Old South Gaylord Shopping District / Reiver's

Gaylord Street, Between Mississippi and Tennessee
http://www.southgaylordstreet.com/index.html

One of Denver's oldest shopping districts, Old South Gaylord is a quaint, beautiful area that can provide a day's distraction with shopping, dining, galleries, and spas, all crammed in to a couple of blocks. No chain stores here - these are cute boutiques, neighborhood establishments, and one-of-a-kind locations. If that's not enough, then a short walk will land you in Wash Park where you can enjoy the beauty (watch out for the man sunbathing in a thong - ass up, no less!) and get in some recreation.

This weekend, we attended the Memorial Day weekend festival taking place on Gaylord. Live bands were on the center stage, a petting zoo and rides were available to keep kids occupied, and local artisans sold their wares (from fresh-baked goodies and tie-died shirts to homemade soaps and art.) The festival wasn't too crowded, and the people in attendance were friendly, which made for a great afternoon.

Rather than grabbing some food from one of the booths, we decided to venture in to Reiver's, a cute bar on the corner of Gaylord and Mississippi. A long-standing tradition in the neighborhood, Reiver's is cozy and has two outdoor seating areas - a patio off the front, and a courtyard in the back. Definitely a neighborhood bar, there are TVs scattered around with sports playing, and the interior is done in dark wood. As we just wanted lunch to sustain us as we wandered through the shops and booths, we both opted for wraps - S had the Chicken Ranch and G had the Turkey Bacon Avocado. Both were delicious, with fresh ingredients. The Chicken Ranch had grilled chicken, cheese, lettuce, red onion, and ranch dressing. The Turkey Bacon Avocado came with lettuce and aioli mayonnaise. G had his with Tomato Basil soup, which was creamy and tasty (though it could have been a bit warmer - but who orders soup when it's over 80 degrees outside?!,) and S had hers with fries, which were crispy, fresh and hot. The service was good and friendly despite the crowd. An adorable, out of the way place, we'd definitely return for a lazy afternoon (and we wish we lived closer so we could return for a lazy evening with a couple of drinks!)