[caption id="attachment_1726" align="alignright" width="300"] Denver B-Cycles come complete with a very large basket, perfect to carry leftovers or bottles from the winery home.[/caption]

Denver was a launch site for the community bike share program B-Cycle, which we think is pretty darn cool. The concept is simple: B-Cycle stations are located throughout the city, and anyone can rent a bike for 24 hours for just $8, traveling from station to station throughout Denver (though you have to dock a bike back up within 30 minutes to avoid extra fees).

It got us thinking that this community share bike program can launch fellow wine lovers on a food and Bonacquisti wine across Denver. These adventures all start at the 16th and Boulder station, which is the closest to the winery.

To Cherry Creek and Beyond! (5 miles)

Tony Pasquini has been busy this past year, taking back  many of the the Pasquini's Pizza restaurants he franchised — and opening new ones, including a Cherry Creek location. Although to avoid confusion with a Pasquini's his sister owns nearby, the Cherry Creek location is known simply as Tony P's. It's a pizzeria first, but offers a diverse offering of Italian sandwiches and pastas to go alongside our wines.

Directions: Head downhill, across the two pedestrian bridges connecting downtown. Once in Commons Park, head south to connect with the Cherry Creek path, then pretty much follow that until you get to Cherry Creek North. There's a B-Cycle station at the corner of 3rd and Milwaukee, and Tony P's is a half block away.

To the Other Neighborhood Bar (2.6 miles)

We're fond of the neighborhood bars and restaurants that dot the landscape of Sunnyside and Highland, but there are plenty of other fantastic areas throughout the city that feature dining establishments equally as homey. The Uptown neighborhood, for example, is home to Jonesy's EatBar, a bistro that features tasty American fare and a solid Colorado wine list, including Bonacquisti jug wines. We're fans of the Mac 'n Cheese, but the rotating seasonal menu impresses at every turn, and the jovial atmosphere inside the restaurant has us a little jealous of Uptown. We still love Sunnyside, don't worry.

Directions: Head downhill, across the two pedestrian bridges connecting downtown. Once in Commons Park, head north to 20th Street, take a right, and cruise along the outskirts of downtown. When you get to 20th Avenue, take a left. Jonesy's will be on the righthand side, and the B-Cycle station will be one block further, basically where 20th Avenue meets 22nd Street.

Bonacquisti Out and Back (3.4 miles, roundtrip): 

A no-brainer in our mind, the "out and back" is a simple ride north-ish from the B-Cycle station to get to the winery. Plus we're now open until 7 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays for our extended Tap Room hours, which turns our tasting room into the happy hour stop of Sunnyside. We have pub tables set in the tasting room, a relaxing back patio for sipping and great deals on wine by the glass. And we have noticed that a half-case of wine fits pretty well in the Denver B-Cycle basket (wink, wink).

Directions: Head up 16th and take the bend onto Tejon Street until you reach 46th. Take a right on 46th, left on Pecos and right into the parking lot anchored by the Quizno's. Note: There's a good chance you'll take the bike out for more than the 30 minutes allowed, so expect a few extra bucks charged to your card for renting the B-Cycle. 

Back to Highland

Of course, many of these adventures can end at the 16th and Boulder B-Cycle station. If you're coming our way, enjoy Bonacquisti wines at Pasquini's Pizza (32nd and Zuni), Linger (30th and Tejon) and Highland Tap & Burger (32nd and Vallejo).

[caption id="attachment_1197" align="aligncenter" width="520" caption="Highland Tab & Burger Denver is one of the great stops on our East Highland Pub Crawl."][/caption]

Anyone who has called the east side of Highland home for more than a few years can remember a time when it wasn’t all that easy to walk and drink in the neighborhood. Sure, there were a few seedy watering holes, but they weren’t the type of places that you’d want to, say, invite Cherry Creek friends to.

Well, a little redevelopment has changed that, and now you can actually host an East Highland Bar Crawl at some of the city's best drinking establishments, so long as you don’t mind trudging a few blocks.

Williams & Graham 
3126 Tejon St.

The newest addition to the ‘hood is arguably the most unique. Sean Keynon, the city’s best barman, helped build this throwback bar that fashioned after a Prohibition speakeasy. The entry way is a bookstore — with a few cocktail-related books for sale, to boot — that has a false wall that opens to the bar. Inside, it’s a simple 1920s cocktail mecca, with capable bartenders slinging handcrafted drinks from a lost era. The Smokey Mountain Cocktail is a mezcal pleasure, but it’s almost too much fun to pass up a bartender's choice. Reservations strongly suggested.

Highland Tap & Burger
2219 W. 32nd Ave.

Fancy burger joint? Yawn. Well, that’s the normal response. Then this joint opened up in 2010 and totally took over the Highland scene. It’s equal parts upscale burgers and food, sports bar, beer heaven, community gathering space and live music venue (even has a tasty wine list). On the first point, the burger named after the the restaurant is a must: It’s piled high with pulled pork and a fried egg. Crazy good. Then, there are the TVs. Flatscreens circle the place, making it easy to watch just about any game without having to do more than swivel. The beer selection is crazy good, too. Of course, none of this is worth anything if no one comes in. Highland Tap has catered to the neighborhood by having cool events like a weekly Wednesday run and women-focused beer events. Oh, and somehow it’s managed to pull acts such as Soulja Boy to preform.

LoHi Steakbar
3200 Tejon St.

One of the pioneers of serving the foodie crowd in the area when it opened, LoHi caters to the high-end burger aficionados or those looking for a tasty, yet affordable, steak. Try the Blue Cheese Fondue as a side to your drinks. While the menu itself is delicious, the bar scene is the draw on a Friday or Saturday night. It’s become even busier as a spillover for those who can’t get into William & Graham across the street.

Zio Romolo's Alley Bar
2400 West 32nd Ave.

Perhaps lost in the excitement of Pasquini’s opening a Highland outpost a few years back was the addition of a “separate” bar, Zio Romolo’s. It’s technically connected and serves the restaurant’s full menu, but it feels like its own bar. The bar area is dive-y in a nice way, and narrow and cozy. It’s a perfect late-night stop for a slice and a cold beer.

Highland Tavern
3400 Navajo St.

We come back here just for a tator tot binge on occasion. Beyond that, this gem on the east, east side of Highland is a quintessential neighborhood pub that is warm and inviting. It’s the type of place that simple begs you to tip back a pint with some buddies during a happy hour endeavor. With the requisite tots — or mac ‘n cheese.

If you include LoHi, which starts along Tejon Street south of 32nd, you can add Linger, Ale House at Amato's, LoLa and Vita to the jaunt.

View East Highland Pub Crawl in a larger map

[caption id="attachment_1223" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="The bar at Highland Tap & Burger in Denver is a great place for a burger and a beer (or a glass of wine!)"][/caption]

This first thing you’ll notice about Highland Tap & Burger (2219 W. 32nd Ave., Denver) is that it is not, in fact, a wine bar. Perhaps it’s the name, the endless flatscreens showcasing the Broncos, Nuggets or Avs (and Red Sox) or the 20 beers on tap that gives this little factoid away.

That hasn’t stopped co-owner Katie O’Shea from becoming quite the wine aficionado. In fact, she’s an executive sommelier and has put together a small but thoughtful wine list (that usually includes a Bonacquisti selection) at the burger joint that’s become one of the most popular spots in the Highland neighborhood since opening in the fall of 2010.

“One of the things that was really important to me about this restaurant was we didn’t want to, No. 1., alienate women,” O’Shea says. “We didn’t want to be thought of as a sports bar, that freezer-to-fire connotation. We have really fresh food here, and to go along with that … we wanted to have a nice little wine list.”

[caption id="attachment_1222" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Katie O'Shea has built a flavorful wine list at Highland Tap."][/caption]

An executive sommelier might seem like an odd partner in a business that pushes out heaping beef patties piled high with toppings (literally, the Tap Burger comes with a burger and pulled pork and a fried egg), but everything about O’Shea’s entry into the Denver restaurant business seems even more bizarre.

See, O’Shea started her career as far from food as possible. First, she was a certified financial analyst before realizing that wasn’t her desired career path. Think food was next? Not exactly. She went back to school, getting a graduate degree in mathematics and education from a little university called Harvard.

That led to a four-year stint teaching math to teenaged boys who had various run-ins with the law in the form of drugs, weapons and assault charges. The inevitable burnout came just about the time that some of her husband’s Colorado connections started talking to the couple about going into business with an upscale burger bar concept in Highlands.

They jumped at the chance to move from Boston (Highland Tap is a Boston sports gathering spot) to Denver.

“The kids [her students] drove me crazy,” O’Shea says. “I told them I was opening a bar because they drove me to drink."

Husband Juan Padro brought the restaurant experience to the table, she added her smarts and a love of wine. Instead of an obligatory red and white, Highland Tap’s boutique list features about 14 options ranging from our own [d] Red to 3 Degrees Pinot Noir, Pine Ridge Vineyards Chenin Blanc/Viognier, a summertime Riesling that goes killer with hot wings and a variety of other fun wines that pair to the menu flavors.

“We just wanted to have a nice little list to appeal to the ones who weren't necessarily the beer-guzzling type,” she says. “A nice little list that goes with the burgers and salads. That’s the fun part, picking the wine list.”

Even being an admitted cork dork hasn’t stop O’Shea from turning to the dark side. And by dark side, we mean becoming a beer geek. It comes with the territory of this restaurant. Ever the academic, she’s jumped into the world of suds with a pint glass in each hand, learning the ins and outs of the Colorado craft beer industry and passing along her new knowledge to women throughout the metro area.

She, at the urging of Juan, started a women’s beer club, dubbed Crafty Ladies. It’s become so popular that Highland Tap offers the same event twice each month to keep up with demand. “Crafty Ladies has been keeping me very, very busy,” she says.

O’Shea is even flirting with the idea of becoming a cicerone, the beer equivalent of a high-ranking sommelier. “I heard that test is really hard. I’m kind of torn right now between going further with the wine or going further with the beer.”

But wine is still her No. 1 drink, and we get behind any burger joint that has options such as CC Cabernet (a California label developed by Boulder-based Master Sommelier Richard Betts) and, of course, [d] Red or another offering from Bonacquisti.

“I have to say I have a huge appreciation for craft beer now, but my first love is still wine,” O’Shea says.

[d] Red wine pairing
($8 glass, $24 bottle at Highland Tap, 2219 W. 32nd Ave., Denver)
The Rocky Mountain lamb burger ($10) is served on a savory caramelized onion bun with goat cheese, tomato relish and arugula. The nutty, creaminess of these toppings with the rich lamb compliments its dried fruit and spice nicely.

Bonacquisti Wine around the 'hood:

• Linger's crazy wine list
• Mondo Vino stocking Highland with booze
• Pizza and wine, New York style at Garlic Knot

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