This section is for those who want to turn sightseeing into an adventure. Welcome to my SECRET LIST. I learned about these places living in the Russian community. Visit those places at your own risk. JK! Just be ready to feel like that new-in-town guy who walks into the cowboy bar, and everyone is turning and staring at him.
If you are serious about visiting these places, let’s do a quest! Find a “quest pick” item from each location and send me a picture of it. Participants who pick all five will get a special gift from the Russian Crash Course.
Secret Spot #1: Russian Homemade Food
Name: Black Sea Market
Address: 7920 E Mississippi Ave # M, Denver, CO 80247
Every Thursday, this place sells freshly made authentic Russian food! Whether you want to impress your Russian friend or just want to try something new, visit this place! The food here is better than in any restaurant or bar in Denver. Their chef is fantastic! The food is so good you can fool Russians into thinking that you cooked it yourself.
Pros: This food tastes exactly like your... I mean my mom’s cooking!
Cons: If you are not familiar with Russian food, you might end up buying something you will not like. Don’t visit this place before major Russian holidays. The day before New Year, Easter or May 9, looks like Black Friday out there.
Fun things: white chocolate, Russian tea, frozen blini.
Quest pick: 3-in-1 Russian coffee.
Secret Spot #2: Russian pharmacy
Name: Goldin Pharmacy & Medical Supply
Address: 909 S Oneida St # 11, Denver, CO 80224
Russia favors holistic doctors, Chinese medicine, and alternative medicine. For someone who grew up in the United States, this place might as well be a Carkitt Market. Here you can find mustard pads for back pain, bull blood candy bars for hemoglobin, medical iodine, and other bizarre things Russians use for home remedies. At this place, you can learn a bunch of vocabulary from reading Russian labels!
Fun things: Russian hand cream, sore throat candies.
Quest pick: Gematogen (bull blood candy bar).
Secret Spot #3: Russian Book Store
Name: Russian Books
Address: 970 S Monaco Pkwy, Denver, CO 80224
This place has a lot of Russian books and souvenirs. It is fun to visit if you look for some eye candy or need cute little gifts.
Fun items: Souvenirs from Russia
Quest pick: Matreshka
Secret Spot #4: Russian Library
Name: Eloise May Library
Address: 1471 S Parker Rd, Denver, CO 80231
Eloise May Library is located in Aurora, Colorado. Not many people know that this library has the biggest Russian books collection in Colorado. It includes history books, novels, and even dictionaries. If you have an intermediate and higher level of Russian, you can enjoy these books.
Fun items: Russian Kids books
Quest pick: Russian Recipe Book
Secret Spot #5: Hidden Russian Textbooks
Name: University of Boulder
Address: 1720 Pleasant St, Boulder, CO 80309
At the University of Boulder, there is a treasure hidden from curious eyes. On one of the upper levels in its library, there is a whole row of shelves filled with Russian textbooks from different years. It is tough to find, but it worth it.
Fun items: new textbook additions
Quest pick: take a picture of the oldest Russian textbook.
Afterwords:
There are more than 100,000 Russian speakers in Denver metro area. There are Russian dentists, Russian mechanics, Russian magazines, and Russian daycares.
You can learn a lot more about the local community if you speak Russian.
Participate in Russian Crash Course and meet local Russians :)
Other places I didn’t mention:
Samarkand Restaurants, New York Deli, The Tea House in Boulder, Pirogies Shop in Arvada and more.
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