Rocky Mountain High - DDD returns to Denver

Well the time has come to start my vacation for the beginning of December 2012.  The last couple of years I have taken cruises and combined them with DDD visits.  This year I decided to do a DDD visit vacation.  In mid October after returning from my Jersey Diner Tour I started to plan where I wanted to take this extended DDD trip.  Some of the places I was looking at were Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Memphis.  As it got closer a few new places came into play and eventually were the  cities I decided upon.  I would start my travels in Denver and then move to Oklahoma City and then St. Louis and end with a more non-DDD stop (but would still get to a few) in the Los Angeles area.  It would be a busy and tasty 10 days!

After working the night before I flew out to Denver on a 930a nonstop.  After getting the car and checking into my hotel for the overnight I headed northwest towards the home of the University of Colorado, Boulder.  Boulder is a very cool and quaint place.  The town seems to be nestled into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.  I headed for my first stop, a very popular ands well known restaurant bar called 'The Sink".  This place is a hang out for CU students and locals, alike.  As you walk in you see the open kitchen where burgers, sandwiches and pizzas are the favorite meals.  Walking past the kitchen and into the seating area and bar, he ceiling drops to about 7 feet tall.  The walls are adorn with all kinds or funny paintings and cartoons.  The ceilings are filled with signatures of visitors and employees.  It is said that a young Robert Redford worked at The Sink during his days at CU. 

The menu is filled with great sandwiches and burgers and it was hard to make a decision.  I decided upon the "Cowboy Reuben", a Reuben style sandwich but with Brisket and cole slaw and a sauce with a real spice kick to it.  It came with a side of slaw and some sliced cucumbers in spicy dill juice. 

The Sinks Cowboy Reuben

 I really enjoyed it and was able to get one of the chef's to sign my book.  If I am back kin Boulder I will definitely come back and get a pizza at The Sink.

I moved on to a nearby place in Boulder.  Just about 4 miles away is a place that specializes in Crepes, so I figured lunch at The Sink and dessert at my next stop.  The place is called "Foolish Craig's Cafe" and does both sweet and savory crepes.  When Guy was here they made a cake-like dessert made totally from crepes so I decided on their crepe cake of the day.

My Dessert Crepe Cake

The dessert was called Caramel Butter Cream Crepe Cake.  The topping was delicious, the crepes were a bit dry for my liking.  I think that if there were about half the number of layers it would have been perfect.  Don't get me wrong it was delicious, but just a bit too much (an that is something that you won't hear from me often!).  The staff there was great and very friendly.   I headed out to take a break and then go on to dinner at my last stop of the day.

I headed into Denver to a very unique place for me.  I have never been to a Native American Indian restaurant.  My stop was at "Tocabe".  I had pictured this place as a posh sit down place, it is not.  You order at the line and they make your order in front of you.  I was greeted by one of the owners and he explained about all the different items and sauces and toppings.  They even have a separate "Guy Menu" for the items made on the show.  I knew that the Bison Chops with the Blueberry Sauce was going to be too big a meal for me so I chose the Indian Chicken Taco.  This is not your typical taco.  The"taco shell" is more like a fired dough bread and it is loaded with 5 items all  fresh and tasty.  The taco shell just compliments the entire meal.

Tocabe - Native American Eatery

Indian Chicken Taco

During my visit I got to talk at length with both of the owners and we talked about my travels and the history of their restaurant.  The best thing about these guys is they took the time to chat with all the patrons and really made everyone feel at home.

My second and last day in Denver started with an early morning drive into the center of Denver to a place that reminded me of a 60's Coffee Shop.  "Sam's  Number 3" has been around since 1927 and is in the heart of Denver.  It has the classic coffee shop fixtures, a long and curvy counter with the classic stools and booth seating.  I remember when Guy came that Sam's specializes in Green Chile toppings and traditional diner/coffee shop food.  I decided on the Huevos Rancheros which came with Refried beans, Eggs, Green Chile topping and two flour tortillas. 

Huevos Rancheros at Sam's Number 3 

I enjoyed the meal, although I am not a big egg eater.  The Green Chile sauce had a huge kick too them, lucky I had the tortillas to beat down the heat!  I was there at 6am and they were doing a pretty brisk business at that early hour.  I have to give alot of praise to the cashier, she was friendly to everyone as soon as they walked in the door, a hard thing to do that early!

After going back to the hotel to check out I headed north east of the Denver Airport to the town of Brighton and what now is one of my favorite DDD visits.  "Lauer Krauts" is a small cafe that features German sandwiches and burgers.  The twist is they they are totally encased in the roll.  I was greeted by the owner Robin and she and her staff couldn't have been nicer.

I ordered the Kraut Burger, which is shredded ground beef mixed with cooked cabbage and onions in the roll.  On the tables there were different types of sauces, mustard's and ketchup.  I tried Lauer Krauts home made honey mustard and it was the perfect compliment to the delicious sandwich.

Lauer Krauts Kraut Burger

This what makes it great!  The filling!

I can't describe how much I not only enjoyed the  meal  but the staff, that made me feel like part of the family.  I recommend this place to anyone who is in the Denver area, it is fantastic.  All of the sudden just as I was finishing up Robin asked me what kind of dessert I wanted and I told her "Surprise me!".  They brought me a huge piece of Rhubarb Cake.



Dessert at Lauer Krauts


It was unbelievably delisious and they didn't even cahrge me for it!  This was a great way to end a wonderful but all too quick visit to the Mile High City!  The count is now 281!