I followed that with a different kind of neighborhood joint -- Pho-Yo, a brand-spankin' new pho shop and frozen yogurt stand out in Aurora that's already winning raves from just about everyone who goes there. It isn't a neighborhood bar, exactly, but if you live in the neighborhood I do, it's definitely an indisposable fixture for those looking for a super-fast, super-cheap lunch and dinner place bringing forth the flavors of distant and much-loved homelands.
I wrapped up this week with my own neighborhood bar, the Fainting Goat: a place that has become indispensible to me over the past few months simply because it is close to the office, well-run and has no problem handling grumpy, thirsty journalists hanging out on its rooftop patio smoking cigarettes, drinking too much and plotting any number of weird schemes.
So to follow all that, this week's list focuses on neighborhood joints (not all of them bars) that are, for one reason or another, as indispensible to their particular crowds as the Goat is to me and mine. This is far from a canonical list and, as always, I'd love to see comments from those of you regarding other places that, for whatever reason, you simply could not live without.
1) Cracovia, Hospoda and Sobo 151.
For Denver's Eastern European contingent, these three stops are
absolutely vital: Cracovia for its wonderfully comforting Polish food
and vodka selection, Hospoda for its excellent cowhide bar decor and
strange Czech/American fusion (and because it's the only place in town
to get potato pancakes and green chile together on the same table), and
Sobo 151 because it is the only Czechoslovakian hockey bar and karaoke
parlor I know of, well, anywhere.
2) Phil's Place,
3463 Larimer Street. A serious dive bar after dark, a decent Mexican
joint (that starts slinging drinks very early) while the sun is still
up. The best thing about Phil's? Due to some kind of cosmic weirdness
with the space-time continuum, it seems that no matter where you've been drinking in the
city, you're never more than
about ten minutes away from Phil's.
3) Frasca, 1738
Pearl Street, Boulder. To the people of the Republic of Boulder,
Frasca really is just another neighborhood wine bar. Which just goes to show you how lucky those little
bastards really are.
4) The Thin Man, 2015 East 17th Avenue. Every hipster needs a place to go when he grows up. On most nights, it seems like they all go to the Thin Man.
5) Don's Club Tavern,
723 East Sixth Avenue. Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows
your name. Sometimes you want to go where there'll be no one to ID you
in a lineup. Don's is perfect for the latter.
6) The Lancer Lounge,
233 East Seventh Avenue. And sometimes you don't care if people know you or
not, because you just want to drink fast, cheaply and alone. Yeah, the
Lancer's your spot.
7) China Jade,
12203 East Iliff Avenue in Aurora. It sucks that this place isn't in your
neighborhood. It's awesome that it's in mine. An unmissable stop for
those looking for a real taste of China.
Okay, that's a good
start; now it's your turn. T
