In the meantime, are you consumed by an untenable combo of boredom and anxiety? Temporarily dull the pain with consumption — of food, drink or social media. Here are our picks to help you embrace the new normal this week, plus ongoing online events for every other day that stretches into eternity like a vast wasteland. Cheers!
Wednesday, May 27
The City of Aurora is doing its part to make sure kitchens are stocked with a weekly Wednesday mobile food pantry that will run through August 26. On Wednesday, May 27, Aurora residents can show up at Hinkley High School, 1250 Chambers Road, starting at 10 a.m. to receive a box of free groceries that can be used to make up to nine meals. The city's goal is to distribute 1,000 boxes per week; the first week of the pantry's operation, supplies were exhausted within an hour, so eligible families (all Aurora households with proof of residency) should plan to be punctual. Emergency food supplies for homeless citizens as well as pet food and supplies will also be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Distribution locations change every week; visit the City of Aurora website for future locations and complete details.
Boulder's Oak at Fourteenth, 1400 Pearl Street, is running an Asian-inspired pop-up for the next month. The scrumptious new entrees include General Tso's crispy pork shoulder with fried mushrooms, rice and truffle tofu; bao stuffed with brisket from Denver barbecue emporium Smok, with kimchi potato salad; pork dumplings piled high with crispy garlic; and a chicken sandwich topped with Thai-spiced caramel and ginger slaw. Call 303-444-3622 to place your pick-up order from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
Denver Film moved its programming online when Colorado shut down back in March, and cinephiles have been able to stream films in the comfort of their own couches since then. The last few months have taught us that our entire lives — working, sleeping, streaming, crying, screaming into the void, and definitely eating and drinking — can be performed from those well-loved cushions, so it's apropos that one of the organization's current offerings is the 2019 documentary about legendary Mexican food maven and author Diana Kennedy, titled Diana Kennedy: Nothing Fancy. Visit Denver Film's website to stream the movie for $9.99 (although you can't put a price on Kennedy's advice about cascabel chiles), then tune into the Denver Film YouTube channel at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 27, for a live Q&A with director Elizabeth Carroll. Even better than this feast for the eyes is the literal feast (okay, one dish) that The Bindery, 1817 Central Street, is cooking up to accompany the film: rabbit two ways, with bunny playing the starring role in rellenos and chiles en nogada ($35, serves two). Also available is the Nothing Fancy cocktail — a simple but satisfying tequila gimlet ($10). Call 303-993-2364 to order takeout.
Thursday, May 28
Some days wine just isn't enough; you need stiffer stuff. Restaurant Olivia feels your pain, so it's offering a virtual distillers' dinner at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 28. Denver bartenders Sean Kenyon (Williams & Graham, Occidental) and Nick Touch (The Family Jones) will each be mixing three cocktails for the three-course dinner: gin drinks to go with burrata, parmesan focaccia and pesto; vodka beverages to accompany lasagna pomodoro and braised chicken; and bourbon with butterscotch budino and brown butter cookies to cap off the evening. Each bearded bartender will lobby for his own pairing, and the winner — as decided by your vote — will choose which nonprofit organization receives a portion of the evening's sales. Reserve your spot on Olivia's website ($75 with booze, $50 without) no later than 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26, and you'll get a link to the Zoom meeting, take-and-bake courses (along with complete finishing instructions) and six cocktails. Food will be available for pick-up on Wednesday, May 27, and Thursday, May 28, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. at 290 South Downing Street.
Friday, May 29
Longmont's Dry Land Distillers' insistence on using local ingredients for its beverages — endemic prickly pear cactus for its mezcal-adjacent spirit, Antero wheat (developed by Colorado State University) and heirloom White Sonora wheat for its whiskeys, and native botanicals for its gin — makes it a natural bedfellow for the Slow Food movement (liquor is food, obviously). On Friday, May 29, at 4 p.m., the distillery is joining Slow Food USA for a free virtual tour and mixology class. Sign up for the webinar on Slow Food's website, then start gathering equipment and ingredients to make two of Dry Land's house cocktails using its goods. Pre-order your bottles on Dry Land's online storefront, then pick them up at the tasting room, 471 Main Street in Longmont, between 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Don't say Denver restaurants aren't stretching their creativity to the limit to keep you fed and entertained, even if their dining rooms aren't open. Exhibit A: a "Farm-to-Spaceship" dinner from Somebody People, the plant-based eatery at 1165 South Broadway. A team of chefs, distillers, bartenders, DJs, artists and other creative types have concocted the storyline of the Weightless Freight REALLY Long Haul Trucking Company, which supposedly just landed with a shipment of subglacial lake water from Mars — and they brought recipes. Snag a ticket for the multimedia event on Eventbrite for $48 each for one of three sessions, on May 29, June 5 or June 12. Each ticket includes a four-course dinner from Somebody People, a cocktail or mocktail made with "Mars Water," and a flower-power ring that you'll pick up from the restaurant between 5 and 8 p.m. the day of your dinner. You'll also receive a login for an accompanying video, which includes a cocktail tutorial, comedy, music and other visuals to help set the extraterrestrial scene. Complete details can be found on the Farm to Spaceship Eventbrite page.
Diners with champagne tastes and a willingness to stand over a stove can pick up Frasca at Home meal kits to cook every weekend in Boulder (at Frasca) and Denver (at Tavernetta).
Danielle Lirette
Boulder denizens seeking high-end dining have long relied on Frasca Food and Wine, 1738 Pearl Street, to scratch that itch. And while the dining room remains closed, you can still get the white-tablecloth experience — provided, of course, that you have a white tablecloth at home. Every Saturday, the restaurant is offering Frasca at Home kits, with enough ingredients to create an entree for two people (don't worry, you'll get detailed instructions and a video tutorial), plus appetizers, dessert and a bottle of wine. Previous kits have included paella, fresh pasta with Bolognese, and roast chicken seasoned with fennel pollen (all with accompanying sides, breads and wines). Prices vary, but hover around $100 to $130. Orders must be placed on Tock no later than 5 p.m. for pick-up on Saturdays. Want to order but live in Denver? No worries: Order on Tavernetta's Tock page and collect your goods at its Denver dining room, 1889 16th Street.
Will you be able to get your hands on Palisade peaches this year? Colorado Proud wants to ensure that you can.
Colorado Proud
Farmers and ranchers, distributors, restaurateurs and vendors interested in Colorado's agricultural industry will want to plan for the Colorado Department of Agriculture's next roundtable on Wednesday, June 3, "Adaptability: How Agriculture Can Succeed in Tough Times." From 4 to 5 p.m., panelists including state Commissioner of Agriculture Kate Greenberg and Marczyk Fine Foods owner Pete Marczyk will discuss their ideas on how to adjust the food supply chain and distribution, logistics of outdoor markets, and retail operations in a way that serves customers and producers alike. Guests will have the opportunity to submit questions for a Q&A when they RSVP for the free Zoom meeting on Colorado Proud's website; attendees must register no later than Wednesday, May 27.
Starting Wednesday, June 3, Denver-based Good Food 100 Restaurants, an industry survey that strives to document business and purchasing practices in the hospitality field, is launching Save Good Food, a series of weekly virtual dinner-table discussions about food and the supply chain. At 6 p.m., tune in to hear local and national fine-dining restaurateurs, farmers and distributors discuss the realities and future of finding good food. The first episode ("Save Good Meat") includes chefs Paul C. Reilly (Beast + Bottle, Coperta) and Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill), hog and poultry farmer Greg Gunthorp and Chris Oliviero from Niman Ranch. Future installments — the series runs through June 30 — feature Denver chefs Alex Seidel, Jen Jasinski, Kelly Whitaker and Caroline Glover; visit the organization's website to register for the free webinars. Attendance is limited, so don't delay.
Keep reading for ongoing online events every day of the week....
These pretty pink macarons are just one of the recipes you can get when you subscribe to Stir's online cooking school.
Courtesy Stir Cooking School
Sure, you can teach yourself to cook for free by scouring the Internet for blogs, recipes and YouTube videos; the problem with that is after you've waded through a twelve-paragraph essay about the scent of earth after a fresh rain on the blogger's last trip to Emilia-Romagna, mile-long ingredient lists so poorly written you're left confused as to what exactly you need to pick up at the store, and interminable video intros from cooks so dull you're snoozing even before you get to the tedious parts like chopping veggies, you have no idea if the recipe that follows is going to be worthwhile. Not so with Stir Cooking School's new online subscription service. For $20 per month (prorated for your first month), you'll get at least three new (and concise!) recipes uploaded each week in categories like apps, cocktails, dinners, one-pot meals, baking and pastry, as well as engaging videos and the chance to submit recipe requests. Visit Stir's website now for more info and to get one month of the service free with code NEWSTIR.
Need a mid-day pick-me-up? Colorado Springs-based Distillery 291 is keeping the bar fires burning by posting short Facebook Live videos daily at 2 p.m. (and often at 5 p.m., as well). Tune in to see staff taking shotskis (appropriately socially distanced, with just one person on each end of the ski), mixing cocktails, bantering and sanitizing everything in sight. Anyone — even those who don't live south of the Denver County line — can benefit from daily cocktail recipes and a quick time-out between Zoom meetings. Distillery 291 just took home double gold for its High Rye Colorado Bourbon at the recent San Francisco World Spirits Competition, so you can order a bottle for your home bar and virtual-toast along with the 291 team.
Colorado Sake Co. is sending home sushi and sake kits to customers 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 offered daily at 6:30 p.m., with a second session at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
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 with Wayne and Laura 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.
Stem Ciders' weekly pairings are now available for advance ordering.
Courtesy of Stem Ciders
The Denver Central Market, 2669 Larimer Street, has shifted operations to function as a grocery store — and that makes it one of the few markets where you can get your pantry essentials and your hard liquor in the same spot. Curio, the in-house bar, won't mix up a cocktail to sip while you shop, but you can order cocktail kits and bottles of booze for pick-up Tuesday through Friday (2 to 6 p.m.) and Saturday (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.) For the most part, the cocktail kits don't include booze, but instead are substantial baskets of fruit, mixers, garnishes, syrups, bitters and ice that make from eight to ten drinks; prices range from $25 to $50. And while you can splurge on a bottle of booze — there are several $300 options for sale on Curio's website — you can get a liter of most house spirits for $25 or $30. You can even get fancy ice cubes, which will run you $4 for four, if for some reason you lack access to water and a freezer. Once you have your goodies in hand, start shaking with the help of the bar's Cocktail Sessions, free videos in which bartenders from Curio, Brass Tacks and Roger's Liquid Oasis walk you through the steps to creating perfect quarantine quaffs.
Stem Ciders isn't letting a little thing like a global health crisis put a crimp in its long-running tradition of Tuesday pairings. The cidery continues to offer four cans of cider accompanied by four food items (upcoming: cupcakes and sushi) picked by bakers, chefs and producers for pick-up between 3 and 7 p.m. from the Stem taproom at 2811 Walnut Street. Unlike in pre-pandemic times, you can reserve your plate (costs vary, but hover in the $25 range) in advance on Eventbrite (recommended) through noon on the prior Monday, but there will be a limited supply of pairings for sale on a first-come, first-served basis on Tuesday. Take a look at Stem's Facebook page for details on the week's selections.
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 the end of Denver's stay-at-home order, 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.
Wednesdays
The folks at Flying Pig Burger Co. (5935 South Zang Street in Littleton and 5777 Olde Wadsworth Boulevard in Arvada) and Westrail Tap & Grill (195 South Union Street in Lakewood) are showing their appreciation for first responders through Sunday, June 28, by giving away a free cheeseburger and fries to police officers, firefighters, nurses, doctors and EMTs from noon to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Show up with your ID, and remember to show your appreciation for their appreciation by tipping well. See each restaurant's Facebook page for details.
Our favorite place for Negronis, Bar Helix, is doing double duty as a smokehouse on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. You can order the bar's ribs and sides from 2 p.m. 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.
The longer Colorado's stay-at-home/safer-at-home orders drag on, the worse our case of cabin fever gets (at this point, your cousin's wedding in Rapelje, Montana — population 110 — sounds positively enticing). But while you're stuck at home, you can prepare for your next trip to somewhere closer and much, much tastier: Colorado's wine country. Starting Wednesday, April 15, the Colorado Wine Facebook page launched its weekly happy half-hour at 4:30 p.m. on Facebook Live. Winemakers from across the state join the stream each week and chat about tasting tips, the winemaking process and viewer questions. Visit Colorado Wine's website to connect with wineries close to you and find out how you can purchase their wares to drink during happy hour (or — let's be honest — any hour of the day).
The Source Market's hip liquor store, The Proper Pour, at 3350 Brighton Boulevard, is teaming up with members of the funk band Lettuce (who also happen to have a natural-wine distribution company, Benny & Zoid Selections) to ease you through Hump Day with its wine and music pairing, Tasting Notes. Purchase a pair of wines on the Proper Pour's website (this week's selections include a riesling and a zinfandel from California's Stirm Wine Co.), then check back or visit Benny & Zoid's Instagram page on Wednesday morning to get the link to the Zoom meeting. Join the crew at 7 p.m. for tasting notes on the booze followed by a jam session. The liquor store delivers within Denver city limits; otherwise, you'll need to arrange for curbside pick-up. Find out more on the Proper Pour's Facebook page (after all that careering around the web, you'll definitely have earned a drink).
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.
Thursdays
Popular pop-up shopping destination Denver Bazaar has had to rethink its business model — after all, tipsy shopping and close talking in a bustling market space aren't exactly copacetic these days. So the bazaar has teamed up with local producers and restaurants to shift operations online while giving consumers the same access to local food, drink and handmade items. Visit Denver Bazaar's website to order farmers' market items, cocktails and family meals, then schedule your pick-up location and time. Current locations are Highland Tap & Burger (2219 West 32nd Avenue) on Thursdays from 2 to 7 p.m.; Sloan's Lake Tap & Burger (1565 North Raleigh Street) Fridays from 2 to 7 p.m.; Mister Oso (3163 Larimer Street) Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m.; and Belleview Station Tap & Burger (4910 South Newport Street) Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The market is looking to add more items and locations, so stay tuned to its website; also note that orders must be placed no later than 6 p.m. on Tuesday for the current week or Thursday for the weekend.
Cook Street School of Culinary Arts had recently moved into new digs at 43 West Ninth Avenue when COVID-19 shuttered the dining rooms of restaurants and bars across the state. While we're still waiting (and waiting...and waiting) for guidance on when they will be allowed to reopen, Cook Street has begun offering a slate of online classes on Thursday and Friday nights at 6 p.m. that have been selling out. Previous editions include Indian and Thai cuisine, pizza for the family and date night with Italian food; tuition runs around $45 per person and includes ingredients for one, recipes and a Zoom live stream. Sign up on Cook Street's website, where you can also see specifics on time, pricing and menus.
Thursday afternoon has rolled around, you haven't been to the grocery store in weeks (all your masks are in the laundry), and the sole contents of your refrigerator are unidentifiable leftovers from the last restaurant you ate in three months ago, plus stale corn tortillas and the tail end of a year-old bottle of vermouth. Perhaps even more important, your home bar has been depleted, and the only booze around is a bottle of vanilla extract (oh, and that oxidized vermouth). Never fear, last-minute man: Here's a dinner-and-drinks option you barely have to plan for. Starting at 3 p.m. on Thursdays, call Italian-inspired joint Gattara, 1776 Grant Street, and order its weekly wine dinner for that evening. Phone 303-318-7272 to order pick-up, or order online for Grubhub delivery and you'll get three courses plus three wine pairings for a mere $30. Then visit Gattara's Facebook page between 6 and 8 p.m. to talk with the crew via Facebook Live about the pairings. This is a weekly event, but the menu changes monthly; May's menu includes burrata with heirloom tomatoes, olives and lemon olive oil; pizza topped with prosciutto, mascarpone, cured egg yolk and pecorino; and a chocolate torte for dessert. Get the details on Facebook.
The Boulder-based Cocktail Squad, purveyor of canned cocktails and 1989-era Taylor Swift catchphrases, has launched a series of music sets from local musicians on its YouTube channel. Every Thursday you can watch new performances from artists like Andy Thorn of Leftover Salmon, Andrew McConathy of the Drunken Hearts and more. Presumably, not every musician making an appearance will be a bearded white dude named after one of the Twelve Apostles, but you'll have to tune in to find out — and even if they are, it'll go down easier with one of the Squad's cocktails in hand; visit its website to find out where you can order them for delivery. In lieu of tips, the beverage producer is requesting that you donate to nonprofit organizations Feed the Frontlines Boulder, United States Bartenders' Guild National Charity Foundation and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Relief Fund.
The Dos Luces taproom may currently be empty, but it's hosting virtual happy hours each Friday.
Fermentable Sugar
American Elm, 4132 West 32nd Avenue, is hyping a different cocktail each week during its Friday happy hour — because once you've learned everything there is to know about your housemate(s), pet(s), Tik Tok feed, Joe Exotic and the offerings of every streaming platform you can think of, God knows you need some variety. Bartenders will walk you through the weekly drink at 4 p.m. on the restaurant's Instagram page; to play along, visit American Elm's website, where you can place a pick-up or delivery order for the bar's pre-mixed cocktails. And because every alcohol purchase must include food, you can indulge in one of the spot's excellent entrees or family meals.
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.
Golden spirits maker State 38 Distilling is hosting a virtual happy hour every Friday at 4:30 p.m. (times subject to change based on guests). Past online gatherings have included cocktail recipes, whiskey 101 education and expert guest appearances. Visit State 38's Facebook page for details about each week's edition.
Dos Luces Brewery will hold Friday night meetups on Google Hangouts at 6 p.m. until the taproom reopens. Owner/head brewer Judd Belstock will be discussing his chicha and pulque. Details are up on the Dos Luces Facebook page, where you can also find info on pre-order and pick-up of its brews.
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 will announce two wines that it will uncork; you can order the bottles on Proof's 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.
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, Hop Alley and Lou's Italian Specialties. Stay tuned for upcoming collabs and order on the Meal Train website.
Boulder County Farmers' Market is open — but it's a very different shopping experience this year.
Ashton Ray Hansen
The much-anticipated opening of the Boulder County Farmers' Market street market has finally arrived — but shoppers should plan ahead for some serious changes this year. Instead of just rolling up to the stalls in your floppy hat with the goldendoodle in tow and fondling produce with a devil-may-care attitude while you stroll leisurely along, you're going to have to reserve a shopping slot and spend your limited shopping window efficiently collecting pre-ordered produce. Boulder's Saturday market, at 13th Street and Canyon Boulevard, is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Saturday, November 21; reserve a pick-up time on Eventbrite, then visit the market's website to order ahead. You'll be required to wear a mask for entry, limit your party to just one or two people, and pay with credit cards (or small bills — no market bucks). And while you can purchase goods on a whim (not all items are available for pre-order), you'll need to complete your shopping quickly, as slots are only twenty minutes each. BCFM's website has the full details, including a complete list of regulations as well as info on opening dates for the Longmont (Saturday, May 30) and Union Station (Saturday, June 13) markets.
Beast + Bottle, 719 East 17th Avenue, is turning the sidewalk in front of its Uptown restaurant into a drive-by farmers' market on Saturdays. Since many of the region's markets are closed to in-person browsing, Beast + Bottle has teamed up with Longmont's Ollin Farms to offer produce boxes for pick-up every Saturday. Order and pay online between 11 a.m. Tuesday and 5 p.m. Thursday; different veggies are available every week (previous boxes have included rhubarb, radishes, cherry tomatoes, spring onions, mixed and mustard greens for $30), and you can add on items like fresh asparagus, microgreens, local honey, hot sauce, pickles and peanut butter. Then pull up to the loading zone outside the restaurant on Saturday between 10 a.m. and noon (you must wear a face mask) for contact-free pick-up. Details are up on Beast + Bottle's Instagram page.
Sundays
Long I Pie owner Shauna Lott Harman has been peddling pies for years, but has had to hit pause because of the current pandemic. Despite the shutdown, Harman still makes sure her love of baking gets shared with anyone who wishes to bask in it. Each Sunday from 1 to 2 p.m., Harman is hosting a free virtual baking class on Zoom, where's she's turned out carrot whoopie pies, homemade Oreos, biscuits, cornbread and more; upcoming classes will include soft pretzels, pizza dough and cookies. To sign up, email [email protected] or message Long I Pie's Facebook page and you'll receive a link to the class.
Know of an event or activity that belongs here? Send information to [email protected].
