Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2016 i 5280 Magazine

SUBSCRIPTIONS A one-year subscription to 5280 costs $19 for 12 issues. A two-year subscription costs $34. Special corporate and group rates are available; call 303-832-5280 for details. To start a new subscription, to renew an existing subscription, or to change your address, call 1-866-271-5280 from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, or send an email to circulation@5280.com. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, CALENDAR & DINING GUIDE Letters to the Editor must include your name, address (both of which can be withheld upon request), and a daytime phone number. Letters may be submitted via regular mail, fax (303-832-0470), or email (letters@5280.com). Calendar events should include a basic description of the event; its time, date, place, and cost; and a phone…

At the start of the 19th century, as many as 60 million bison wandered America, with the majority in Great Plains states such as Colorado. By the 1890s, though, the country’s population of bison had dwindled to around 400; overhunting had devastated the ancient species. Add in farmers’ efforts to crossbreed the beasts with cattle, and by 1912 just one wild herd of genetically pure bison remained, in Yellowstone National Park. Attempts to reintroduce the species were long thwarted by a bacterial disease that caused the bison to miscarry. Then, in 2011, Colorado State University scientists discovered how to remove the bacteria. Almost a year ago, some of the genetically pure bison were relocated to Soapstone Prairie Natural Area and Red Mountain Open Space, north of Fort Collins, and in…

Leave the cheese and beer pairings to casual drinkers. That complex sour you discover at the Great American Beer Festival (October 6 to 8) deserves a worthier companion: a locally crafted bottle opener. Sippers with a penchant for recycling might try Aurora woodworker Elroy Collins’ C-shaped version made from beetlekill lodgepole pine. Those with an interest in, uh, efficiency might prefer the GrOpener, a gadget designed by Denver artist Mark Manger that requires just one hand to operate. (Or they could consider the wall-mounted stainless steel Stout opener with a magnet to keep your bottle caps from getting lost under the fridge.) But real Western boldness demands Johnson and Held’s belt buckle/bottle opener hybrid. The gorgeous, threeounce openers are made in Englewood by artisans such as Lyda Oliver, who’s been…

Sometimes, a loaf of bread is just a loaf of bread—but not at Basta in Boulder. The wood-fired piada (an Italian-style flatbread) represents the next domino to fall in the local food movement: grains. Chef Kelly Whitaker makes the entirely irresistible appetizer using mostly Colorado-grown varieties that the Basta crew mills and grinds daily. And it’s not just about the feel-good factor; it’s about taste, too. Unlike all-purpose flour, these grains—red wheat, einkorn, and wheat berries—retain a detectable, nutty wholesomeness that comes from the land on which they’re grown. “We’re not trying to be evangelistic inside the walls of the restaurant; we want it to be about the food,” Whitaker says. “But once we connect through flavors and you ask, ‘What is this?’—then we can have a discussion.” To further…

“ALL I WAS THINKING WAS, ‘THESE GUYS ARE U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES. I REALLY HOPE I DON’T PISS THEM OFF.’” —JASON NAUERT A butcher and an Army sergeant first class walk into a bar. No, this isn’t the start of a bad joke; it’s the beginning of an unexpected collaboration between the largest branch of America’s military and a guy who, outside of an apron, has never worn a uniform: Jason Nauert, the director of Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Institute of Meat. Since the fall of 2014, Nauert has been training Green Berets— elite soldiers whose missions take them to the most remote parts of the world—on how to identify and buy healthy animals, properly butcher them, and cook and eat as much of the animals as possible. That’s because early…

ARCANA 909 Walnut St., Boulder, 303-444-3885, arcana restaurant.com THE DRAW: Kyle Mendenhall’s kitchen turns out rootsy, often inventive dishes that go well with a terrific wine, beer, cider, and cocktail program THE DRAWBACK: Has yet to live up to its vaunted goals of blending traditions into a new definition of American cooking DON’T MISS: The toasts, trout, lunchtime chicken salad sandwich, lemonade More rests on the shoulders of Arcana in Boulder than the success or failure of yet another farm-to-table seasonal new American eatery. Not that a restaurant has shoulders, but you get what I mean: After more than a year of reviewing restaurants in Denver and its abs-fab satellite city, I have to say that Boulder, despite hosting a healthy number of the 25 Best Restaurants celebrated in this…

1 HOP ALLEY New to the list Tommy Lee has pulled off a neat trick with Hop Alley: He’s taken a cuisine (American Chinese) deeply ingrained in the national psyche and catapulted it far beyond the clichés of mu shu pork and kung pao chicken. The intense flavors—peanut-y bang bang sauce on the chilled tofu; umami-rich oyster sauce on the Shanghai rice cakes; tongue-numbing Sichuan bean sauce on the steamed eggplant— are as big and bold as Hop Alley’s charcoal black walls, neon pink menus, and loud music. But Lee and his cooks’ penchant for vibrant and enticing salty-spicy dishes transcends the eatery’s footprint. The restaurant has kick-started an underdeveloped quadrant of RiNo, bucked trends (no dessert!), and wowed diners with flavors that are Chinese in essence but passed through…

New architecture is ugly and unimaginative. the past 10 years is not very good, in every city. Formulas are being repeated because of economics. Developers get so much pushback against densification that projects get repeated because they know they can get them approved. It’s dumbing down creativity.” —Mark Johnson, president, Civitas Urban Design & Planning DISAGREE: “Booms reflect the architecture of the day; it’s why our skyline looks so ’80s. In time it won’t matter, because these projects will fade into the background when the next boom comes and become part of the city’s architectural diversity.” —Ken Schroeppel, assistant professor of urban and regional planning, University of Colorado Denver What makes Denver great is its lack of density. I don’t want all these skyscrapers. AGREE: “Parts of Denver—City Park, Highland,…

Colorado’s biggest labor problem isn’t jobs; it’s the lack of an appropriately skilled workforce. “The burning issue right now is that area of ‘middle skills,’ which have open jobs that can’t be filled,” says Fiona Arnold, executive director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. (These positions require education or training beyond high school but don’t demand a four-year degree.) U.S. culture has long downplayed vocational training, but in 2015 Governor John Hickenlooper set up the Business Experiential-Learning (BEL) Commission to change that perception locally. The group visited Switzerland, where two-thirds of young adults enroll in vocational training and apprenticeships. The vision for Colorado is a similar workfocused education and training system, to be implemented over the next decade. Fewer students facing obscene college debt burdens will…

It’s no secret why everyone loves living in Colorado: A 2015 public-opinion survey reported that 89 percent of voting-age Coloradans say a healthy outdoor lifestyle is a primary reason they choose to live in the West. But with so many newcomers arriving all the time and their mere presence crowding or gobbling up those very resources, making sure they remain abundant—in a place where, by law, we share water with six other states and Mexico—is a crucial priority for our economy and our quality of life. “The outdoors and our healthy environment are Colorado’s competitive advantages,” says Pete Maysmith, executive director of the environmental group Conservation Colorado. “We’re projected to almost double our statewide population between 2005 and 2050, so we have to make sure that whether it’s air quality,…

Makeup: Liz Wegrzyn Hair: Charlie Price Manicurist: Tootsies the Nail Shoppe Model: Gillian Muniz, Donna Baldwin Agency Photo Assistants: Beau Blackburn and Brindi Low Fashion Assistant: Lauren E. White Hair Assistant: Jaime De La Rosa, Javier James…

SPORTS & RECREATION OCT. 8 12 Hours of Penitence If you’re looking for a grueling workout, take on this all-day cycling circuit, which follows a 21-mile winding loop through Penitente Canyon. Solo riders or teams battling the 2,000-foot elevation gain will complete as many laps as possible during a 12-hour period. When you’re done pedaling, kick back with a 90 Shilling Ale from Odell Brewing Co. and a tasty grilled sausage from Gosar Ranch Natural Foods. Sat 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Penitente Canyon Recreation Area, County Rd. 38A, Del Norte, 719-852-7074. Ticket prices vary. Visit 12hoursofpenitence.com. OCT. 14–16 Eagle Yoga Fest Expand your yoga practice at this weekendlong festival. Whether you’d like to deeply meditate in a Yoga Nidra class with Jeremy Wolf or try an active lesson in aerial yoga…

PROMOTIONS EVENTS SPONSORSHIPS FOR ALL WHO WISH TO LEARN, 100 YEARS OF EMILY GRIFFITH’S LEGACY Now through January 1, 2017 Denver Public Library Central Branch. Emily Griffith created Opportunity School in 1916 to provide education “for all who wish to learn.” Her vision is alive today at Emily Griffith Technical College. This exhibit covers her legacy through photos, artifacts, and video. Information at egfoundation.org/exhibit. 5280 DINES October 2, 6–9 p.m. The Hangar at Stanley. 5280 magazine’s annual celebration of the October Best Restaurants issue benefits Tennyson Center for Children. This year’s event features culinary creations from the 25 Best Restaurants, including: The Plimoth, Oak at Fourteenth, Bittersweet, Bar Dough, and more! Information and tickets at 5280.com/5280dines. 5280 SCHOOL FAIR October 8, 10 a.m.–noon Denver Museum of Nature & Science, South…

It’s been a rough 2016 for the news business. Donald J. Trump has repeatedly excoriated the so-called mainstream media as “dishonest,” “disgusting,” and “totally biased,” and as I write this in early September, Hillary Clinton’s supporters are accusing media outlets of “unfairly equating a minor failing of Hillary Clinton’s to a major failing of Donald Trump’s,” according to the New York Times’ public editor Liz Spayd. All of which led one writer to joke on Twitter: “Journalism. It’s a tough job with insane pressure and pretty crappy pay. On the other hand, everybody hates you.” Gallows humor has long been a favorite defense mechanism for reporters, but as senior staff writer Robert Sanchez details in “Postscript” (page 124), even that may be in short supply at the Denver Post these…

If you’re a few years past adolescence, perhaps you’ll want to eschew the YA crowd on October 15 in favor of the Rocky Mountain Literary Festival, happening on the same day at Mount Vernon Country Club in Golden. The event features presentations from four Colorado writers, including Colorado Springs’ Dan Hampton (pictured), a decorated fighter pilot and the New York Times best-selling author of Viper Pilot: A Memoir of Air Combat. The profit from your $75 ticket ($50 for high schoolers) goes toward a college scholarship fund administered by Bootstraps, an Evergreen charity that helps local students afford college. Last year, the festival bestowed two $1,000 awards on the next generation of bookworms.…

Two miles south of Rocky Ford, there’s a small hill covered with loose shale, prairie grasses, and a scattering of small buildings. The soil is dense, loamy clay that sticks to your boots when it rains but scatters into the next county when it’s windy and dry, which is almost always. This part of Colorado is notoriously parched; the region gets fewer than 12 inches of precipitation each year. In short, it’s not the first place you’d choose to stake your family’s fortune. But in 1905, that’s what Mary and John Edgar did, like so many other immigrants and wanderers. The 1862 Homestead Act had granted 160-acre plots of land to settlers so they could till the American West’s topsoil, plant seeds, and build futures. By the time the Edgars…

If We Want… A bike-friendlier, multimodal city We Have To Give Up… Some parking And We Should Because… Bike lanes reduce car traffic and pollution. In some cases, the most feasible option may be knocking out that parking space in front of your house or business—like in Louisville, which removed on-street parking along its main drag and added patios to help create a better experience. If We Want… A diverse city We Have To Give Up… Pleasantville-like ideas about how our neighborhoods ought to look And We Should Because… Welcoming affordable housing to your neighborhood, rather than standing in NIMBY-ish opposition to it, means an increase in Denver’s diversity and allows lower-salaried professionals like teachers and first responders to be able to live here. If We Want… Varied housing options…

Denver’s got a problem, and you probably don’t need a nationwide study to tell you what it is: Our cellular service is terrible. For proof (besides those repeatedly dropped calls), see RootMetrics’ latest mobile network performance study that ranks Denver 121 out of 125 metro areas—and even worse when it comes to download speeds. “Digital infrastructure is critical to growth,” says Erik Mitisek, the state’s chief innovation officer. “The communities that have the best access will be the most advanced.” Unfortunately, our location means performance isn’t likely to improve. “Cities in the Rockies tend to have trouble, particularly with connection and data speeds,” says Annette Hamilton, a director at RootMetrics. Even though the four major carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile) are approaching almost 100 percent LTE coverage here, our…

People are moving to cities in throngs—and thus, says the Brookings Institution think tank, we require a new type of governance. New localism encourages cities to think differently about funding sources. Local governments have already begun to complement federal funding with other resources to complete ambitious projects, such as the public-private partnership (P-3) behind the Union Station redevelopment. Securing private investors makes it easier for governments to find the remaining funds, rather than making quixotic attempts at creating new funding legislation. It also enables cities and states to tackle problems that are unique to them rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach. Colorado’s culture of regional cooperation— which includes unspoken rules about established companies giving newly arrived entrepreneurs time and advice— gives us a head start on this endeavor.…

Less than a decade away from widespread proliferation, selfdriving cars will be much more than playthings for the wealthy. A system of driverless taxis, for example, could carry commuters to bus lines that only run along wide streets such as Broadway. A voucher system could be set up to help lowerincome folks. Buses could stick to the main arteries rather than snaking their ways around town, thus carrying more people to their destinations faster. Plus, by shifting our transportation mindset, we can more aggressively address the effects of climate change. According to the Rocky Mountain Institute, “The cost of mobility [in the United States] could be 80 percent lower than its cost today, unlocking $1 trillion in value for consumers, businesses...and decreasing emissions by one gigaton per year.” That’s about…

PAUL MILLER Photographer Denver photographer Paul Miller says he tries to bring a cinematic mood to all his shoots. For “Boys Club” (page 114), this issue’s menswear-for-women fashion feature, that goal was easy to achieve thanks to an inspiring location: Fort Greene, a bar and grill in Globeville with dark wood paneling, soft lighting, and elegant green walls. “We originally intended to frame some of the shots outside, but after seeing all the different vignettes, we decided to stay indoors,” Miller says. “There were so many nooks and crannies with interesting light.” Miller’s work has also been featured in Yoga Journal and Denver Life Magazine. AMANDA M. FAISON Food Editor This issue of 5280 marks the end of an era not only for those who work at the 23-year-old publication,…

Scientific & Cultural Facilities District Since 1989, one penny of every $10 spent (limited to goods with sales tax) in the Denver metro area has gone to cultural institutions, like the Denver Art Museum. Set to expire in 2018, voters can extend the SCFD till 2030. Amendment 69 Advocates of universal health care want to create a system, ColoradoCare, that would cover every Coloradan—and cost taxpayers $25 billion a year. Denver Public Schools’ Bond and Mill Levy DPS is looking for $572 million in bond funding to build and repair schools and $56.6 million for college- and careerreadiness, early literacy, and other programs. The $12 Minimum Wage Amendment The minimum wage would increase from $8.31 per hour to $9.30, with scheduled annual rises at the start of every year until…

We’re salivating just thinking about first tracks (only 35 days until Keystone opens, but who’s counting?). A part of ski season we’re not looking forward to: wipeouts. Cut down on yard sales by visiting Centennial’s Snöbahn. The three-month-old facility’s three slopes use the same type of revolving mechanism as treadmills, and their speeds and angles can be adjusted based on your ability. We know: Trading powder for nylon-fiber ramps doesn’t sound like it’d turn you into a ripper. But no lift lines, real-time critiques from seasoned ski instructors, and a mirror at the bottom of the slope (so you can see when you’re, say, leaning too far forward) mean your technique will likely improve more quickly than at a resort. Once your hourlong session (starting at $30 for adults) is…

T he Paralympics are rife with tales of tragic events turned into heroic triumphs. After an IED blinded Navy Lieutenant Brad Snyder in Afghanistan, for example, he won two gold medals in swimming at the 2012 London Games. Joy Rondeau, on the other hand, was born with her disability, and her condition makes her unique: In June, the Granby sit-skier and biathlete became the first person diagnosed with familial spastic paraparesis (FSP) to make the U.S. Paralympic team in Nordic skiing. To understand the significance of Rondeau’s feat, it’s important to realize that not every disability is equal. The top U.S. sit-skier, Oksana Masters, might not have her lower legs, but she can put the full force of her core, arms, and thighs behind her. Athletes with FSP, however, rarely…

Most food lovers tend to think of James Beard Award winners as chefs or restaurants (ahem, Jennifer Jasinski and Frasca Food and Wine), but there’s a lesser-known category of kudos that go to cookbooks and media. And here in the metro area we have two recent winners: Roost Books, a division of Boulder-based Shambhala Publications, and Craftsy, a Denver company that catalogs expert-led online video workshops in cooking, cake decorating, knitting, painting, and other creative endeavors. In April, Roost’s indepth baked goods cookbook, Sourdough: Recipes for Rustic Fermented Breads, Sweets, Savories, and More by Sarah Owens, won accolades in the highly competitive Baking and Dessert category, while Craftsy received the Video Webcast nod for chef Raghavan Iyer’s interactive Indian curries class. Not ones to bask too long in industry acclaim,…

12 VARIETIES OF COOKIES DEBBIE KUEHN, AKA “THE COOKIE LADY,” BAKES EACH DAY. For Debbie Kuehn, cookies are a way of life, quite literally. Kuehn is the owner and sole daytime employee of the Santa Fe Cookie Company, her 31-year-old bakery housed in a subterranean space beneath the 16th Street Mall at Tremont Street. Walk into the tiny shop and help yourself to the treats displayed in little white paper bags tucked into loaf pans. Drop your money—just a buck for three—into a plastic jug, honor-system style. Meanwhile, you’ll be able to spot Kuehn behind the counter, head down as she slides sheet pans of dough in and out of the hot oven. She bakes dozens upon dozens of cookies (not to mention cupcakes and brownies) herself each day and…

I n the early hours before dawn, Boulder geophysicist Andria Bilich parks her car at a trailhead in the hills west of Boulder, climbs out, flicks on her headlamp, and begins to make her way up the mountainside. Dressed in camouflaged layers and a bright orange vest, Bilich hikes to a location she’d scouted a few days earlier that affords a sweeping view of the valley below. There, as the sun crests the horizon, she posts herself in some bushes, readies her .3-caliber rifle, and patiently waits for a deer or elk to wander into range. “Every time, it’s nerve-wracking,” Bilich says. “I don’t want to screw this up.” It was a book that convinced Bilich to learn to hunt. Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma depicted the American meat production…

Beginning with Mayor Federico Peña’s Imagine a Great City initiatives in the 1980s and boosted by the “Crazy Eight” (a group of economic development pros), a code of ethics was formalized for metro Denver that encouraged sharing economic data and forbade neighboring mayors and city councils from poaching businesses, running ads against one another, or badmouthing other communities. “Over several years, any suspicions people had melted away,” says Tom Clark, one of the original eight and now head of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. The Denver metro area has since been lauded nationwide for its regional cooperation, and although there have been some hiccups (see: squabbling between Aurora and Denver over the Gaylord Rockies resort near DIA), this commitment to regionalism should help area expansion run smoother as communities…

High-Speed Rail (HSR) We Said... “It may be 20 years or more before so-called bullet trains are a part of our everyday lives.” (“State Of Disrepair” in October 2011) And We Were… Too optimistic. Plummeting gas prices—and the associated taxes—mean such major transportation efforts must find new funding sources. (HSR will cost up to $20 billion.) Newer assessments say it could be 50 years before HSR is a reality here. Downtown Parking Lots We Said... Replacing surface lots with skyscrapers “could transform Denver’s we-like-our-space attitude and create a denser city.” (“Who Owns Denver?” in May 2011) And We Were… Right. Mixed-use high-rises are replacing surface parking lots. But we still have ample room for upward growth and density, particularly in Arapahoe Square, Uptown, and around the Colorado Convention Center. Union…

525 Square miles of natural areas in Colorado lost to human development between 2001 and 2011 (about 12 percent of the total loss for the entire American West) 13.7 million Acre-feet of water per year that originate within Colorado (one acre-foot equals one football field, one foot deep) How Colorado’s Water Is Used 5.2–9.2 million Colorado’s projected population growth between 2008 and 2050 970,000– 1.7 million Change in Colorado’s projected municipal water demand, in acre-feet, from 2008 to 2050.…

I envision that downtown Denver will be viewed as one of the premier center cities in the nation; that we will have a population that is continuing to grow exponentially; and that we are viewed as an innovation and entrepreneurial hub both in terms of how we build our companies and how we build our cities.” —Tami Door, president and CEO, Downtown Denver Partnership No other airport in North America, maybe even the world, has the potential that this airport has to grow and to develop. I think you’re going to see major growth in the northeast quadrant of the city. Because our airport has global reach, I think it’s going to have an international feel to it.” —Kim Day, CEO, Denver International Airport “I think Denver has built a…

SYMBOL KEY NEW Indicates a restaurant featured in 5280 for the first time (though not necessarily a restaurant that has just opened). 25 BEST Indicates inclusion in our annual list of Denver’s best restaurants, released each October. These selections are at the discretion of 5280 editors and critics and are subject to change. PRICE KEY (Average Entrée) $ under $10 $$ $11 to $15 $$$ $16 to $25 $$$$ $26 and higher A Abejas $$$ Golden / Seasonal Enjoy seasonal new American plates at this upscale community restaurant. The ever-changing menu features farm-fresh produce, sustainable fish, and organic meats, and the bar highlights small wineries and local brewers and distillers. Reservations accepted. 807 13th St., 303-952-9745. Lunch, Dinner, Brunch Ace Eat Serve $$ Uptown Area / Asian This Uptown restaurant…