Jack and Grill (Off Federal I think, been a while, very good southwest style food)
Pete’s Kitchen (Colfax and Race BTW they have one of the best breakfast burritos, at least they used to, just a great long standing Denver greasy spoon)
City Grille (Colfax and Logan, American fare was voted best burger in Denver for like 10 years also have fantastic green chile)
Casa Villarta (Parker and Quincy, good homestyle Mexican food)
Potage (11th and Ogden, small chef ran resturant with a seasonal menu)
Beau Jo’s Pizza (all over Colorado, specialize in ridiculously huge and filled pies)

Anyway, Denver is great. Like I said earlier in the thread, very naturey. People here are fit and attractive. For my interests: Good nightlife. Good punk scene. Good burlesque scene. Decent used and foreign video game market. Good ethnic food. Great vegan food. Lots of animal lovers.

For general interests: Great beer. Very good music scene (some very popular acts at the Red Rocks Ampitheater). Good comedy clubs. No Blue Law. Not so terrible traffic jams (there are backups, of course, but nothing compared to the Beltway, Boston, or NYC). Great bike trails and bike-friendly roads. Dry climate means more pleasant summers and more mild winters; humidity really is the worst of both worlds. Thin atmosphere means 20 degree days in the winter are light jacket weather; as long as the sun is shining, it’s warm. (Unfortunately, it also means much higher required sunscreen use, which is not a big deal.) I’ve really only lived around Knoxville and DC, and Denver wins on almost every front compared to those. (DC has better ethnic food, especially ethiopian and chinese.) It would never cross my mind to go back to the east coast.

Thanks for your input guys. Just doing some research, so I appreciate off the cuff opinions that go beyond what the travel guides and chamber of commerce website says.

CHB- Thanks for mentioning cost of living, as I was not aware that Denver was especially pricy. Central IL is apparently better than most regions in that regard, but we have other reasons for looking around.

I grew up in the Chicago burbs, went to school in rural Indiana, and have lived in the Bay Area, SoCal, and Atlanta. If I were to leave California, it’d be to move to Denver.

Granted, all I’ve done there is visit, but it’s just a town that seems to have the right “vibe” for my personality.

I’m not a video game guy, but one of my coworkers is into vintage pinball machines, and on a recent trip out there we went to the Falling Rock first, then right next door to a bar called “1 Up”, loaded with old-school video games and pinball. They even have a decent beer selection too.

Its probably the most expensive non-oceanfront place to live in the country outside of Chicago though. That can obviously be an issue. I hope to see more and more high rise developments pop up in and around denver soon.

If you like beer, mexican food/green chile, and anything to do w/the outdoors except open ocean this is the place for you. Ppl are active and out going and yet there is still plenty of room and wilderness to escape to.

For a more rustic dinner choice go to the Buckhorn http://buckhorn.com

If sushi is your thing then you need to head to Sushi Den. http://sushiden.net

For something more unique try the Vesta Dipping Grill http://vestagrill.com

Second the Morrison Inn for margaritas, they have pretty good Mexican food too. But if you want great Mexican, go to Jose O’shea’s at 6th and Union in Lakewood. Don’t bother with Casa Bonita, if you’ve seen the South Park episode you’ve pretty much seen all the interesting parts. Snooze in Downtown or on Colorado or Toast in Littleton are great breakfast places.

If you want an asset forfeiture story, drive around Aurora at night with out of state plates.

I would also skip Casa Bonita, they serve food on cafeteria trays and use the same cheese you get on your nachos at a sporting event. However, if you have kids or want to check out a Denver staple, it’s a good time. Don’t expect good service or good ‘acting’ by the cliff divers (who appear to be barely out of high school) and associated shows. It’s more for the kids, but they do have good drinks.

The Fort is also a great place to go after hiking around Red Rocks. If you’re on the west side and want a good margarita, the Morrison Inn can’t be beat.

There isn’t anyone worth seeing at the Comedy Works.

Don’t drink and drive though, Colorado should change it’s motto to ‘Come on vacation, leave on probation’.

I also like the Coors Brewery tour better than their actual beer, if you happen to be near Golden. Technologicially interesting. If you do head that way, Ali Baba’s grill offers great Middle Eastern food. It’s run by a Syrian family. True to Tyler Cowen’s hypothesis, it is in a strip mall, even if it is a really nice strip mall.

Helmut, Denver is great. A nice mix of different politics so it’s not too heavy one way or the other. Lots of people from different places so it’s easy to make new friends. Fantastic local breweries. 300+ days of sun per year. (Surprisingly) mild winters, definitely some big snowstorms – but the sun comes out later in the day and it’s gone soon. A million great outdoor activities. Everything but an ocean, as they say. I’m from the East Coast originally, for reference.

Radley, Not sure where you’re staying but I’m guessing a tour of Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey might be in order.

My favorite is Abyssinia, at 4116 East Colfax.

Eapen – by all that is holy, secular, and non-sequitor – for the love of the universe do NOT go to casa bonita. Truly a travishamockery of food. It has literally zero redeeming features. Denver and the surrounding areas are not NYC/NoCal in food but we are good and rapidly improving. Do not sully your impression of our fair city by going to that refuge of depravity. Just. Dont.

Btw, if you like single malts hit up the Pints Pub near the Denver Art Museum. They also have cask conditioned ales generally on hand, too.