Last week I spent a few days in Denver for work. I flew in on Sunday evening and immediately met a couple of friends for a few beers at the World of Beer in the Belmar development of Lakewood, CO. The bar has a pretty amazing selection of roughly 50 draft beers and a 14 page bottle list. I thoroughly enjoyed Renegade Brewing Company’s Elevation Triple IPA  as well as Dry Dock’s Double IPA, both from Denver area breweries.

World of Beer Bar

While there is no food served at World of Beer, a variety of food menus are available from the bar for neighboring restaurants that will deliver food directly to your seat. One of my friends recommended The Rock Wood Fired Pizza  and grabbed one of their menus for me. They offer over 20 specialty pies, so choosing what I wanted was a little intimidating. Eventually I settled on the Founders Pie with sweet Italian Sausage, pepperoni, tomato sauce, mozzarella and ricotta cheese. ($10.99 for 9″).

The Founders Pie

After placing my order I was told it would take fifteen minutes for the delivery to be made. It seemed to be even shorter than the already really quick delivery time. The 9″ pie was cut into six slices, and is plenty of food for one, though I managed to eat it all. I really enjoyed the combination of toppings, though a little more ricotta would have been nice, though spreading it around on to each slice helped make sure that each bite had a little extra creaminess. Overall the pizza from The Rock was very good and went well with a couple of beers from World of Beers.

If you haven’t already bought your tickets for The Book of Mormon’s national tour stop in Cincinnati, don’t give up hope. If you have thought about going to see the musical but have not done so, I encourage you to find a way to get in before the tour leaves Sunday.  A lottery drawing for $25 tickets takes place 2.5 hours prior to each performance.

Procter & Gamble Hall

If you are not already familiar, The Book of Mormon is from  South Park  creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. I’m sure most are aware of the explicit language and content associated with South Park,  and the same is true for this musical. But it is absolutely hilarious and highly entertaining. It has won nine Tony Awards including Best Musical and critics have called it  the best musical of this century!

Curtain Call

I had the privileged of seeing the performance last Thursday night. The story follows two Mormon missionaries, Elder Price and Elder Cunningham, who are sent to Uganda to spread the word of their church. Unfortunately for the young men the villagers in Uganda have no interest in their stories. That is until Cunningham alters the Book of Mormon stories to relate more to the problems the Ugandans face, but in doing so he has created hilarious falsehoods when compared to the original stories. I haven’t laughed this hard in a long time and I would highly recommend seeing the musical.

Finally, my last restaurant review from our trip out to the Sacramento and Lake Tahoe areas a month ago. Before flying out the next morning, we enjoyed dinner on a Friday night at Pete’s Restaurant & Brewhouse in El Dorado Hills, California. Our friends who now live nearby had visited this restaurant before and thought that we would enjoy it. Our two-year-old was given a ball of fresh dough to play with and keep him entertained, so we were definitely off to a great start.

Pete’s Famous Knots

We started with a couple orders of Pete’s famous knots ($6.99 per full dozen). Pete’s famous pizza dough is tied, baked and tossed in a garlic butter glaze, then topped with fresh Parmesan cheese. We had one order as just described and we had the other order with cinnamon sugar glaze. I preferred the cheese version, but both were pretty good. I realize that Parmesan cheese may not be the easiest cheese to melt, but it would have been nice if it melted on the knots.

Pizza

Our group decided to split a large pizza with two different halves (signature pizzas starting at $24.49 for a large). We tried BBQ chicken on one half and pepperoni and sausage on the other. The crust was very good. The sauces were average. The toppings were overall pretty good, but I think an extra ingredient on the BBQ chicken would have been nice to accompany the red onion and cilantro, bacon is always a good choice.

Pete’s offers a pretty good selection of beers, but despite the name,  no beer is brewed on site. The pizza was good, though I think next time I would try a sandwich instead.

A couple of days after Christmas my wife and I invited a handful of her family members to see the Harlem Globetrotters  take on the World All-Stars.

Pregame Show

We arrived just before the teams were introduced, and enjoyed a couple of break-dancers who were entertaining the crowd. This was the first time I had seen the Globetrotters since I was a young boy, but I think the adults may have had more fun than the kids.

Warm Ups

There are multiple teams of Globetrotters but I think we may have seen some of the best. One of my favorites was the  5’2″ player nicknamed Too Tall. Special K was also very entertaining and was king of comedy for most of the night.

Mascot Slingshot Bowling

During one of the breaks in the action, Globie, the Globetrotters mascot, participated in a round of slingshot bowling. The two dancers from before pulled long bungee ropes on either side of a cart to sling Globie into a set of over-sized bags of pistachios.

Victorious!

Despite being down at halftime, the Globetrotters pulled out the victory 105-101 thanks to special rules such as the trick shot challenge and the four point basket. The game had us all laughing throughout and we left with big smiles on our faces.

Dining options near our condo at the Ridge Pointe on the Nevada side of the Heavenly Resort were very slim during our vacation a few weeks back. After an exhausting day on the slopes we made our way over to the Ridge Club. Fortunately we were able to call the resort transportation number and ask for a complimentary ride to the club. The shuttle bus was at our door within minutes to take us to our destination.

The Ridge Club is not only home to a couple of dining options, it also houses the indoor/outdoor pool, a workout facility, and spa. On our Monday evening visit the Hungry Bear Restaurant was not open, but the Ridge Club Deli is open seven days a week. The menu is a short list of various sandwiches along with soup, chili, and take-n-bake pizza.

Veggie Sandwich

My wife ordered the veggie sandwich, which featured a naan style bread wrapped around a variety of fresh vegetables and hummus, topped with a delicious tahini like sauce.

Cranberry Turkey Sandwich

I went with the cranberry turkey sandwich topped with  Swiss cheese, onions and cranberry mayo  on Grilled Sourdough ($8.50). All sandwiches are served with a garden salad or a bag of chips. I really enjoyed the garden salad and would definitely recommend it. The sandwich was piled tall with turkey and had a nice flavor from the cranberry mayo and onions.

I was very surprised and impressed by the quality of food from the Ridge Club Deli. It would serve as a great lunch option while on the slopes if it didn’t require a bus ride up to the building. Otherwise it is a great option for a quick and delicious dinner.

With less than ideal snow conditions at the Heavenly Resort a few weeks back, we decided to replace one of our snowboarding days with a snowmobile tour. My brother-in-law had never ridden a snowmobile before, so this was the perfect opportunity.

Chip

We had some difficulty finding a place that was open with the early season conditions, but eventually found  Lake Tahoe Adventures.

Follow The Leader

The tour group for the day was very large, so they split us into three or four smaller groups of around ten riders. The experienced riders were placed at the back of the group, and since I had ridden a snowmobile  before  we were among the more experienced.

Hope Valley

Our tour was throughout the picturesque Hope Valley staring  at 7,200 feet, just south of Lake Tahoe.  The trail climbs rapidly, quickly heading deep into the back-country.

My Sled

Due to early season conditions, we didn’t veer from the trail and with some timid riders up front our speeds were fairly slow, especially at the start of the trip.

Chip

We took a ten minute break half way through the two-hour tour. After the break we were able to speed up and I think I may have hit 40 m.p.h. at one point. Since I was second from the rear, I could slow down a bit to let the group get ahead of me and then punch it to see how fast I could go.

Bright Lights!

Though the trip wasn’t as exciting as the other snowmobile tour that I took in the past, this was still a good time and I would definitely go back to Lake Tahoe Adventures in the future, but I’d make sure the more advanced tours were offered.

South Lake Tahoe on Dwellable

Another meal that I really enjoyed while out in the Sacramento area a few weeks back was courtesy of Samuel Horne’s in the suburb of Folsom. This bar and restaurant is in the very neat Folsom Historic District, just around the corner from the public plaza and light rail station.

Bar

Samuel Horne’s is primarily a beer bar, but they also have some affordable meals for lunch and dinner. The roughly twenty taps offered a great selection of mostly local beer, some that I’ve heard of and other’s that I wasn’t as familiar with. I would say nearly 90% of the list was from California, and had everything from a few IPA choices to lagers and ciders.

Respect Beer

Just as with  Burgers & Brew in Sacramento, all orders are placed at the bar. For lunch it is very hard to pass up their $5 lunch baskets. I went with the BLT and fries. Others in our group had the chicken apple sausage, 2 horne dogs, and the grilled cheese. My BLT was loaded with thick applewood bacon and fresh veggies.

BLT Lunch Basket

Samuel Horne’s is definitely a “better beer” bar, but it is perfectly suitable for a nice family lunch on the cheap. Highly recommended!

After discovering that the snow conditions at the Heavenly Resort weren’t the best, we decided to skip the slopes for a day and took a paddle-wheel boat tour of the Lake Tahoe.

Pier

The two-hour tour was on-board the M.S. Dixie II, the largest cruising vessel in South Lake Tahoe.

The M.S. Dixie II

The cruise left from  Zephyr Cove Resort, which I’m sure is a very popular place in the warmer months. We took some time while we waiting for boarding to begin to take some photos on the beach.

Chip and Kim

My brother-in-law was brave enough to take off his boats and dip his feet into the chilly water.

Cold Water

Once on the boat we were treated to breathtaking views of the Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe

We cruised west toward Emerald Bay and the Heavenly Resort quickly came into view.

Heavenly Resort

The boat has a small glass bottom window that was very cool to watch as we entered the shallow waters of Emerald Bay, named after the greenish hue the water takes on with decreased depth.

Emerald Bay

The bay is about 1.7 miles in length, and about two-thirds of a mile wide at its widest point. It is almost completely surrounded by steep mountains.

Group Shot

Emerald Bay is one of Lake Tahoe’s most photographed and popular locations.

Fannette Island Tea House

The only island on the lake, Fannette Island, is found inside Emerald Bay. The stone structure on top that looks like a miniature castle is called the Tea House and was built during the same time that Vikingsholm was constructed, from 1928-29.

Vikingsholm Castle

Vikingsholm is one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in the western hemisphere. This served as the summer home for  Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight and was completed in 1929.

After enjoying the views in Emerald Bay, we cruised back to our starting point and enjoyed a couple of drinks from the bar. Food is also available for purchase and everything we had tasted very good. I would definitely recommend this cruise to anyone visiting South Lake Tahoe.

Zephyr Cove on Dwellable

Our first stop after landing in Sacramento, California a couple of weeks back was for lunch. Our friends who had recently moved to the area offered to meet us at a burger and brew place. When we arrived at the address they had given us the sign above the door said Burgers & Brew, which is exactly what we found inside.

Inside

After entering the front door, menus can be found in a nearby bucket. All orders are placed at the bar and the food is brought to your table when ready. Drinks are poured right away and can be picked up at the opposite end of the bar. I started with a fresh pour of Pliny the Elder, one of the highest rated beers around. The draft beer selection definitely does not disappoint!

Turkey Avocado Melt

For lunch I went with the turkey avocado melt on sourdough ($7.25) and upgraded my side to onion rings ($.75 more). This sandwich was packed full of avocado goodness and I really enjoyed it. The beer battered onion rings were fresh and tasted great. My plates came with two different sauces on the side. I’m not sure which was for what, but I really liked the spicy mayonnaise with the onion rings.

Turkey Burger

My wife ordered the 1/2 pound turkey burger with sweet potato fries ($7.75). I didn’t sample any of her sandwich, but I didn’t hear any complaints from her. She did comment that the  roasted red pepper mayonnaise was tasty. I did sample the crinkle cut sweet potato fries, which were good, but I was really jealous of the garlic curly fries that I saw others order.

Burgers & Brew combines great food with an excellent selection of beer. It’s a win-win in my book!

Ei8ht Ball Brewing is the newest brewery in town. They opened at the end of November and operate their brewing operations and tasting room from inside The Party Source in Bellevue. If you’ve never been to The Party Source, you are really missing out, as their selection of beer, alcohol, and wine is excellent. Now you have even more reasons to visit, 42 reasons actually.

Tasting Room

The tasting room has 42 taps for on premise consumption or for growlers to go. The brewery itself is currently only producing three beers of their own, but I expect that number to continue to grow. That leaves plenty of room for other craft beer from across the globe.

Logo Wall

On my first visit to Ei8ht Ball Brewing I sampled their imperial stout, K-Hole, which is brewed with  coffee, cocoa and lactose. I really enjoyed this dark beauty and hope to have many more in the future. It was also great to be able to enjoy the beer while shopping throughout the store. Hopefully they will add some kind of cup holder to their shopping carts to make it even easier. I know that I will definitely stop at the tap-room first on all future trips to The Party Source.