Cuba Cuba (Denver)

Hello from Denver!

I am in Colorado for a super-short trip (I’ll be back in Charlotte late Friday afternoon), but I’ll happily take even a small amount of time in this gorgeous state whenever I get a chance! I’ll be heading to Boulder later today to kick off a jam-packed day with Celestial Seasonings tomorrow, but I flew out a day early so I could spend some time with Michaela, one of my very best friends since elementary school!

Michaela picked me up at the Denver airport early yesterday afternoon and I’m pretty sure we didn’t stop chatting until our heads hit the pillow at night. It was so, so good to see her!

We got stuck in some heavy traffic on the way back to Michaela’s place which ended up scrapping our plans for the day, but we still got out and about a little bit and I was able to see the place where Michaela and her husband Kyle are planning to open up their own optometry practice next year. While we were in the area, we popped into Etai’s, a local bakery and cafe that offers lots of difference sandwiches, salads coffee drinks and more. 

The cafe also has a full-service juice bar which is what drew us to the place! We were both craving some green juice and it was the perfect post travel pick-me-up.

Eventually we made our way back to Michaela and Kyle’s town house where we had a face time date with our best friend Leah who had a baby earlier this month. Leah is my first best friend to give birth and it was so incredible to see someone I’ve known and loved since elementary school with an adorable little one. Leah is so honest and funny and truly let us into what it’s like to be a mom with a new baby during our face time call. It was so special to see her little baby and now I’m absolutely dying to see him in person. 

Our grumbling stomachs soon told us it was time to grab some dinner, so Michaela, Kyle, Michaela’s sister Maggie and I all headed out to one of their favorite local restaurants for dinner.

Cuba Cuba is a local Cuban restaurant that has been in Denver for upwards of 12 years. It is absolutely phenomenal and last night I enjoyed one of the best meals I’ve had in a while!

We kicked things off with a round of drinks and I opted for a glass of cabernet.

For my main meal, I ordered the plantain-crusted ahi tuna that was seared rare and served over mashed potatoes with watermelon relish and a black bean reduction.

My picture doesn’t even begin to do it justice, but it was fantastic. The tuna was cooked perfectly and the watermelon relish was sweet, tangy and so, so good. I want to try to recreate it at home!

Apparently Cuba Cuba also owns a sandwicheria in Boulder, so I am on a mission to grab a sandwich from there at some point during my brief stay in Boulder. Also, if any of my Boulder-based friends out there have a restaurant recommendation for tonight’s dinner, I’d love to hear it!

And now it’s breakfast time.

Have a great Wednesday!