Odell Brewing was always one of my favorite breweries during my time living in Denver. They still do not distribute anywhere near my home in Ohio. When visiting Colorado now, one of the first things I typically do is find an Odell beer on draft somewhere. On our latest trip to Denver, we decided to check out their Sloan’s Lake Brewhouse.

Art

This is a very casual spot with a great location with views of Sloan’s Lake. Orders are placed at the bar. There is a great variety of beers including beers that are made in-house on their 10-barrel pilot brewhouse. I always start with their flagship IPA and go from there.

Inside

My family and I split some food, starting with the chicken chopped salad. This featured Altius Farm’s greens, oven-roasted chicken, bacon, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, and asiago cheese topped with honey mustard vinaigrette ($11). This was a pretty big salad, easily enough to share with a pizza. The dressing was really excellent!

Chicken Chopped Salad

We also had the Margherita pizza ($16) and a kids cheese pizza ($8). The crust was pretty thin, but still managed to be chewy with a light char to it. The toppings were fresh and overall we enjoyed the pizza.

Margherita Pizza

Odell has awesome beer and the food at their Sloan’s Lake Brewhouse was pretty solid. Easily worth a visit and I will return on a future trip to Denver.

Spring break in Colorado has been our go-to for a number of years. Before heading up to the mountains, we always spend some time in Denver. This time we stayed downtown near Union Station and ventured out for dinner one night. After a couple of strikes, we eventually ended up at D’corazon Mexican Restaurant, just a few blocks away. There was a little line out the door, but we were told that the wait would only be twenty minutes or so. Fortunately, it was more like ten minutes until our table was ready!

Inside D’corazon

D’corazon has been around for over 25 years. Their space is much larger than it appears from the outside. It’s not wide, but is quite deep and even has a bar in the back. Service is quick and efficient. They are able to turn tables over pretty quickly.

Chimichanga

When I see a chimichanga on the menu, nine times out of ten that’s what I will order. This particular chimichanga ($12.88) was among the best I’ve had. The star of the dish is their delicious green chile sauce.

Green Chile Plate

Similarly, my wife is a sucker for green chile, a staple dish of U.S. Southwestern cuisine. The green chile plate here ($14.88) is served with chunks of pork, rice, beans, and tortillas on the side. It is spicy but incredibly flavorful. No matter what you order from D’corazon make sure it comes with green chile!

The Pickled Pig in Walnut Hills is one of my favorite recent finds. The small deli specializes in smoked meats and fermented/pickled sides. Orders are placed at the counter and the menu focuses on sandwiches and deli-style salads.

Inside

For lunch, I decided to try the smoked turkey sandwich ($12) topped with sauerkraut, tomme (a French/Swiss cheese), and Russian dressing on sourdough rye, a sort of turkey Reuben. I really enjoyed this sandwich with its piled high delightfully smoky turkey. The bread was also outstanding!

Smoked Turkey Sandwich

On the side, I had their Korean carrots (a $3 add-on to the sandwich), a sweet and sour pickled delight. They also have potato salad, beet & apple salad, chicken salad, egg salad, hummus, and more.

Korean Carrots

If the Pickled Pig were closer to my house it would definitely be in my weekly rotation for lunch. But even so, I will have to remember to stop in again for more delicious food.

The Truck

Urban Vistro is a chef-driven food truck from Vitor Abreu. He runs Vitor’s Bistro in West Harrison, Indiana, and also this food truck that I stumbled upon one day. The menu for the day was large, especially for a food truck, and featured tacos, quesadillas, burgers, grilled cheese, and sandwiches.

Menu Boards

I had the chicken tacos which featured braised chicken, roasted corn and tomato pico, and lime sour cream (2 tacos for $9). The tortillas were filled with plenty of chicken and toppings and the taste was great. We went back for hush puppies later in the day, and my daughter still talks about how good those were. I wouldn’t hesitate to hit up this food truck in the future and will have to remember Vitor’s Bistro if I’m ever out in West Harrison.

Chicken Tacos

Happy New Year! Below is the list of cities that I visited in 2022 with at least one night spent in each place.

• Cincinnati, Ohio *
• Denver, Colorado
• Dillon, Colorado
• Copper Mountain, Colorado
• Aurora, Colorado
• Dublin, Ohio
• Williamstown, Kentucky *
• Elizabeth City, North Carolina
• Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina
• Norfolk, Virginia
• Santa Claus, Indiana
• LaFollette, Tennessee
• Hilliard, Ohio
• West Chester, Ohio
• Logan, Ohio
• Boyne Falls, Michigan
• Traverse City, Michigan

* Those cities marked with an asterisk were visited multiple times on non-consecutive days.

See also: 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006