Little-known fact: Thanks to Colorado's complicated and unusual taxi laws, our cab companies can charge different meter rates, something that's impossible in most U.S. locales. Here's how those different rates stack up in Denver: Metro Taxi and Yellow Cab charge an estimated $2.25 a mile, while Union Cab clocks in at $2. Freedom Cabs, however, prides itself as being the cheapest of the bunch, at $1.80 per mile. So call Freedom the next time you need a ride: Those purple cabs could save you some green.

If you haven't been to Mile High Flea Market — or the Flea at Mile High Marketplace, as it calls itself — lately, then you're missing out on some prime people-watching, headed up by guys with cut-off T-shirts and ponytails guzzling beers alongside Rascal-riding grandmas hunting for deals. But the next-best reason to go might be the piles of electronics available for purchase on the market's far west side. A vintage 1970s Kenwood receiver for $20? A pair of waist-high Technics speakers for $40? These deals are hot. Just don't forget to ask the "salesman" to plug in your pick to make sure it works.

The lines at the Truffle, especially during the holidays, can be downright maddening, to the point where you seriously want to "cut the cheese," in hopes that everyone will scatter to the sidewalk, leaving you and your scent alone in the petite confines of the shop. Of course, most of us are too polite to do that, and truth be told, it would take a lot more than a little wind for customers of this deservedly ballyhooed cheese shop to lose their place in line. That's because owners Karin and Rob Lawler sell some of the best European, American and local artisan cheeses in the country, including hard-to-procure varieties from France, Austria and Switzerland. The shop emphasizes unparalleled customer service, too, allowing customers to taste, taste and taste some more, never rushing anyone through the process. And they wrap their cheeses the right way — in waxed paper — before packaging them up in sturdy brown paper bags emblazoned with a pig.

Here's a store that celebrates the Rubenesque, the zaftig, the pleasantly plump and brick-house ladies of our fair city in a way that few others do — by offering clothes big enough yet beautiful enough to make a large gal feel good about herself. The sizes at Buxom (which says it all in a word) begin at twelve and are styled as much for women who are especially curvy as they are for women who are heavy. Be proud — and go buy yourself something nice to wear.

Are you Colorado proud? Show it by wearing a replica of the state flag on a wool tuk or beanie, hand-crocheted by Emily Marshall of Aspen-based Free Time Goods. Marshall uses wool sheared from sheep that are sustainably raised in Colorado. And while she offers other colorful designs, the flag hats ($55-$65) will make you one with the sun and the sky, the snow and the land.

Behind local screen printer Adam Sikorski's take on the Colorado flag, one can grok the mountain skyline we enjoy every day in Denver, the city's sunny bike paths and greenways, the food-truck parties and the freewheeling downtown life. It's all there in one simple emblem — and that's Coloradical!

Those "Native" bumper stickers are so last-century. So how can Denver natives and Colorado-loving transplants rep their city today? With ink, baby. From 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. last March 3 (3/03), the artists at Th'ink Tank offered one-inch tattoos featuring the Mile High City's mighty area code for the discounted rate of $30 each. And while you can make your allegiance permanent on any day — Th'ink Tank came up with 33 designs to choose from — the studio plans to make the event an annual one.

The bride looked ravishing in white — even if it was really green. The average wedding produces over 400 pounds of trash — but there's no reason your big day has to have a big carbon footprint. The Green Bride specializes in conscientious wedding wear, with bridal gowns — many of them high-end or couture — bridesmaid dresses and tuxes all in stock, with many of them "pre-loved" and sold on consignment. You can even save some green by going green: Both the environment and your future mate will love you for it.

Tucked away a block from the main drag in downtown Golden, Kerry Swanson's Rewind has a little of this and little of that, from better women's clothing and jewelry to furniture and other household items. Cozy, with the merchandise displayed in a number of small themed rooms, Rewind is a fun place to wander through, and your chances of finding a flamboyant tutu-and-jean-jacket duo or a swell pair of cowgirl boots are better than average. When in Golden, do as the Goldenites do: Veer away from Washington Street and keep your eyes peeled for treasures like this one.

There are plenty of chefs who rise to the top by graduating from the school of hard knocks, forgoing culinary school to hone their skills in real-world kitchens. But culinary schools aren't just for aspiring chefs; they're also for consumers, and at Cook Street School of Culinary Arts, the curriculum caters to both, offering a full-fledged professional program for aspiring toques and hands-on recreational classes for those who want to sharpen their knife skills, learn the fundamentals of deboning a leg of lamb or plan a romantic dinner for two with more know-how than Rachael "Thirty Minute Mistakes" Ray. Cook Street also has a fleet of instructors — former Z Cuisine chef de cuisine Pete Ryan and Mark "Meathead" DeNittis, the owner of Il Mondo Vecchio, among them — who are some of the best in the industry, and with new courses on the horizon, including butchery and cheese, the school keeps up with the food movements that shape the way we eat.