Going French in Denver, Colorado

Okay.  I hear you.  You are skeptical.  Denver?  Maybe a good steak or delicious Mexican food, but French?

Trust me.  I have just the place. 

In my view, you can "go French" just about anywhere -- as long as you have the right esprit (spirit). 

Hub and I had the opportunity to visit Denver last weekend.  It is a terrific city.  We stayed in the Brown Palace Hotel, a lovely downtown fixture that has been in continuous operation since 1892. 

We walked to everything or took the free trolley that goes up and down the 16th Street Mall.  

Going French with Food in Denver 
We found a fantastic French restaurant called Bistro Vendome.  Denver was celebrating Restaurant Week which meant that many restaurants had specials where 2 people could eat three courses for $52.80.  (Denver is the Mile-High City -- 5,280 feet!).

Our meal started with a roasted yellow beet salad (beyond delicious), then we each had cod with brussel sprouts (so yummy) and finished with a crisp that had cranberries and apples with rum ice cream.  

We paired this with a lovely Viognier wine, and I had the French press coffee with dessert.  Our meal was made even better because of the wonderful service of wait staff Kimberly, who seemed to take joy out of the fact that we were having a good time. Good wait staff can make or break a meal.  Bus person Julie was super also.  Bistro Vendome was fantastic, and  I recommend it to anyone who visits Denver. 

Going French with Fashion in Denver 

There is a lovely boutique called Eve near Larimer Square (almost across the street from the Bistro Vendome restaurant) that had a wonderful collection.  The owner Sabine is German, not French, but she had wonderful items from Paris, Brazil and Italy.  She also had a gorgeous jewelry selection from local artists.  Sabine was super friendly, without being pushy, and her shop would not look out of place in any French city. 

Going French with Art in Denver

Yes, this was a bit harder to do, if one insists on defining art narrowly.   

But loving art is something that is universal, n'est pas? 

The Denver Art Museum has a fabulous collection art from the American West.   There is some European art -- even Monet -- but the focus is on art from the western United States.  

But there is French espirt here, too. 

Enjoying all kinds of art is something that we should learn from those French Impressionists who were determined to break the mold that was set for them at the time.  

We spent four hours at the museum and had a wonderful time. 

if you like food with a Mediterranean flair, try Rioja -- same chef as Bistro Vendome. 

And if Russian food and vodka is your fancy, Red Square Bistro has both.  Try both the beet and the fig vodka.  Yummy and fun.

So.. if you get the chance,  give it a try -- Go French in Denver!

We are headed to London next week, so I will be reporting on how to Go French in England next. 

Stay tuned.