When Top Chef’s Season 5 winner- and Boulder resident- Hosea Rosenberg goes to Denver for a night out, he heads to new restaurant Colt & Gray.  Hosea told citybuzz, “They are cooking the food that chefs, like myself, like to eat,” which is always a very, very good sign.

For Hosea, the self-admitted key to his culinary heart is “all things pork,” and Colt & Gray holds that key with delicious dishes like the Long Family Crispy Pig Trotters Appetizer (a.k.a. pig’s feet!) and Grilled Long Farm Pork Chop Entree. But other dishes, non pork-related, have been receiving the same sort of praise in Denver write-ups, like the Potted Peeky Toe Crab Appetizer (a crab spread) and the House Made Ricotta Ravioli Entree.

But we all know there is so much more that makes a restaurant great, and Colt & Gray has that, too. The resident mixologist mixes up a mean spin on the classic Manhattan, the New 1920’s Cocktail, with absinthe as the special ingredient. And even the decor received attention for itself with a write-up in Elle Decor Magazine.

For such a young restaurant, the amount of amazing reviews is enviable, and the dessert of its meal of great press is making the top 10 of Denver Magazine’s 25 Best Restaurant Lists. Sure, Top Chef ‘s Hosea Rosenberg and all the magazines in the world can tell you it’s great, but just one meal at Colt & Gray will make you understand what everyone’s talking about.

*** Hosea Rosenberg was the Season 5 winner of Bravo’s top rated competition show Top Chef. Hosea is a resident of Boulder, Colorado and the Chef at Jax Fish House in Boulder. Besides his Top Chef title, Hosea has won many awards including Best Chef three years in a row at the Denver International Wine Festival, Guest Chef at the James Beard House, and his restaurant, Jax, has received the Best Seafood Restaurant in the Denver/Boulder area since opening in 1994.

Named one of the top five establishments to drink tequila in America by Food and Wine Magazine, LoLa has also become one of Denver’s most acclaimed dining destinations, serving cuisine inspired by Mexico’s coastal regions. 5280 Magazine’s Chef of the Year and LoLa owner, Jamey Fader, mixes up Denver’s best regional Mexican cuisine with his ever changing, seasonally inspired menus.

LoLa now occupies what was the original home to the Ollinger Mortuary and the 1926 winter resting place of Wild Bill Cody in what is now our downstairs tequila bar, BeLoLa. With over 150 selections of tequila Lola has a sleek and sexy space that is conducive to an evening of serious study with Mixologist Jimmy Zanon. Denver’s very best brunch starts early and ends late with live music on Sundays.

Diners will find a familiar steakhouse ambience along with the trademark caricatures of local notables and celebrities lining the walls. The food runs to outsize portions of USDA Prime steaks and lobster, cracked table side by your server, along with straightforward salads and sides such as the Half & Half, cottage fries and fried onions. A range of chops, fish (broiled, blackened, sautéed or peppercorn-crusted) and Italian dishes is on hand for those looking for an alternative to the beef. This is all complemented by a standout New York cheesecake and a notable wine list trumpeting familiar labels.

Set in a quiet neighborhood, this quaint restaurant has a cozy dining room that is great for two or a group. The menu is read aloud and changes daily and consists of high quality local produce and products.
This is a unique and fun place that is a bit off the beaten path. They don’t take reservations so if you have going on a weekend night get there early! There is also a bar right next to the restaurant that has more seating and a separate menu.

A major stop on the The Beat Poetry Driving Tour, this well-worn bar on the ground floor of The Colburn Hotel was a favorite of Allen Ginsberg and Neal Cassady—and it remains dear to Denverites today. From the sing-alongs around the grand piano to Sunday night karaoke to summertime pig roasts on the patio, the goings-on are always convivial—and they’re only enhanced by the comfy leather seats and cheap drinks (which are even cheaper during the two-for-one happy hour). No wonder the crowds are so diverse—be it nattily dressed grandfolks humming to the oldies, families with toddlers, or lawnmower-beer-drinking hipsters, there’s something for everyone here.

Babareeba Store Denver gets a good name at this stylish Highland shop featuring trendy togs and jewelry and classic vintage wear. Approximately 70 percent of clothing and shoes reflect modern fashions from well-known stores like Ann Taylor and Banana Republic, as well as designer brands from hip boutiques. The rest is high-quality vintage like Jackie O-style St. John knits that lend themselves to current tastes.

Release your inner girlie-girl at this sweet-as-candy boutique in Highlands Square. Hardly bigger than a shoebox, the crayon-bright space is lined with framed photos of seductresses from the golden era of the silver screen, beneath whose scarlet smiles racks burst and shelves spill with all kinds of finds at generally reasonable prices: belts, hats, shades, bags, scarves, and costume baubles complement a smaller selection of apparel. And the easygoing staff strikes the perfect balance between helpfulness and the hands-off approach, so you can browse at your leisure.

The short stretch of South Broadway known as Antique Row is jam-packed with storefronts crammed in turn with bric-a-brac for weekend browsers and serious collectors alike. Occupying its own eye-opening niche is this specialist in German, Austrian, and Swiss antiques. Black Forest woodwork abounds, of course, in the form of cuckoo clocks, mirror frames, chandeliers, walking sticks, and plaques, but there’s plenty more to gawk at. Glass and pewter beer steins line shelves; hand-painted goblets and figurines fill display cases; and World War II memorabilia is arrayed behind glass to tempt the history buff. And still that’s not all: from brass cowbells to felt fedoras made in the Tyrol to old postcards, owner Diana Neisler—herself from Heidelberg—stocks every inch of her shop with fascinating finds.

With its extraordinary array of herbs, spices, extracts and more, this Denver-based franchise has caught the attention of everyone from avid local home cooks to the Food Network, which produced a 2010 miniseries called Spice & Easy starring owners Janet and Mike Johnston (who have also made guest appearances on Paula’s Best Dishes and Down Home with the Neelys). Looking for white, green or black cardamom pods? You’ll find them here. Black, brown or yellow mustard seeds? They’re here too. What about asfoetida, epazote, charnushka or grains of paradise? Never even heard of them? Rest assured the knowledgable employees can share their secrets for usage.

Call it a trading post for fashionistas: Buffalo Exchange not only sells clothes but buys and trades them, too. The funky Capitol Hill branch of this national resale chain is lined with rack upon rack of vintage, designer, and “gently used” duds as well as display cases cluttered with jewelry, hats, bags, sunglasses and other goodies—many of them priced just as they might have been back in the day (think silk sheaths for $10 and cowboy boots for a fraction of the cost of a new pair). Bring your own bag to tote your purchases in, and the store will donate a nickel to the charity of your choice—so you can do good while looking even better.

City Hall is the premier live music venue that everyone is raving about in Denver. This music venue has hosted some of the best musical acts in the industry today. From The Game to Katy Perry, City Hall covers all musical genres. With a historical look and feel, this spacious venue makes room for some great music to bounce from open wall to open wall.

Denver is a sports fan’s dream, but this time of year is really the best. If you’re a sports fan, the Mile High City is the place you want to be. Denver is home to no less than seven professional sports teams that thrill sold out crowds year-round. Basketball, baseball, football, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, rugby – Denver’s got it all, with some of the world’s best athletes on the rosters.

The Colorado Avalanche of the NHL are playing at The Pepsi Center, against their Western Conference rivals, Please visit avalanche.nhl.com for more information.

The NBA’s Denver Nuggets are one of the younger teams in the league. Check out their exciting games at the Pepsi Center. Click here or more information.

The Colorado Rapids represent Major League Soccer, and play at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Commerce City. Visit coloradorapids.com for more information.

And the Major League Baseball season will be starting soon, and the Colorado Rockies have been very exciting to watch in recent seasons and this season should be no different. The Rockies play at Coors Field in the LoDo area. Click here for more information.

The Denver Art Museum is a private, non-profit, educational resource for Colorado. The mission of the museum is to enrich the lives of Colorado and Rocky Mountain residents through the acquisition, preservation, and presentation of art works in both the permanent collections and temporary exhibitions, and by supporting these works with exemplary educational and scholarly programs.

Since its beginnings in the 1890s as the Denver Artists’ Club, the Denver Art Museum has had a number of temporary homes, from the public library and a downtown mansion to a portion of the Denver City and County Building.

While famous for telling the story of Black cowboys, they are broader than this with interests in the stories of all those early Blacks who came west and performed as miners, soldiers, homesteaders, ranchers, blacksmiths, schoolteachers, lawmen, and every other profession needed to build up the West. In fact, the Museum itself is in the home of Dr. Justina Ford, Colorado’s first Black woman doctor!

The Museum is broken into many diverse exhibits such as our homestead exhibit. There is an exhibit primarily dedicated to the town of Dearfield, Colorado. Dearfield was a Black pioneer town founded by O.T. Jackson in 1910 just east of Greeley, Colorado. It was a bustling town of approximately 500 residents founded on the principles of Booker T. Washington. It was successful until the 1930s when depression, drought and dust storms forced most of the residents back to the cities. In the early 1940s, the town dwindled to about a dozen full time residents and finally ended shortly thereafter. The town is now a ghost town and the Museum owns many of the city lots. Click here for more information.

Three theaters in one, the University of Denver’s year-round performing arts venue isn’t just for students. Indeed, entertainers of all stripes—local, national, and international; emerging and established—make touring stops here. In any given academic season, enthusiasts can catch the acts of flamenco and ballet troupes; concerts by chamber orchestras, jazz ensembles, and a capella groups; and even spoken-word pieces and lectures by authors and professors as well as performers. Among the big names gracing the marquee of late: the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Bill Frisell, and Joyce Carol Oates. Insider’s tip: the Newman Center is only a couple of miles away from Old South Pearl; south Denver’s Restaurant Row is your best bet for dinner before the show.

As the owner of The Queen Anne Urban Bed and Breakfast with a background in both hospitality and sustainability, Milan Doshi has gone to great—make that green—lengths to make this pair of nineteenth-century Victorian houses a home for his guests.
Dotted with log fireplaces, bay windows, exquisite antiques, and even a turret as well as recycled materials galore, Doshi’s twinned inn also features woodworks, murals, and amenities courtesy of equally eco-minded area artisans—from your bath products to your morning coffee.

So before your very eyes, the historic turns progressive, the old-fashioned turns new wave—and you become an honorary local, whether over breakfast in the garden or during a happy hour that features Colorado wine and cheese.

At nearly 125 years old, the huge stone mansion housing Castle Marne is listed on the National Register of Historic Places—and it’s as beautiful inside as it is outside. Each of this bed and breakfast’s nine rooms is a wonder, filled with antique furnishings of brass and iron and variously graced by cathedral ceilings, balconies, fireplaces, and even hot tubs. The piano parlor and frescoed dining room are equally sumptuous, and while breakfast and tea service are a given, guests can also arrange for private luncheons and six-course BYO dinners. Of course, a setting as grand as this is a natural for garden weddings—the proprietor is even licensed to officiate.

Named for its prime location adjacent to the Denver Center of Performing Arts, Hotel Teatro is itself plenty dramatic. Since opening, it has been accumulating awards as Denver’s Best Hotel (Zagat) and continually surfacing on Travel + Leisure’s Top Hotel List for both the U.S. and the world. 

Posters and costumes from performances past line the lobby and grace even the standard guest rooms—which aren’t large but are luxuriously appointed in sandstone, cherrywood, leather, and marble, plus all the key anemities: oversized tubs, rainforest shower heads, flat-panel TVs, and complimentary Wifi, to name a few. Speaking of luxury, this boutique hotel is also home to the acclaimed Restaurant Kevin Taylor as well as its namesake chef’s all-day Italian spot, Prima Ristorante—known for a weekend brunch that’s capped off with bottomless prosecco.

Built in 1896 for a local jeweler, the brownstone mansion that now houses the Holiday Chalet is an oasis of gentility on raucous East Colfax. Though its nine rooms have been renovated to reflect the bed-and-breakfast’s Victorian origins, they’re also fully equipped with modern amenities (including Wifi and individual kitchens).

Still, the emphasis is on bygone civility, from full breakfast in the antique-filled tea room to ice cream socials in the flower-lined courtyard (which also contains a grill for barbecue-minded guests). And you can even dress for such occasions at She She, the on-site boutique of Chalet owner/fashion designer Crystal Sharp.

Opening in 2008, the Ritz-Carlton Denver is the newest kid on the block—and boy, is he rich. Befitting one of the world’s most celebrated luxury hotel chains, this downtown accommodation lavishes its guests with every amenity imaginable. Nearly half of the 200 rooms are suites, but even the “basic” accommodations—purportedly the largest in the city—boast featherbeds and Frette robes, flat-screen TVs and iPod docking stations.

Meanwhile, if you need to whip your body back into shape after an extravagant meal at Elway’s Steakhouse, the health club is equipped with everything from a basketball court to a climbing wall, while the spa offers such specialized treatments as a Thai herbal poultice and a four-hand massage.