Sunday, October 2, 2016

Colorado Day Trip #6 City Park West – Breakfast at the Denver Biscuit Co., Sample Music and Books at Twist & Shout/ Tattered Cover, Walk City Park, and Dinner at Shells and Sauce

The Denver City Park neighborhood has a lot to offer and quite honestly you could spend several days exploring. Between the park, zoo, museums, jazz, and all the restaurants in the area, it’s difficult to be bored in this neighborhood.

Denver Biscuit Company

Cost: $8 -$12 pp

3237 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80206
8AM–3PM Sat and Sun, 8am to 2pm M-F


There is nothing quite like a freshly baked buttery biscuit, except maybe a delicious biscuit with say homemade fried chicken, local honey, and house made pickles – otherwise known as The Ellsworth. Actually it’s hard to go wrong with anything on the menu, since the whole menu is pretty much based on a near-perfect biscuit recipe. Over the years, The Denver Biscuit Company (DBC) has built a following - starting with the original location on Colfax and expanding to two more locations the over the past couple of years. The Denver Biscuit Company is part of a co-op with three different companies housed within the same building space, which include the Atomic Cowboy, Fat Sully’s Pizza (delicious, I might add), and DBC. From 8am to 2pm DBC operates shop and then after 2pm to close (1am-ish), it is Fat Sully’s Pizza’s turn in the kitchen – and though it all Atomic Cowboy is slinging drinks from Bloody Marys to your favorite local brew.   



Twist and Shout/ The Tattered Cover Bookstore

Cost: Free – (less whatever you decide to buy)

Twist and Shout

2508 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80206
10am – 9pm M-S & 10am -6pm Sun

The Tattered Cover

2526 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80206
9am – 9pm M-S & 10am – 6pm Sun

Exploring Twist and Shout and The Tattered Cover is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon. Twist and Shout has listening stations set up throughout the store with carefully curated selections. Seriously you could spend hours listening and sampling each station and you will want to after the first ‘bite’. It’s kind of like trying a dish that you never knew existed and realizing it’s delicious and that you want more.

The Tattered Cover will tempt you to want to read SO many books.  From the moment you walk in, the lure of the next favorite page-turner will grip you. Beautifully displayed collections are everywhere you look – from a garden to table cookbooks, to a spy novel, to a graphic design magazine… Fair warning if books are your thing, you will get pulled in here.  In addition to the ever-changing inventory at both Twist and Shout and The Tattered Cover, there are regularly scheduled events – book readings and educational talks at Tattered Cover and performances at Twist and Shout. Be sure to check the websites for the current calendar of events.  At this point, if you need a snack or light lunch there is an in-store coffee shop worth checking out that has the typical assortment of coffee drinks, plus smoothies and teas.  




The Sie Film Center

2510 E. Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO 80206

On a side note, and equally worth visiting, is the Sie Film Center, which is also part of the same building complex as Twist and Shout and Tattered Cover. The Sie Film Center features primarily independent films and curated events and movie collections. It’s always worth checking out what they are showing, because a lot of times there is something very special that you would otherwise miss out on… As in many of the showing may ONLY have Colorado showings at this theater.  

City Park

2001 Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 80205
5am – 11pm

City Park is pretty big – it houses the Denver Zoo, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Tennis Courts, horseshoes, baseball, football, and soccer fields; two lakes, boat rental, monuments, playgrounds, water features, and picnic area … Take your pick of activity or just walk around. There are also ongoing events, such as Jazz in the Park and many others. Checking the city’s calendar is probably the best way to keep up on events. http://www.denver.org/events/  or http://cityparkjazz.org/calendar
 



Shells and Sauce

2600 E 12th Ave, Denver, CO 80206
Tues-Weds 3-10pm, Friday 3-11, Sat 10am -11pm, Sunday 10am-9pm, and Closed on Mondays

Happy Hour - Tuesday through Friday 3pm-6pm, Saturday & Sunday 3:30pm-6pm

Shells and Sauce is a great little Italian eatery in the City Park neighborhood. They feature traditional Italian dishes, such as home-made meat balls and lasagna, as well as some less traditional dishes adding their own flair. Always check for the specials here– one of the best pasta dishes that I have had ever was a special at this restaurant. It was the Diablo Linguine, which had a lemon butter sauce and jalapeno sausage and was topped with fresh ricotta. I have yet to find another dish like it. It’s a cozy restaurant, so I recommend going earlier in the evening to avoid longer wait times.

** Often there is a Groupon for Shells and Sauce - Italian Brunch or Dinner for Two or More at Shells and Sauce (Up to 40% Off)