StringGrrl sees the World

Fried Pickles Little did we know that Denver is quite a Foodie Town. Their dining options were vast and varied and offered a fair amount of diversion for the road warriors of the VR business at ESI. Jacob and Eric made a quick stop after setting up VR demo at the convention center by taking the Lyft out to Freshcraft . Boasting a selection of 100+ american craft beers we had high hopes. As with any place you visit with a long beer list it is hard to fault them for lack of choice, very hard to in a single visit determine if the list is sufficiently comprehensive or upto date. I din't count but sure more than 100, I guess. I went for a couple Colorado beers, which is the thing to do in new locales (if you ask me).  They offer cask and nitro, in addition to typical taps; 26 on list. And 85 cans and bottles.  Living east of the Mississippi, many of the beers were not recognizable to me unless they were globally distributed German or Belgian beers or mainstream crossovers. ...

The owner giving a rude hand sign to the Brits, but fortunately none were here In San Jose and wanting for some immediate gratification for beer and food, and wanting to the avoid the "What do you want?" "I don't know, what sounds good to you?" Round robin, we elected to open up Yelp and find the first thing that we paused on as far as curiosity. Just scroll through the list and the first thing that made us think for a moment won. This evening it was Skewers and Brew. From our table in the front window (yes it is a small place) First good thing is that it was only a short walk from the convention center, and given that we all had hotels in roughly opposite directions the closer we ate to the convention center meant that no one had to travel extra distance because of dinner. The place is pretty small and arranged not so different that a take away joint with a counter for ordering and sparse seating. We were at a table for 6 which there are maybe...

The team from Nexteer was kind enough to invite us to the Autoshow A Classic Mustang on the show floor Classic Chevy Truck in the limelight When StringFellow was in the UP this would have been handy Imagining future roadtrips together Can we say midlife crisis The need for speed Automotive interior design is due for a major disruption Alfa Romeo wagon, not your average grocery getter The satin finish on this car is really eyecatching StringGirl loved touring the NA International Auto Show

Starting out in the quarter near the Eiffel Tower, we strolled all over Paris Notre Dame Cathedral viewed from a Bridge back over the river Looking back over the river Seine Fan of Duck Breast  Bordeaux by the pitcher Not sure who StringGirl is waving to, but she makes friends everywhere Nice Diner-like atmosphere, certainly not stuffy. A Neighborhood eatery... The Louvre

StringFellow with the mixologists concoction, Mezcal Smoke Bank Having the chance to eat at one of Denver's hottest spots for Gastronomy was certainly a high point of November. Mizuna is one of Chef Frank Bananno top rated restaurants in the Mile High city, in fact it is one of the highest rated cities in all of Western US. Appetizer, Scallop  Mizuna has an intimate dining room, which gives the feeling that one is eating in a private dining room, almost homey. But the food served was by no means what I would expect as home cooked food, unless you were a first class chef. The Bar is very inviting and the mixologist provided first class cocktails from their list, but also welcomed the challenge to provide new palette for drink tastes (we had something they called a "Peanut Butter and Jelly Old Fashioned" with special home-brewed simple syrup from distilled Peanut Butter with house made muddled fruit serving as the jelly).  Dry Aged Duck Magret Duck Breast, with...

On the 16th street mall On my second trip to Denver, this time got to see more of the city center and experience some more of Denver's impressive food culture. While spending days in the convention center, we were not willing to just make due with the food on campus. So each day made an effort to head out and find something to eat. Was pleased to find this Ramen noodle bar in Downtown Denver on the 16th Street Mall. The mall is a very well executed pedestrian area with two lanes for electric "Free Mall Ride" buses, plenty of trees and planters, and thriving foot trafficked storefronts. Tantanmen: Spicy Ramen

Welcome to 71 above, the penthouse of LA is the "highest restaurant west of the Mississippi" After the second day of SIGGRAPH, NVIDIA was kind enough to invite me to dinner at 71 Above. Which was a mere stones throw away from our hotel in the Los Angeles Downtown area. It had recieved high praise from other members of the NVIDIA team who dined there earlier, so we booked our table and came out for dinner.  https://www.71above.com/ After arriving at the US Bank Tower and navigating the two separate elevator rides to arrive at the 71st floor and 71 Above, you are greeted by a sweeping dining room with panoramic views of Los Angeles. Not the view of the the restaurant we were looking forward to.... (from the film Independence Day) From our window seat, secured by luck with short reservations and no "Window Seat Deposit" which is a thing apparently  StringGirl is notably absent from these galleries as she decided to before this dinner abandon...