I had a window of time off yesterday and decided to hit Vail for some skiing. For those who haven’t been up there lately, there is finally some spring snow. I did my tele turns through at least a foot of powder while freezing my booty off every tele step of the way. And when I mean cold, I mean COLD. The good news was that it kept everyone else off the mountain. Open slopes for me, wahoo!

This morning on my way back I hit one of my favorite mountain trip pit stops. The log cabin cafe in Frisco is just off the interstate and is a great little spot to grab early morning grub either on your way to skiing or on the way back. I got there a little after 6 am and they were empty, but open which is the most important thing.

The log cabin cafe has this great breakfast called the 2 2 2. Its two pieces of bacon or sausage, two eggs, and two pancakes for under $5, or over $5 if you upgrade to french toast (which I recommend). This is one relaxed little mountain hut on the main road in Frisco that will fuel you up with tasty items.

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We all know how important breakfast is. Maybe you had a big night out and you are sitting down with friends to laugh about the events of the evening. Maybe you are sitting down to a big carb load after your run or morning yoga. Or maybe it’s just you, your new york times, and a couple hours to call your own.

Either way, finding the best breakfast spot in atmosphere, food, and comfort is critical in every big city. So what is your pick for Denver’s best breakfast? This weeks poll asks that questions, lets see what the results are.

[Poll=13]

Special thanks to Flickr user Thomas Hawk for this great fruit loop photo.

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I love breakfast. A warm cup of coffee, bacon, eggs, hash browns and toast… or maybe pancakes… or should I do a breakfast burrito.. it all sounds so good. I remember living in the mountains and being the biggest pain in the butt to my friends. Some people woke up early for fresh tracks, I woke up even earlier so I could have a big breakfast before my fresh tracks. My friends would always know it was me because my calls came in the wee hours of the morning looking for breakfast and ski companions as a round robin, hitting their home, their cell, then their roommates cell. Eventually I would find someone who hadn’t gone out big the night before. Okay, I admit I can be a bit of a freak about getting up on the hill early and staying fueled up to ski through the day without stopping… especially on a powder day. And the key to making that happen is a great breakfast.
So of course my time in Denver has been spent hunting down some of the best breakfast spots around. Now imagine how excited I was the first time I went into Snooze. Great coffee, killer pancakes, and a steak and eggs benedict that is out of this world. You will find me there at least once every week, which is made easier by the fact that they are open every day.

The last time I was in there I was with about 12 folks, which gave us a full sampling of the menu. Everything was great, and a few new members of the Snooze fan club were started. So I thought it was time to get to know Snooze and it’s host and owner Jon Schlegel a little better. Join me for an interview with Snooze…

1: Let’s start out basic for folks who have never been in to visit you. Tell us a little bit about Snooze.

Snooze is my dream. I’ve been in the restaurant business since I was 13, went to DU for the Hotel, Restaurant School, and have been in fine dining for a while. It’s the package for a breakfast restaurant; focus on great food, great service, and a fun atmosphere.

2: By the way, Snooze is a great name. Where did you come up with that? [Read more →]

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Living in Riverfront Park means you certainly know one pub by heart. And just like that old Cheers show with norm and cliff, the beauty of this gem is that everyone really does know your name. Of course sometimes that is because you had a little bit too much fun the night before and your antics are well remembered. This, of course, is not a story about me and my friends… It is everybody else.
McLoughlin’s is like a den mother that is always there to make sure you are well fed, warm, and never thirsty. When we are working 80 hour weeks they have been kind enough to bring over our lunch and make sure we don’t forget to eat. When we come home late at night and want to regroup with friends for a nightcap they are open until their 2 am closing, no matter how slow their evening is. When you need a great meal and a friendly face they are always there. The people are great, the food is great, and the beer is cold.

And I haven’t even told you how great the summers are sitting out on the patio. That was the best.

During the blizzard when everything was shut down they kept us fed until the last scrap of food was gone. How’s that for reliability.

So join me in getting to know a little bit more about McLoughlins and Jon Koenig General Manager/Owner. [Read more →]

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Looking for a good old fashioned New York style lox breakfast. Look no farther than the Market on Larimer [Read more →]

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Just loved this photo. Wish the streets were closed with snow every day. This was from our cross country ski trip for breakfast during the blizard.

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It’s snowing.

I have been back in Denver for less than 24 hours and the snow is falling again. Reports started at 8 to 12 inches and now I have heard quotes of one to three feet. I only have one thing to say about that.

Awesome!

I am a true snow lover. I love the pure white, the falling flakes, the blanket across the city. I love it so much that I think I may be a snow beacon. A snow beacon is someone who calls to the snow, when they are there the snow will fall. When I still lived up in the mountains last October, November, and December we got some major, and I mean major, snow dumps that allowed me to enjoy one of the most spectacular ski months of my life. I had just wrapped up one chapter of my life and had time in December to do nothing but ski, and so I called to it. And the snow came.

Then… I move to Denver and the winter comes and I miss the snow. So I call to it and we get a terrific snow storm just before I leave town. Then I get back and miss the snow and I must miss me too because it has returned. I have been told that this snow is unusual for Denver, not since many many years past has it been like this. And hence, I think I am a snow beacon. And I am loving it, so don’t mess with my fantasy.

That is not the real purpose of this post. This post is all about people, not snow. It is merely snow that draws people out and makes them a bit more real, pure, and approachable. The best description I heard was someone commenting on all the good will that existed in the streets, the cafes, and the gathering places around our city. I saw people helping others shovel their cars out, helping others push their car our of stranded trenches, and helping others by holding open doors and welcoming them to their table for a cup of tea. And the observation someone made, which stayed with me, was how wonderful everyone seems to be with each other when we are all in contact with each other, by foot, by sharing a table, sharing a seat on the light rail, by passing on the street compared with the attitudes and distance that exist when we travel inside our steel automobiles. Can we learn something from this blizzard?

During Blizzard #1 my lady and I got a chance to play in the snow. We cross country skied to breakfast at Gallop Cafe, using the streets as our trails and getting a few chuckles from folks we passed. We relaxed in their cozy environment with open faced sandwiches and what has to be the best bloody mary I have had in Denver. No kidding, it was huge with a literal vegetable garden inside (pickes, peppers, veggies, yum) and it was also served with a small beer chaser. Talk about cozy, I was in heaven. And everyone was so nice… everywhere. People were on the streets, walking to get coffee, or food, or perhaps stocking up on spirits for an evening by the fire. Whatever they were up to they were right there and they was a real connection with them as we traveled the city by foot. And that mattered.

For dinner we hiked back across the new Highland Pedestrian Bridge and hit Z Cuisine for some cozy dinner, a glass of wine, and some delicious food with our friend Pat. Pat had hiked her butt down from farther up the Highlands after being stranded in DIA for over 24 hours and had similar stories of meeting total strangers and bonding, sharing a meal and a glass of wine. I think she even got a date out of it.

So, my point is to welcome this second snow storm and wish with all your might that we get three feet or more. And if that does happen, go out and xx ski, snowshoe, or hike across your cubby in the city. Explore the local restaurants, meet your neighbors. Remember that two types of restaurants seemed to be open in the first round. One was the hotel restaurant, which is a fail safe that takes care of its lodgers. The other and even more special spot is your true local bistro. The staff and owner usually live within a few blocks, and they tend to be there for their neighborhood. As the folks at Z cuisine said, this is their neighborhood and it was important for them to be open. You wont find that with the big chains (except Starbucks, they are ALWAYS open and do get some kudos for that).

So go enjoy a Gallop Bloody, go have a french dessert with a congnac, go laugh with friends and walk home in knee high snow.

And when the snow has all melted and the roads are open again, try and remember what was so special and keep repeating it.

Happy skiing folks, and lets hope it really dumps.

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Construction photo taken with camera phone (sorry about the quality)

I was over at Snooze this weekend enjoying some nice breakfast vittles when I noticed the progress on the 24 Walnut townhomes being built about a block away near the Premier Lofts.

I love to see more of the parking lots in BallPark disappear and more infill density going on. These look to be a fun addition to a growing neighborhood and to our city.

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I just had breakfast at Mona’s and saw the workers cleaning the glass at the new Vitamin Cottage and you can see the inside is almost set up. Ah, fresh fruits and veggies in the downtown area…. about time don’t you think.

Here is the story from the Rocky Mountain News.

Vitamin Cottage moves into Riverfront area
New grocery in trendy district is No. 24 for family owned chain
Steven R. Nickerson © News

Cheryl Raff stocks vitamin shelves in preparation for the opening of the Vitamin Cottage store at 15th and Platte streets in Denver’s Riverfront neighborhood. The 10,000-square-foot natural foods grocery will open Nov. 14.
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By Janet Forgrieve, Rocky Mountain News
November 4, 2006
Liz Isely was doing one of her favorite parts of the job Friday afternoon - setting up store No. 24 in her family business.
Isely is a Vitamin Cottage vice president and part of the second generation team that runs the growing Lakewood- based chain of natural markets their parents started in 1955.

“I love opening new stores - I like organization,” she said with a grin, her work-gloved hands poised to move more boxes at the company’s first real urban location.

The 10,000-square-foot space at Platte and 15th streets likely will lure more walk-in traffic from the increasingly trendy neighborhood, said marketing director Nancy Flynn.

So, while most of the space will look much like the company’s other locations - vitamins and supplements on one side, grocery on the other - there will be some tweaks, she said.

The center of the store will hold more convenience food items - ready-made sandwiches, drinks and snacks - that customers can grab and go. Also, it’ll be the first Vitamin Cottage store to stock fresh meats.

The spot is within walking distance for residents in the Highlands and Riverfront neighborhoods.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it became a top store for us because the area has been so underserved for so long,” Flynn said.

There are two main entrances. Near the Platte Street side, two express registers will help speed pedestrians on their way, Flynn said.

The door on the other side opens onto the store’s parking lot - customers enter through a high-ceilinged lobby and can use either stairs or an elevator to get up to store level.

When the store opens on Nov. 14, manager Daniel Masias will supervise a staff of 22, about half of them from other stores in the chain.

Chris Smith, who coordinates all the natural health and beauty offerings in the stores, has made a few changes as well.

In a nod to the younger residents of the area, Smith has downsized the baby products sections to fit more shower gels and more upscale products, she said.

At 7 a.m. Thursday, about 50 vendors and workers descended and began unpacking. By Friday afternoon much of the packaged goods were in place, and the team was still chugging along.

Vendor Roger Simmons, which has sold Now Foods supplements to Vitamin Cottage stores for 14 years, said the chain is now his company’s No. 1 customer.

“The expansion has been huge,” Simmons said. “Now, with all the renovation and revitalization of this neighborhood, they’ll get a very metro clientele.”

Vitamin Cottage grows

• What: Vitamin Cottage Natural Market, the 22nd in Colorado and 24th for the Lakewood-based chain

• Where: 2375 15th St., Denver

• When: Opening Nov. 14

• Next up: The company is scheduled to open its next store in January in Dillon.

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While in Santa Fe we had the best breakfast at a Pasquals. What makes this breakfast nook so comfortable is the family style seating. The large table in the center of the room is constantly filled on a rotation with single, two, three, and four person breakfast diners. When you sit at the table you are welcomed by those already there, and its your duty to welcome whomever joins while you are there.

During our dining experience we met a very sweet woman who had been visiting Santa Fe as part of a group session. She had come into Pasqual’s the day before and loved it so much she had to come back. It’s nice to find a place that makes people feel like that. Our breakfast was delicious, the coffee was tasty, and the company of people we got to meet were friendly.

My favorite was the HUEVOS MOTULEÑOS - Eggs Over Easy on Corn Tortillas with Black Beans Topped with Sauteéd Bananas, Feta Cheese, Green Peas, Salsa Fresca Served with Green Chile or Tomatillo Salsa. AWESOME!! Don’t let the green peas scare you.

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