Best Place to Loiter 2008 | On a Lark | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Place to Loiter

On a Lark

The sign in the window at On a Lark says it all: "Loiter," it invites, and there are lots of reasons to do so when you walk into Janice McClure's homey, way-off-Broadway handmades haven. Formerly home to a laundromat, the hideaway is now draped with knit gossamer web shawls with metallic accents, old-fashioned quilts and throws, yellow knit double-breasted baby hoodie sweaters, a library of vintage children's books, as well as coffee cozies, quilted pincushions, Kewpie pillows, and cross-stitched aprons from another era, some old and some made by local artisans. Now that Wash Perk has reopened next door, On a Lark is the perfect destination for a lazy afternoon of lattes and shopping.

Best Place to Score a Fashion Find — the Hard Way

Ross Dress for Less

A committed bargain hunter — someone with more time than money — can turn up some real steals and deals at the Ross Dress for Less at Colorado Boulevard and Mexico Avenue. Although the deals are often hard-won — all the good stuff is hidden in with the junk — when you walk out with a new outfit, complete with accessories, for under $50, your time will have been well spent. This particular Ross store has a designated designer section and a great selection of name-brand clothing, shoes and purses. Yes, a $10 cashmere sweater can be found — if you're willing to dig deep.

Best Place to See MILFs

SuperTarget

Forget your Cherry Creek cougar bars and your Whole Foods markets. They'll work in a pinch, sure, but to get your pure, unadulterated MILF-gawk on, head to Glendale, because gathered at the SuperTarget, as though sucked there via MILF-specific wormholes, are throngs of the city's choicest mamas, clad in their best pre/post-Pilates gear. At the Starbucks in the corner, perusing affordable picture frames or merely taking advantage of the store's ability to peddle booze (unlike other area supermarkets), the MILFs here are as hot as they are consistent, proving that there really is something for everyone at SuperTarget.

Best Pop-Culture Hotel

The Curtis

A robot greets you in the lobby, the help encourages decision-making by way of rock-paper-scissors, you can buy vintage candy in the 5&Dime lobby shop, aural comedy snippets accompany you during your elevator ride (downside: slow elevators; upside: they're funny once you hop aboard), and the themed levels — each floor is a paean to Big Hair, Sci-Fi, Chick Flick or some other pop category — are a laugh-out-loud cultural experience, though we dare ya to book a room on the thirteenth floor, where posters of horror heavies stare at you in the hallways. Dinner or a late-night bite is handy at the funky Corner Office, and you can even schedule a wake-up call from Mr. T. Kudos to Sage Hospitality Resources for bringing something different to the heart of downtown, in a handy location facing the Denver Performing Arts Complex. We pity the fool who doesn't stay here.

Best Recycled Furniture

Cluttered Corner

The best thing about the Cluttered Corner is that it's just plain fun to go there. As co-owner Patrick Vigil likes to say, "We have everything, from antiques to Pier 1," and that, along with the reasonable prices and the cheery personalities of Vigil and business partner Dorothy Bowie, is the real joy of perusing the shop's ever-changing inventory of sumptuous sofas, bureaus, lamps, art and bric-a-brac. It's all serendipity: You go in never knowing what to expect, and you come out, more often than not, with something you fell in love with at first sight. So maybe you didn't need a beaded lamp shade or a set of green-bowled, red-stemmed champagne glasses, and you weren't planning to leave wearing an Indiana Jones chapeau. What the heck? This stuff all has nine lives, but you only live once.

Best Resource for Parents, Period

Zwaggle

Given the popularity of such Internet resources as Freecycle and Craigslist, it was only a matter of time until someone created something like Zwaggle. It just so happens that the mastermind behind the site is a Denver resident. Here's how it works: When you sign up for Zwaggle, you receive Zwaggle points (known as "Zoints") by offering your kids' gently used items — clothes, cribs, toys, whatever — to other families. You can then use your Zoints to fill up all the space you cleared out in your closet. Does the kid who outgrew his old cleats need a new pair? Find some on Zwaggle; they'll be shipped to you via FedEx, or, if the person donating the item is local, you can arrange a time to meet. You can even donate your Zoints to charity. Now, that's Zantastic!

Best Return Engagement by a Store

Nepali Bazaar

This little imports store has trekked through town more times than a Himalayan sherpa, from lower Highland to the Lincoln-Broadway corridor, up to Estes Park and back to Broadway, where it recently reopened. But a vagabond nature is part of the charm at Nepali Bazaar, where the wares — incense, embroidered wall hangings and printed curtains, Buddhist thangkas, comfy wrap skirts, hand-painted tie-dyed patchwork tees and huge, pretty Indian fabric sling bags — seem to have leapt straight out of a market in Kathmandu, casting a colorful aura over a typical Midwestern day. Namaste!

Best Secret Store off the 16th Street Mall

Santa Fe Cookie Co.

What are all those respectable-looking businesspeople doing heading into a downtown alley? Normally when you sneak off into an alley to make a purchase, you're up to no good. But it's hard to deny the goodness of the cookies you'll find at the Santa Fe Cookie Co., a hole-in-the wall just off the 16th Street Mall. And the deal offered there is unbeatable: three big, fresh cookies for a buck. Get 'em while they're hot!

Best Security System

Freaky's Tattoo and Body Piercing

Most criminals won't act if they think there's a chance that they could be caught or killed. Armed with this knowledge of basic human instinct, Freaky's Tattoo and Body Piercing has developed a cheap and inexpensive security system: a handgun and brass knuckles sitting out on the counter. If you ask whoever's working there who left their piece out, they'll tell you it's for security. And would-be robbers should think twice about trying to grab the gun: There's probably another one under the counter.

Best Shoe Repair

Cobbler's Corner

Favorite shoes are too important to toss away at the first sign of trouble, and the pros at Cobbler's Corner have managed to rebuild plenty of seemingly exhausted footwear. Plus, the prices are reasonable and the repair work is friendly and speedy; in many cases, new heels can be put on while you wait. And although Cobbler's Corner can also be found in Greenwood Village and the Cherry Knolls Shopping Center, we're partial to the one on 17th Street. Downtown used to be full of hardworking small businesses; it's good for the sole to know this one is still around.

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