Business Update for Platt Park and Washington Park
Great to have summer back in full swing and it seems the life and energy of our little neighborhood is back to full strength after the Covid years (remember Covid?). Hopefully by the time you read this we’ve made it through the spring rainy season without any garden pulverizing hail storms and window-well filling downpours of biblical proportions. Fingers crossed—it is after all still Colorado!
South Pearl Farmers Market back
Nowhere is the summer more visibly in full swing than the weekly Farmers Market. We wandered up the first Sunday just to check out this year’s offerings hoping to get ahead of any crowds by hitting it a bit before opening time. Wow, totally a-buzz by 9:00 am. Well, it was nonetheless great to see all of you and it appeared you invited a thousand of your best friends.
This year’s version extends for two full blocks, from Iowa to Arkansas and every space is filled with vendors. Fun but almost a little overwhelming as my brain couldn’t quite process all the choices of salsa let alone decide who I should hit up for a breakfast snack. Fortunately, we have a glorious summer to sample all the options. Good thing.
Have a new favorite yet? Too early to say for sure but mine might be La Montagne Des Saveurs which translates to The Mountain of Flavors aka., the French cheese stand. OMG, they have good stuff. Dropped $60 bucks there before I could swallow the samples. Black Truffle Gouda—need I say more? I’m still addicted to the smoked salmon guy’s stuff—maybe it’s just the aroma but gets me every time. Glad he’s back. Shout out to Platt Parks own master of cookie baking as Marsha of Marsha’s Cookies was back for another year!
As we headed out there was line a block long trailing down Iowa. Pretty sure the front of the line was queuing up to buy bread and the other 200 people thought it was a line to get into the market. Note to future self you don’t have to wait in line to get in. Social distancing is delightfully a relic of the past.
Ototo Den, third installment of the Den empire returns
By now you’ve probably noticed the “Grand Opening” banner over Ototo Den at 1501 S Pearl. If you’re like me you are thinking, didn’t there used to be Ototo Den here and so shouldn’t it be “Grand Re-Opening” but perhaps I’m bogging down in the semantics. Either way it is good to see one of the last remaining Covid casualties open once again. To re-open Toshi Kizake, owner along with his brother Yasu of the Den empire, traveled to Japan to hand-select Japanese chefs to run the kitchen of Ototo Den illustrating the brother’s commitment to authenticity.
So, what exactly is the difference between Ototo Den and the other Dens? Is this just baby-den or something (Ototo does mean “little brother” in Japanese)? There is some menu overlap as there are in the other Dens but you won’t find a sushi menu or elaborate catch of the day items. The heart of the menu centers around tapas sized offerings of various delicacies like pan-fried mochi wrapped in crispy bacon; Tako Yaki, or fried wheat balls stuffed with octopus; and Buta Kimchi, a Canadian Mugi-Buta pork wok-seared with spicy Korean kimchi. If none of that makes any culinary sense then just roll on over between 4:30 and 10 pm any day but Monday and Tuesday. You won’t be disappointed. Welcome back little brother!
New Cafe arrives on South Broadway
The owners of La Chiva Columbian Restaurant at 1446 S Broadway have opened a fun new café across the street in their old location called LaTinto Café located at 1417 S Broadway. I dropped in the other day inadvertently right at their closing time, 2:00 pm, but no matter, the super warm staff was more than happy to extend closing for a little bit just to entertain me. Thanks! The heart of everything here is in the Colombian roots of the ownership and staff. All the coffee served comes directly from specialty independent farms in Columbia who harvest in small batches which are then roasted locally. The coffee was excellent I might add.
The café serves all sort of breakfast offerings as well as a fun array of pastries and breads. The staff told me that all the recipes come from their grandmothers as they relayed stories of visiting grandma and always being filled with delectable delights. I tried the Patel Gloria which was a puff pastry filed with wonderful sweet and savory blend of guava and caramel—was it desert or breakfast food? Who knows but delicious! Can’t wait to go back for a full breakfast. Broadway continues to become more and more a little international food court and LaTinto is a great new addition.
Nostalgic for hi end hifi, then this is your store
Couldn’t resist after visiting LaTinto to cross the street and pop my head into a new store that has caught my eye ever since its opening a few months ago, Aural Hifi located at 1438 S Broadway. Back when I was in college owning a stereo system was sort of a status symbol and I’m not talking something you can bring home for a few bucks from Best Buy. I’m talking huge speakers that looked themselves like pieces of art work, amplifiers that glowed when turned on, turntables that were technological marvels of precision—yes that kind of stereo. When I stepped into Aural, I instantly felt a connection to that slice of nostalgia.
Owner Jeremy Irwin gave me a tour of his passion project which displays both exquisitely restored equipment as well as new very high-end audiophile gear. Their website accurately says, “We’re on a mission to rescue restore and sometimes add our design touches to midcentury audio gear. Gear that was made in a time when quality of sound, materials and design were all equally important… when your stereo was an experience—designed as functional art to be displayed proudly, not hidden away in a cabinet”
If you want a taste of a stereo experience that will blow the roof off your best earbuds then drop in and take a tour but be warned you might find yourself saving up for a pair of JBL studio monitor speakers paired with a Macintosh power amp with which you will rattle the windows and scare the squirrels at your next summer block party!
Enjoy summer in all its glory. See you around the neighborhood!
Tom Snyder