GREEK COMFORT FOOD
Metro Kitchen + Bar
12 E. 11th Ave., Denver
303-832-4944
John Montzouris’ new diner-style eatery and bar is a bit pricier than Fat Daddy’s, the restaurant that previously occupied the space, but the menu is stronger and the decor sassier. Greek favorites sit side-by-side with comfort food (fried eggs and gyro meat for your burger?) and great beer specials. Stop by for lunch or dinner, or hit it late – open until 4 a.m. on the weekends – to mingle with partyers from nearby clubs like Vinyl and The Church.
HOT EATS
Andy’s Smokehouse BBQ
222 W. Seventh St., Walsenburg
Sure, the folks in Walsenburg know Andy’s BBQ. It’s right there on the main drag in the Safeway parking lot. But tourists will be surprised to learn the little trailer-that-could serves up an amazing variety of meaty goods, including smoked Cornish game hens and smoked tamales. It’s open seven days a week, until 4 p.m. or so depending on the traffic, and worth a quick detour.
COOL TREAT
Linhart Ice Lion
Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, Beaver Creek Village
The guy who dreamed up huge, functional string instruments carved from ice in 1997 this year celebrates the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek’s 25th anniversary with a huge, intricate ice lion coaxed from what would otherwise be considered a big pile of slush. Tim Linhart, Beaver Creek’s ice sculptor in residence for 15 years, retires for the season on Feb. 14, so get up there before the sun melts away the lion’s glittery glory. It’s so cool.
