ers like Boxcar in Boulder), precise brewing methods (its showpiece Rancilio lever espresso machine), knowledgeable baristas, and best of all, its menu. On random mornings (announced
on its Facebook page), Crema serves the most extravagant donuts I’ve tasted (salted caramel anyone?). On the everyday menu is the sweet potato waffl e—the best waffl e ever served to me on a plate (sorry Mom). The one I ate ($6) came with a Long’s Peak shaped pile of fresh, fl uffy hazelnut whip sprinkled with candied pecans. For lunch, Crema offers the
superb Bahn-Mi ($8)—a Vietnamese sandwich, with pickled carrot, cucumber, radish, cilantro, pickled jalapenos and house-roasted pork belly on a baguette. There’s also the PB&J—peanut almond butter, date-balsamic jam, and chevre (goat cheese), also on a baguette. The promise of unique, tasty food
and handcrafted espresso compels me to make the drive north on Larimer.
Honorable mention, menu variety: Europa Coffehouse (not reviewed), 76 S. Pennsylvania St., Denver, not far from Washington Park. Curry Chicken Salad Sandwich, $9.
The best taste: Aviano Coffee 3031 E. 2nd Ave., Denver. 303-399-8347,
http://avianocoffee.blogspot.com
Cherry Creek North hosts its annual street arts festival in July, just after Independence Day, with high-quality, premium-priced items you won’t fi nd anywhere else in Colorado. And that’s true of the coffee beans at Aviano—one of only a few outlets in America for Intelligentsia, a Chicago-based cof- fee supplier that engages in “direct trade” with farmers. The direct buyer pays the farmer
more for his beans than he typically receives from “fair trade” transac- tions. In return, the buyer is much more selective, picking “micro-lots”
of beans from specifi c trees, even from certain sides of the tree. Aviano matches Intelligentsia’s
selectivity and attention to detail. Co-owners Doug and Saadia Naiman studied chemistry at the University of Colorado. Evidence of their training is everywhere—from the molecular diagram of caffeine engraved on the wooden condi- ments table, to the Merck Index chemistry reference book on the shelf behind the counter, to the refractometer Doug used to mea- sure the baristas’ brewing. As you walk into Aviano you
notice several unusual things: Empty menu boards above the counter, no syrup bottles, no beans in tubs, no pump pots. Instead, “offer sheets” mounted on matte boards list in clean, simple typeface that day’s coffee and tea selections. The choices change daily. And each cup of coffee is handmade— espresso drinks at the espresso bar, and pour-over drinks at a separate, “slow” bar.
WE HAVE THE SAME DISCOUNTS AS THE OTHER GUYS, PLUS A BIG ONE THAT THEY DON’T.
AAA MEMBER DISCOUNT.
On top of other discounts, like multi-car, multi- policy, claim-free, and more, AAA Colorado offers an exclusive AAA member discount that has already saved members like you hundreds of dollars.
CALL AAA TODAY TO COMPARE | AUTO • HOME •LIFE | 1-866-831-1367 EnCompass May/June 2012 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60