Having A Drink With Wally and Susan At A Place With No Name

I had a happy hour drink yesterday afternoon with my friend Wally and sister Susan - seen in the photograph above - at a place with no name. Seriously. There was no sign outside telling what it is, except for a poster advertising free happy hour spaghetti between 3 and 6. I have driven past that storefront a number of times, and have occasionally seen people going in and out, but had no idea what it was until Wally showed me a mailing he received promoting it as a quiet neighborhood spot, and suggested we try it. It is located in the University of Denver neighborhood near the corner of University and Evans. This spot was formerly occupied by Asbury Provisions, and before that by Renegade Brewing Company, which is the last time I visited that space. It is indeed a nice quiet place, with an old wood bar, and seems to be frequented by locals, many of whom the bartender knew by name. And yes, we all tried the spaghetti, in addition to having drinks. It did not have much sauce on it, but was still tasty, and best of all, free. My favorite price point. Wally is doing well, and he and his wife Linda are making frequent trips out to the Bay Area to visit their son and daughter and their families. On their next trip they will be celebrating the 1st birthday of one of their grandkids. Hopefully they will have a little time left over to roam around that beautiful city for a bit. Great to see you, Wally!

Let The Baseball Spring Training Games Begin!

All is quiet at Coors Field here in Denver today, as is the case at all the other major league stadiums across the country, but down in Florida and Arizona, baseball spring training games have begun. Down in Arizona, my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox are playing their North Side rivals, the Chicago Cubs, at Sloan Park in Mesa, while my adopted hometown team, the Colorado Rockies, are playing the Arizona Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottdale. I am especially interested in that White Sox-Cubs contest. It is possible that neither team will win today, since during the spring extra innings are not played if the game is tied at the end of the 9th. Now THAT would be a sign of things to come. But why be pessimistic? Time to get that bet down on a White Sox-Cubs World Series. Anything is possible in the spring, right? Except probably that, of course.

Lunching With Stuart At Old Chicago

I had lunch yesterday with my friend Stuart at the Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom in Lakewood, Colorado, a suburb just to the west of Denver whose heart and soul revolves around West Colfax Avenue, which is itself one of most soulless stretches of asphalt in not just this country, but the world. But is nonetheless its sole claim to fame. But happily, you can't see Lakewood from the bar at Old Chicago, where I took the photograph above of Stuart. Over lunch, we discussed a number of topics, including the fact that baseball spring training games begin tomorrow. I reminded Stuart that his favorite team, the Chicago Cubs (he grew up on the North Side of Chicago, which explains his misguided loyalty) are projected to finish first in the National League Central. Which he was disappointed to hear. He believes that prediction will curse them for sure, and they are now doomed to finish last. And, of course, I am an expert in teams finishing in last place, having grown up on the South Side of Chicago and therefore a lifelong White Sox fan. On the positive side, I read that the White Sox have signed and traded for some very promising players this year, as well as having the number one pick in the MLB draft, so things are looking up these days on the South Side. As for our adopted hometown team, the Colorado Rockies, who lost 119 games last season and had the worst starting pitching in the history of baseball, they now have new management, people who actually know something about baseball. Last year, the Rockies loaded their roster with rookies from the minor leagues, most of whom were not ready for the big leagues, with obvious results. This year, the team is adding veterans to the lineup and keeping rookies not ready for the big leagues down on the farm until they are indeed ready. What a concept!

Celebrating Fat Tuesday At New Terrain!

My sister Susan and I stopped by New Terrain Brewing Company up in Golden, Colorado yesterday afternoon to celebrate Fat Tuesday. I expected a live Dixieland band, people in costumes dancing and throwing beads at everyone, and just pure craziness before Ash Wednesday arrived at midnight. And surprisingly, there was none of that. In fact, the crowd seemed pretty laid back, as seen in the photograph above. Nobody present looked like they were planning to give up alcohol for Lent. In any case, it's turned a bit nippy here on the Front Range of Colorado lately and so only a single couple was out on the patio, which is famous for its views of Table Mesa and North Table Mountain. All seemed to prefer having a pint in the warmth of the taproom and view the scenery from inside. Good beer, nice view, friendly people. Perhaps that's the best Fat Tuesday celebration of all. Take that New Orleans.

Fat Tuesday!

Today is Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras in French), a big day in New Orleans, which celebrates with parades, street parties, music, costumes, and feasting. Here in Denver, nothing nearly so exciting. As for down in Stuart, Florida, last year Terra Fermata, a live outdoor music venue located in Stuart's downtown entertainment district and seen in the photograph above, celebrated Fat Tuesday with Lefty Hathaway's Dr. John Tribute. This year it celebrated Fat Tuesday on Sunday (is that even legal?) with a Mardi Gras Show- Dixieland Jazz and Jam with Michael and the Fluid Band. The interesting thing about Terra Fermata is that as far as I know, it is the only live music venue located in Stuart's entertainment district. And last year, not too long after Fat Tuesday, neighbors annoyed about the sound levels there prompted the Stuart City Commission to consider a change to the city's noise ordinance, which would have probably put Terra Fermata out of business, basically leaving Stuart's entertainment district with no entertainment. Fortunately, wiser heads prevailed, and they left the noise ordinance alone. I wonder if they have the same problem in New Orleans? I suspect not.

President's Day Weekend!

This is President's Day Weekend, and here in Denver, winter has yet to arrive, and so what seems like the entire city is taking advantage of the springlike weather and getting outdoors. Denver had a high of 69 degrees on Sunday, while today is forecast to have a high of 68. I drove past Washington Park yesterday, and it looked like one long line of people walking the 2-mile path circling those grounds. I was headed up to Golden, and when I got there, found that every parking space in front of the Golden History Park - the gateway to the trails along Cleer Creek - were taken. And the streets of downtown Golden were packed, as seen in the photograph above. For one long weekend, it was finally time to stop thinking about the record low snowpack, the dwindling reservoirs, and the extreme fire danger, and just enjoy the weather. Time enough to worry about all that later. But there is some hope. The weather forecasters are predicting a snowstorm in the Colorado mountains this week, which has the possibility of easing the crisis somewhat. While Denver and the Front Range will remain dry and relatively warm, the accumulation of snow in the mountains will help the entire state. And if that snow doesn't materialize, I suggest the State of Colorado hire experienced Native Americans to do some traditional North American rain dances. Can't hurt, right? And it would provide great entertainment, too, if they did those dances at places such as the 16th Street Mall. Have a nice rest of the weekend everyone, and as they say up in Breckenridge, pray for rain.

The February Issue Of Chicago Magazine

I just finished reading the February issue of Chicago Magazine. The cover story is titled The Savvy Parent's Guide to Raising Kids in Chicago, which, not having children, did not sound too interesting to me. However, I did enjoy reading about Chicago's Best Bar for Babies, which turns out to be Rockwell's Neighborhood Grill, located in the Ravenswood Gardens neighborhood on Chicago's North Side. The article was written by a new father in the first days of parenthood, and tells how he and his wive, along with their 2-month-old baby in a stroller, found Rockwell's, with its large patio filled with screaming kids running around, strollers parked to the side, and "exhausted parents silently chugging craft beers." The 312 section's Listing of the Month is an 8,360 square-foot Evanston mansion built in 1912, five blocks from Lake Michigan, which comes with a 2-bedroom coach house, for sale for just under $2.5 million. This when here in Denver a modern 3-story house on the east side of Washington Park just went on sale for $9 million. What's wrong with this picture? There is also an article about Chicago's $40 billion debt, and how the city has been kicking it down the road each year through refinancing, risking dropping the city's credit rating down to the point its municipal bonds will be unsellable. I also enjoyed reading speculation in The 312 section about who might run for mayor against current mayor Brandon Johnson, whose popularity is currently in the tank. And surprisingly, there are a number of possible candidates who sound quite competent, including Susana Mendoza, the current Illinois comptroller, who reduced the state's backlog of unpaid bills from $16.7 billion to under $3 billion. Does she sound like a possibility or what? All in all, another pretty interesting issue.