Support your neighborhood restaurant, learn about Native foodways, start planning this summer's garden and take advantage of some last-minute Easter offerings; you can do it all (and more!) without leaving the house this weekend. Plus, keep reading for ongoing food and drink events that you can enjoy while you're socially distanced.
Friday, April 10
Curtis Park residents have an easy way to decide where to order Friday night takeout: Curtis Park Neighbors has recently formed the Curtis Park Meal Train. Each week, nearby denizens can order a meal for two for $35 (plus two drinks for just $5 more if the selected restaurant has a liquor license!) no later than Thursday for Friday night delivery straight to your doorstep — if you live within five miles of the participating restaurants. Past participants include Dio Mio Handmade Pasta and Hop Alley, with Lou's Italian Specialties on the menu this week. Stay tuned for upcoming collabs and order on the Meal Train's website.
Proof Wine & Spirits, 3360 Larimer Street, is moving its weekly in-store wine tastings into the virtual Wild West (aka Instagram). Each Tuesday, the shop announces two wines it will be uncorking; you can order the bottles on its website and pick them up at the store. Then on Friday at 6 p.m., join store manager and sommelier Jessica Barrand on Instagram Live as she tastes and takes notes on the wine. We'll raise a glass to that.
Saturday, April 11
Tune in to Zoom on Saturday, April 11, for a cooking class that goes beyond the usual chicken marsala and sautéed green beans: Native chef Little One Tall Chief is conducting a demo of Lakota Sioux cooking. From 1 to 2:30 p.m., she'll be making sage and bison wonton cups (call it fusion cuisine) and eggplant adobo casserole. Sign up and you'll receive a copy of the recipes prior to class; you'll also have the opportunity to ask questions about the food and traditions behind it. Enroll in the class for $25 on Eventbrite; if you can't make it on April 11, encore demos will be held on April 14 and 16. Find out more on sponsor Breaking Bread Together's Meetup.
You don't have to have this fancy setup to start a garden; a few pots, some dirt and a watering can will do.
Kenzie Bruce
Even though it may feel like the world has shut down forever, Mother Nature is actually doling out some good with the bad: Spring has sprung, and now's a great time to start planning a garden. In addition to growing your own food and mitigating grocery-store trips, gardening can also be a meditative hobby — and nothing could be better in these trying times. That's why farmers' advocacy group Frontline Farming is carrying on with its annual heirloom seedling sale. This year, though, all orders must be placed via the organization's online store. Choose from snowy white Japanese eggplant, lemon-colored cucumbers, violet bell peppers, pale yellow to fiery red chiles, and pitch black, burgundy, scarlet and citron hued tomatoes. Don't have a yard? Not to worry — you can also stock up on herb seedlings (oregano, basil, thyme, chamomile, cilantro and parsley) that do great in pots. Then pick up your babies on Saturday, May 9 (at 2861 West 52nd Avenue), or May 16 (at 7000 Garrison Street in Arvada) and get growing.
The Denver Central Market, 2669 Larimer Street, is offering grocery boxes of everything you'll need — including egg-decorating kits! — for a festive Easter feast. For $180, you'll get a roast leg of lamb, vegetables and potatoes from SK Provisions; veggie lasagna from Vero; six bagels (complete with cream cheese and lox) from Culture; Easter chocolates from Temper; a pint of High Point ice cream; take-and-bake cookies from Izzio's; a bag of Crema coffee; a dozen eggs; and a dye kit. Order on DCM's website; you can request curbside pick-up or delivery for either Saturday or Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
And if you're swinging by the Denver Central Market, order a Quarantine Kit (two four-packs of sparkling wine and a roll of toilet paper) from nearby winery Infinite Monkey Theorem for just $25, then stop by the tasting room at 3200 Larimer Street to pick up your goods. You can order the special on the winery's website through Sunday.
Keep reading for ongoing online events....
Birdcall is appealing to your sense of sound as well as taste with its Birdcall Lockdown concert series.
Danielle Lirette
Knowing when to log out of your email is tough when you're working from home — and it's even harder turning off your work brain when your work space is the same as your sleeping, eating, cooking, TV-watching, hand-washing and gritting-your-teeth-and-trying-not-to-bite-your-roommate's-head-off space. But every day from 7:15 to 7:30 p.m., the folks at Burns Family Artisan Ales are hosting Socially Distanced Drinking on Facebook Live. Tune in and chat in the comments with like-minded beer aficionados about what you're drinking and what it pairs with.
The Mile High City's own self-serve chicken-sandwich chain, Birdcall, is taking a cue from its namesake and bestowing beautiful music on the people of Denver. Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday through April 23, the restaurant's Facebook and Instagram pages will be streaming free mini-sets from local musicians as part of its Birdcall Lockdown concert series. Past artists include Wildermiss and Neoma; tune in at 8 p.m. for your fix of local music — even better if it's enjoyed with one of the joint's family meals or sandwiches, which you can order online, pick up from the restaurant and enjoy from the comfort of your own couch.
Colorado Sake Co. is sending home sushi and sake kits to customers nearly every night of the week for sushi-rolling classes; the packages include enough seafood, rice, nori and veggies to make six rolls (two each of three different styles), plus a rolling mat, chopsticks, wasabi, soy sauce and pickled ginger. Oh, and the most important part — two 350-milliliter bottles of sake: the American Standard (a junmai ginjo, if you're into details) and one flavored version, such as raspberry-lavender. The kits ring in at $80 and are built for two, and you can add more bottles of sake for $10 each. Sign up for the classes on the Colorado Sake Co. Facebook page; they're currently offered every Wednesday through Sunday at 6:30 p.m., with a second session at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Even coronavirus can't kill Wine Wednesday, and Bigsby's Folly is doing its part to uphold the Hump Day tradition. Every Wednesday at 7 p.m., the winery crew is holding virtual gatherings on Instagram Live; while you're there, be sure to take a moment to peruse the feed and enjoy frequent, costumed moments of levity from owners Chad and Marla Yetka.
Our favorite place for Negronis, Bar Helix, is doing double duty as a smokehouse on Fridays and Saturdays. You can order the bar's ribs and sides from noon until sellout for no-contact pick-up at 3440 Larimer Street. Details are up on Bar Helix's website, where you can place your order for food as well as large-format cocktails designed to serve six people or more.
Denver Beer Co. is hosting a virtual happy hour and tasting every Friday from 4 to 5 p.m. on Facebook Live and its YouTube channel; the taproom's head brewer and owners will discuss select brews each week, which will be posted on DBC's Facebook page in advance so that you can drink along if you'd like.
The Dos Luces taproom may currently be empty, but it's hosting virtual happy hours each Friday.
Fermentable Sugar
