Rocky Mountain Cocktails

Trip date: February 2015

There's nothing better in my opinion than being able to add a little play onto a work trip. Way back in February of last year just such an opportunity arose when I signed a new client, who is located in Denver, to my company.  Almost unbelievable to me, I had never been to Denver although I had wanted to visit the city for years.

I flew in on a Thursday night and was pleasantly surprised when Alaska Air upgraded me to First Class. The 2-hour flight was short and sweet and when we landed I got my first taste of real winter. Snow plows criss crossed the tarmac, pushing piles of snow out of planes way. I hadn't seen snow since January of 2014 when I was in Finland! My client had arranged a car to pick me up at the airport for the 30-minute drive downtown, where I checked into a lovely room in the Kimpton Hotel Monaco. This is the perfect location for checking out the city.

My Friday consisted of a series of work meetings but the owner also took me to lunch at ChaLon which has an interesting concept of Asian & French combinations. For instance our soup dumplings were filled with French onion soup!

That evening, with my business responsibilities fulfilled, I took myself out on a good ole' cocktail crawl. I started at the best-known speakeasy in town, Williams & Graham. Arriving right when they opened, there were already people in front of me trying for one of the small number of coveted seats inside. Luckily this party had about 8 total and that just wasn't going to work here. I let them know I was a party of one and within moments the host pushed open a bookcase and I was led inside the very dark and intimate cocktail den.

The bartenders here were awesome, giving me some suggestions for my crawl and more importantly mixing me some amazing cocktails. The space is exactly what you want a speakeasy to be. There are only 15 seats at the bar, a handful of small booths, some stand up bar space and a funny little area I call the Muppet seats. When it was time for me to leave I was shown the clandestine exit out the back. Fun!

There's a reason they were voted #50 on The World’s 50 Best Bar Awards in 2014 and Best American Cocktail Bar in 2015 by Tales of the Cocktail. If you go, I'd suggest arriving right at 5pm and keep your party small. They also take some reservations.

I had my uber take me over to the newly renovated Union Square Station next. This place is gorgeous! Once a train station, it now houses an event space as well as a big, bustling restaurant on the main floor, and the cocktail bar The Cooper Lounge upstairs.

When I approached the hostess stand there was quite a queue. But when I mentioned I was a party of one I was immediately led upstairs and seated right at the bar. Drinks were served in gorgeous glassware on little trays, with bar snacks, and the view looking down on the main floor of the station offered great people watching. Not sure if they take reservations but if they do that is probably the way to go on a Friday night at least.

Although the temperature was in single digits I opted to walk to my next stop, The Squeaky Bean. It was time for some food and I opted for a burger to go along with my cocktail. The place was packed, it's an obvious local favorite!

Back out on the street I walked to Green Russell. Although it is underground, it is hardly a speakeasy style bar, and it was packed with rowdy weekend customers. Loud music and a not very good drink encouraged me to wrap up my night on the town. It was a brisk walk back to the Kimpton!

The next morning I had brunch reservations at Linger along with what seemed like the rest of Denver. Even with my reservations I had to wait so I started in the bar; the restaurant has a fantastic selection of brunch cocktails. I moved to my table and enjoyed some spicy breakfast tacos. This is a great spot!

A couple who I had been chatting with the night before at Cooper Lounge told me about a cool exhibit at the Denver Museum called 1968. Since that is my birth year I was really interested so I grabbed an uber and headed over. And it was amazing! Every month of 1968 had historical events, some big and some not so big, and each was documented wonderfully.

Another 30-minute car service out to the airport and my whirlwind trip to Denver was over. And I have not seen snow since! But I think that will be changing this winter!

Living Las Vegas- Part Two

Trip date: February 2015

My week of living in Las Vegas was going quite well, the only problem was that staying up until 1 and 2am most nights, while getting up to work in the morning was exhausting. Luckily I didn't have to be dressed and in an office!

My guests had changed as Lorraine headed home and Matt & Jen took her place on the living room hide-a-bed. After my work day Jen, Matt, and I headed downtown to play blackjack and craps in the old school joints. My luck wasn't holding but the table minimums are still fairly low here so it was all ok. We then walked along the Fremont Street Experience (always crazy people watching) to the Downtown Cocktail Room for drinks. The bar is dark and had mainly local clientele on this Thursday evening, the drinks were very good.

Next stop was to the Container Park, a mixed-use area made up of, you guessed it- shipping containers! The entrance was guarded by a crazy robot dragon that breathed fire unexpectedly and scared the shit out of us! We found our destination, Oak & Ivy bar and enjoyed some really lovely cocktails and exceptionally friendly bartenders. I loved this place!

I had never been to the infamous Lotus of Siam restaurant before, and it is one of Jen and Matt's favorite places, so we grabbed a cab and headed the short distance to this Mecca of Thai food in the Nevada desert. It really hit the spot with some amazing Thai food and quelled some cravings I had had since being in Thailand the month before!

Back to the strip we headed to meet friends of theirs who were at Ceasar's Palace. Matt went off to play in a poker tournament while Jen and I sat at a blackjack table. We learned quickly that playing cards at Ceasar's, which had recently filed bankruptcy was a losing battle. Jen and I headed to the bar to wait for Matt and got our drinks the old fashioned way. By having the cute guy who followed me over from the table buy them!

Friday while Matt was playing in another tournament Jen and I met at Mon Ami Gabi for a decadent champagne lunch. Even though the food is not as great as it use to be, this is still the spot that reminds me of wonderful dinners and lunches with an amazing assortment of friends over the years. Baguettes, escargot, butter, and bubbles consumed we decided to do a little day gambling and grabbed seats at a blackjack table inside the Paris. Few things are as fun as day drinking paired with day gambling.

It was our last night and we made some drinks and took them up to the Chateaus' rooftop for fantastic views of the city. From here the three of us walked over to the Aria for cocktails at The Alibi bar. Woohoo, those libations were expensive!!!!

My last dinner of my week of living in Las Vegas was one of the best. Yanaka!! Our waiter encouraged us to order the omakase for two even though we were three and it was perfect. And delicious! And only $130 or so total!!!

We started old-school on our gambling after dinner,  Jen and I on the blackjack tables at the Flamingo while Matt sat at a poker tournament. After a few hands, I got tired of cheap brandy so I left for the Bellagio and their good Cognac across the street. Jen went home and Matt joined me after finishing his tournament, about 3am. We headed back to the Chateau, stopping for slices of pizza on the way. As you do in Las Vegas!

Although it was only February the next morning was hot so I took advantage of the weather and headed to the roof top pool for the afternoon before flying back to Seattle with Jen and Matt.

Got a bunch of work done, gambled with the city's money for the week, ate and drank like a boss, and had super fun times with my friends. Now that's what I call winning in Las Vegas!

Las Vegas photos here
Living Las Vegas- Part One

Living Las Vegas- Part One

Trip date: February 2015

I saw the post on Facebook, condo available in Las Vegas - $350 for the week, and immediately messaged my friend, the poster, that I would take it.

A week in Vegas? I've been to sin city almost yearly since I turned 21 mainly for weekends. But a one-bedroom condo, half a block off the strip, for $350 was too good of an offer to turn down. And I can work anywhere right?

So I called up a few friends and invited them to come down too; Lorraine for the first 3 ½ days, Jen and Matt for the last 3 ½. The week would be starting on Super Bowl Sunday, Lorraine & I anxiously watched the Seahawks in the playoffs from different locations, texting back and forth on which ticket to buy- the more expensive ticket which would get us there in time for the game, or the cheaper one which would get us there near the end. Seahawks won their trip to the big game and we immediately purchased tickets to be in Vegas to watch it!

We had a plan; land, quick taxi to the Marriott Grand Chateau, drop our luggage, get to the MGM Grand, get our bets in, get a seat at a bar with TVs, watch the Super Bowl, play video poker, drink free drinks.

All except one of those things happened. The queue to place bets was over 45-minutes long and kick off was in 15. We resigned to not bet on the Seahawks but happily watched the game while playing video poker. That missing bet situation paid off, so to speak as the Seahawks delivered a heartbreaking loss.

After the game, I sat down on a blackjack table and proceeded to win much more than I would have on the game.

We grabbed a cab to the Venetian and I sat down at another blackjack table while we waited for our dinner reservations at Yard Bird. I walked away with another big win and after dinner Lorraine decided to join me back at the same table. I won $1200, more than I ever have in Las Vegas! The week was off to a great start. And the fried chicken at Yard Bird was good too. Winner, winner chicken dinner!

The rule for the week was I worked during the day while my guests went out and played. When quitting time rolled around for me on Monday I met Lorraine for a late lunch at Shake Shack outside the New York New York. Burgers and fries paired with glasses of wine were delicious. My first Shake Shack burger, finally! I understood the appeal.

That evening we headed off the strip to Herbs & Rye for cocktails. It looks like a divey Italian joint from the outside, inside it looks about the same. Our cocktails were old school in the classic sense, the bartenders were absolutely great, and we ended up staying for two rounds as the drinks were delicious. This place might be different on the weekends, but on a Monday night it seemed to be us and a bunch of locals which was super chill and fun!

We had chosen the highly discussed Raku for dinner that night, a very authentic Japanese restaurant housed in a strip mall. What became apparent almost immediately was that we were in for some comically slow and terrible service. Which was too bad as most of our food was very good. Highlights were the Yellow Tail belly, served sliced and barely charred, the Wagu beef also served just seared, and the foie gras egg custard. We could see we weren't the only table receiving such horrible service so we left wondering about others' experiences here.

We headed back in the direction of The Chateau and stopped at the Cosmo hotel for a nightcap. We found seats at the over-the-top beautiful Chandelier Bar, unfortunately the menu read like a sorority girl's fruity-vodka dreams so we left. Free cognac at the black jack table downstairs would have to suffice. Unfortunately the drinks ended up not being free as I left some winnings there.

I worked all the next day and didn't meet up with Lorraine until that evening when we headed to the Whiskey Bar at the MGM Grand. Our cocktails here were surprisingly good, the space is all big leather couches and open to the casino floor. Our main event for the evening was dinner at Joel Robuchon also in the MGM Grand.

I had been to the original in Paris years ago and it wasn't the best experience, but Lorraine hadn't been to a Michelin starred restaurant before and I was game to give it a try. We had an outstanding dinner, with above par service and some really incredible dishes. Major standouts were shrimp carpaccio with yuzu & caviar, foie gras ravioli in brothcaramelizeded quail stuffed with foie gras, and the amazing cheese plate they put together for us on request!

We closed down our posh evening with blackjack and complimentary cognac at Harrah's. As you do.

On Lorraine's last day I met her back over at the Cosmo for lunch at Jose Andres restaurant Jaleo. We weren't really in love with anything here; the space felt very phony ( I know, we were in Vegas!), and our pri-fixe lunch was really simple and not very interesting.

Lorraine headed out to the airport and I headed back to work in the condo. So far my winnings were holding out and Matt and Jen were on their way into town.

Vegas photos here.

Living Las Vegas- Part Two

'Hoods of Rio

Trip date: January 2016

As much as I love the beaches in Rio, that's not the only place to spend time and explore. Something that gets discussed a lot about this city are its favelas or ghettos. There are a lot of misconceptions about the fevelas, which we found out by taking a private walking tour. It may sound weird or even inappropriate to sightsee in these neighborhoods, but we went with a local guide, Axel Lahaye, who actually runs a boutique hotel inside one of the 1000s of favelas around Rio. And yes, there are over 1000 of them.

Our tour met on Ipanema Beach, from there we walked up the Avenida Niemeyer, past Leblon Beach, and past the Sheraton, to the entrance to the Favela Vidigal. It is very strange to have a fancy 4 star hotel across from so much poverty. The main bus stop is here at the base of the favela and we queued up in what seemed like an absurdly long line. In fact our guide said he'd never seen it like that! The original plan was to hike up Dois Irmãos, which is the mountain next to Vidigal, and then all the way down, passing through the favela on the return. But the wait took too long so we took the bus (really just vans) to the top of Vidigal and just walked through the neighborhood.

Over 24% of residents, or 1.5million people, live in Rio's favelas. They are all built into hillsides, with the best views of the city. Most residents walk up these hills daily, to and from their jobs. Our guide explained that there are hip bars, restaurants and hotels in these "slums" and even celebrities like Madonna are buying homes there.

Axel also explained that homeowners build their homes on their own. They are made of concrete and steel, generally with tile floors. They have running water and electricity; although the spiderwebs of power lines are crazy! And there is an open sewage stream that runs down to the sea. Residents are creative in decorating gathering spaces, most have big screen tvs, many have internet.

We couldn't help but notice all the amazing street art. Some colorful, some thoughtful, some just cool.

There are few streets; it is mostly a series of paths and staircases down (or up) the hillside. We passed shops, schools, cats running around, families cooking dinner together, friends having drinks. Just your typical neighborhood. It never seemed scary or dangerous. These residents make up the lower and the middle class of Rio. It was all very interesting, and didn't feel so much like a tour, but more of a guided walk through a neighborhood that has a lot of stereotypes. I was very glad to have gone and would recommend finding a local to take you if you visit.

Another hilltop neighborhood (but not a favela) we explored was the Santa Teresa area. This is a very busy 'hood with lots of bars and restaurants, filled with locals and tourists. We read that streetcars normally run up the steep roads but for some reason that we never did figure out, they weren't in operation when we visited. Taxi to the rescue.

We started with a round of caipis (naturally) at the very popular Bar Mineiro. Inside there was evidence of the streetcars and outside were tracks suggesting that this may be one of the main stops.

From here we made our way to Armazen Sao Thiago, with what seemed like most of the other people in the area. People spilled out into the street where some guys were playing samba and others were dancing. It was very fun! Also the mysterious streetcar tracks...

We then headed for a quite pretty, if not steep and somewhat long, walk the rest of the way up the hill on our way to dinner. The area is also known for its artist residents evident by the cool street art. Finally we arrived at Aprazível, an open air restaurant with great food and (of course) great views!

On our last night we headed to the Botafogo area for a very good dinner at Iraja Gastro, where my 3-course meal cost about $40. Pretty expensive by Brazilian standards but we all thought the modern takes on traditional food were fun and tasty. The neighborhood seemed a bit upscale and trendy as well.

Just on the other side of our neighborhood, Zona Sol, and Ipanema, is Leblon. This is the most affluent area of Rio and closest to the favela Vidigal. You see a lot of posh homes here and there are nicer restaurants and bars. We stopped into the most well-known one, the Academia da Cachaca, to sample some of their more than 2000 bottles of cachaca. They get billed as being just as classy as their neighborhood but we weren't really impressed. As none of us speak Portuguese and the people there that day didn't speak a lot of English I think that affected our experience.

I really enjoyed seeing the different areas of Rio, I would have liked to explore this incredibly huge city even more.

Our flights out of town on the last day were all at different times, mine being the last. So after I left the beach for the final time and helped Kate get a cab I walked around our own 'hood one last time. I was hungry but didn't want a full dinner. I saw a queue inside a bakery and peeked in. They had just put out fresh, warm empanadas. The perfect last meal and I didn't have to go far at all to find it.

All Rio photos here

Hitting the Beach in Rio de Janeiro

Trip date: January 2016

Our Airbnb was just 3 1/2 blocks from Copacabana Beach in the Zona Sol area of Rio. It was so easy to head down and rent a cheap chair and umbrella that for me it didn't matter if I spent the day or just an hour! I wanted to be on that absolutely beautiful sandy stretch, the waves crashing, the views of Sugar Loaf in the distance, people enjoying their friends and family. This is the postcard view of Rio that the world sees and indeed it is gorgeous.

One cloudy but warm afternoon Forest, Thibault, and I headed to the beach to hang out for a while and get a bite. As I mentioned when I wrote about Ipanema, beach vendors in Rio sell an amazing variety of snacks and beverages. After watching the parade of choices go by, we decided on grilled cheese "kabobs". This man carried a cooler in one hand and a portable charcoal grill in the other. He placed skewers of a firm cheese, similar to halloumi, on the grill and after they were warmed and marked by the grill he dipped them in dried herbs. Brilliant. Also can you imagine carrying a hot grill around all day?

We also watched as a group of young men, armed with cases of beer and huge bags of ice, spent some very productive time digging a big pit in the sand. They systematically layered the beer and the ice in the pit, putting a final layer of ice on top. Satisfied with their work, they sat back and enjoyed their cold beer from their "Brazilian Ice Chest" as I called it since I had seen this done on Ipanema as well!

Some days the beaches seemed to have lots of tourists, while other days it was mainly locals. One day when Thibault and I went down late in the afternoon the waves were huge and most people stayed out, heading the red flag warnings. Others decided the fun was worth the risk.

But most days the beach was just peaceful and perfect. I didn't swim as I am very aware of both the water pollution problems and also the undertow that takes swimmers out even in calm conditions. Just being on the beach daily, with its perfect breeze and stunning views was heaven for me.

And always there was the parade of vendors and their offerings; empanadas, caipirinhas, cookies, bikinis, shrimp (!), beach blankets, etc.

There's more to Rio than the beach of course. If you find yourself there on a Sunday, the thing to do is the Hippie Fair in Ipanema. It's a big fun, open air market which sells a lot of the same clothes and jewelry that you see on the beach, but also some local artwork and crafts. It doesn't take long to walk around and you might even find a new painting to take home!

Just down the street from the Hippie Fair is Casa de Feijoada. Now typically Cariocas eat feijoada, the national dish of Brazil, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. But I'm not a Carioca and I was hungry. We arrived, put our name on the wait list, and grabbed a few beers at the bar next door. Finally we were called in for what ended up being an absolutely delicious and super fun lunch.



The menu starts with a light lime cocktail and a small cup of super tasty black bean broth. From there you choose which meats you prefer for your feijoada stew (we chose to not have pig ear, feet, or tongue) and then a ridiculous amount of food comes to your table. There are sides like rice, manioc, both fried and sauteed, cooked greens, oranges, and chicharrones.

To finish they brought us a plate with three slightly unappetizing looking "jams" on it. They were incredible though; dulce de leche, banana compote, and coconut and pumpkin chutney. We were full for hours!

Many would say no trip to Rio is complete without getting up close and personal with the two big attractions- Sugarloaf and Jesus. Could also be a great band name. In any case, I'd agree they are more than worth the effort.



We took a cab to Sugarloaf (Pão de Açúcar as the locals call it) for about R18, and got there at 10am right before the lines got crazy long. The views from both the mid and upper areas are absolutely spectacular. We spent about an hour taking it all in and wandering around.

You can also sign up for helicopter tours over Rio from here. We watched a few take off, the rides are pretty short but I'm sure it's an incredible sight!

The next day we took a taxi to the train station that heads up Corcovado to Christ the Redeemer. We bought our train tickets in advance online which saved us standing in massive queues at the station. The train heads up a very steep slope, passing a few favelas, and lending dramatic views of the sea along the way. After about 20-minutes we reached the top and headed up a few stairs to where Jesus stands.

Again, the views of the city below are incredible. And the statue is pretty impressive as well. I especially enjoyed sitting for a few rounds of caipirinhas; it isn't every day you get to drink with the big guy after all!

A friend had advised doing these two attractions on different days and I think that was a good move. It was nice not to be rushed and to get to each before they got super crowded.



Rio also has the most amazing sunsets I have seen. The one on Christmas Day from our roof top was a very nice intro. It's also great to join the crowds and experience seeing it from the beach itself. Kate and I opted to enjoy sunset one evening with drinks at The Arapoador Hotel Ipanema beachside bar. I'd recommend you do the same!

Besides spending time on Copacabana Beach, we also spent a very nice afternoon at the Copacabana Palace Hotel. The place is swank, and they have impressive manners. In fact I think their manners kept from inquiring if we were actually guests there while we enjoyed lunch and Thibault took a dip in the pool on an especially hot afternoon!

Back on Copacabana Posto 5, the folks at Barraca Das Morenas 156 took great care of me. Since I was making a daily habit of coming here, they knew when they saw me that I wanted an umbrella, a chair, and a cold caipi. They knew my name by the 2nd day, calling out "hello Wendy!" as they wrote down my "order" and set me up wherever I wanted.

When I said goodbye on my last day, the guy responded as normal, "see you tomorrow Wendy!" I told him I was flying home that night and he seemed surprised. He came around the stand and gave me a big hug, walked me up to the street to the faucets where you rinse your feet, brushed all the sand off of mine and helped me put my Havaianas on before telling me how much they'd miss me and to come back soon.



I had read that when you go to the beaches in Rio you should find a good kiosk or barraca first. People pick their beach spots by the service they get at these little businesses. I had certainly found a great one.  Go visit 156 if you are in Copacabana and tell them Wendy says hi!

All Rio photos here