Belly Up
Authentic Old West experiences continue even when it comes to Denver’s cuisine. Have an elk steak at the Buckhorn Exchange, and admire the antique guns and Indian artifacts on the walls or dig into a buffalo burger at the Fort Restaurant, a replica of an adobe fur-trading fort with a scenic view of downtown.
Although Denver lays claim to the invention of the cheeseburger in 1935, Grant added that Denver is a booming foodie destination with countless restaurants opening annually.
“Rioja, with a Mediterranean flair, was the winner of the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef Southwest 2013,” he said. “At our restored Union Station, now home to 10 restaurants, the Kitchen is a community pub that is dedicated to sustainability. And featuring globally influenced cuisine, Root Down offers the most organic, natural and local products possible.”
And no fun-loving culture lover will want to miss a thriving culture in Denver: the beer. “We’re known for good beer, and it seems we open a new brewery every week,” said Grant.
More than 200 beers are crafted in Denver every day, from Coors Brewery in Golden, the biggest brewery in the world, producing 22 million barrels annually, to dozens of microbreweries. Denver Brewery Tours takes groups behind the scenes in many of those establishments, where all things beer related are on the itinerary.
