Bus It: Eat and Drink From RiNo to Englewood on Route 12

RTD's new fare structure started January 1, and with it, rides on the bus and light rail are more affordable. Many of the routes traverse some of the city's best areas for eating and drinking, so we're breaking down some highlights. This week, take a ride on the 12 bus.

Route details: The northbound (NB)-southbound (SB) route 12 runs every thirty minutes on weekends and weekdays. The bus rides mainly along Downing/Corona from RiNo to Englewood. Be wary — during rush hour, an extra bus is added for stops between RiNo and Colfax only, so check the scheduled stops. See the full schedule.

Where to eat: Breakfast Queen, or the BQ (SB Hampden & Sherman stop), is a classic breakfast joint that has been in Englewood since 2005. The diner serves all the classic items, including numerous skillets, omelets and Benedicts, as well as Mexican dishes. Surprises include tater tot bowls and a few sweet crepes, such as one stuffed with an orange ricotta filling. Another iconic breakfast spot, Duffeyroll Bakery and Cafe, is along the line as well (SB Pearl & Louisiana stop).
Blackbird Public House (SB Downing & Alameda stop) is a large restaurant and bar tucked into the corner of South Downing Street and East Alameda Avenue. It opened in the former Handlebar Tavern space in 2014 and has plenty of seating, including a horseshoe-shaped bar and big booths. Happy hour, which runs twice daily from 3 to 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close every day plus all day on Monday, is generous with drink specials and food deals like $1.50 oysters, $7 mussels and fries, $7 pizza and a $30 pizza-and-bottle-of-wine deal. The regular menu is huge, with a salad selection that goes beyond just Caesar and garden options alongside burgers, wraps, seafood and pizza. Guests can make their own pizza combinations, but the pub has some fun concoctions, too, like the Real Dill with bacon and pickles and a version of the oft-debated pineapple and ham pie.

The 12 bus takes a short detour off Downing Street to hit the South Pearl commercial district, where you'll find the Kizaki brothers’ Japanese restaurant trio Sushi Den, Izakaya Den and Ototo at the SB Pearl & Florida stop. Ototo, which is closed on Tuesdays, has a daily happy hour that runs from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. and includes $5 pieces of pork belly or chicken thighs, $7 edamame, $6 pork dumplings and $12 Japanese fried chicken along with drink specials. Ototo is currently serving a featured specials menu as it tries out different dishes to add to its main menu, including several raw fish items. One must-order is the takoyaki, fried balls of wheat and octopus, with fish flakes on top that move as if alive.

Nearby is Tokyo Premium Bakery (SB Pearl & Florida stop), a busy bakery that serves sweet and savory Japanese pastries such as almond croissants, red bean doughnuts, a rich milk pastry, dough-wrapped sausage and a fried bun stuffed with beef curry.
Where to drink: The Feedery (SB Hampden & Emerson stop), which serves lunch and will swap breakfast service for dinner starting January 16, has an extensive beverage menu that includes beer, wine, coffee, tea and cocktails such as a spritz with blood orange, lemon and rosé. The bright space with floor-to-ceiling windows serves healthy, Mediterranean-inspired dishes largely made from ingredients grown locally, including at the owner's own small farm nearby, the rooftop greenhouse and the hydroponic farm in the same building. The restaurant is part of Grow & Gather, which has a small market with local art and foodstuffs.

Black Shirt Brewery Co (NB 38th & Blake stop) started with a focus on red ales but has transitioned through the years and now delivers a variety of creative beers, like a pistachio lavender rye pale ale and the Cotton Candy Hazy IPA, alongside reds and pilsners, wine, cocktails and pizza. What hasn’t changed is the brewery’s rebellious, music-centered vibe — named for the uniform of non-conformists, it's a small, short pizza-slinging rebel in ever-growing RiNo.

Crazy Mountain Brewery (SB Corona & Colfax stop) opened about six months ago in the former Alpine Dog Brewing space. The fourteen-year-old brewery started in Vail but moved to Kalamath Street in Denver for a few years before making it over to Colfax and Ogden.

There are also a slew of coffee shops along route 12, including Nixon's Coffee House (SB Louisiana / Pearl Station stop), which also offers about a dozen kombuchas on tap, and Stella's Coffee Haus (SB Pearl & Florida stop), which has small, brightly colored rooms, making it a great place to lose yourself in conversation with a friend, a book or a writing project. Other options for a caffeine break include Lil Coffee Shop (SB Corona & 6th stop), Thump Coffee (SB Corona & 12th stop), Steam Espresso Bar (SB Iowa & Pearl stop) and Mango Tree Coffee (SB Hampden & Sherman stop).
Bonus Stops: Route 12 skims the west side of Wash Park, with five stops along the way. With a lake, lots of running and walking trails and many scheduled runs, the bus is an easy way to get there without having to find parking in the surrounding neighborhood.

We also love Hazel (SB Iowa & Pearl stop), a bar focused on art and community. The highlight is the cigarette machine turned art dispenser, where you can pick up a little something to take home using a $5 token.

Connections: This north-south bus route crosses several destination neighborhoods. Besides detouring past South Pearl Street, it also crosses Sixth Avenue, 17th Street and Broadway, and takes riders to 38th and Blake, offering access to downtown, RiNo and the airport.