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Denver: Leave your cowboy boots home

BY CAROL PUCCI | The Seattle Times

August 24, 2008

Dance the night away under the stained-glass windows at a nightclub called Church.

Ride the free bus along a 16- block pedestrian zone in the heart of downtown.

Feast on steak tacos and buffalo hot dogs.

Here's some advice for the 50,000-plus politicians, delegates and Barack Obama supporters gathering in Denver for the Democratic National Convention this week: Ditch the cowboy boots. Pack the party clothes. More new West than old, Denver has morphed from sleepy former Gold Rush town in the foothills of the Rockies to urban outpost with an artsy, outdoors vibe.

From the giant dustpan outside the Denver Art Museum to miles of bike paths and an old-fashioned ballpark, there's much about Denver's past and present to explore.

LOWER DOWNTOWN

Denver's LoDo, or lower downtown, is a 26-block historic area home to Coors Field and century-old warehouses turned into hotels, condos, galleries, bars and restaurants.

Fuel up for an urban hike with breakfast at Snooze (303-297-0700, snoozedenver .com) on Larimer Street. The round silver booths reminded me of taking a ride in the Mad Hatter's teacup, and I'm still dreaming about the cherry cobbler, sweet potato and pineapple upside-down pancakes.

What's cheap, free or almost:

Lower Downtown Historic District walking tours cost $10, or $5 for students and seniors; lodo.org.

The Tattered Cover Bookstore (16th Street near Union train station, www.tatteredcov er.com). The best of Seattle's Elliott Bay Book Co. and Portland's Powell's combined in an 1800s building with plush green carpeting, reading lamps and comfy sofas and chairs. Free author readings and a cafe that sells any size tea for $1.75.

Nightly jazz at El Chapultepec (1962 Market St., 303-295- 9126). Look for the green neon cactus on the corner. Drop a few dollars in the goldfish bowl atop the piano, and settle into one of a half-dozen wooden booths for an evening with one of the local groups that play nightly. Will Bill Clinton make a repeat appearance? No cover charge. Tacos are three for $5.

Happy hour at Tamayo, Larimer Square, Denver's oldest block (720-946-1433, modern mexican.com). Chic restaurants and shops have replaced the banks, dry-goods stores and photo studios that used to occupy its Victorian brick and stone buildings. Acapulco native Richard Sandoval's Tamayo is always packed. Steak tacos are $6, and margaritas are $4 in the rooftop lounge from 5-7 p.m.

DOWNTOWN

Denver's 16th Street Mall (downtowndenver.com), a 16-block pedestrian area running through the core of the downtown retail district, stretches from LoDo to the museum district near the state capitol building.

What's cheap, free or almost:

The 16th Street MallRide, free hybrid electric shuttle buses that run every few minutes along the length of 16th. You can get most anywhere downtown within 15 minutes by combining this bus ride with a few blocks of walking.

The $2 buffalo hot dogs sold by mall vendors.

A free downtown Wi-Fi hot spot.

Connections to light rail lines ($1.75 a trip) for getting to other destinations including Performing Arts Center and Pepsi Center, the site of this week's Democratic convention.