Smashburger

Smashburger makes the drugstore lunch counter burgers of my childhood. Without the terror of regression.

I am not normally a big eater of burgers, although I do love to grill bison burgers in the warmer months. My bison burgers are better than any restaurant hamburger I've ever had, beef or bison.

Until Smashburger.

It started innocently enough, as a stop on the way to the mountains a couple of summers ago. "Hm, let's give them a try."

All was well, since I hardly ever went that way along Interstate 70, except when heading for the mountains. Then, I started being out in Denver West & Applewood a lot more. Danger, Will Robinson.

A griddled burger done right, wallowing in its own juices (yes, blood!) is like nothing else you've ever tasted. You can keep your flame broiled. Smashburger is it, for me.

Fortunately, I otherwise have a high-fiber diet (honest: I eat muesli for breakfast. Voluntarily.) and a falling cholesterol number. This is especially good, since, in December, I won a drawing for $100 in free burger certificates, meaning 20 (count em, twenty) free Smashburgers for me. And my friends. Maybe even you.

If you even remotely ever eat meat, do try. Order the 1/3 lb. Classic, with their default condiments, whether you normally would, or not. You're forgiven for leaving off cheese, if (like me) you are a meat purist, but do try it their way, for condiments, before insisting on your way. And try the veggie frites. Mmmmm, fried asparagus!

Smashburger: Applewood location, 3356 Youngfield, at I-70 & 32nd.

Wheat Ridge Greenbelt

My New Year's Day walk (to walk off the chiles rellenos) was from Prospect Park to Youngfield along Clear Creek Trail through the Wheat Ridge Greenbelt, and back.

In this part of the greenbelt, the main walking trail is mostly dirt or gravel, with a separate paved bike trail on the opposite bank of Clear Creek, and several (narrow & muddy) side trails through the trees and right along the creek. Today, I walked west on the main dirt path, and back along the bike path.

This is one of my favorite walks in the Denver metro area, and is so close I can fit it around lunch on a busy workday. A very woodsy walk, it's almost like being in an Eastern forest at many points, which makes it unusual for Colorado. Aside from the inevitable traffic noise, it manages to feel remarkably rural, though in the middle of a heavily populated area. Check it out.

chiles rellenos

chiles rellenos: soft or crispy?

I'm a partisan of soft, but, since crispy ones can be found even in Puebla, can anyone seriously claim that only soft ones are auténtico?