Amenities lacking in Denver? (purchase, to live in, restaurant)

[TigerLily24]

Originally Posted by jrodgers_3

Water (reservoirs are a joke if you're from someplace with water). Also, it's not so much the lack of food that bothers me, it's the lack of quality food. There are GREAT Thai places here, Italian isn't too bad but haven't found one that wows me. The Mexican food here sucks if you're from TX, NM, AZ, or Cali. There's also a lack of comfort food. Where do you go for a good chicken fried steak or pot roast dinner?

Also DIVERSITY! There's a serious lack of diversity in people around here, even downtown which is better.

There isn't a choice of cable and internet companies. It's either dish or cable that's it. No Fiber Optic option either.

Back to food - It's also a lack of "feel" to places that bothers me here. Where do I go for a nice date with my girlfriend to get sushi? It's either in a strip mall or a small crowded room with no character. This could be said about the whole city in my opinion...it just lacks character or any kind of "feel".

Meant to respond to this yesterday but couldn't remember the name of the place.
Ranch House Cafe - homemade chicken fried steak. Located on Colfax at the corner of Syracuse, couple of blocks east of Quebec.

[Jimrob1]

Originally Posted by Snikt

Boston metropolitan area - Population 7,991,371

Denver metropolitan area - Population 3,214,218

I don't think one could expect the same type of restaurant scene in Denver as in Greater Boston. Boston is a very old city, that has seen its share of European and Asian Immigrants thru the decades. So there has been many years to build a restaurant and food scene. Denver is still a younger city, but I'm sure its restaurant scene will keep improving thru time.

Yes this area is much more populated than Denver. Mass is a small state to have such a high population figure. What many people from elsewhere don't realize, is that one population area blends into the next one, and on and on all the way to DC. There is no break in the hemmed in feeling anymore. At least along the I-95 corridor and its major Northeast Cities. It's a tremendous amount of people and crowds to deal with on a daily basis.

So the restaurant and food scene might be better, but Denver has a lot less people to deal with. There is definitely something to be said for that fact.

[DenverBound41]

Originally Posted by AmFest

Agreed. Though hopefully the changes will happen in the next year, not next decade ... Downtown Denver is quite small and uninteresting.



Yes.



I miss seeing lots of people.

Well sure those things would be nice in the next year but unfortunately development like that doesn't just pop up overnight. I agree that downtown is somewhat boring when compared to cities like NYC, Chicago, Boston, etc... but for its size I think Denver is doing just fine and headed in the direction. Downtown Denver is transforming before our eyes...enjoy the ride!

[Mezter]

I wish we had ethnic neighborhoods like Chinatown, Little Italy, Koreatown, etc.

[denver dude]

Originally Posted by Mezter

I wish we had ethnic neighborhoods like Chinatown, Little Italy, Koreatown, etc.

Me too. They're used to be a chinatown actually on wazee street a long time in LoDo but it was destroyed by riots. It was back in the 1800's though.

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by denver dude

Me too. They're used to be a chinatown actually on wazee street a long time in LoDo but it was destroyed by riots. It was back in the 1800's though.

Your comment needs some clarification.

The incident you are writing about was a riot in Denver in 1880 where Chinese Laundries were destroyed because some Americans feared that Chinese were taking jobs from them. There was one casualty as one elderly Chinese Man was hung on 17th Street. It was a sentiment expressed by the Colorado Department of Labor which "fed the animosity by reporting" that "...one Chinaman does as much work as any two men or woman because he will work day and night and also on Sunday..." It resulted in 1882 of the Chinese Exclusion Act and as a result the Chinese population in Denver declined.

Stephen J. Leonard and Thomas J. Noel Denver Mining Camp to Metropolis (University of Colorado Press 1990) p. 186

Interesting how I hear the same sentiment, today, expressed by some ignorant and lazy Americans who want to exclude the Mexicans workers who do much of the back breaking labor that many refuse to do, yet claim it takes jobs away from Americans.

There is an Asian area in Denver centered on South Federal and Alameda. There is a large prominent "Far East Center" shopping center on the southwest corner of these Streets. You will see many shops, groceries and business, south on Federal and a businesses along Alameda. Vietnamese, Laotian and Chinese are represented. Also we have a Sakura Square of the Japanese Community in Downtown Denver. We have Asian all over the area reflected in many large stores that exist all over the area with additional Korean influences.

Livecontent

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Mezter

I wish we had ethnic neighborhoods like Chinatown, Little Italy, Koreatown, etc.

The "Little Italy" area of Denver used to be NW Denver, roughly the Highlands area, though I don't think it was called that. It was an area where a lot of Italians lived. Many Italians have dispersed to the NW suburbs, e.g. Wheat Ridge, Arvada, Broomfield.

[philberf]

We did finally get an Alamo Drafthouse (although all the way out in Littleton), and maybe more coming is the rumor I heard.

Relative to other places of similar population, I have to agree there is a relative lack of diversity in terms of ethnicity and food. Although Aurora is phenomenally diverse for a "suburb." In many places, the size, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of Aurora makes it a city unto itself. it just doesn't have a "downtown" like Denver.

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by philberf

We did finally get an Alamo Drafthouse (although all the way out in Littleton), and maybe more coming is the rumor I heard.

Relative to other places of similar population, I have to agree there is a relative lack of diversity in terms of ethnicity and food. Although Aurora is phenomenally diverse for a "suburb." In many places, the size, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of Aurora makes it a city unto itself. it just doesn't have a "downtown" like Denver.

Great Point about Aurora. We tend to think of Aurora as a suburbs but the size makes it one of the biggest cities in Colorado, about 330,000. That is why the area is often referenced as the Denver/Aurora Metro. The other suburbs are mostly bedroom communities but Aurora is a power in itself of industry and commerce and of course healthcare, as it is home to the largest medical complex in the west. I like to go down South Parker and fine all those ethnic stores.

Livecontent

[TigerLily24]

Originally Posted by philberf

We did finally get an Alamo Drafthouse (although all the way out in Littleton), and maybe more coming is the rumor I heard.

Relative to other places of similar population, I have to agree there is a relative lack of diversity in terms of ethnicity and food. Although Aurora is phenomenally diverse for a "suburb." In many places, the size, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of Aurora makes it a city unto itself. it just doesn't have a "downtown" like Denver.

Aurora IS a city unto itself. We have our own mayor and everything.

As for a downtown, or lack, thereof, I agree, although, there are several groups working on bringing back the area around the Fox Theater which is probably about as close as we're going to get.