What's Denver's Favorite Drink? Plus, RIP Pizzeria Locale and the Lakewood Panty Raider

It’s Friday and we’re talking about all the news that mattered this short, holiday week. From our expansive craft brew scene and the burgeoning world of kombucha to Boulder’s historic — and celestial — tea empire, Colorado is a big player in the beverage world. Could kava be next? A new piece in Westword about the rise of ceremonial drink has us curious. Producer Olivia Jewell Love joins host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi to talk all things drinks, plus wins and fails of the week, and then newsletter editor Peyton Garcia hops on the mic to help us pick our City Cast Denver “maybe” event of the weekend, as in maybe you’ll see us there! 

We want to know what kind of cold ones are in your cooler this summer! Leave us a text or voicemail with your fave bev’, and your name and neighborhood on the Tell Us What Your Sippin’ On Hotline: 720-500-5418

If you enjoyed Helen Xu’s piece on kava as much as we did, check out her interview from last December with Paul when they discussed the Leprino family cheese dynasty drama. Bree mentioned a great episode from Gastropod about the origins of coffee’s popularity and Meow Wolf’s upcoming Monster Battle. Olivia wrote about Colorado’s mocktail scene. Paul mentioned Celestial Seasonings’ backstory and promised he’d share listener Cory P.’s vegetarian green chile recipe: 

CORY P'S VEGETARIAN GREEN CHILE

12 roasted Anaheim or Pueblo chiles, peeled & chopped.

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 Roma tomatoes, diced

6 cups vegetable stock (I use Better than Bouillon, mixed in hot water)

1 tsp cumin

2-8 Tbsp Cornstarch to thicken

Directions: Saute onion & garlic in olive oil until soft in a 5+ quart pot. Add stock, green chiles and bring to a boil. Add tomatoes. Simmer for 1 hour. Add cornstarch mixed with water (2 tbsp or more as needed) to thicken. Serve on everything!

A note on chile heat: medium chiles are usually plenty of heat for this dish. If you’d like it a little milder, a mix of mild and medium (or even just mild chiles) is fine. 

Peyton was stoked about the book, The Herbalist’s Happy Hour. Plus, here are some links to the events Peyton recommended:

1. DBG’s Garden to Glass (Congress Park)
2. Live art at Federales (Five Points)
3. Colfax Art Jams - Taste the Fax (East Colfax)
4. Crosscurrents (Downtown)

For even more weekend event recs and local stories that matter, subscribe to our weekday morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866.

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