Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2024 i 5280 Magazine

Denverites have mourned the closure of one of the city’s most charming Japanese eateries multiple times. Domo Japanese Country Foods Restaurant, housed in a custom-built farmhouse just blocks from West Colfax Avenue, shuttered for a few months at the onset of the pandemic. Then it lived an on-again, off-again existence from early 2022 through late 2023 after a viral TikTok video in summer 2021 showing the restaurant’s interior and garden resulted in more attention than the small business could handle. But chef-owner Gaku Homma turned Domo’s stoves back on this past fall—hopefully for good—with plans to reintroduce his brand of Japanese fare to diners who’ve been swimming in Denver’s endless sea of nigiri-slinging hot spots. Homma, 74, has helmed Domo’s kitchen since the venue opened in 1996, and he’s also…

As one of the country’s only Olympic-size, banked-oval cycling racetracks, the Boulder Valley Velodrome (BVV) should have cemented the Front Range’s status as a cycling destination in 2013, when it was slated to host its first riders. Instead, the south Erie venue suffered a string of setbacks, including a windstorm and flood that all but destroyed the place before construction was finished. Then, just three years after the track finally opened in 2015, the owners put the venue up for sale. After several buyers fell through, the velodrome closed for the season in fall 2019 and never reopened because of the pandemic. Boards rotted, paint flaked, and by 2023, the BVV looked more like an abandoned amusement park ride than a world-class sports venue. That’s when local cyclist Todd Stevenson…

A public service announcement to defensive backs this fall: If you spy wide receiver Sara Walker running a short curl route, don’t bite. She’s probably going long. The fake-out is one of Arvada West High School quarterback Saylor Swanson’s favorite plays. “It pretty much gets the defender every time,” says the reigning female Colorado High School Football Player of the Year. “Also, it’s always fun to throw a deep ball.” In fall 2022, the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) launched a two-year flag football pilot program that saw nearly 1,400 girls from 52 schools participate last year. Despite that competition, Swanson led the Wildcats to a 25-0 campaign and a state title in 2023, and starting this month, she’ll have the chance to repeat after the CH-SAA fully sanctioned…

Ticket to: THE MOUNTAINS Golden’s Sherpa House isn’t just a Himalayan restaurant; it’s also a cultural center, which means you’ll get a side of history with your yak vindaloo. From the colorful textiles to the huge collection of traditional cookware to the prayer flags, the decor makes eating here feel like you’re breaking naan in a real-life Tibetan sherpa house. Ticket to: THE WOODS For a taste of the great outdoors without leaving city limits, head to the wilderness-inspired patio at LoHi’s Forest Room 5. The bar’s babbling brook, firepits, and plethora of foliage give off serious (car) camping vibes—but the spicy pineapple jalapeño margs are way better than the ones your friends make in their RV. Ticket to: THE BEACH Come for the poke nachos and stay for the…

FOR MORE THAN THREE DECADES, 5280 has been providing the must-have list of the best doctors in the Denver metro area. For the second year in a row, we’ve partnered with Castle Connolly, a health care research and information company, to create the list. Although some of the medical specialties represented will be different than they have been in the past, by partnering with Castle Connolly, 5280 is able to deliver a much larger list of physicians, which we hope better serves our readers. The list is also available at directory.5280.com/doctors. ADDICTION MEDICINE Ingrid A. Binswanger SAINT JOSEPH, GOOD SAMARITAN Kaiser Permanente 1375 E. 20th Ave. Denver 80205 303-338-4545 Joseph P. Cannavo GOOD SAMARITAN, LUTHERAN, SAINT JOSEPH Kaiser Permanente 1375 E. 20th Ave. Denver 80205 303-338-4545 Alexis C. Carrington GOOD SAMARITAN,…

“A lot of people don’t even know where Sudan is,” says Sara Hamid, a dietitian turned chef who moved to the United States from the northeast African country in 2009. Even fewer, then, are familiar with the vibrant cuisine of her homeland. To remedy that problem in Denver, Hamid launched a catering business in 2019 and in May fulfilled her dream of opening a brick and-mortar restaurant. The centerpiece of Platt Park’s Sawa Mediterranean Restaurant & Buffet—a casual eatery housed in a bright space filled with plants and dark wood—is a buffet table loaded with Sudanese, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern dishes. The diversity of the flavors at Sawa—which means “together” in Arabic—showcases the myriad cultures that influence the food in Sudan. Choose the all-you-can-eat option for $25 to try a…

As she began yet another meeting with yet another venture capitalist, Denverite Kristin Taylor took a deep breath, looked her mark in the eye, and launched into the pitch she had spent months perfecting: Under the branding of Mom Juice, Taylor and her co-founder, Macie Mincey, would make low-sugar, affordable, delicious wine with minimal ingredients, all of which would be clearly listed on the label. They would market it to consumers sensitive to gluten (or any of the 40-plus undisclosed ingredients and additives in many mainstream wines); to new mothers with nursing-induced dietary restrictions; and to anyone looking to pick up a cute gift for Mom. As millennial women of color, Taylor and Mincey would ensure their product appealed to young, diverse populations that the industry, with its pretentious sniff-andswirl…

THIS IS HOW IT ENDS: an old country home with an old country woman resting in a recliner in her family room. Her head lies atop a small pillow; a colorful blanket covers her tiny body. Barbara Maxwell is 91 years old, the wife of a former college professor, a mother of four, a grandmother of 10, a great grandmother of 10. Her eyes are closed, her bony hands are clasped on her abdomen, and her head is tilted slightly, as if she’s straining to hear a distant voice. Her chest rises and falls, almost imperceptibly. A hospice nurse checks her vitals. “It’s unfortunately her time to go,” the man says. Judy Olsen is in a chair near her mother’s feet, which are propped up on the recliner’s footrest. Judy…

PRICE KEY Average Entrée $ under $15 $$ $16 to $20 $$$ $21 to $30 $$$$ $31 and higher SYMBOL KEY Indicates a restaurant featured in 5280 for the first time (though not necessarily a restaurant that has just opened). Indicates inclusion in 5280’s 2023 list of Denver’s best restaurants. These selections are at the discretion of 5280 editors and are subject to change. A5 STEAKHOUSE $$$$ LoDo / Steak House This unfussy chophouse by the team behind Forget Me Not and Tap and Burger features perfectly seared steaks, hearty sides, and draft cocktails. Don’t miss the beef tartare katsu sando. Reservations accepted. 1600 15th St., 303-623-0534. Dinner ACE EAT SERVE $$$ Uptown / Asian This Uptown restaurant and ping-pong hall features Asian-inspired cuisine and 10 ping-pong tables. Try the Sichuan shrimp wontons. Reservations…