Author: erniebufflo

line cook. culinary student. twin mom. AR to CO transplant. I’m obsessed w my dogs Pablo & PepperAnne, my cat Tiny, books, skincare, & cocktails.
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bufflo’s link roundup

Big milestone this week: I actually drove in the snow. Yes, if you’re wondering, it does snow in Arkansas, but we don’t have equipment to clear the roads, so a snow day usually means just cozying up at home and waiting for things to melt. Here in Denver, it turns out, a snow day is just another day. You and my insurer will be happy to know I managed just fine. Side streets remain snowy but passable, and on main roads, it’s like snow didn’t even happen.

This is the temp when I took the girls to school on Thursday. When Jon left for work, it was TWO.
This is the temp when I took the girls to school on Thursday. When Jon left for work, it was TWO.

In other news this week:

By the way, I did make the Irish Cream I mentioned in last week’s link roundup. It turned out delicious and has made coffee a special treat all week!

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bufflo’s link roundup

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May your weekend be as cozy as this ridiculous cat.

We made it to Friday! It’s not November anymore! It’s two weeks til my birthday, so plan accordingly! Anyway, here’s this week’s link roundup:

A lot of us need to learn this lesson: Every single relationship in your life can’t be perfectly settled and understood and resolved. You can’t get closure with everyone. You can’t have perfect mutual understanding with everyone. You can love someone who doesn’t respect you and not respect them, either. You can love someone who makes you incredibly angry. You can love someone who is very broken, who sees you as broken, too. You can love something that is broken and can never be fixed. Don’t shut off your love. That’s not the answer. But stop trying to fix something that is not fixable.

And now for some happies:

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I’m not ready for Christmas, but I’m desperate for Advent

I'm not ready for Christmas, but I'm desperate for Advent | erniebufflo.com

I'm not ready for Christmas, but I'm desperate for Advent | erniebufflo.com

It’s a weird holiday season this year. I’m not so sure I have ever entered this season in such a fraught place. Last year, yes, I was struggling with what I later realized was clinical anxiety, but this year feels like a malaise bigger than me. It’s not just a darkness in my thoughts, but it seems like darkness is all around me. The election seems to have emboldened some of the darkest parts of our national identity. We look around and see reasons to fear and worry. Many of our neighbors are afraid and worrying too. Wondering what the new presidency will mean for their lives in very real terms.

None of this feels very Holly Jolly Christmas. But it turns out it’s the exact right mood for Advent. We begin this season with prophecies for “a people who walked in darkness.” The Israelites had lived in exile, in slavery, in the wilderness, and under an oppressive empire. They had experienced war, famine, and death. I can relate to them now more than ever. Times feel uncertain. The future often looks bleak.

Advent is a time of waiting and expecting and daring to hope in the worst of circumstances. As we’re literally anticipating the birth of a savior, pregnancy is often a fit metaphor for Advent, for this waiting time. I didn’t really grasp these metaphors until I actually was pregnant. It’s a time of joy, for sure, but also a time filled with worries and discomfort. During Advent 2011, I was pregnant-to-bursting with twins and had just found out that Claire had spina bifida. The joy of that season was also tempered with sorrow and worry, uncertainty about what our life would look like with a disability in the midst of it.

We are in such a dark time now. We feel stretched, swollen, tender, emotional, and concerned. We are restless. It may not be pregnancy heartburn keeping us up at night, but there is a tightness in our chests. Our hearts do burn a little. And though we have hope for new life, we know there will be much pain in the attaining of that joy.

A familiar verse from Romans comes to mind:

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Right now, we are the weary world, not yet the one that rejoices. We are the people who walk in great darkness. We are captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here. We are groaning and in pain. We look around us and we do see bondage and decay.

I read a perfect piece Sunday morning by Diana Butler Bass in the Washington Post, suggesting this may be more of a “blue” advent. She notes our national blue mood, and suggests blue as an appropriate advent color, because blue is the color of the sky just before dawn. We need Advent as much as ever because

Advent recognizes a profound spiritual truth — that we need not fear the dark. Instead, wait there. Under that blue cope of heaven, alert for the signs of dawn. Watch. For you cannot rush the night. But you can light some candles. Sing some songs. Recite poetry. Say prayers.

On this, the first week of Advent, we dare to light the candle of Hope. We hope for that which we do not currently have. We hope for so much more than where we are at right now. We are not ready to jump straight into Christmas joy, but Advent doesn’t expect us to. Advent sits with us in this darkness. Advent lets us feel how we feel. But it’s also a little pesky, a little optimistic. It keeps directing our attention to flickering flames and twinkling lights, reminding us that we will see a great Light. That our labors will produce joy. That our waiting will not last forever. That while the sorrow may last for a night, and those nights seem oh-so-long in the bleak midwinter, joy comes in the morning, and there is a bit of light on the horizon. And so I too will light a candle. I will try to remind myself to hope.

My prayer this week is from my church’s corporate confession on Sunday:

Hear me Lord,
grant me an ease
to breathe deeply of this moment,
this light,
this miracle of now.
Beneath the din and fury
Of great movements
and harsh news
and urgent crises,
make me attentive still
to good news,
to small occasions,
and the grace of what is possible
for me to be,
to do,
to give,
to receive,
that I may miss neither my neighbor’s gift
Nor my enemy’s need.
Amen

 

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advent starts tomorrow!

Ideas for creating a Jesse Tree Advent Calendar | erniebufflo.com

Ideas for creating a Jesse Tree Advent Calendar | erniebufflo.com

Some folks say that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. I would say it’s actually Advent, the season of anticipation leading up to Christmas, that’s the most wonderful time of the year. I grew up Presbyterian (PCUSA) and always loved observing Advent– lighting candles on our wreath, doing devotionals from our church, and especially the big church Advent Celebration where we’d have a fellowship meal and then go around making different Christmas crafts and games. We always drew the name of one other attendee to make a gift for during the evening, giving it to elves to be delivered to the recipient. Our favorite was always the room where white chocolate pretzels were made.

Last year, I posted about finally (two years after I had intended to) finishing our felt Jesse Tree Advent Calendar and offered ideas about creating your own. I love that the Jesse Tree Advent Calendar corresponds to Bible stories about Jesus’ family tree, and each night as a family, we hang up an ornament and read a Bible story from our Jesus Storybook Bible. As last year was our first year using the calendar, and I finished it just under the wire, I didn’t have time to make sure there was a corresponding story for each ornament in the JSB. As we went through, I discovered that some of the ornaments didn’t have a story in the JSB, and I also learned that attempting to read out of a regular Bible to small children is difficult and boring for the. This year I thought ahead and pulled out the calendar early. I discovered that Ruth and Naomi, Esther, Jacob’s Ladder, Mary Visiting Elizabeth, and Gideon were all missing from the JSB. In some cases, like Ruth and Naomi and Gideon, I wrote paraphrase stories to read to my kids, printing them off and tucking them into the JSB. In other cases, I swapped out the ornament to better reflect the story that is in the JSB, like getting rid of Jacob’s ladder and making an ornament of 3 wedding rings, since the ladder story isn’t in the JSB, but Jacob’s marriage to Leah and Rachel is. I also ordered a kids’ storybook about Esther to tell her story.
I also got curious about options for Jesse Tree Advent Calendars on Etsy and scoped a few out for you if you’d like to start using this tradition with your family. Most completed felt calendars are still quite pricey. I found a nice one for $180. I also discovered that if you want to go the full DIY route, the pattern is still available to make one like I did. However, I think the best option I found was to buy this pre-made tree calendar for $13, and then buy this semi-DIY kit where all you have to do is cut out machine embroidered ornaments and add hanging string to them. The ornaments even come with a book. You’ll end up with an heirloom for $73, and not have to do nearly as much work as I did. (I have embedded pins of these items in this post– if you’re reading this in a RSS feed, you may not see them below.)

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because you will probably need a drink this thanksgiving

Because I need to think about something other than my overwhelming sense of dread that continues following the election, and because you will need something to sip every time one of your family members brings up the election at Thanksgiving, I thought I’d be servicey and provide some suggestions for your Thanksgiving drinking pleasure.

Last year, I created a fall cocktail for my hometown company Mountain Valley Spring Water. I can’t find the post on their site anymore, so I thought I’d share my recipe here, instead.

The Pomegranate Bourbon Fizz is a sweet-tart cocktail that incorporates pomegranate in two ways, getting flavor and its namesake fizz from Blackberry Pomegranate Mountain Valley Sparkling Essences, and an additional punch of pomegranate from a homemade grenadine that imbues it with a gorgeous color, too. (You may sub in any pomegranate sparkling water here if you can’t find the Mountain Valley. You could even use regular club soda, since the pomegranate grenadine is so flavorful.) Making grenadine may seem intimidating, but this easy two-ingredient syrup will wow your palate, especially if the only grenadine you’ve ever known is a red-dyed, sickly-sweet concoction most famous for giving a Shirley Temple its something special. Grenadine was originally a pomegranate syrup, not a cherry-flavored corn syrup. Here it returns to its roots as a true grownup cocktail ingredient, not just something suited for curly-headed tap-dancing kiddos. Plus, one batch will enable many Pomegranate Bourbon Fizzes this season, and you better believe you’ll be craving more than one.

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Pomegranate Bourbon Fizz

2 oz. bourbon
1 oz. homemade pomegranate grenadine (recipe follows)
.75 oz. lemon juice (about half a lemon)
2 dashes orange bitters
Mountain Valley Sparkling Essences in Blackberry Pomegranate
sprig of rosemary to garnish

In a shaker filled halfway with ice, shake together bourbon, grenadine, lemon juice, and orange bitters. Strain into a rocks glass over ice. Top with Mountain Valley Sparkling Essences. Garnish and stir with a sprig of rosemary. Enjoy!

Homemade Grenadine
1 cup unsweetened 100% pomegranate juice
1 cup sugar

Combine both ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until all sugar is dissolved and mixture is slightly thickened. Allow to cool. This syrup can be kept in a jar in the fridge for up to a month.

Other ideas

If the Pomegranate Bourbon Fizz isn’t your thing, I have some other recommendations. First up, I made this Tangy Cranberry Black Peppercorn Shrub cocktail last year and may make it again this year. If you have any non-drinkers who would like a mocktail, the shrub is also excellent with club soda or tonic.

In a similar vein, the Charred Lemon Gin Sparkler would be a great choice. It’s a twist on one of my favorite festive drinks, the French 75. Like the previous shrub cocktail, you can make the mixer ahead of time, so it’s easy to batch up and serve to guests when you’re busy with other Thanksgiving duties.

And lastly, a Rosemary Pear Mule is a fallish, festive drink. It’ll seem extra fancy if you serve it in mule mugs, but just as tasty in a regular glass if you don’t have any mule mugs. (Tip: Target usually has mule mugs for $9ish each this time of year, so it’s a great time to scoop some up).

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bufflo’s link roundup

ernie meets bufflos

ernie meets bufflos

Yes, I know this post title is ridiculous, but sometimes I can’t resist the fact that my online alias sounds vaguely cowgirl-esque, also I am ridiculous.

Expect this site to get back to its pre-kids political roots for the next four years, folks. If you’re here just for cute kids and recipes, you might be sorely disappointed, but I’ve been blogging since 2008, and I majored in political science. I think about and talk about politics a lot.

One thing I used to do more was share link roundups. Since I think my Facebook friends would appreciate it if I didn’t post every single link I want to share, I decided to bring that back. Maybe every Friday I’ll do this? I promise they won’t all be OMG WE JUST ELECTED A FASCIST-themed, but that’s definitely where we’re at this week. Here we go!

  • I shared this one on my Facebook page and got some pushback from dudes who either failed to read it or lack reading comprehension. Anyway, here’s a great analogy to use on anyone who gives you flack for saying that Trump supporters are OK with racism. They bought the whole package when they cast their votes, and that package included a big chunk of racism. They decided it was worth it. That’s on them. Also, I told those dudes on my page that they are free to find other blogs more in line with their sensibilities, because this is obviously not one of them.

This election, you had two major Presidential providers. One offered you the Stronger Together plan, and the other offered you the Make America Great Again plan. You chose the Make America Great Again plan. The thing is, the Make America Great Again has in its package active, institutionalized racism (also active, institutionalized sexism. And as it happens, active, institutionalized homophobia). And you know it does, because the people who bundled up the Make America Great Again package not only told you it was there, they made it one of the plan’s big selling points.

And you voted for it anyway.

So did you vote for racism?

You sure did.

Trump beat out Clinton with voters at every income level bracket except those citizens who make under $49,999. The working class did not vote against its interests. The middle and upper class sold them out.

If this is going to be a time of healing, we must first put the responsibility for healing where it belongs: at the feet of Donald Trump, a sexual predator who lost the popular vote and fueled his campaign with bigotry and hate. Winning the electoral college does not absolve Trump of the grave sins he committed against millions of Americans. Donald Trump may not possess the capacity to assuage those fears, but he owes it to this nation to try.

Got link recommendations? Leave them in the comments!

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the morning after

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I started crying about an hour before it was clear that Trump was really winning the election, and I didn’t stop for hours. I shoved the unpopped champagne to the back of the fridge and poured myself a generous glass of bourbon. Since this is the internet and I’ve been lectured about everything down to my coffee drinking, yes, sometimes you do just want to drink straight liquor and sleep the sleep of the dead, and if such a loss isn’t the time, when is?

I woke up probably more hungover from the crying. I went downstairs when the girls stirred. Our houseguest for a week had left to catch her plane back home to Canada before we got up. She was a campaign fellow, a university student studying politics who had spent time working on the Clinton campaign here in Denver. She left the house key, a copy of Stronger Together, and the most beautiful letter. She let me know that she’s still in this fight with us.

“I was exactly the twins’ age when George W. Bush won in 2000…I learned as I grew up, much like the girls will, that sometimes, the right people don’t win…However, the fall of Bush led to the rise of Obama, and sometimes things like this must happen in order to witness some truly incredible things. Since Bush was elected, I became interested in politics and wanted to learn how to fight for the little guy. The first political book I read was The Assault On Reason by Al Gore…I know the future looks scary right now, but you and your family represent a side of America I am glad is still going. Etta and Claire, I already know you will grow up as strong, if not stronger than Hillary and learn from this. You are the reason why I have faith the views and values of Hillary will be passed on. When the girls are ready, like I was, they will read Stronger Together and learn…This is only beginning, and I have faith that Americans like you will continue to contribute society and push for the values we all hold so dear. We will always be #strongertogether.”

Buoyed by her letter, I went into the girls’ room and told him that even though we really wanted her to win, and even though mommy spent all that time in the campaign office, Hillary Clinton didn’t win the election. Claire immediately started crying. She knows Donald Trump says unkind things about and emboldens his supporters to do unkind things to people who are different. She’s a smart kid, and she knows she is different. Somehow she has more empathy and compassion than a lot of white voters did yesterday. I assured the girls that we will keep fighting for kindness in this country, and that we would never stop trying to make this place better. Claire didn’t much feel like eating her breakfast. “I just feel so sad,” she said. I need to let her feel sad. I need to let me feel sad too.

I got them off to school, their lovely, happy, hippy-dippy little school that is shaping them and their classmates into kinder, better citizens by teaching them kindness, courtesy, independence, inquisitiveness, and curiosity. Their teacher had already started circle time, but she and I exchanged shocked looks about the state of this nation. I drove home through the morning rush wondering how so many of us would manage to just live life today. I got home and got back into bed and snuggled with my cat. I think I hoped I’d wake up and things would be different. I woke up, no longer felt the sobbing-hangover, and fixed myself some coffee.

They’re home and napping now, and their wonderful dad just texted to let me know he’s coming home and said “Think about and let me know how I can best help you tonight.” The man should write a book on husbanding. I feel like a lot of the world is telling us Hillary supporters that we need to go ahead and move on already. Move on? Many of us just found out our country isn’t quite what we thought it was, that white people are still fearful enough and angry enough to elect a dishonorable, unkind, hate-mongerer to the highest office in the land, and that’s a lot to deal with. We are worried about our friends, family, and neighbors in this new world. Books about raising kids to be emotionally stable adults emphasizing how important it is to let our children feel their feelings and work through them. We need to allow ourselves to do the same. We need to be allowed to grieve and cry and rage before we are expected to figure out our next steps.

Tonight I want to go out to dinner with my family. I don’t feel like cooking. I want to let my kids take a bubble bath, and bundle them off to bed in their footie pajamas that make them so cuddly and cute. And then I think I want to watch The West Wing and pretend we just elected Bartlett instead. Tomorrow, we’ll see how I feel.

If you’re sad or angry or scared today, your feelings are valid. Check in with yourself and see how you can best care for yourself right now. You don’t have to have a grand plan to stop Trump from ruining the world right now. Obama is still the president, at least until January, and we’ll figure more stuff out by then. For now, let yourself feel your feelings. I’m here if you need to talk.

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I’m with her. And her too.

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You guys know I’m a yellow dog who’s all amped up for Hillary. I’ve been working really hard for her. But I’ve never really said why.

Honestly, when asked why I’m With Her, I usually want to say “EVERYTHING.” My politics are driven by my most deeply-held values: wholeness, unity, justice, equality, peace. In a world where people seem proud not to identify with either party, I can’t really pretend that I don’t agree with one on basically every issue. I care about women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, the environment, the poor, immigrants, education, and energy. I love Jesus, and I’m pro-choice.

But just like Claire’s diagnosis has changed our lives in many ways, it has changed my politics. My feminism has become bound up with disability rights. I want her to have every opportunity in life. I want her to always be treated with dignity. I want her to live in a world where she is valued as a whole person, where she will never worry about access to employment or healthcare, where she can dream big dreams and achieve them. And there’s only one candidate that can show my girls their dreams can include the presidency and who will fight for Claire’s rights and healthcare. It’s the candidate who has been fighting for children, people with disabilities, and everyone’s access to healthcare for her entire career.

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One candidate has literally mocked people with disabilities. One candidate kicked a kid with cerebral palsy out of his rally: “Protesters get kicked out; it’s actually a mother and her children, one of whom who has cerebral palsy and worries what a Trump presidency would mean for people with disabilities. Supporters kick at the family, including the boy’s wheelchair, as Secret Service tries to escort them out.” His mockery of people with disabilities encourages his supporters to assault a person with disabilities and his family. His presidency threatens the very dignity and safety of people with disabilities, not just because he has promised to take away the healthcare reforms that have helped so many, including our family, but because he fails to set an even basic human kindness example for how we should treat people with disabilities. It shouldn’t shock anyone that he has zero policy proposals to help people with disabilities since he has so few policy proposals in general. (The man claims he will make America great “again” but seems to have very few concrete plans to make that happen.)

Hillary, in contrast, devoted an entire speech to policy proposals that would help people with disabilities. She proposes ending policies that allow people with disabilities to be paid less than minimum wage. She wants Congress to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She wants to improve access to employment and education for people with disabilities. And she wants to continue to improve access to healthcare for people with disabilities.

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Photo credit: Whitney Loibner

When I saw Bill Clinton speak at a rally on Friday, he talked about meeting a young Hillary supporter from Florida. He told Bill that he was a fan of Hillary’s because he had a feeling she “wouldn’t make fun of” him. Bill told him he was very smart. “That’s what they say, but I have a hard time getting through the day,” the boy said. Bill told him his feelings were correct, that Hillary has been fighting for kids like him for her entire career (like when she helped found the still-operational organization Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families), and that while in the Senate she had work
ed on legislation to help people with Autism.

I always knew I’d be voting for my first female president for my daughters. I didn’t always know I’d have a daughter whose spina bifida would turn me into a disability rights advocate. But because of her, I have one more reason to be proud to stand with Her.

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I’ll be at the campaign office today and tomorrow. If you have any time to spare at all, please do what you can to help out. You can even phone bank from home to make sure people know where their polling place is and have a plan to get there and vote. We need all the help we can get! And above all: get out and vote! Even if the line is long. It matters so much.

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out came the mama bear

It finally happened. Someone made fun of Claire because of her disability. | erniebufflo.com

It finally happened. Someone made fun of Claire because of her disability. | erniebufflo.com

It finally happened. Someone made fun of Claire because of her disability.

I was sitting on the couch, drinking wine, folding laundry, enjoying some quiet while Jon supervised the kids out biking and scooting with some of the kids on our block, all of whom are older than our girls, but are generally quite sweet to them. Then Claire and Jon came in the door. “Why don’t you tell your mama what they said?” Jon said.

“Those big girls said my diaper isn’t cool and that they don’t want to hang out with me because they don’t want to hang out with babies who wear diapers. Can I please wear some undies? I want them to hang out with me.”

My face got hot. Claire wasn’t crying. She seemed very matter of fact. “Just a second, baby. Mama’s going to get some shoes and go talk to them.”

I slipped on my wicked good slippers, and in my pjs strode down the street. The two older girls saw me and started running. They knew what they said had been unkind. They ran into their yard. I kept walking calmly down to their house. They hadn’t made it into their houses yet.

“Can I talk to you for a second?”

“We’re so sorry, we got carried away, we know what we said was rude, and we’re sorry,” one said.

“It was unkind,” I said, “But I want to tell you something you don’t know about Claire. Claire was born with a disability called spina bifida. She had a great big hole in her back, and she had to have surgery when she was only one day old. Claire is actually amazing. Claire is one of the strongest people I know. People said she wouldn’t be able to walk and now she walks, and runs, and ride bikes out here with you. Claire is AMAZING. And she wears diapers because of her spina bifida, and NO ONE should ever make fun of her for that, because Claire is amazing.”

“We’re so sorry.”

“Thank you. Can you tell her that when she comes back out here?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you. Have a good night.”

And then I walked back down the street. Claire had sat on the potty and changed out of her diaper when I got home. Jon talked to her about how she can wear undies some day, but she’s got to get better about sitting on the potty, which is something she currently refuses to do a lot of the time.

I sent her back down the street on her bike. “I’m going to go talk to those girls and tell them I didn’t like what they said,” she said. She is still one of the strongest people I know. She stands up for herself. And I will always stand up for her too.

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denver food reviews: brider

Denver Restaurant Reviews: Brider | erniebufflo.com

I love food, as you may have guessed from my plate-heavy Instagram feed. As we explore Denver one bite at a time, I thought it would be fun to post short reviews of the places we check out. Many food blogs do similar things, but how many are dragging two four-year-olds along for their culinary adventures? While I’ll occasionally be able to get a sitter and check out a cool joint sans kids, most of these reviews will be places we’ve taken our very well-behaved foodie four-year-olds.

Saturday night we headed to LoHi to check out Brider. We enjoyed great food in a somewhat incongruously casual (but hip) atmosphere, which is often described as “fast casual.” To me, “fast casual” conjures images of places like Pei Wei and Chipotle, and the food and vibe at Brider is definitely nicer than either of those.

We were there for dinner which features rotisserie chicken, porchetta, and lamb served four different ways each. We had the lamb with kale and potatoes and the chicken with fried rice and kimchi (which was my favorite of the two). The chicken was juicy with crispy, flavorful skin (if you don’t eat chicken skin, you’re missing the best part), and I loved dipping bites in the sesame soy sauce that accompanied my plate. Unfortunately, my lovely sunny-side-up egg was stolen by fried-egg-lover Etta. I cleaned my plate. If I hadn’t tried the chicken first, I would have also loved the lamb with kale and potatoes, however after the kimchi/sesame/soy flavor explosion going on with my chicken, it tasted just a bit bland by comparison. The lamb was juicy and tender, and the kale and potatoes were tasty, but I felt they needed just a hit of something special to take it to the next level. Next time I might try their madras curry or feta/harissa/taziki take on the lamb. The kale and potatoes might be better with a slightly more flavorful meat like their porchetta.

Denver Restaurant Reviews: Brider | erniebufflo.com

They have a kids menu and high chairs, and the girls both enjoyed meatballs over polenta, as well as bites from our plates. They use counter service, which is part of why it felt oddly casual, since the $18 plate of chicken was as nice as I’ve had in any white tablecloth restaurant. This is actually a perk! I love finding a place where my kids are welcome and I can still enjoy a great meal. We were pretty hungry, but the rotisserie dishes could likely be shared along with an appetizer and a dessert. Brider also features a coffee bar, a selection of pastries, a large sandwich menu, and beer and wine on tap as well as cocktails (and a happy hour every day from 3-6). They are open all day, and serve breakfast sandwiches and oatmeal in the mornings, along with coffees and house-made kombucha.

After our meal, we enjoyed strolling along the river, and both girls ended up IN the river. We will be back. Next time, I’ll pack the kids a change of clothes for the post-dinner water play, and I hope it will be cool enough to enjoy their awesome patio.

Denver Restaurant Reviews: Brider | erniebufflo.com