I’m baaaaaack!
Hi guys, remember me? I know, it’s been for-ever and I am so so sorry. Moving to a new city, meeting so many amazing friends, meeting an amazing dude…the excuses could go on and on but I’ll just stop there and say “I’m sorry.” Forgive me? Okay, good. I’m glad we got that over with.
I’ve had this little thing I call a blog in the back of my head for months…and it’s just been so hard for me to find a definitive moment to jump back in the saddle. It’s one of those things you know you want to pick back up but you just can’t figure out when that “perfect” moment to restart the engines is. Chris and I had booked our trip to Colorado months ago, but it was only about a week ago that I decided it would be the perfect opportunity for me to get back into the swing of things. With a stop at the Great American Beer Festival, or GABF (something that had been on Chris’ bucket list for quite a while) and a side trip out to Colorado Springs to visit family, I figured I’d have plenty to talk about. So without further ado, let’s jump in!
First Stop: Denver
We started our first morning in Denver with a stop at The Delectable Egg. I had originally hoped to revisit a fave brunch spot from my previous visit to the area, Beatrice & Woodsley, but a quick search for directions yielded the bad, horrible, not-so-good news that they weren’t open for brunch on Fridays. Sad face. Nevertheless, The Delectable Egg didn’t disappoint and the fact that we hadn’t eaten a real dinner the night before allowed me to completely inhale my brioche French toast with cinnamon apples (yum!), eggs AND sausage. Not to mention the pitcher of mimosas we were able to take care of (for a mere $15!! This California girl was amazed at the very reasonable Colorado food prices.) #Sorrynotsorry I wasn’t able to take a picture of my plate until I was almost done…whoops.
Since I was traveling with two beer-thirsty guys (Chris’ brother also came along for the trip), we hopped on to the light rail right outside of our hotel and rode it in to the Denver Convention Center, where the Festival was taking place later that day. These guys couldn’t wait for the Festival to start to whet their palates so off we headed to Great Divide Brewing Company. Great Divide later took home 18 GABF awards so I guess we chose a good spot. Still anxious to check out more of the beer scene, the boys and I stopped off at Jagged Mountain Brewery but sadly we were sorely disappointed and decided to use our remaining time before the Festival to grab some food and get a good base layer going for all of the beer we were about to consume.
Not wanting to get too far from the Convention Center, we popped in to Pizza Republica for some quick bites. Since we were still a little full from breakfast, we decided to share the bruschetta and the duck and fig pizza. Unbeknownst to me the bruschetta had olives mixed into it (I’m sorry, I love food, but olives are the one thing that makes me gag) so I mustered through as much as I could of one piece and then moved on to the pizza. Good choice by me! The duck was sliced so thinly it looked like pastrami and was super tender, and the dried figs gave it a nice sweetness in contrast to the arugula sprinkled on top. Maybe I’ll have to try this one myself at home? [Recipe to come!]
After we finished we decided to brave the MASSIVE (the all caps can’t even get across how big) line that wrapped all the way around the Convention Center. Luckily, it moved quickly and we got in a mere 30 minutes after we got in line. The only word I can use to describe what happened next is OVERWHELMING. Breweries lined every inch of the Denver Convention Center, and each brewery had at least four different beers to try. Even with one-ounce tasting pours, my palate was pretty shot after about two hours. And I was drinking the lighter beers! Although, I am the first to admit that I am not the ultimate beer enthusiast. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a nice, refreshing cold one every once in a while, but my capacity for bubbly, yeasty brews is limited. I eventually found myself stepping back from the beer and instead focusing on the fun trinkets and giveaways all of the breweries had.
Believe it or not, even Chris and his brother had reached their capacity before the event was over. We decided to call it a night and rest up for our trip to Colorado Springs the next morning.
Second Stop: Colorado Springs
Since we pooped out so early on Friday night, we missed meeting up with one of Chris’ childhood friends and decided to meet up for brunch instead before we hit the road. At his recommendation we hit up Sam’s No. 3 and let me tell you, this friend knew the way to our hearts. We almost skipped it because when we got there the wait was ONE HOUR AND 15 MINUTES and my hangry self was just not going to be able to make it that long. But, by the time we looked up other places in the vicinity that would rival this (all with the same wait time) we checked back in and the wait had dropped to 45 minutes. Okay, I guess I can handle that.
GUYS, IT WAS SO WORTH THE WAIT. First off, I have to mention that this place was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and it definitely is the epitome of what you see featured on that show. Can we just say that Chris’ “Kitchen Sink Breakfast Burrito” included FOUR eggs and was about the size of my head? And, brace yourself, that’s not even the biggest one. If anyone ever works up the courage to order “Momma’s Big Fat Omelet” (6 EGGS!!) and do as much damage on it as Chris did to his, please let me know. You deserve an award.
I decided to get the Greek Skillet, which was a wonderful mess of gyro lamb, green chili, goat’s cheese, and so much more deliciousness I can’t even get into it. Did I mention it was served over tater tots? Hold the phone. I definitely forgot how much I like tater tots, especially smothered in that much goodness. This is definitely another dish I will try to recreate some version of at home. Stay tuned!
Now that we were all sufficiently in a food coma, we started the trek to Colorado Springs. Kudos to Chris’ brother who actually drove while the rest of us slept….Sorry!! Once we met up with Chris’ family, they took us on a drive through the Garden of the Gods, a registered National Natural Landmark. Being a California girl, the landscape absolutely amazed me. Who knew this kind of stuff existed! The park is free and open to the public, and although we only spent a short time there, it is definitely somewhere you can spend the day hiking, rock climbing, picnicking, etc. etc.
The next day, we headed out to Helen Hunt Falls to take in as much nature as we could before heading to the airport. Again, we only had a short time here but the scenery was absolutely stunning (Fall? It actually looks like fall here? There are colors on the trees? Weird) and it is definitely a place I would like to come back to and spend more time at.
Of course we couldn’t leave Colorado Springs without stopping for a bite to eat (hey, with airlines/airports these days you never know when your next good meal will be!) so at Chris’ uncle’s recommendation we headed to Phantom Canyon Brewing Company. I was still somewhat full from the delicious homemade breakfast Chris’ aunt had made, so I kept it light with a cup of Pumpkin Soup and their Peanut Crusted Tofu Salad. Both were quite tasty and refreshing after all the heavy food we ate over the weekend, and I was still stuffed when I was done. Sorry guys, I really sucked at taking food pictures this trip. I promise I’ll get better!
That just about wrapped up our weekend, but I can’t sign off without mentioning the awesome 15 minutes or so I got to catch up with my good friend Rebecca at the airport. Rebecca lives in Uganda now and we only manage to see each other once a year (if we’re lucky!) I thought we had missed her on this trip to the US but by strange coincidence we ended up flying out of Denver at almost the exact same time which allowed us to sit for a bit and chat in the Denver Airport food court (nothing classier than that!) Check out her and her husband’s amazing endeavor here: KadAfrica Ltd. So good to see you Bec!
I’m sure I’ve bored you all to death by now but hopefully not! Thanks for sticking around and I promise there will be more deliciousness and adventure to come (in the very near future!) Until next time…
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