Happy Monday, friends! This past weekend I was hosted by The Source Hotel + Market Hall, where I got to stay in a King suite (and soak in the glorious tub), shop at Market Hall, eat at their different restaurants and attend Bacchanal, a New Orleans-style wine, food and music festival that was held in the parking lot of The Source. Besides the fact that having a full weekend in a hotel all by myself was glorious (love you Chris & kids!), it was also a great opportunity to see all the ways that this particular Denver neighborhood — called RiNo — is really developing.
To start, the modern-style King suites came stocked with a living area, shower and glorious tub (just look at that glorious tub!) and my corner room had some pretty cool views of the Denver skyline and the mountains in the distance.
After checking in on Friday, I headed down to the second floor to check out the stores that are part of Market Hall. There was an artists’ installation, a flower shop, the Israeli-focused restaurant Safta, barbecue restaurant Smok, New Belgium Brewing’s inaugural Denver brewery and some pop-up bespoke stalls.
Dinner and drinks on Friday were at The Woods, the rooftop restaurant of the hotel. The views were gorgeous, the drinks tasty and the sweet soy cauliflower appetizers were a must-try.
^^ Morning Denver views from my room.
^^ Breakfast on Saturday morning was a pastry from the Reunion Bread Company, juice from Isabel and a latte from Caffe Figurati.
The hotel is also a block away from Zeppelin Station, which features a rotating retail space called Made in a City. “Made in Mexico City” was the current experience for the weekend I was there, and there were shops and restaurants that featured Mexico City-based experiences. I had a beet veggie salad and a ceviche tostada from Campobaja, which were both really delightful.
After Zeppelin Station, I met up with a colleague at Safta to grab some food before heading over to the Bacchanal event. Safta specializes in Israeli cuisine, and their mushroom hummus was without a doubt some of the best hummus I’ve ever had (sorry Hummus Place in NYC — you’ve got competition!)
After our quick bite it was off to Bacchanal! Here’s where I admit something silly — I’ve actually been to the real-life Bacchanal in New Orleans (blogged about here), but didn’t remember until about halfway through the event Saturday night. Once I did remember, though, the whole event snapped into focus for me. Bacchanal in New Orleans is basically one big outdoor house party — it’s a very laid-back scene with amazing food plates and buckets of wine that you stand in line to order. There are colorful string lights, picnic tables in the yard and fantastic, live music. So that was what the Bacchanal team was attempting to recreate in the parking lot of The Source on Saturday and Sunday, and they did a pretty great job. They even managed to bring over two of the original Bacchanal bands from New Orleans to perform, too.
The team has actually been bringing this event around the country for a while now — they’ve been in LA twice and in Chicago, and a few others, as well — and I think it’s such a great idea. For people who have never been to New Orleans, getting a chance to partake in some of the culture is a great way to entice them to take a trip, and for people who have been, it’s a lovely reminder of what makes New Orleans so special.
On Sunday we all got to test out the new brunch menu at Safta before heading out. Here’s where I tell you that, if you enjoy eating Israeli-based foods as much as I do (I have never met a hummus flavor I didn’t love), then this brunch is for you. I mean there is so much more than hummus (just look at those pictures!), and they even bring in Rosenberg’s bagels which, I just learned on this trip, adjusts the pH level of the water they use to create the bagels so that they closely match what you’ll find in NYC.
Ah-mazing.
Safta, we learned, means grandmother in Hebrew, and so the restaurant is meant to evoke homestyle feelings of being back at your grandmother’s house eating a big ole’ Sunday meal. Quaint and cozy with a dash of elegance … and all the tasty treats you could possibly ask for.
And that was my weekend in a nutshell, friends. I really enjoyed my relaxing time at The Source Hotel, and I’m so glad I was able to attend the Bacchanal celebration and find a new amazing eatery, too. It was an area I will definitely be heading back to.
Bis bald!