What we’re about
Let’s explore all of the great restaurants, bars, and breweries that Denver, Boulder, Aspen, Vail, and beyond have available to indulge in throughout the year! This group is open to anyone that wants to try new places to feast and imbibe while meeting new people who share in the excitement of discovering wonderful new places!
Events will be kept to a manageable size. Please keep your RSVPs current so we know who to expect and to allow others to join if you’re not able to.
Rules:
1. This is a fun, positive, and safe place for people to gather and share phenomenally delicious meals at the best restaurants in Denver, Boulder, Vail, Aspen, and beyond! Anyone that says or does anything counterproductive to this mission will be removed from the group! If you are a toxic, negative person stay away, this is not the group for you. Only positive and fun people are allowed to stay in this group!
2. All events will have a 24-hour cancellation rule. No shows will be removed from the group. 2 late cancellations and you will be removed from the group. Many of these events require a credit card to hold the reservation so please be courteous and update your reservation if you cannot come (whether you are a 'yes' or 'waitlisted'). Exceptions will be made if you are unwell and communicate this with us prior to the event - as long as you don't make it a habit.
3. Please don't sign up for every event and just assume you can cancel 24 hours before and that is ok. This is not ok and prevents people who want to engage from being able to sign up at all! I know events fill up fast, but please only sign up if you are seriously going to go.
4. We reserve the right to remove anyone from the group at our discretion. You don't own any real estate in the group. You can be waitlisted or moved to going at the discretion of the lead organizer who does his best to allow new members to attend events. This keeps the attendance fresh, fun and exciting in order to prevent the same members joining every event.
5. By signing up as a member of this group and/or attending any events, you and your guests fully assume all risks associated with such participation, including travel to and from the event. You agree to be responsible for your own safety and realize that some events may be more physically challenging than others. You and your successors agree to hold all Organizers and other members harmless in the event of any accident, injury or death.
6. Have Fun. Be Safe. Make Friends. Find A Partner. Date Someone Special! Enjoy All Events With A Positive Mindset While Being Adventurous. Share Food With New Friends!
Chilean food is driven by local identity, tradition and a wealth of native ingredients that are found along its striking 4,630km length. Characterized by the rugged Pacific coast and dizzying heights of the Andes mountains stretching almost the entire enviable length of the country, Chile’s topography extends over 29° of latitude ranging between the tropics, arid deserts, salt flats, fertile hillsides and valleys, deep forests, jagged glaciers and fjords, snowcapped mountains and volcanoes. Although all ingredients are local, Chile’s key gastronomical and viticultural asset is its diversity.
The coast is one long fish counter for Chileans: established favourites like oysters, small sweet scallops with melt-in-your-mouth corals, fleshy salmon, pink and succulent clams, Patagonian King Crab and enormous Pacific sea bass are accompanied by a plethora of weird and wonderful native sea dwellers, such as the Humboldt Squid (reaching a monster-sized 2m), Erizo de Mar (‘sea hedgehogs’ aka sea urchins), Cholgas (a gargantuan relative of the mussel), Picoroco (ginormous and irrefutably ugly barnacle) and so much seaweed that you wonder if biofuel will be Chile’s next cash cow. Most Chilean seafood and fish is prepared simply, often eaten raw, with just a dash of lemon, Pebre (Chilean condiment of coriander, onion, chilli, garlic and olive oil) or a pinch of their delicious Fleur de Sel. The Spanish influence is seen in rich fisherman’s stews and other fusion influences appear in dishes like ceviche, sushi, clams ‘al parmesano’, shellfish pasta and risotto, seafood pastry pies and even battered fish sandwiches.
It almost goes without saying that the perfect pairing for most Chilean seafood are crisp, aromatic and fresh coastal wines. Pioneered by winemakers like Pablo Morande in the 80s, the main coastal wine regions of Casablanca, San Antonio and Leyda benefit from brisk sea breezes and protective, low coastal mountains creating a buffer from extreme cold and a cavity to bathe the vines in cool morning mist before the afternoon sun emerges. The varied coastal wine regions, which extend to the borders of the Atacama desert region, produce wonderful seafood pairings: the herbal aromatics and citrus fruit of crisp Sauvignon Blanc from Leyda; the tropical, voluminous and richly mineral Chardonnay from Limari; or the earthy and fruity cool climate Pinot Noir of Casablanca Valley. Intensely aromatic whites – Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Viognier – have seen a rebirth since the exploration into cooler climates in Chile. Their acidity, off-dry nature and sublime fragrance make them fun pairings for the influx of Asian cuisine using local seafood.
Moving in from the coastal mountain range the country morphs into warm flat plains, breeze brushed foothills and the rugged start to the Andes. Naturally the cuisine shifts focus onto land dwellers and Campesino (rural) cooking dominates. The simple Huaso Asado (Chilean cowboy’s BBQ) with grilled meats like pork, beef and lamb are an ideal partner to the bigger reds from the Central valleys. The Asado tradition of hours spent around the fire warrants an equally time-absorbing wine.
Syrah is Chile’s new champion and the deep black fruit, rosemary, smoky and pepper notes, juicy tannins and bright acidity of Syrah from Apalta in Colchagua is ideal for slow-cooked Patagonian lamb. “Apalta is mostly colluvial with granite and some clay – it’s a great terroir for Syrah for its soil and water,” says winemaker Andrea Leon who makes terroir selection Syrahs with Lapostolle winery.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- CHILEAN WINE AND SEAFOOD ADVENTURE (#1 FOODIE GROUP)Ocean Pacific's Buque Insignia, Santiago Province
Chilean food is driven by local identity, tradition and a wealth of native ingredients that are found along its striking 4,630km length. Characterized by the rugged Pacific coast and dizzying heights of the Andes mountains stretching almost the entire enviable length of the country, Chile’s topography extends over 29° of latitude ranging between the tropics, arid deserts, salt flats, fertile hillsides and valleys, deep forests, jagged glaciers and fjords, snowcapped mountains and volcanoes. Although all ingredients are local, Chile’s key gastronomical and viticultural asset is its diversity.
The coast is one long fish counter for Chileans: established favourites like oysters, small sweet scallops with melt-in-your-mouth corals, fleshy salmon, pink and succulent clams, Patagonian King Crab and enormous Pacific sea bass are accompanied by a plethora of weird and wonderful native sea dwellers, such as the Humboldt Squid (reaching a monster-sized 2m), Erizo de Mar (‘sea hedgehogs’ aka sea urchins), Cholgas (a gargantuan relative of the mussel), Picoroco (ginormous and irrefutably ugly barnacle) and so much seaweed that you wonder if biofuel will be Chile’s next cash cow. Most Chilean seafood and fish is prepared simply, often eaten raw, with just a dash of lemon, Pebre (Chilean condiment of coriander, onion, chilli, garlic and olive oil) or a pinch of their delicious Fleur de Sel. The Spanish influence is seen in rich fisherman’s stews and other fusion influences appear in dishes like ceviche, sushi, clams ‘al parmesano’, shellfish pasta and risotto, seafood pastry pies and even battered fish sandwiches.
It almost goes without saying that the perfect pairing for most Chilean seafood are crisp, aromatic and fresh coastal wines. Pioneered by winemakers like Pablo Morande in the 80s, the main coastal wine regions of Casablanca, San Antonio and Leyda benefit from brisk sea breezes and protective, low coastal mountains creating a buffer from extreme cold and a cavity to bathe the vines in cool morning mist before the afternoon sun emerges. The varied coastal wine regions, which extend to the borders of the Atacama desert region, produce wonderful seafood pairings: the herbal aromatics and citrus fruit of crisp Sauvignon Blanc from Leyda; the tropical, voluminous and richly mineral Chardonnay from Limari; or the earthy and fruity cool climate Pinot Noir of Casablanca Valley. Intensely aromatic whites – Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Viognier – have seen a rebirth since the exploration into cooler climates in Chile. Their acidity, off-dry nature and sublime fragrance make them fun pairings for the influx of Asian cuisine using local seafood.
Moving in from the coastal mountain range the country morphs into warm flat plains, breeze brushed foothills and the rugged start to the Andes. Naturally the cuisine shifts focus onto land dwellers and Campesino (rural) cooking dominates. The simple Huaso Asado (Chilean cowboy’s BBQ) with grilled meats like pork, beef and lamb are an ideal partner to the bigger reds from the Central valleys. The Asado tradition of hours spent around the fire warrants an equally time-absorbing wine.
Syrah is Chile’s new champion and the deep black fruit, rosemary, smoky and pepper notes, juicy tannins and bright acidity of Syrah from Apalta in Colchagua is ideal for slow-cooked Patagonian lamb. “Apalta is mostly colluvial with granite and some clay – it’s a great terroir for Syrah for its soil and water,” says winemaker Andrea Leon who makes terroir selection Syrahs with Lapostolle winery.
