• Wilderness Exchange is having a spring sale and gear swap this weekend.  On Saturday, May 19th, you can bring used gear you need to sell, or bring cash to buy used gear!  Usually there are lots of Good deals to be found at the gear swap.  The store is also having a spring sale through May 20th on new items.  Visit their website for a 20% off coupon for one item, and check out the gear swap tomorrow!

• REI is also having its annual anniversary sale from now until May 28th.  Its biggest sale of the year, the sale features big discounts on gear and members get 20% off one full-price item.  Visit REI’s website or the store in person for lots of Good Deals.

Happy gear shopping!!

The Good Life Denver is written by David Schlichter.  To stay in the loop, like The Good Life Denver on Facebook and follow @thegoodlifeden on Twitter!

I didn’t grow up with a little brother, but I do have one courtesy of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado’s Sports Buddies program.  We get together once or twice a month and do sports stuff–playing sports like floor hockey, golf, basketball, and football, and watching professional Denver sports teams such as the Rockies, the Mammoth, and the Rapids.  It’s a blast.

In the Sports Buddies program, you commit to spending time with your “little” at least once a month for at least six months.  There are activities nearly every weekend to choose from, so all you have to do is find one or two that work for your schedules each month and just show up.  Activities are a mix of participatory sports and spectator sports.  None of the events cost any money, and the only cost I’ve incurred as a result of my participation in the program was a $35 background check before I started.

With childhood obesity such a serious problem these days, very little time during the school day devoted to physical activity (20 minutes/day when I taught in DPS), and tons of Denver kids needing a little extra love and attention, Sports Buddies is a great way to give back, have fun, and make a difference.  I encourage you to try it out!

For more information on the program, click here.

The Good Life Denver is written by David Schlichter.  To stay in the loop, like The Good Life Denver on Facebook and follow @thegoodlifeden on Twitter!

The Fig and Crispy Prosciutto pizza from Osteria Marco

There are certain dishes in this city you have to try for yourself, and one of those dishes is the Fig and Crispy Prosciutto pizza from Osteria Marco.  Topped with crispy prosciutto, figs, goat cheese, fontina, and truffle oil, it is, quite simply, one of the best menu items I’ve had in Denver.  You will savor every last bite.  Another Good one is the Shrimp and House Sausage pizza. Shrimp, sausage, Fresno chiles, red onions, heaps of arugula, and just the right amount of salt bring this pizza into perfect harmony.

There are lots of other Good non-pizza menu items from Osteria Marco, such as the Calamari appetizer.  Not your standard fried calamari dish, this one comes out as more of a spicy salad with lightly fried calamari, Fresno chiles, salad greens, and a red pepper agrodolce vinaigrette.  It’s phenomenal.

I find Larimer Square to be one of the most charming parts of Denver to go for a dinner date, but I also find that many of the restaurants there are extremely pricey with portion sizes that leave a lot to be desired.  Osteria Marco bucks the trend by offering fantastic food, “just right” portion sizes, and reasonable prices (which you can make even more reasonable with the Eat Denver Dining Deck).  Buon appetito!

The Good Life Denver is written by David Schlichter.  To stay in the loop, like The Good Life Denver on Facebook and follow @thegoodlifeden on Twitter!

If you haven’t heard of the Good Denver band The Lumineers yet, you may be living under a rock.  Juuuuust kidding–but seriously, do you want me to lift it off you?  The Denver-based band has gotten HUGE lately, going from playing shows in Denver living rooms to selling out concerts around the country (with upcoming shows in Europe), releasing their self-titled debut album, and even performing on Conan earlier this week.

Several months ago The Lumineers booked a gig at The Bluebird for this Friday, and when it sold out quickly, they added another show for Saturday night…which also promptly sold out.  As of the time of the publishing of this article, one ticket to Saturday’s show was available on StubHub, and two tickets (at four times face value) were available on Craigslist.  If you end up being out of luck for getting tickets to the Bluebird shows, the band will be playing a free in-store performance at Twist & Shout Records on Colfax this Friday from 6:00pm to 6:30pm, which should be pretty cool and intimate, and tickets are also still available for when the band opens for Cake this summer at Red Rocks on July 28th.

Above is a video of The Lumineers playing their song “Ho Hey”…shot in my Good friend Tracie Faust’s living room.  For more on The Lumineers visit their website, read this Good Denver Post article on the band, or go see a show!

The Good Life Denver is written by David Schlichter.  To stay in the loop, like The Good Life Denver on Facebook and follow @thegoodlifeden on Twitter!

Click here to browse their furniture inventory, and happy shopping!

The Good Life Denver is written by David Schlichter.  To stay in the loop, like The Good Life Denver on Facebook and follow @thegoodlifeden on Twitter!

Spring is here in Denver, and the time has come to revive your garden! 

On Saturday, April 28th, participating Ace Hardware stores will be selling 40-pound bags of Ace Organic Top Soil for at a dirt cheap price of $.77 cents each.  Get your coupon here.

On Saturday, May 5th, from 8 AM to 2 PM, Denver Public Works/Denver Recycles will be holding its annual Mulch Giveaway & Compost Sale.  Mulch is free, and compost is $3.50 per 1.25 cubic ft. bag, or $30.00 per cubic yard.  The main site with a mulch and compost loader service is at Havana Nursery at 10450 Smith Rd., just south of I-70 on Havana St.

There also are several dig-your-own free mulch sites:
• Northeast: Fred Thomas Park, Quebec St. & 26th Ave.
• Northwest:  Sloan’s Lake Park, Sheridan Blvd. & 17th Ave.
• Southeast:  Veterans Park, Iowa St. & Vine St.
• Southwest:  Bear Creek Park, South of Dartmouth Ave. on Raleigh St.

For more information on the Free Mulch Giveaway and Compost Sale, click here.

The Good Life Denver is written by David Schlichter.  To stay in the loop, like The Good Life Denver on Facebook and follow @thegoodlifeden on Twitter!

The ice cream from Little Man is Good.  Very Good.  The “cream” of the crop is the Salted Oreo.  Whoever invented Cookies N’ Cream must have forgotten one key ingredient–the salt!  Salted Oreo is phenomenal–worth waiting in a long line for, but also don’t be shocked if it is out of stock by the time you get to the front (Little Man recently posted mid-day on a weekday on Facebook that they had six gallons of Salted Oreo in stock, and within a few hours it was all gone.).

Some of my other favorite ice cream flavors from Little Man include the Mexican Chocolate and the Salted Peanut Butter Cup, but they have other items on the menu that will delight your taste buds as well.  Little Man serves many of flavors of gelato and sorbet, and in the winter they also serve warm soup and “bobos” (savory foods like barbeque beef and mac and cheese…in a waffle cone).

The ice cream shop was highlighted in 5280 Magazine as being a Good place for a first date, and I happen to strongly agree (it is where Jessa and I had ours).  They also believe in doing Good.  For every scoop of ice cream sold at Little Man, the shop donates a scoop of rice to hungry people in developing countries.

Sounding Good?  See you at Little Man!

The Good Life Denver is written by David Schlichter.  To stay in the loop, like The Good Life Denver on Facebook and follow @thegoodlifeden on Twitter!

Little Man is located in the LoHi (Lower Highlands) neighborhood.  To search for Denver homes for sale in LoHi, click here.

The best roasted chicken I've ever eaten, from the now-closed Encore on Colfax

This weekend we wanted to take family visiting from out of town to a nice dinner before heading to the movie theater for the new Chimpanzee movie (rated G, for Good, in case you were wondering).  Where did we choose? Encore on Colfax.

I had already written an article about Encore on Colfax, but I thought a second article was warranted for this simple reason: I ate the best roasted chicken of my entire life this Saturday, and I wanted you to know about it.  The chicken was incredible.  Salty, well-seasoned, and crispy on the outside, smoky and moist on the inside, served atop Encore bacon, black-eyed peas, spring ramps, and sauteed greens, it was absolutely divine.

THEN, as I was putting together a few links for the article and coming up with crafty wording to encourage you to have the same enlightening experience with this chicken, I found out that the restaurant abruptly closed on Sunday due to an impasse in lease negotiations between the restaurant and the landlord.  Westword has a Good article on the details of the closing and the restaurant’s last hurrah brunch, but I just thought I would say here that Encore was a PHENOMENAL restaurant, and I can’t wait to see what the chef/owners do next.  

Thanks, Goodbye to Encore and Colfax, and Good luck with your next restaurant.  Whatever and wherever it is (rumor has it that a new restaurant in Baker might be in store…), I hope roasted chicken is on the menu.

Cheers,

David

The Good Life Denver is written by David Schlichter.  To stay in the loop, like The Good Life Denver on Facebook and follow @thegoodlifeden on Twitter!

Have fun out there.

The Good Life Denver is written by David Schlichter.  To stay in the loop, like The Good Life Denver on Facebook and follow @thegoodlifeden on Twitter!

Skee-Ball, cornhole, darts, and shot skis are but a few of the reasons you should check out Stoney's Bar and Grill!

• Good drinks: Stoney’s has plenty of beers on tap and their glasses are LARGE.  They also have they have shot skis.  Several of them.
• Good activities: With shot skis, multiple sets of corn hole, multiple dartboards, three lanes of Skee-Ball (when was the last time you played Skee-Ball?!), arcade basketball, and Big Buck Hunter…what other activities do you really want?
• Good events: Stoney’s has lots of regular weekly events.  Run with the Hoppy Feet Run Club on Mondays, play trivia (with dollar tacos) on Tuesdays, try your hand at Texas Hold ‘Em on Wednesdays, play more trivia on Thursdays, or form a team for the skeeball or dart leagues.
• Good music: Stoney’s also has a music stage on which they regularly feature local bands.  On April 27th, the AWESOME local band Filthy Children will be covering Amy Winehouse.  I got a preview of them playing some of the songs this past weekend at Pete’s Monkey Bar, and it was fantastic.
• Good food: Stoney’s has an epic and extensive food menu including 15 different kinds of sliders, two food challenges (the Diablo Wings Challenge: 15 “wings from hell” in 30 minutes and the Slider Challenge: one of every slider + a basket of fries or tots), and much more.  If you save room for dessert, you can try the Oreo Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich (with cookies made in house and Rumpleminz/Boulder Ice Cream filling).
• Good deals: Stoney’s offers 2 for 1 drinks every day during happy hour (4pm-7pm) and 2-for-1 Blue Moon and Svedka drinks during the late-night happy hour (10pm-1am).  They also have different drink specials for every day of the week.
• Good people: People who like the above go to Stoney’s.  It’s full of Good people.

If the above does not give you enough reason to go to Stoney’s, click here to read about the bar’s commitment to sustainability, see the bottom of their menu for information on locally-sourced food they use, and see also examples of the bar giving back to the community.  See you at Stoney’s!

Stoney’s is located at 11th and Lincoln.

The Good Life Denver is written by David Schlichter.  To stay in the loop, like The Good Life Denver on Facebook and follow @thegoodlifeden on Twitter!