Innehållsförteckning för December 2023 från 5280 Magazine

Have you ever done a mental audit of the number of humans you consider close friends? If so, would you need more than 10 fingers? This is a question I’ve pondered every so often throughout my life, probably because I’ve never needed any additional digits. The figure has fluctuated, of course, but what’s most interesting to me is how the same people seem to come and go and often come back again. I tend to think this is a sign of a strong relationship, one in which life circumstances might draw you together or tug you apart, but the ties that bind are never really broken. Over the past few years, for instance, a distance has developed between me and a friend I’ve had for almost 30 years. It hurts…

1 In January, Colorado Public Radio launched Terra Firma, a podcast that serves up calming doses of serotonin each week thanks to the pastoral musings of writer and host CMarie Fuhrman and nature clips gathered by sound recordist Jacob Job. 2 Artist Virgil Ortiz’s Revolt 1680/2180: Runners and Gliders embraces sci-fi storytelling to bring attention to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, when Indigenous tribes ousted the Spanish from northern New Mexico for more than a decade. The show runs through May 2024, a full year after its debut at History Colorado. 3 Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard, mountain goats, and Jamal Murray all make cameos in the music video for rapper Jack Harlow’s new single “Denver.” Released in April, the song is about insecurity—so we’re trying not to take…

Five-month-old Red Tops Rendezvous is a tribute to a Motor City treat. Restaurateur Kevin Eddy grew up in Detroit eating the metropolis’ eponymous pizza, a style characterized by a square or rectangular shape, cheesy edges, sauce on top, and thick, chewy crust. “I wanted to bring that part of my upbringing to Denver,” he says. To do that, Eddy, who co-founded the Culinary Creative Group, the company behind A5 Steakhouse, Fox and the Hen, and other concepts, built a two-story eatery with a rooftop patio in Jefferson Park. After three years of planning and construction, Red Tops Rendezvous turned on its ovens in July. While executive chef Jacob Grant’s pizzas—focaccialike dough that’s studded with the likes of Italian beef and spicy giardiniera or with oyster and cremini mushrooms—are must-orders, don’t…

SEAFOOD EMPIRE Lakewood Vietnamese Cajun fare has roots in New Orleans, where many Southeast Asian immigrants settled after the Vietnam War. Dig into a seafood boil, one of the cuisine’s staples, at this casual, nearly 17-month-old eatery in Lakewood, where whole shrimp, crawfish, and other plucked-from-the-water delights are coated in finger-licking sauces. 6981 W. Alaska Drive, Lakewood NEW SAIGON Athmar Park For more than 35 years, diners have cracked open an assortment of succulent shellfish at this relaxed eatery. Drizzle steamed cherrystone clams with ginger-infused fish sauce, or split a spicy-sour stew replete with mussels, squid, and lobster tails among a few of your friends. 630 S. Federal Blvd. VIET’S RESTAURANT Westwood At Viet’s, patrons can choose from a variety of fruits de mer, from periwinkle snails to razor clams,…

On making friends: Leila: “It’s easier to become friends when you have a topic to talk about. Me and Anna usually just start a conversation by talking about a cartwheel in gymnastics.” Anna: “Yeah, if you don’t share that many interests, you have to search to find even the littlest thing to talk about. Like, maybe the other person likes pasta?” On fighting with friends: Anna: “You can’t hang on to something that happened. You have to throw it into the garbage can and let the garbage man take it away.” Leila: “We’ve had plenty of fights. But, like, two seconds later we’re best friends. Classic girl code.” On why adults have a hard time keeping friends: Anna: “Probably because they need to be nicer to each other. When you’re…

Home editor Each year, architects, interior designers, and homeowners submit their spaces for a shot at winning a spot in 5280’s Top Denver Home Design feature. When home editor Michelle Johnson met with her team in July to decide on this year’s most worthy projects, they were faced with the difficult task of selecting from a record number of submissions. While whittling down the contestants wasn’t easy, Johnson notes that each of the final picks included in “The High Life” (page 72) displays a special element. “There has to be some sort of wow factor,” she says, “whether it’s the quality of materials used in the design or the striking architecture.” This year, Johnson is particularly excited about the accolade bestowed on the “whole home” winner. Although 5280 has given…

Sosthène Kaboré originally dreamed of becoming an architect—but a lack of funding for college as an international student in the United States led the native of Burkina Faso in West Africa to abandon his studies to pursue another lifelong interest: food. “Cooking had been my passion since I was nine years old,” says Kaboré, 37, who helms the kitchen at Cherry Creek’s Le Bilboquet, an upscale French restaurant with locations in New York City and Atlanta. As a child, Kaboré’s mother often gave him cookbooks she picked up during her missionary travels to France, and the pair would make the recipes together. In 2010, the then 24-year-old withdrew from Arizona State University to move to New York City, where his foot-in-the-door moment in the restaurant business came from a dishwashing…

COMPANY LOVES MISERY There wasn’t much going on in Bethlehem, a sleepy, blue-collar town, so I bonded with a colleague I thought I’d enjoy getting to know by smoking cigarettes on my back stoop with her. We’d stare forlornly at the steel mill on the horizon while wishing we lived in hipster Brooklyn two hours away. FOMO IS FOR REAL After setting a date for drinks with a college acquaintance and a friend of hers in Washington, D.C., the former bailed. Her friend and I hung out anyway and decided to infect our mutual acquaintance with a raging case of FOMO by rolling from the bar to a house party, sending her photos along the way. My college pal never ditched me again (though, oddly, I didn’t hang out with…

Break the mirror Oh, you’ve been to New York? Well, I’ve been to New York, too! Let me tell you all about it! That’s a conversational habit called mirroring, and it’s off-putting because it wrestles the microphone out of your prospective bestie’s hands. Instead, focus on support responses such as, “Oh? Tell me more.” Button up Body language is the most important cue for conveying interest. “Stand belly button to belly button with someone so that they know they have your full attention,” Greenwald says. And keep your phone in your pocket. Compliments aren’t just for copulating People like people who like them, so even though you just want to keep things chummy, don’t be afraid to give compliments. “ ‘I noticed you were really nice to the barista,’ ”…

Breckenridge’s Ullr Fest has celebrated the Norse god of snow since 1963, but it wasn’t until 2013 that two locals, Kristian Slaugh and Litch Polich, added a giant shot ski to the party. “We ended up collecting 60 skis,” says Polich, a partner at Breckenridge Distillery. “We bolted them together, glued plastic cups on them, and got 192 people to take a shot. We felt like we climbed Everest.” That unofficial world record (according to Polich, Guinness won’t sanction what it considers binge drinking) soon caught the attention of Park City, Utah. The ski town has organized its own mass toast every October since 2015, including a record-setting 1,340 shot-takers in 2022. It didn’t keep the title for long: Because Ullr Fest takes place later in the winter than Park…

Paid leave doesn’t mean full pay Most Coloradans who have earned at least $2,500 in the past year are eligible for FAMLI. But benefits are doled out on a sliding scale, with the lowest earners receiving around 90 percent of their average weekly wage and applicants collecting a smaller percentage as their salaries increase. Regardless, there’s an $1,100 weekly max payout. What this means IRL: The state’s benefits calculator (famli.colorado.gov) will ballpark how much you qualify for. And speak with your employer: It can’t require you to take PTO before or during your leave, but you may be able to use it to fill in the gap between your benefits and the rest of your wage. The program embraces an expansive definition of family When someone gets sick, caretaking isn’t…

Until just a couple of years ago, residents of the northern suburbs had to commute to Federal Boulevard to satisfy their appetites for Asian cuisine that went beyond Chinese and Vietnamese takeout staples. But rising commercial real estate prices in Denver and Boulder and the appeal of underserved markets in surrounding cities have recently led restaurateurs serving everything from dumplings and Korean fried chicken to hot pot and boba tea to bring their businesses to Denver’s suburbs. The wave of migration has been particularly noticeable along U.S. 36. One of those restaurateurs is Thuy Le, a co-founder of the now-closed T-Wa Inn, Denver’s first Vietnamese restaurant, and former owner of Boulder’s 30-year-old Chez Thuy, a citadel of Vietnamese cuisine now owned by her son. Last December, Thuy launched Tu’s Kitchen…

HECHO EN WESTWOOD CO Founded in 2020 as the RISE Westwood Collective, Hecho en Westwood’s original mission was simply to help the Denver neighborhood’s Latino- and BIPOC-owned businesses survive the pandemic. But what started as a support system, including an online shopping platform and centralized curbside pickup location for its members, has blossomed into a cultural force that bolsters Westwood’s economy and celebrates its community. Just this year, the neighborhood group launched the biannual Saigon-Azteca Night Market, in collaboration with other partners such as the Far East Center, and a free Danza Mexika after-school program for 18-and-unders. The Indigenous dance and spiritual tradition, which survived underground in Mexico after Spanish colonization, has seen a resurgence, says Hecho en Westwood Danza Mexika instructor Metzli Aragon. “We’re teaching the art of movement,…

1. Unplanned Interactions In 2020, Goucher, who had retired as a professional runner, attended the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, where Goucher finished fourth. After the race, Goucher and Linden, who lives in Michigan, bumped into each other in the lobby of the hotel where they were both staying. The pair decided to turn the chance encounter into an after-party, heading to a bar for some late-night cocktails. “That was the first time we had ever had a real conversation that wasn’t at a starting line or a finish line or a press conference,” Goucher says. 2. Shared Vulnerability Goucher once trained with the Oregon Project, a running team funded by Nike and coached by the famed Alberto Salazar. To outsiders, it seemed like an ideal environment. But in Goucher’s 2023…

5280 Why are you friends with Cartman after all the shit he pulls? Kyle Broflovski (Sighs) You know, it’s kind of a mystery even to us sometimes. Cartman can be infuriating, offensive, and just plain mean. But deep down, there’s a history there. We’ve known each other forever, and I guess we’ve just been through so much together that it’s hard to completely let go. Stan Marsh Yeah, it’s like no matter how messed up things get, Cartman is still part of our group. He’s been with us since the beginning, and even though he’s a total jerk most of the time, there are moments when he’s not so bad. Kenny McCormick (muffled) Mph. Kyle: Kenny’s right. Despite his flaws, Cartman has his moments. And there have been times when he’s…