorite coffee shop, on the way home.

    We were hoping to grab tacos at Kachina in our hotel when we got back but were super bummed to find it was closed on Sunday. We settled for sandwiches at The Milk Market. Super mediocre but they curbed the hunger beast! We then relaxed for the rest of the day before heading out to dinner.

    We walked over to Union Station to sit before dinner since they have lots of great outdoor seating. There was a nice little popup cocktail bar by Cooper's Lounge where we enjoyed drinks al fresco. I helped myself to a delish mocktail with ginger beer, cucumber, mint, and lime.

    Dinner was at Tavernetta, an Italian restaurant that came highly recommend by a couple friends. The service was absolutely phenomenal. I think twelve different people thanked us and told us to have a great night as we were leaving. It was incredible!

    We started with the scallop appetizer with watermelon and black garlic. They were perfectly cooked and super delish. They also brought out homemade focaccia with the most fabulous crust. I wish I could've taken a loaf in my purse.

    For dinner we shared the tagliatelle with Maine lobster, preserve tomato, Calabrian chile, and celery and the agnolotti with sweet corn, crescenza cheese and summer truffle. They were both wonderful and decadent, but the agnolotti was the winner for us!

    Perhaps the best bite of the night was the tiramisu, which had the most dreamy flaky salt on top. It was easily the best tiramisu we'd ever had.

    We flew home the next morning. No morning airport trip is complete without a bagel and cream cheese, am I right? I also got us some donut holes because it had been way too long since I had the chocolate ones. My fave!

    I devoured The Happily Ever After Playlist on the way home after reading a good chunk of it over the weekend while we relaxed in the room. If you're looking for a light-hearted rom com love story, this is for you! I couldn't put it down.

    Have you been to Denver? Where are your go-to spots?!

    About Alexis Joseph

    Oh HEY there! I'm Alexis Joseph, food writer, blogger, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), new mama, and co-founder of local restaurant group, Alchemy. I use my passion for cooking and wellness as fuel to help others ignite a more freeing and happy relationship with food. Learn more about Alexis!

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    1. Brittany says

      September 10, 2020 at 11:38 pm

      This trip looked amazing! I recently found out I’m pregnant (woo!) and am still early on. 7 weeks is coming up on Saturday. How was flying? I know you’re not a doctor, but I’m curious if you talked to them about traveling right now. I’m in no way shaming you for traveling - I myself have a trip planned in a few weeks that will require a flight and I’m trying to make the right call. Just curious what the advice was! Googling it is so not helpful. Love your blog and am so excited for you guys. 😊

      Reply
      • Alexis Joseph says

        September 11, 2020 at 4:08 pm

        Congrats, how exciting! I personally feel like flying isn't any more more unsafe than really anything else at this point...since when you get there you're around a bunch of different people anyway. Being in a plane itself doesn't pose additional risk. I've flown twice pregnant, and my experience with Southwest was better because we were seated every other. With Frontier, we were not, and it was a packed flight, which did make us a bit uncomfortable to be honest. They did take temps prior to boarding on Frontier, though. Masks were required in both scenarios of course. When I asked my doctor, they said the CDC doesn't have any new flying recommendations based on COVID. So I think it's really a personal decision!

        Reply
    2. Valerie says

      September 10, 2020 at 2:16 am

      Loved reading about your adventures!! Living vicariously through y’all hahah! ☺️🎉 Will DEF need to check out the two restos you guys had dinner at and keep in mind the hike/cell svc sitch LOL - glad you guys made it back!! 😆

      Reply
      • Alexis Joseph says

        September 10, 2020 at 11:28 am

        Hehe so glad you enjoyed it! Seriously so glad we found some friends, holy moly. What an adventure!

        Reply
    3. KJ says

      September 09, 2020 at 4:58 pm

      I live in Sunnyside and have never been to Bacon Social House since I'm a vegetarian. Snooze is always the bomb! And you are making me want to go back to Safta!

      You went to so many good places! I also love taking visitors to Ophelia's for brunch because you can listen to live music (not sure how good they would be with social distancing though). Fish n Beer is also top of my list - such a fun place with amazing food!

      Kachina is definitely on my to-try list - we have just been avoiding super crowded areas like the Milk Market for the time being.

      Reply
      • Alexis Joseph says

        September 09, 2020 at 6:59 pm

        How fun! I've always wanted to go to Ophelia's! I've been to Root Down and Linger and they were both great. We honestly were not super impressed with the options at Milk Market, though :/

        Reply
    4. KJ says

      September 09, 2020 at 4:54 pm

      Awww I live in Sunnyside and as a vegetarian, have not visited Bacon Social. Snooze is always the bomb and I definitely need to revisit Safta.

      Feel like you went to so many great places while you were in town! It snowed yesterday so we finally got a break from the crazy heat 🙂

      Reply
    5. Laura says

      September 09, 2020 at 2:55 pm

      LOVE Safta! I ate at Shaya in NOLA and had the most incredible meal ever, so Safta was a must for me when I went to Denver last year. Plus the decor and ambiance are so adorable.

      Reply
      • Alexis Joseph says

        September 09, 2020 at 3:45 pm

        I've heard wonderful things about the NOLA one! Soooo divine.

        Reply

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