The Denver Scene -- The Walnut Room

A couple of weeks ago, I found out that one of my new favorite bands, Nico Vega (new to me as of last summer - check them out and I dare you not to love them) was coming to Denver to play a show. I'd missed them the first time around and was not going to miss them this time.

So I bought tickets and waited. In the meantime, I thought I'd check out some stuff about the venue. It's called The Walnut Room and by their website, I wasn't quite clear on what kind of place this was. They advertise pizza. The receipt said that I could redeem it for a free pitcher with an order. And they have a separate pizzeria on Broadway. I was confused? Mike and I both kind of hoped that we'd be able to get dinner there, though, since the site did seem to indicate that food was served at both locations.

The music venue is located at 3131 Walnut St in Denver. After driving in circles around the place, we finally found it. Something of a gem in the middle of old industrial buildings. I can see where this part of town might be experiencing an overhaul. We had a parking place, though (always a plus), and the venue was really nice.

It's a really nice place. You walk in and there's a bar and a narrow seating area. There's a big patio outside. And there's a roped off sealed room that we couldn't see until the "doors opened" for the show. So we headed out to the patio and hoped it wouldn't rain before we finished eating. Mike ordered a beer and we got the Walnut Room's "Famous" Cheese Pesto Bread and a pizza.

I'm something of a pizza addict. I could eat it a couple of times a week (that way I can have traditional red sauce and pepperoni one night and something different another). We finally settled on The Spicy Hirsch -- Italian sausage and giardiniera. I have to say that this was one of the best pizzas I've had in a while. We polished off the whole thing between the two of us just before the show started. The Cheese Pesto Bread (garlic bread with romano and mozzarella, drizzled with pesto and served with marinara) was pretty awesome as well. I'll have to experiment and make some on my own one day.

When they opened the doors for the show, there was a whole separate room in the place! There were tables and a second bar (so you didn't have to leave the show to get your drinks). It was small and intimate, but that was fine for the show we were seeing.

I would definitely recommend checking out their calendar and seeing if something interests you. The ticket prices are really reasonable (Mike and I got dinner and a show for the price of a fancy restaurant meal).

I really want to go back and I think I'll have to check out their pizzeria soon to try another one of their famous pies! If you go, though, I highly recommend the Spicy Hirsch!