We almost always stop in Idaho Springs either on our way to or coming back from the mountains. Often we stop at Beau Jo’s, but on this latest trip back to Denver we stopped at the Tommyknocker Brewery & Pub. I’ve been to Tommyknocker often when my wife and I lived in Denver a dozen years ago, but this was the first time we’ve been back since moving away. I forgot just how spacious the pub is on the inside. We had no trouble getting a table on a Friday afternoon.

Mountain Melt

For lunch, I went with the mountain melt, grilled sourdough stuffed with cheddar, jack, pepper jack, and American cheeses plus bacon and tomato ($15). On the side, I had a cup of tomato artichoke soup. The soup was awesome and paired really well with the grilled cheese. This is a great comfort food for the winter (or even spring break).

Charcuterie & Empanadas

My daughter ordered the charcuterie featuring select artisan cheeses, salami, beer brat, cranberry apple chutney, mustard, and her bakes crostini ($16). This was a large plate that was plenty to share. I would have liked to see more cheese on the plate, but what was there was good.

My wife ordered the spinach and cheese empanadas ($15) which were really good. Another solid recommendation for something to share with the table, as the serving size was pretty large for one person to try to tackle.

Overall we had a great visit to Tommyknocker and will make sure to stop back again soon.

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

It took me too long to write this review. Our neighborhood has a newer carryout pizza joint and it is incredible. St. Francis Apizza is a family-owned and operated artisan pizza shop. They were formerly named Parlor Pizza Project when it first opened in early 2021.

Sausage & Jalapeno

First of all their crust is outstanding! It is light, airy, and cooked to a nice crisp. Their housemade fennel sausage is really good and pairs well with jalapenos, onion, or olives.

Pepperoni & Banana Peppers

Another outstanding topping is the local oyster mushrooms. The New Richmond Signature pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella, pecorino romano, grana padano, extra virgin olive oil, mushrooms, red onion, and local fresh basil to finish is a favorite of my entire family.

Mushroom & Onion

All pizzas are served 16″ with 8 slices. They do offer half-and-half pizzas if you would like to try a couple of varieties.

My family and I were out in Middletown for a soccer tournament. We needed a quick and early lunch and found Bourbon’s Kitchen nearby the fields. We were seated right away and ordered a couple of beers from the decent beer list. They also have over 130 whiskeys and a long cocktail list.

Inside

For lunch, I had the Grippo’s sandwich with hand-breaded chicken. This was topped with muenster cheese, fancy sauce, creamy coleslaw, crushed Grippo’s chips, and smoked bacon ($15.50). Sweet potato waffle fries are a $4 addition but are well worth it. This sandwich is typically served as a steak burger, but chicken can be subbed or an impossible burger. This was delicious and the spicy from the Grippo’s chips really stood out.

Grippo’s Chicken

My wife had the Baja fish tacos with crispy haddock, fire-roasted black beans, and corn, house-pickled purple cabbage, salsa verde, ancho chile crema, and cilantro ($14). She seemed really happy with her choice, though the fries were an interesting side choice.

Baja Fish Tacos

Our kids enjoyed the cheeseburgers and fries from the kids’ menu ($7.99). Overall this was a really good lunch and we will be back if ever in the area again.

Bandito, a casual and quick Mexican restaurant, has been open for nearly a year now. My family and I have visited a number of times, and we will continue to do so. Parking can be tight at times, and the restaurant can also be busy, but we have found for lunch tables are nearly almost always readily available.

Outside

Orders are placed at a counter and then later picked up from a nearby window. A large bar occupies a good portion of the opposite side of the space and features a good selection of draft beer, craft cocktails, and wine.

Pickup “Trailer”

My favorite things on the menu include the nachos libre ($12) with a choice of verde chicken or ground beef served on top of a bed of corn chips topped with crema, cheese, pickled jalapenos, pico de gallo, tomatillo sauce, and manzano salsa. We also like the chips and dip sampler where $9 gets you a choice of 3 dips from a list of 8 plus a large platter of chips. As far as the tacos go, I really enjoy the buenes tardes amigo ($4) which combines verde chicken, cotija cheese, pico, and jalapeno cream sauce. The porkopolis ($4) is also a favorite with al pastor pork, green pepper sauce, cilantro, red onion, radish, and pineapple.

Tacos

Our kids enjoy the cheese quesadilla, ground beef taco, or even the hamburger (all $7 with a side). We have had a quick visit in under a half hour or we have spent the better part of an afternoon with multiple families catching up and watching sports on the TVs. We all enjoy Bandito and will keep it in our rotation of restaurants.

Over the last year or so, Dutch’s has reopened under new ownership by the folks who own Red Feather Kitchen. This means elevated food in a revamped casual setting. There are more tables than there used to be under the previous ownership that focused more on carryout. My wife and I stopped in for a date night and sampled various dishes on the menu.

Cheese Board

We started with a wonderful cheese board ($14 for 3 kinds of cheese and accoutrements). The selection of cheeses was a great mix and we really enjoyed this delicious start to the meal.

Truffle Popcorn

My wife spotted others snacking on the truffle popcorn ($6) and had to give it a try. The flavor was definitely unmistakable, and while it’s not my favorite thing, it was at least worth a try.

Smoked Chicken Sandwich

We split the smoke chicken sandwich ($14 with a choice of side dish). This adds pickled jalapeno, white bbq sauce, shredded lettuce, and Dutch’s unique “American” cheese crumbles. This was a big sandwich and was very good. The potato salad on the side was a nice mixture of local red potato, mustard seed, and mayo.

Butternut Squash Bisque

My wife also had to try their butternut squash bisque ($6) which she declared the best she’s had. Overall we had a nice meal and we should be back in the future!