We asked several Facebook groups to let us know what was on their Denver Bucket List and here were some of the answers we got.

If you’ve done all of these or have your own to offer up, please let us know in the comments!

1. A summer concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater
2. Climb a 14er
3. Watch Cliff Diving at Casa Bonita
4. Paddle Boats at Washington Park
5. Eat a Rocky Mountain Oyster
6. Sled down Ruby Hill
7. Go to the Botanic gardens when the lilacs are in bloom
8. Go to a Rockies Game on a perfect summer evening
9. Kayak the Platte River in the Summer
10. Run the Furry Scurry with your best 4 legged friend
11. Attend a Broncos home game against the Raiders
12. Have a Burger at the Cherry Cricket in Cherry Creek
13. Visit Buffalo Bills grave at the top of Lookout Mountain
14. Climb Devils Head Canyon with a picnic
15. Go on a Brewery Tour
16. Go on a Winery Tour
17. Go to the Coors plant in Golden
18. Mile High Music Festival
19. Taste of Colorado
20. Ride the Pedicab on the 16th Street Mall
21. Go to the Denver Aquarium
22. Elitches
23. Visit the Mercury Cafe
24. Carriage Ride on the 16th Street Mall
25. Oktoberfest at Larimer Square
26. Make sandwiches to give to the homeless in Capital Hill
27. Go to a CU Buffs football game
28. Bungee Jump off the Royal Gorge Bridge
29. The Elizabeth Stampede
30. Gamble at Blackhawk
31. Go to Beau Joe’s in Idaho Springs (The real Beau Joe’s!)
32. Hot Air Balloon Ride
33. Go to DIA
34. Denver BrewFest
35. Pearl Street Mall when the street performers are out
36. ?? Whats on your list??

Photo Courtesy Steve Crecelius at VISIT DENVER

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My husband and I noticed this garden patio area with the fountain and soft lights and I thought it very reminiscent of my visit to Italy, so he knew he just had to bring me back here to see if the food and service was as good as the ambiance we’d seen outside.

It definitely delivered!

We started with The Grilled Artichoke which was sliced in half grilled and served with a lemon-garlic aioli.  YUM!

We also sampled the Tuna Carpaccio… thinly sliced ahi tuna, soy ginger vinigrette, toasted sesame, avocado and mango.  This was just wonderful, fresh, with enticingly complex flavors.

They have several salads available including a Grilled Summer Tomato & Fresh Mozzarella, Mixed Baby Greens, Italian and Tradtional Caesar.  We chose to share the Fig and Spinach Salad. This salad featured a pistachio crusted goat cheese served over prosciutto carpaccio and tossed with a light chianti-honey vinaigrette.  Take a LOOK!

One of my favorite Italian Foods is Pizza.  I tend to like something other than pepperoni, so this pizza below attracted my attention.  It has Roasted Chicken, Boursin cheese, artichoke hearts and of course brushed with extra virgin olive oil.

The Owner, Head Chef and Marketing Director  Maureen stopped by our table to check on us.

Our waitress was just fantastic and knew so much about the menu and the chef’s new world take on old world Italian Classics.

I am allergic to shrimp but she kept talking about this angel hair pasta in a puttanesca sauce… The chef was kind enough to make me a little taste of it being careful to not contaminate my dish with shrimp.  You should always alert your server and the chef if you have any common food allergies but rarely will they go out of their way like this to give you a taste of something you expessed an interest in.

These flavor combination’s in the puttanesca sauce did not disappoint.  A blend of all the classic Italian aromatics.. garlic, basil, parsley, olives, tomatoes… Soooo flavorful it’s hard to explain, and the owner and the server had different takes on the classic story of what  a “puttanesca” sauce is.  I’ll let you read what the Wiki has to say aout Puttanesca Sauce This picture does not do the dish justice at all.

My husband is a more meat and potatoes guy so he ordered the Double Cut Pork Chop which is grilled and served in a ranch style Topping Italian Gigande Beans with roasted chilies and peppers and topped with pickled red onions and a chimichurri sauce.  He enjoyed this huge hunk of pork immensely.

The other options for dinner were a non traditional take on Spaghetti, Baked Penne, Smoked Chicken Raviolis, Lasagna, Linguini with Clam Sauce, Eggplant Rollatini, Chicken Parmagiana, Pan Roasted Scallops, Grilled Florentine Steak, and Veal Piccata.  They also serve burgers and sandwiches and have an entire lunch menu as well.

Now for the most romantic and fun part of the meal… Dessert!

OH MY GOSH! The pastry chef here is simply amazing.  Take a look at these scrumptious things we had to choose from.

Cannolis and Spumoni.. Classic mini cannolis served with a scoop of spumoni ice cream and strawberries pazzo. My date (husband) chose this dessert.. for one thing it’s the biggest and who can go wrong with chocolate, cream and berries… all high on the romance factor and tastes exploding in your mouth.

Vanilla Creme Brulee with Caramelized Lemon Sugar - This didn’t look the prettiest but it was a perfect Brulee, crispy crunchy sugar topping with a killer creamy custard hiding underneath.

Flourless Chocolate Cake – espresso flavored chocolate cake with warm chocolate sauce and roasted banana gelato.

Coconut Panna Cotta with lime syrup, fruit garnish and cookies.

Chocolate Tiramisu – Rum and Kahlua soaked chocolate cake, iced in coffee ganache and layered with mascarpone sabayan. Sienna Restaurant, Castle Rock Colorado.

We also enjoyed 3 glasses of wine each chosen by our server and they were reasonably priced and melded perfectly with our selections.

This was simply a wonderful spot to choose for date night and one we will go back to again and again.  Check it out and lets us know in the comments what you thought.

Check out the website for the Courtyard at Castle Rock Here.

Before

This pizza is sooo easy.. seriously!! and inexpensive… date night doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive… Make every day life together a fun adventure!

After

And as promised the secret to a man’s heart… A cold brew served in a frosty mug.  I seriously think my hunky hubby fell in love the day I brought beer mugs for his freezer.  Even cheap azz beer tastes good in a frosty mug!  But this happens to be AWESOME beer, fresh from the downtown Denver Rock Bottom Brewery.  OH MY Gosh it’s totally addictive!  Look at this head…

Now not EVERY lady can be charmed with flowers.. but my guy knows that I CAN be.  These are actually cut from our very own garden so even more romantic than a trip to the flower shop for me.

I arranged them in the vase.. my hubby IS a guy after all…   Then a Netflix movie…  I happen to LOVE action flicks