Denver Lofts

There is a jewel in them thar mountains!

My family and I spend quite a bit of time up in the mountains of Colorado – especially in the Frisco/Copper Mountain areas.  One of the things that has been sorely lacking up there is a really, really good Mexican restaurant.

Of course, there are a number of “C – plus” places (as my dad would put it) that will fill you up in a pinch, and acually might taste ok after a few Margaritas.

BUT – this past weekend, we discovered a new place that is about as good as any place we have ever been – it’s called EL TOREO FAMILY MEXICAN RESTAURANT – and it is simply superb.  It’s owned and managed by Andres and Miguel Estrella.   The theme is bullfighting, as the Estrellas have a long history of bullfighting in their family.   The place is decorated with authentic, personal family photos.  The music was also authentic.

This restaurant used to be something else – another Mexican place that was so-so, but left a lot to be desired.   We came here last Saturday evening, and even though it was the off-season, they had everything on the menu (which, for being between skiing and summer seasons, is impressive – I know, as I used to be the head honcho of a restuarant in Vail many years ago.  That’s another story.

Miguel was waiting on us, and he was charming, and offered many stories about his family heritage, and bullfighting (we asked).   I was impressed that my parents are fairly knowledgeable about it, and could swap their knowledge with Miguel about “El Cordobes” the famous Spanish bullfighter.   My wife and I just sat back and looked a little ignorant, but it was fascinating and truly enjoyable to listen to.

Miguel suggested a few items that were “specialties” of the house – and since I am a Chili Relleno glutton, I tried that with a cheese enchilada.   It was….extraordinary…especially for being a middle-of-nowhere mountain-town Mexican place.  As anyone who has spent a few days skiing in Colorado, mountain Mexican food usually consits of bagged chips, canned salsa, and a pile of gloopy nachos as big as K2.

I am from Arizona, and spent a number of years in Tucson..just an hour from the border.  My parents lived in El Paso Texas for many, many years, and have traveled Mexico and Spain extensively.  We know good Mexican Food, and EL Toreo was authentic and absolutely delicious.

Opening a new restaurant, especially in this economy, and in an expensive ski-town can be a gamble, but it is our suspicion, and hope that El Toreo is here to stay.

Here’s what my mom wrote about it:

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It is amazing that in this day and age, people still fall for rental scams. But then, as I think about it, probably not everyone is as experienced as I am in knowing what to look for. After all, I run a number of rental sites, and see scams every day. Identifying a scammer, to me, is almost second-nature.

I have to remind myself that many people might be renting for the first time. Or, in this economy, many people are probably renting their homes, or a room in their house for the first time for the extra income, so naturally, these types of people wouldn’t be tuned in to the world of scammers.

Thankfully, my friend Dave, who just launched his new site Pickrent, has developed a great tool that will help you identify a scam. His Scam Tool
is very accurate, and quite helpful for anyone who may have received a questionable e-mail regarding renting, or a rental.

This is a great video, but for some reason, it is a bit unsettling.

A friend of mine, who is a very talented web guy, just launched a new rental site called Pickrent.   It is really quite slick – he really went after a great user experience.    The site is coded in coldfusion, but he also seamlessly implements great css, and has some cool javascript functions that help with the user experience.   The site is free, so anyone can post a rental.  I think down the road, Dave will also be accepting housing wanted ads too.    He also welcomes any ‘competitor’ of his to list their rentals on the site as well!

Last year about this time, I was running back in the open space behind my house in Broomfield, and there was a very majestic and regal looking pair of Bald Eagles that had taken a particular tree as their temporary home.  They stayed around there for about 2 months.

The Stearn’s Lake area (Carolyn Holmberg Preserve) is a beautiful area, and would make great nesting grounds for any predatory bird due to the large number of prairie dogs and other rodents in the area.

The lake itself is not huge but I have seen some of the fish pulled out of there – some of which are nothing short of huge.

I was running back there again this week, and was glad to see that the eagles are back.  It is really a sight to behold.  They are not afraid of humans, and really seem to take command of their surroundings.