pizza the friendly ghost

literally hot scenes from the road to & fro denver

Gather round, y’all. I’m about to let you in on a hot piece of super personal culinary-tinged gossip from our July road trip from the far corner of Wyoming to Denver & back. Are you ready? I’m ready. We’re on our way.

driving through Wyoming / July 9, 2024

To start, we were stoked on the notion of  visiting a few real life restaurants and an all-vegan spot or two. 

For sure, there was the promise - the delight - of sitting down in a coffee shop, and watching a small world go by. 

No, it didn’t not happen. Some of it did happen. Some of it strayed. All was an experience.

Come on, you surely know how it goes on any vacation. It can be a roll of the dice. The literal and figurative twists and turns of the road. It’s the inevitable exhaustion and reality of  “traveling”....especially as ya get older.  

Especially as the temperatures rise into the triple digits. THE TRIPLE DIGITS.

And okay, especially + particularly + totally when it’s a whirlwind “weekend” based on two separate tattoo appointments across town, in another state, for your spouse and yourself. 

What? Are we there yet? Are we? Am I? Aha, do keep with me as I continue with an attempt at conversational, real-life storytelling on the internet.

We’re almost there.

our first of 2 visits to FeelLove Coffee in Loveland, CO for cold brew + breakfast burritos

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Let me break it down:

• 1,142 (ish)  miles

• 4 super full days

• 3 overnights 

• 2 vast states 

• varying-degrees-of-cute coffee shops & fabulously spiced coldbrews

  & the almost surreal act of devouring goooooood breakfast burritos

• some condo corner tacos

• mhmm, a couple of doughnuts

• a quick happy hour negroni & hot thai spring rolls

• obligatory “big city” grocery runs at TJ’s, Esh’s (very Grocery Outlet), Costco, a surprise Indian market & Natural Grocers

• 1 much-needed hot weather haircut

• 1 late night, “retro-themed” vegan-friendly dive that wasn’t really worth writing home (er, to the internet) about besides the fact that it made me think fondly back on how much better the NW bar food of my past life was, and that’s not just the nostalgia talking. It’s the handcut fries and OLCC regulations, for starters.

• and okay, okay, let me truly declare the third night awe of our last meal being the creme de la creme of the trip, thanks to a visit to a modern trattoria in the inchingly revamped “old downtown” of Casper, WY. More in mo. We’re there! That’s the gossip!

[clockwise from top L to R to middle] 1) scenes of heading east to Cody, WY 2) as refreshly seen during a parade in Casper, WY 3) I dropped a chip into my margarita and I’m not complaining 4) inside Trisaratops’ studio corner at Disruptive Ink 5) avocado toast, spiced cold brew + Jules’ not-pictured breakfast burrito at FeelLove Coffee 6) cheers to vegan Denver history 7) happy hour bites at Aloy Thai 8) live hotel room Food Network, as it should be 9) Landline Doughnuts’ vegan selection

We got there! We’re here! What a lovely and valued twist (almost) ending to another whirlwind road trip. As it goes.

That final night in Casper, we walked the 10 minutes from our almost astoundingly charming (and affordable! How often does that happen anymore??) AirBnB to an Italian restaurant I’d bookmarked as the sun began to set, satisfied, and taking it slower than we had been during a whirlwind few days on the road. 

Racca’s Pizzeria Napoletana was legit - and not just because I spied Italian flour in the kitchen and had a bonus secret vegan menu with Violife mozz and parm. Again, in WYOMING.

Let’s be real, this oft picky, controversially cheese-less native New Yorker is usually content with a marinara pie when the ingredients are good, and these landed home for both the Brooklyn and Italia roots. The crust had the right chew, that welcome wood-fired char, and all around solid flavors. Keeping it simple, with a smidge of a fun vegan upgrade.

hence today's title: 1) outside the restaurant 2) wood-fired marinara pie

We shared the “vegan” menu marinara with San Marzano (duh, always a plus - again, especially in Wyoming ! ) tomatoes, basil, parm and garlic with drinks at the bar, which is so not something we often do at this age. Or, well, ever, in this remote national park dwelling lifestyle.

Oh, the unexpected pleasure in an “oil town” in the other far corner of the cowboy state. 

(And that’s not even properly expressing the all-caps GLEE I experienced picking up a punch bowl and cups at a couple of thrift stores, gosh.)

[clockwise from top L to R to middle] 1) varieties of green chiles at Spice Bazaar in Westminster, CO 2) fresh curry leaves, ditto 3) yuzu kosho at Trader Joe’s 4) oodles of grocery goodies from our trip - the more shelf stable, the better! 5) a new-to-me punch bowl + cups, to replace the punch bowl of my portland years

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Here’s to the miles, memories, melted groceries and some new ink, to boot.

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What’s *your* favorite part of a roadtrip?

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References + Relevant Links:

• Aloy Modern Thai in Denver, CO (3 locations - and the bartender was vegan and from Oregon, to boot!)

• FeelLove Coffee in Loveland, CO

• Landline Doughnuts & Coffee in Longmont, CO

• Racca’s Pizzeria Napoletana - the trattoria with both not-so “secret” vegan and gluten-free offerings in Casper, WY

• Spice Bazaar in Westminster, CO - I have officially restocked on amchur, woo!

• Sputnik in Denver, CO - I remain fond, enough : )

• Trisaratops Tattoos - the sweet artist of my new pasta and oatmilk tattoos, true story

• Vatos Tacos + Tequila in Loveland, CO - pretty dang fun to enjoy my first margarita in how long?!