MPLS tourist looking for areas to bar crawl (Denver, Highlands Ranch: 2015, home)

[MPLSMINN]

Hi Denverites (is that the right term?),

My brothers and I from Minneapolis and Atlanta have been going to a new major city for a baseball/drinking beer type trip for the last 7 years or so and this year it's Denver. I'm the planner.

I'm looking for a few centrally located areas we could bar crawl relatively easily (think walk around and there are a number of places around without having to look things up on a smartphone).

The style I'm looking for would be dive bar with character.....than douchebag dive bar or Applebees frat boy type bar. Looking for unique without being pretentious. Cool people just having fun. Jukebox, live music etc...places ok. So I guess I'm wondering what those areas are in Denver.... I know I could list them in Minneapolis but can't seem to get a handle on it in Denver. Also we are closer to 40 so we know we'll be the old guys in most places.... but would like to avoid the places the early 20 somethings go.

Thanks in advance...looking forward to seeing your fine city.

Lou

[Timmyy]

If you are planning to come out for a ballgame then you pretty much don't have to leave the area around the ballpark. There are a ton of bars there. That area is called Lower Downtown or LoDo for short.

Here is a link to get you started: Denver Bars | LoDo Bar | Bars In LoDo | LoDo Bar | Bar In LoDo

[SkyDog77]

LoDo is right where you will be, but I would recommend also checking out Tennyson St in Berkeley and 32nd Ave Highland neighborhood (not to be confused with Highlands Ranch). Both are very short uber rides from LoDo.if you are in to cocktails, Williams & Graham is one of the best mixology bars in the world by several publications and best bar in America by Spirited Awards.

[SQL]

Baker Neighborhood on South Broadway.

There are a good mix of bars and breweries on the Broadway strip. Hit up Fat Sully's (NY pizza by the slice) or Illegal Pete's (great burritos/TexMex) for late night munchies.

[woob]

I would start in the ballpark neighborhood and work your way north. There are lots of good bars with character especially when you get a bit further away from lodo. Off the top of my head- falling rock, el chapultetec, star bar, great divide, larimer lounge are all a few blocks away from each other and would make for a good bar crawl.

[MPLSMINN]

All good advice. Everyone. Thank you. This gives me a few options. Is there any one specific place that is unique or a classic in Denver that I should make sure to hit?

[MPLSMINN]

Also SQL...how did you know we always are looking for NY Style pizza? We'll check that out for sure. It's almost impossible to get a good NY slice in Minneapolis.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by MPLSMINN

All good advice. Everyone. Thank you. This gives me a few options. Is there any one specific place that is unique or a classic in Denver that I should make sure to hit?

The thing we do better than just about any other city is brew great beer.

River North (RiNo) is home to the most dense concentration of breweries and is just a few minutes from Ballpark neighborhood. It could be fun to brewery hop instead of just bar hopping.

http://www.denverpost.com/2015/02/16...wing-district/

[denver_hacker]

Originally Posted by MPLSMINN

All good advice. Everyone. Thank you. This gives me a few options. Is there any one specific place that is unique or a classic in Denver that I should make sure to hit?

Some classics: My Brother's Bar, El Chapultepec, Buckhorn Exchange (down south a bit, take light rail or uber/lyft for this one), Cruise Room at the Oxford, Terminal Bar at Union Station (new place in newly renovated Union Station)...

Wynkoop Brewery and Restaurant is just down the street from Coors Field and is the Grandaddy of LoDo, so it's usually worth a stop. Up on the fourth floor they have pool, foosball, shuffleboard, and darts, so that's kind of cool. The Cruise Room is just down the street from there...Union Station is right there too and has a great bar with shuffleboard, it's fun to hang out and watch all the people.

But really, our Breweries are the big thing. Some favs are: Great Divide, Denver Beer Company, & Prost. Great Divide's new facility on Brighton is right across the street from The Source, which has some cool places to eat and Crooked Stave Brewing, and Great Divide is kitty-corner to Mockery Brewery. Denver Beer Company is on Platte Street, which has a bunch of cool stuff - including My Brother's Bar, and has a foot bridge over I25 to Lower Highlands with Amatos Alehouse at the other side of the footbridge. Prost is just down the block from the footbridge in Lower Highlands and right across the street from Avanti, which is a incubator for restaurants made out of shipping containers.

Oh, and Biker Jim's dogs is classic and definitely worth a visit - think delicious sausages made out of exotic meats. Get "the usual" toppings of caramelized onions and cream cheese - sounds weird but so tasty.

In terms of NY Pizza, I'd go with Two Fisted Mario's on Market or Anthony's on 16th near Wynkoop. I have family from New Jersey that swear by Anthony's, but some folks don't like it...

[Timmyy]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

The thing we do better than just about any other city is brew great beer.

River North (RiNo) is home to the most dense concentration of breweries and is just a few minutes from Ballpark neighborhood. It could be fun to brewery hop instead of just bar hopping.

Denver’s River North neighborhood: the brewing district – The Denver Post

This. You can't go wrong if you like really good beer.