Denver’s favorite summer lunch tradition, Civic Center Eats Outdoor Cafe, is the perfect venue to sample goodies from the area’s growing food truck invasion. Cop a squat at one of many shaded tables set up at historic Civic Center Park and munch on a variety of foods while listening to live music. Hey, beats a desk lunch any day. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Sept. 27. Proceeds benefit the Civic Center Conservatory.
It won’t come as a
surprise to fans of Kerouac, Cassady, Ginsberg, and Burroughs that the Beat Poetry Driving Tour isn’t officially instituted; like the mid-century literary movement itself, it’s DIY. But since Denver (along with Boulder) was a temporary or permanent home to many of the Beats’ brightest lights, the city government has created a thoroughly engaging webguide to all the signficant sites in their lives, from parks and baseball diamonds to Larimer Square (Skid Row in Kerouac’s day, it now boasts some of Denver’s best dining and shopping).
Quick tip: save Stop 2, The Colburn Hotel, for the end of your tour so you can wind down with a drink at historic piano bar Charlie Brown’s.