The Taste of Colorado

On September 6, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Colorado9 Comments

We went to Denver over the weekend to enjoy the Taste of Colorado, which is an annual event with a variety of vendors. It wasn’t exactly what we were expecting, but it was still a lot of fun. We expected it to be mostly restaurants as well as local breweries and wineries, but it was actually a lot of vendors selling crafts as well as a small carnival. There were restaurants and food trucks, just not as many as we had expected and some of them were chain restaurants. We were able to get beer and wine, but the only brewery was Coors, so there wasn’t a selection of craft beers, which was more of what we were expecting.

The event itself is free, but you need to buy tickets in order to get food and drinks. It isn’t exactly cheap, but it is typical of these types of events. There was also plenty of free music with different bands playing throughout the four days and each evening there were some fairly big names playing. It was pretty warm over the weekend, so it was nice to sit in the shade and listen to some music at times. We enjoyed hearing the Confluence Music Group, The Afters, Hypnotic Vibes, and Boys II Men.

Obviously we weren’t there with kids, but we did enjoy seeing all of the children riding on the various carnival rides. There was a wide variety of rides for the children to enjoy, including some things for the older kids such as a zip-line and a mechanical bull. The floating hamster wheels looked like they would be a lot of fun. We’re not sure if we can handle all of the spinning and whirling, but the children were definitely enjoying it.

We didn’t buy anything while we were there, but there were definitely a lot of interesting crafts available. There was everything from African masks to various types of artwork. If you were looking for interesting trinkets to put in your home, there were plenty of choices. It was great to see all of the different and unique items for sale, but it wasn’t what we were expecting as we thought that the event was going to be all about the food from Colorado.

We really had a great time, but it was definitely a busy place to be and it was very crowded. In addition to everyone being there for the Taste of Colorado, there was also an anime convention going on, so there were people dressed as their favorite character on every street corner. Living in Colorado Springs, we had never heard of the event before this year, but we will definitely keep it in mind for the future as it was a lot of fun and now we know more of what to expect.

Plenty of Choices for Food in Denver

On August 17, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes7 Comments

Whether on the 16th Street Mall or in the LODO (Lower Downtown) area, there are plenty of restaurants to choose from. We’ve said this before, but we are not big eaters. We do, however, like to try a variety of food so we tend to have small bites in several places spread out throughout the day. It was no different during our visit to Denver over the weekend. We ended up eating at five different restaurants before our weekend was over and each offered the opportunity to have something a little different.

When we arrived in Denver, it was time for lunch, so we walked down to Henry’s Tavern to grab a bite to eat. Because we like good service and we don’t always like to take up a table on a server when we know that we’re going to share a meal, we usually will sit at the bar for a meal, even if we’re not having any alcohol. Since we weren’t going to do any driving while in Denver, we opted for a glass of wine with our lunch. One of the interesting things about their bar was that there was a frozen strip around the bar where you can put your beer and it will stay ice cold no matter how hot it is outside. After perusing the menu, we weren’t sure what to have, so we asked the bartender for some advice. Based on her opinion, we ordered the bangers and mash, which was served with an incredibly rich onion gravy. It was delicious.

Later in the afternoon, we went to one of our favorite places called The Kitchen. We ordered some roasted beets and marinated olives, but overall were disappointed with the changes that had been implemented since our previous visit. They had raised their prices and reduced the creativity of their offerings. Unfortunately, they have most likely lost our business. After walking around for a little bit, we went to Jax Fish House. We had been to another one of their restaurants in Fort Collins, so we knew that we were in for a treat. Oysters, peel-and-eat shrimp, seafood tater tots with salmon, and seafood sausage made for quite the meal. Although all small plates, we were quite full by the time we were done.

Before leaving Denver the following day, we had time for one more restaurant and we chose one near our hotel called Stout Street Social. It was brunch time and they had some really interesting brunch choices, but we ended up selecting their cheddar biscuits and green chili. It featured a large, homemade cheddar biscuit, scrambled eggs, bacon, and green chili. Even though we were splitting it, there was still too much food for us to finish, but it was definitely a savory way to start our day.

All in all, we had a wonderful time during our quick break in Denver and part of the reason was the delicious food that we tried. We try to go to new places as well as visit some of our favorites from past trips as well. Obviously we’re looking forward to the food when we get overseas, but for now we’ll enjoy opportunities to try some new places until we leave.

Iberian Ham

On August 10, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes, Spain8 Comments

We had heard quite a bit about how good the Iberian ham was before travelling to the Iberian peninsula. To be honest, we enjoy cured meat, but it isn’t necessarily something we gravitate towards. One of the interesting things that we learned about ham is that the reason it is supposed to be so good is due to the food that the pigs are fed, which are acorns. In fact, the ham is rated by how many months out of the year the pigs are fed acorns, the more months the better the rating. The ham doesn’t receive a star rating, but instead is rated in acorns with a five acorn rating being the highest rating possible.

So, what did we think of the ham? Quite frankly it was absolutely delicious. We have never had a dried meat that literally almost evaporated in your mouth. Obviously there is a very high fat content for that to occur, but you almost didn’t chew the ham, it seemed to dissolve the moment it hit the warmth of your tongue. It isn’t something that we’re able to find here, so if we ever get the chance to eat some again, we definitely will. This was one of the times when the food lived up to the pre-trip hype and if you get the chance, you should certainly give it a try.