Colorado’s capital city brings culture to life with immersive exhibits and must-see museums
Denver’s also a big city, so my e-bike tour is the perfect way to see a lot of it in a short time. While I don’t spot a giant custodian who’s capable of wielding the artsy cleaning equipment, as we pedal through the city’s funky neighbourhoods, past the stately Capitol buildings and along the downtown Cherry Creek waterway, I do notice that indeed, Denver is exceptionally neat. So, I guess Big Sweep is a product of its environment, after all.
Opened in 2015, the Club features two live nightly jazz performances from Wednesday to Sunday. Co-owner Nicole Mattson tells me that the 100-seat club takes “full advantage” of the two-storey, acoustically sublime room, inspired by 1920s and ’30s Atlantic coast art deco of cities like New York. The walls are lined with portraits of 20th century jazz greats like Duke Ellington, and a mural of Billie Holliday takes pride of place next to the front door.
The dinner portion features a three-course menu with optional wine pairings to accompany dishes like autumn roots salads, bowls of tagliatelle Bolognese and plates of duck confit.
On my visit, the Show stage is occupied by local musicians Adam Gang and Jack Dunlevie and band, playing jazzy interpretations of Chopin’s Nocturnes — a truly stellar fusion of Western classical music and modern piano, saxophone and bass.
My exploration of Denver’s artistic side is paired with a tasty appraisal of the city’s culinary arts. There are 28 restaurants listed in the Michelin guide in Denver and the surrounding area, including four one-stars, two green star rooms and the rest, Bib Gourmand restaurants of good quality and good value cooking, featuring everything from contemporary Chinese to Mexican, Mediterranean and Italian cuisine.
The lunchtime menu is a well-priced and delicious three-course meal with a perfectly hot porcini mushroom soup starter that’s thawing me from the inside out, taking the edge off the chill in the air.
Snow is in the forecast but right now, barman Jack Simpson is placing a bowl of pecorino-flaked cacio e pepe in front of me and that’s all I’m able to focus on, keeping an eye on leaving room in my dessert stomach for tiramisu and a digestive of Braulio, an aged amaro from Italy’s northern Lombardy region.
I offer a toast to Jack and to Denver, saying cheers and thanks for a memorable time spent enjoying the charms of the Queen City of the Plains before boarding the convenient Denver airport rail to head back home. The approaching snowstorm means there’ll soon be powder in the nearby hills and slopes of the Colorado Rocky Mountains — the perfect opportunity to plan a return trip.
Claudia Laroye was a guest of Visit Denver, which did not read or review this article before publication.