The Final Justice League of Street Food Party

 Oh, the fun we've had!

Photo courtesy of The Steamin Demon

So sad to see the Justice League go! They were really the front runner of massive truck gatherings in Denver's food truck revolution! It all began about 4 years ago when a group of food trucks and carts decided to ban together and throw down some of the hottest summer parties we've seen in a while. The combination of happy people, a boomin system bumpin out old school hip-hop and the delightful aromas wafting about from a dozen different food sources was enough to wake up my inner foodie and party gal for sure! 

I remember the first one I went to, Gregg ended up having to work so I wandered in on my own. Walking up to the Taxi building was a feeling I'll never forget...as I made my way across the dirt lot, the sounds of delight that were coming from that field had me all a twitter! And when I turned to the point where the speakers now had my FULL attention, my hair blew back with bumpin beauties like Kool keith, Slick Rick and The Ghetto Boys bringing me back to a time I often reminisce about, when parties made you wanna DANCE!!

Anyway, that wasn't all, the people, the kids, the dogs, the food, the energy! Everybody was gettin down! And the lines for the food trucks were crazy! I felt a sense of pride come over me due to the fact that many of my friends who operate these trucks had finally done it in my eyes... success! While many of them had been successful for a good while now, this to me (the consumer, food lover and food truck scene follower) was different! This was it! Acceptance by all, in one glorious unified front! The masses have embraced you and come out in droves to support your movement! Ah....the love!

So I grabbed myself a sangria and headed out to congratulate my fellow foodies and live it up. While it's not always fun to go out and party by yourself, I was fine...had a blast!

So you can imagine my despair when I heard that the JLSF was goin outta bidness, for lack of a better term. They feel that it's time to go out on a high note rather just fade away into insignificance. I do have to admit that the last JLSF party I went to prior to this one was a bit lackluster. It was held in a blazing hot old parking lot off of West Colfax with no shade, or charm, in site. The vibe was definitely off, and felt more like a flea market than a Crooklyn summer jam. So, I suppose I agree with their decision...it's time to get out n leave em smilin'! And they most certainly did!

The final party was held on August 3, 2013 in the fabulous Taxi spot, which I think is the best location for a party of it's kind. It was off the hook! Especially for the weather, it was pretty cloudy and as we rolled up, the dark clouds did too! But no matter, the people were in it to win it. There was no stopping the momentum of this event. Everyone knew it was their last chance to soak up a food truck gathering of this kind for a while and they weren't gonna let some ominous lookin clouds bring em down. The old school jams were back and the place was hoppin, kids dancing everywhere, a volleyball court and an upper deck where you could get up close to the DJ action. Which was nice because some of them have been so loud that it's hard to concentrate on the party, if that makes any sense at all. But this one turned out perfectly, as long as the weather held out...which it did just long enough to get our bellies and hearts full.

It was nice to see my good friends Sean and Denon Moore of The Denver Cupcake Truck out in full effect. They've added a 4th truck to their entourage and had all 3 sides of their mobile biz on the scene...cupcakes, pies and their sparkly new pastry truck. These guys are my favorite, such amazing, happy people and I give them credit for getting me all submersed in awesome food truck culture. Their home base is Cake Crumbs Bakery in Park Hill and they made the cakes for our wedding. Almost every single person we run into who was there talks about those cakes, they were soooo good! I've NEVER had a cake so moist and fresh!! Ever!

And just look at what a gorgeous job they did with my cake table!! People were totally blown away...mission accomplished!

Aaanyway, I love them! We've become very good friends and you should definitely support their growing family business! They know what's up!

But my absolute favorite find of the day would have to be Babette's Artisan Bread. Oh my effin gee! And gee's for GENIUS!! These guys have a brick pizza oven built right into the space, so whenever the people of the Taxi building put on parties, they can make their amazing brick oven pizzas!

They're so good and they're the coolest people! You have a few varieties to choose from, I had the Margherita and Gregg the Salumi, they toss your dough right there and add your toppings, then off it goes, right into the oven!

Within about 3 minutes, you have a sizzling hot personal pizza with billowy doughy crust and a slight char around the edge...I'm in love! With them AND their concept! They were so smiley and happy to be there and modest about doing something that's obviously so frickin cool!

They plan to open their bakery in the highly anticipated "The Source" set to open any day now in the old Bud's Warehouse space on Brighton Blvd. Should be pretty awesome, Crooked Stave is set to have a nice new tasting room (LOVE them!) as well as many other exciting vendors. Americanum Provisions, being one of them, which looks to be VERY promising! A unique approach to the fresh market concept with vintage kitchen finds and fresh produce from their 10 mile food shed. Neat!

Unfortunately, the weather didn't hold up much longer and we made a hasty retreat but I heard there were many who toughed it out and soaked it up! 

As I am quite saddened by the ending of an era, I'm still hopeful, because it only means that newer and bigger better events are on the horizon.

And I have a sneaking suspicion....we haven't seen the end of the Justice League of Street Food, or movements of it's kind.

Ciao!

More pictures of the last hoorah can be seen here!

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Manitou Springs...The Perfect Lil Colorado Town

Manitou Springs!!

 I can't believe I've never been to Manitou Springs! But then again, there's a lot of things you take for granted when you live in such a beautiful place. It's easy to say, "Oh, I'll get over there someday" and the next thing you know, it's a decade later. Just go! That's how I'd like to spend every weekend, just hop in the car and explore this gorgeous state, one lil gem at a time. 

I think I see a convertible in my future, or a big-ass truck...or both!

^She'd do just fine!!^

Colorado's really amazing, when you're stuck in the urban grind, it's easy to forget that it's so diverse once you start to branch out. There's so many quaint lil mountain and farming towns and they're all different enough from each other to make each one unique. While that may have been something that didn't promise much excitement to me in the past, it's something I'm now dying to explore. The people, the food, their lifestyle...it's all worth checkin out!

So, Manitou Springs is just west of Colorado Springs by about 15 minutes and about an 1 1/2 hours from Denver. A lovely early morning drive!

The reason for our visit this morning was so the "machine", Oops, I mean Gregg ;) could do the famous Manitou Incline, "The longest and highest incline in the world". This thing's NUTS! It quite literally goes straight up the mountain!

See that line going straight up the mountain? That's the incline. And he marched right up there...on purpose!!

I've seen it in pictures but once I saw it in person, my jaw dropped to the floor. The incline gains over 2000 feet in under a mile and is as steep as 68% in some parts...yeah, I'll wait at the bottom. Actually, after seeing people flood past me of varying shapes, sizes and conditions, I felt like kind of a wussy. Of course, there's "The Bail-out Route" about half way up, so I'd like to think all of those people got off there. ;)

I wasn't prepared to make the hike this time, but I went along to check out the town and find some cute lil coffee house to blog my lil heart out, but next time I think I'll give it a try. There's room for 2 machines in this family, right? Right.

So as Gregg heads up the trail, I set out to explore the perfect lil mountain town. This town is cute as a button! TOTAL Americana at it's finest.

Complete with the sweetest little toddler arcade tucked right in the center of this packed little town.

There's a tiny nook just off main street, right behind Patsy's, and if you didn't know it was there, you'd totally miss it. They have a collection of vintage penny ponies, rockets and race cars, the likes of which I've never seen. They're all lined up in 2 long rows where lil tikes can just race side-by-side til they're all tuckered out...or mom n dad run out of pennies. It's kinda weird but really cool, like all the old grocery store rides go there when they retire. Love it!

I make my way past the arcade to Marika's Coffeehouse, a nice, quiet lil coffee house perfect for getting some reading and writing done. It's a cozy space with lots of little nooks and crannies where you can choose your seat according to just how social you're feeling that day. Sit in the front room where you can watch the hikers making their way up to the trailhead, at a dark romantic table in the corner or tuck yourself in, way in the back, on some super comfy couches...I settled right in.

So, I put my feet up, pulled out my "Flavor Bible" and enjoyed an extra large Bhakti Chai (best chai in the world btw) and a homemade 7-layer bar...yum!

After reluctantly leaving my spot on the couch, I set out to explore the town. When I first slipped into the coffeehouse, the town was still asleep, but once I resurfaced it was all a bustle! People EVERYWHERE! You wouldn't believe the droves of hikers that set out to do the incline every weekend, it's crazy! But I'm sure a huge economy boost for what may otherwise be a sleepy little town.
As I made my way thru the meandering streets, steep hills and sharp curves, I found myself PLENTY of things to do. One of my favorites of course...antique shopping!

TEEKS!!

They have tons of great lil shops! And as you make your way up the street, you'll stumble upon yard sales and estate sales, which I have a feeling are an ongoing thing. Why not set up shop right in for front yard when you have a constant barrage of shoppers walking by every single weekend? Sounds good to me! And just imagine all the interesting people you'd meet...awesome! And while I never really tire of digging thru antiques or vintage dresses, you gotta mix it up! And there's plenty to keep you busy. How bout a new cowboy hat? Some gorgeous turquoise jewelry? 

Or how bout an awesome new welcome mat?? Isn't it adorable? And it fit in perfect with my new summer-time porch decor!

There's really no end to the cute factor in this town. When Gregg returned from his trek, we headed over to this charming lil joint,  Adam's Mountain Cafe for lunch.

A sweet lil spot right on the creek that's clearly a big hit with tourists and locals alike. As we waited in line to be seated, I met a gorgeous older woman who goes to Adam's as often as possible and always when guests come to town. I knew we were in the right place! She recommended the Orange Almond French Toast and said it was "beyond outstanding" but unfortunately, we'd just missed breakfast. Guess we'll just have to come back earlier next time! :)

What we did order was fantastic. I had the Cashew Chicken Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing and Gregg had the Moroccan Fish Tacos which lasted approximately 15 seconds on his plate, didn't stand a chance.

Each taco had a huge piece of grilled white fish with a honey-miso slaw and harissa cream sauce. I was lucky to get a picture before they were gone! 

The deliciously fresh Chicken Cashew Salad

After lunch, we wandered around this charming little metropolis and found all kinds of great things. There's no way to do it all in a day! There are so many boutiques, general stores, restaurants, bakeries, pubs, campgrounds, train rides, museums....we'll just have to come back! 

And when we do, I'd LOVE it if we were lucky enough to stay at The Cliff House at Pikes Peak! Wow! What an incredible looking hotel, so rich in history being older than Colorado itself, established in 1873! SO many interesting people have stayed there, Teddy Roosevelt, Prince Ferdinand of Austria, Henry Ford, Charles Dickens Jr., P.T. Barnum, Edison, Clark Gable....and hopefully someday, US!! Can't wait to return....I'm currently in training to tackle that incline!

Cuter than cute Manitou Springs, see ya soon!

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Roasted Beet, Orange & Arugula Salad

Thursday August 1, 2013      

Roasted Beet, Orange, Peach & Arugula Salad!!

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Ok, last night's dinner started off, as it often does, with no specific plan in mind and trying to use up the fresh produce I have on hand.  Just thought I'd whip up an ordinary little salad and ended up with this lil dreamboat here, that was so amazing...I couldn't stop patting myself on the back. :)

-Start by roasting your beets at 450 for 25-30 minutes until you can easily slide a fork into em.

Make a foil packet and lay your beets inside. I chop em up so they cook faster and don't bother to peel them either. Drizzle w/ olive oil and balsamic then coat in S&P. I cut a few sprigs of rosemary and thyme from my garden and threw them in there too! Yum!
While those are roasting, get your dressing together and the rest of your salad prepped.

Get your trusty salad bowl out and grate the zest of 1 orange

I start every salad in my big teak bowl. I treat it like a wok and never wash it with soap. I just rinse and rub dry with a paper towel, that way it absorbs all the wonderful flavors you've used in it before. Mine smells like a lovely concoction of ginger, lemon, thyme and rosemary!

Nectar of the gods

-Next, add some olive oil and my current obsession, peach balsamic!
Oh Em GEEE! It's so good! I got this variety when we went to Austin last March at this cute lil fresh market and I should've bought 10 bottles! I could seriously drink it from a glass!
It's super light and fresh and tastes like you just bit into a peach!

-Add S&P and a lil thyme and whisk it up good.

-Now cut up your fruit and add to the bowl. Peel the orange you zested then cut into slices and those into quarters. Dice some peaches or nectarines and toss those in!

 -When your beets are done, pull them out and open the foil and let them cool slightly before you deal with them.

-Add your arugula

 -Then toss in your beets and mix it all up!

 This salad would be great with a grilled chicken breast sliced on top or with a nice piece of fish. I might throw in some fresh mint next time too!

Roasted Beet, Orange, Peach & Arugula  Salad!! 

by Neicy Wagner Geis

 Serves 2

1 Orange, zested then sliced and quartered
1 Peach or Nectarine, diced
5 or 6 Beets, roasted
2 or 3 big handfuls of arugula ;)
Olive Oil
Peach Balsamic
Fresh Rosemary and Thyme
S&P

 Super easy, super fast and super good!! 

This salad would only take a few minutes to throw together if you roasted the beets ahead of time.

And for tonight's adventure, I'm meeting my awesome rockstar friend Heather Dalton at Root Down for happy hour. So depending on how many hours and how happy we get, I should have a new review posted soon ;)

Enjoy your Thursday, my hungry friends!!

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