The Gathering Storm

I started this blog in April of 2011, with the intention of documenting life in the newly coined "Downtown Lakewood." As the economic crisis of 2008 faded, Belmar saw a flurry of new construction, new stores, new restaurants. Many of my hopes as a new homeowner in the area were realized, from the opening of grocery stores and cafes, to public art, festivals and concerts.

The last few years have been harder, as Lakewood became polarized between pro and anti-growth factions. Important tax measures that would have improved schools and roads have failed. Across the country, the retail apocalypse has hit cities hard, and Lakewood has been no exception. Belmar has done better than most shopping districts because it serves residents and because a walkable downtown is a social experience that can't be replaced by an Amazon order. Still, the change of ownership from Continuum to Starwood has resulted in an absentee owner who doesn't quite get Belmar, and a disturbing number of empty storefronts have recently appeared.

The sudden rise of a worldwide pandemic is now going to test Lakewood like nothing in its history. Will businesses that provide face-to-face services be able to survive with their customers sheltering in place? Will residents be able to pay their bills if their place of employment closes? Will the city's homeless population be left to fend for themselves?

And once the pandemic finally passes, how long will it take to restart the economy? What will happen to city and state tax revenue in Colorado, where the TABOR amendment has dangerously straightjacketed finances after every previous recession?

I guess we're going to find out.

First Take: Menya Noodle Bar

Well, it's here-- Belmar's first ramen joint, Menya.

I've spent a good portion of my adult life looking for a really good bowl of ramen. For a couple of years in my twenties, I roamed the streets of Pusan, South Korea, looking for spicy ramen with lots of kimchi. This was street ramen, served up in thin metal bowls outside the university gates, cheap and filling.

Later I got to try the ramen in Japan, where the dish has a more subtle broth and the noodles are garnished with colorful vegetables topped with pork belly. The best was at a little noodle shop in Nagasaki, whose name I couldn't even read, where the bowls were slurped by lunchtime patrons seated at creaky wooden stools in front of a long, linoleum counter.

And can I talk about all the great ramen in Hawaii? I've gotten to eat at high-end concept ramen joints like Lucky Belly and local favorites like Kiwami Ramen.

So when I moved back to Denver, it was only natural that I started looking for ramen here, too. For years, the only place I liked was Oshima Ramen, the Denver franchise of the Japanese chain founded by Keiji Oshima, and dedicated (according to the sign when you walked in) to the "God of Ramen."

These days, with so many ramen places to choose from, I have two favorites: Ototo on S. Pearl Street in Denver, and Miyako Ra-men Spot on S. Broadway in Englewood. Ototo, owned by the same folks who run the infinitely glorious Sushi Den, serves up some of the best spicy ramen I've ever eaten. It's house-made, with a fatty, almost creamy broth that's positively decadent. Miyako's broth is almost as rich, but they get the spicy part down perfectly. Their heat reminds me of the ramen I used to get in Korea.

All of which brings me to Menya, downtown Lakewood's new ramen shop. And the truth is, I'm extremely hesitant to review it, having only been there once.

When I went in recently, I ordered a bowl of their house ramen, and found the broth rich and the pork belly as meltable as butter. Impressively, my bowl had a perfectly soft-boiled egg (many ramen shops mess this up) that was a delight to cut into. The only thing I didn't much like was the use of raw baby spinach as a garnish-- it was just too taken-out-of-the-plastic-bag for me. I'd have loved to see it wilted with a little sesame oil, or else replaced with something like bok choy. But honestly, I'm not an expert on regular ramen. What I like is Korean-influenced spicy ramen. And even then, I'm hardly an expert. All I know is what I like.

Menya has spicy ramen on the menu, but I was little surprised to see that it was a spicy chicken ramen, which is something I've never seen before. It was so surprising that I decided to hold off trying it until my next visit. Which means I'm going to hold off on any judgements until I've had a chance to try their take on spicy.

Meanwhile, I was recently downtown and passed by Menya's 16th Street Mall location, and it was packed at noon, so there's apparently a large group of people for whom Menya hits the spot.

Will Menya Belmar end up on my list of regular downtown Lakewood lunchtime spots? Time will tell, but it's a promising start.

Review: Share Tea Brings Taiwanese-style Bubble Teas to Belmar

It's been a busy year, but I wanted to post about one of my favorite new places in Belmar-- Sharetea.

Of course, there are a lot of Taiwanese-style "bubble tea" or boba shops in Denver these days, and Sharetea is far from the only business in Belmar to offer them. The thing is, Sharetea is an actual Taiwanese chain of boba tea shops. There are something like 500 Shareteas in the world, most of them in Asia, but more than a few are now open here in the US.

What I like about Sharetea, beyond the taste and quality of their drinks, is how culturally Chinese the franchise feels. When you walk in, you're greeted loudly by the staff. The menu has options for white or black boba, lychee, and aiyu jelly. It reminds me, in a reverse kind of way, of what it's like to go to a McDonald's in Beijing or Seoul-- the rules of the franchise dictate a certain feel and experience, no matter where in the world it's located.

It might sound strange to talk about McDonald's as an icon of American culture in these jaded days, but as a twenty-something, I vividly remember the instant feel of home I felt when ordering a Big Mac in Shanghai after a month of backpacking through rural and small town China. Guessing from the long lines I saw at Sharetea on opening day, I'd say there's a fair-sized community here in Denver that feels the same way about Sharetea.

One of the best examples of what I'm talking about happened on Lunar New Year, when a troupe of lion dancers performed both outside and inside the tea shop. The event began with a riot of firecrackers on the sidewalk outside. Shortly afterward, the lions came inside, exploring every inch of the cafe, climbing up on tables and pressing up against patrons. Finally, in an impressive display of acrobatics, the lions reached up to the ceiling and pulled down bundles of lettuce. Inside the lettuce? Traditional red envelopes with money for the dancers.

And what was I drinking while all this was going on? An Oreo ice milk blended with boba pearls-- a drink that now gives me an instant feel of home.

Featured Article: Everything You Think You Know About Housing Is Probably Wrong

The New York Times has a great article today titled "Everything You Think You Know About Housing is Probably Wrong," which delves into the confluence of forces undermining the push for affordable housing and sustainable cities. It's worth the read.

Yum! In-N-Out Burger Proposed for Downtown Lakewood

150 S. Wadsworth is that strip of undeveloped property on S. Wadsworth Boulevard between Pickering's Auto Service and the Swedish Belmar Emergency Room, and it's been the site of several proposed developments over the years, including a Kum&Go gas station and townhomes.

The city of Lakewood recently allowed the property owner to develop the site as multiple pad developments, in other words, a row of typical free-standing, suburban buildings. The first to be approved was a car wash, and it looks like a Sherwin Williams paint store and Bank of America won't be far behind. It was all pretty "meh."

Only now the city has received an application by In-N-Out Burger, the quasi-legendary California based burger chain, to build on the site as well. To which I say, "yum!"

If you've never been to an In-N-Out Burger, well, all I have to say is that they can be really, really good. When I was last in Arizona, I ate there three times in a single week, it was so good. Anthony Bourdain said it was his favorite fast food restaurant. Thomas Keller, owner of America's most famous restaurant, The French Laundry, celebrated the 16th anniversary of his restaurant with catered In-N-Out Burger.

The restaurant's founders, Harry and Esther Synder, supposedly refused to expand the chain beyond its original California locations, fearing that they would lose the quality control that made their burgers so delicious. So while rival McDonald's encircled the globe, In-N-Out Burger stayed close to home, until Grandaughter Lynsi Synder took control of the company in 1999, expanding slowly into Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, and Utah.

So it's a big deal that In-N-Out is finally coming to Colorado, and a really big deal that downtown Lakewood might get one. The Denver Post covered it. 9News covered it. It's big. And delicious. And hopefully it won't be scuttled by the anti-growth, anti-everything crowd that seems to be oh-so-vocal in Lakewood these days.

15th Annual Belmar Festival Italiano Coming Sept. 7th & 8th

Has it really been fifteen years since the first Belmar Italian Festival?

I didn't even live in downtown Lakewood the year of the first Festival Italiano. Instead I stumbled across it while on a bicycle ride out into the 'burbs from my then-home on Capitol Hill. There wasn't much to Belmar back then-- just a few blocks along Teller Street and Alaska Drive-- but I remember locking up my bike and grabbing a slice of pizza.

My plan for the festival this year is much the same as it has been every year since I moved to Belmar. I'll wander out my front door, pick up a glass of prosecco and watch Frank Sinatra perform (played this year by Derek Evilsizer). At some point I'll watch the Sbandieratori march up Alaska Drive and spin their flags to the sound of drums and trumpets. When it gets hot, I'll walk back home (that's the great thing about living in Belmar) and then come back in the early evening to sample the pizza and gelato.

One thing I am planning to do this year is map out my day a bit better than I usually do, as many of the musical acts only perform once. The schedule of events, including performance times, is available at the Belmar website.

Finally, it's worth mentioning that this year's festival is coinciding with the closure of Dino's Italian Food, which has operated on Lakewood's stretch of West Colfax for over 50 years. It's a reminder that in the early part of the 20th century, Italian Americans made up 20% of Colorado's population, and that the northwest side of Denver (including Lakewood) was home to many of these new Americans. When I was a kid in the 1970's, I remember the many red sauce, checkered table cloth, pizza and spaghetti joints that used to fill the area, along with an equal number of long gone Italian markets and taverns. Many of these places were already long past their heyday when I would go to them with my grandparents, but wandering the streets of Belmar during the annual Festival Italiano brings back memories for me, and is a wonderful celebration of the way that immigration has built today's Colorado.

Denver-based Ramen Shop, Menya Noodle, Coming to Belmar

I know it's been quiet here at La Vida Belmar. I've been meaning to go out and take photos of the amazing streetscaping that's finishing up on Alameda, or write a review of ShareTea, the Taiwanese bubble tea chain that's opened up shop in Belmar. But I was on vacation for much of June, and then I was back at the office with a lot of work to catch up on. So yeah, things have been kind of quiet on this blog.

Today, however, I was walking past the former Grappa Italian Bistro location on S. Teller St. in central Belmar an I saw something exciting. Work is happening inside the restaurant space, and the permits on-site are for Menya Noodle. This was so exciting that I had to write about it.

Menya, if you weren't aware, is a local chain of noodle shops owned by Denver chef J W Lee, who also happens to own Belmar's Wasabi Sushi. Each Menya has a slightly different menu, but I believe they all serve ramen. And if there's one thing Lakewood needs, it's a good ramen shop. Really. I get so tired of driving across town for ramen.

Now, when it comes to ramen, I prefer the Korean variety, which is topped with kimchi and deeply flavored with hot pepper paste, to the Japanese broths, which tend to strike me as a little bland. Lee is originally from South Korea (even if his restaurants are Japanese), so I'm hoping the Belmar location will carry a bold, Korean-style spicy ramen.