More food and a hike.

Oh what's that? You want to know more about the wonderful food we're having up here? Oh ok.......

First up we have The Yard House which is located along the infamous 16th Street Mall. We went on a Friday night while "Make Music Denver" was going on so it was decently crowded, but we managed to beat the rush by getting there around 5. That way we were also able enjoy happy hour which is 3-6 M-F!
Alright here are the goods ....

My drink: The Hawaiian Mule (pineapple infused vodka, ginger beer & mint) I love moscow mules and pineapple so this was a wonderful treat for me. But unfortunately it gave me acid reflux because apparently that's a thing for me now......

Whatever. It was still really delicious.

Then we had some spinach cheese dip with pita chips as an appetizer .... really yummy, but really rich! I would have liked it better with tortilla chips. Pita chips are just too much sometimes.

And then we shared a margherita pizza (also on happy hour), which was SO GOOD. Tomatoes, garlic, & basil. Yum, yum, & yum. And not to mention beautiful.

Next up is Doghouse Tavern. This place is really close to our apartment and kinda tucked away. It has a really fun vibe and really good food.

J got the Philly Cheesestake and loved it.

I got a GIANT HOT DOG.

It was great and I was able to take half it home. We both got the homemade potato chips which are hit or miss at some restaurants, but here they were a hit!

We made it to happy hour here as well, but coors and coors light drafts are always $2 so that makes every hour happy hour, right?

And finally .... this has nothing to do with food but .... we went on our first hike! The hike led us to Maxwell Falls. It was 2 miles there and 2 miles back. It was a "moderate" level hike, but a lot of it was uphill, so for me if was reasonably difficult.

Here are some photos! It was so beautiful and the weather was great.

^^ At this point I was wishing this was the falls. It wasn't, but this was my favorite spot on the hike!

^^ The falls! We're actually at the top of it. We weren't sure how to be at the bottom of it, so this is the only picture we have of Maxwell Falls, ha. We ate lunch up here though, and that was pretty cool. 

^^ what?

I'm hoping to make hiking a regular activity for us. It's a fun way to get exercise because you kinda forget that you're getting exercise.

Anyways, that's all for now. I hope ya'll never get tired of posts about food because I can't guarantee they'll stop. I should probably do a craft or something, huh? We'll see.......

Thanks for reading!
Bye friends.

Cafe 180

On a simple Tuesday afternoon, Jonathan recommended we venture down Broadway street to find a place for lunch. He had driven through there while I was and Texas and noticed it's appeal. I love any chance to get out of the apartment so I was down.

We drove for awhile and noticed quite a few places that looked good, but decided on Cafe 180 (generally you put cafe in a restaurant title and I'm like "YUP"). 

Anyways ...

Obvi, I looked it up on yelp first. 

I came across quite a few comments that mentioned "donations" and "non-profit" .... so I assumed we were going to a place with some pretty awesome values. I was into it. 

When we arrived and ordered, the sweet lady behind the counter asked if we had been there before, we said no and she started explaining that they were a non-profit, I mentioned that we had read up on it a bit and she then asked us how much we would like to pay........ I looked at J, with confusion and told the lady that we would like to pay for our meals and then one more (this was an option I had seen on the website).  She then again asked how much we wanted to pay.... and this went on until we determined that we would pay seven dollars/meal and therefore $21. The lady seemed so appreciative and we were glad to give to a good cause, but I was still confused as to what had just happened. 

After a minute of looking around and reading some signs, we realized that Cafe 180 serves anyone and everyone, regardless of whether or not they can pay for their meal. The options for paying are (1) however much you would normally pay or can pay, (2) pay nothing and work one hour in their kitchen, or to (3) pay however much you want and then a little more to "pay-it-forward." 

YOU GUYS...this place opens their doors to absolutely anyone, they will not turn you away if you cannot afford a meal. And they even give people the option to work for their meal if they feel so compelled. This place is doing their part to help the homeless/unemployed/low income people of Denver, and I was so humbled by the expereince. 

You can tell that there are regulars there, those who they expect to see at least once a day, and the people at Cafe 180 welcome them with open arms. 

And everyone eats together! Whether you're taking a lunch break from your 9-5 well paying office job or if you just walked 10 miles from a park downtown to get what may be your only meal for the day ... you will all eat together, and that is a beautiful beautiful thing. 

Oh, the food? Yeah it was great. I had the southwestern chicken wrap and J had the meatball sandwhich. Both were delicious, and there are other options I can't wait to try. Not to mention we were able to sit on the patio and enjoy the gorgeous Colorado weather (one of my new favorite things to do!).

Places like this leave me inspired and longing to do my part. To acknowledge that not everyone has it as good as I do, which means I have a social responsibility to help when I can. 

What are some other unique and truly inspiring non-profits that you have heard about? There are so many interesting ideas are out there. I love seeing people use their talents to help people! 

I pray that this post did this place justice. It is just so wonderful and I get lost in my words when I feel passionate about things. 

Well, thanks for reading!

Bye friends. 

p.s. Visit Cafe 180's website!