On a recent visit, I ordered the Fazenda Rainha, a Brazilian bean roasted
by Madcap Coffee, and brewed with the Hario V60 dripper—a single-cup, pour-over method. The barista, who says she wrote a school paper on direct trade v. fair trade coffee, heated a cup and karafe before pouring the coffee into both. Then she served cup and karafe on a wooden tray. On another visit, I ordered from the espresso bar—a classic, 5 oz. cup of
cappuccino with exquisite foam art. Its taste was smoother and sweeter than the bitter drinks I’d had at some other options around town. We recognize that taste is a uniquely individual judgment, but in our opin-
ion, Aviano’s excels. Aviano offers outdoor seating at the corner of 2nd Street and St. Paul—in
summer as perfect a place for people watching as any in Denver. Parking in Cherry Creek is notoriously diffi cult, but when you can fi nd a spot on the street, the parking meters conveniently accept credit cards. Otherwise, there’s a parking structure across 2nd.
Honorable mention, exclusive taste: Pablo’s (mentioned on p. 26) is rapidly becoming the de facto independent coffee taste of Denver.
The best ambience: St. Mark’s Coffeehouse 1308 E. 17th Ave., Denver. 303-322-8384,
www.stmarkscoffeehouse.com
St. Mark’s not only displays local art, but is itself a canvas for the owners’ self expression. On my recent visit, shaded fl oor lamps stood like Merry Pranksters atop the building the coffeeshop shares with The Thin Man Bar. Table lamps hung alongside Chinese lanterns in the trees just outside the front door.
Inside this high-ceilinged
space I also saw brightly colored, sometimes comically nicknamed guitars, adorned with jewels, beads and illustration, offered for sale ($450 and up) by their creator, Kahlie Sue Pinello. Other artists will get their turn on St. Mark’s wall, which rotates its offering every month. The espresso machine, a
restored 1988 La San Marco, is painted blue green. Above it hang Christmas lights. In the west windows, bright blue, empty wine bottles hide some- one’s graffi ti etched into the win- dowpane. Co-owner Eric Ahlstead
openly displays his affable San Francisco hippie sensibility, wearing a big smile and a faded St. Mark’s t-shirt on the day I visit. His wife Tina, arrives at 5:30 a.m. each morning to bake St. Mark’s remarkable pastries, which taste homemade, not institutional. St. Mark’s is short drive from
the Denver Zoo, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and City Park.
Honorable mention, art gallery: Yellow Feather Coffee (not reviewed), 742 Santa Fe Drive, because of its custom-made mugs and its proximity to the Santa Fe arts district.
Most unique: Denver Bicycle Café 1308 E. 17th Ave., Denver. 720-446-8029,
www.denverbicyclecafe.com
Where else will you fi nd bicycle repair on the same menu as craft espresso, tea and craft beer? Well, it turns out that hous-
ing espresso machines and pneumatic tire pumps in the same space is a growing phe- nomenon in places like Portland, Ore., and several college towns. Cranknstein, for example, is a bike-and-brew shop in Fort Collins.
28 EnCompass May/June 2012
www.AAA.com
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