Le Bakery Sensual
300 East 6th Avenue (6th and Grant)
Capitol Hill, Denver
303-777-5151
Bus directions: Take the 0 from Market Street Station to Broadway and 6th and walk east (or take the 6)

The Golden Triangle has Gateaux, but Capitol Hill has Le Bakery Sensual (just west of Little India at 6th and Grant).

It’s the kind of place you go to get tit cakes—or cakes displaying “any other part belonging to a man.” Or silly gifts for bachelor and bachelorette parties.Le Bakery Sensual, Capitol Hill, Denver 2009

The cakes in the cooler lacked the finesse of some I’ve seen at other bakeries. But then, that’s not really the point.

What I want to know is, why isn’t it “Le Bakery Sensuel”? Or “La Boulangerie Sensuelle”?

***

Cigars on Sixth/Clips on Sixth
707 East 6th Avenue
Capitol Hill, Denver
303-830-8100

Speaking of phallic symbols, Cigars on Sixth sits kittycorner across 6th from Pablo’s Coffee (at Washington). Clips on Sixth is conveniently located inside. Clips on Sixth sign, Capitol Hill, Denver 2009A barbershop inside a cigar shop…seems awfully Freudian to me.

***The Herbery exterior, Capitol Hill, Denver 2009

The Herbery
819 East 6th Avenue (6th and Clarkson)
Capitol Hill, Denver
303-831-6330

If you’re out in the hot spring weather looking for an oasis, visit the Herbery. Steve Katz called it the “cactus store” during our recent conversation at Pablo’s. I walked in and marveled at the lush plants on the floor and the succulents and cacti in the windows. There was barely room to walk, but I didn’t want to—I wanted to take 5 plants home.The Herbery houseplants, Capitol Hill, Denver 2009

When the owner appeared, I told him, “I’ve always wanted to stop here.”

“Story of my life,” he said, adding that situating a store on 6th Avenue may not have been the best choice. People drive by at high speeds and don’t stop at a place called the Herbery, probably expecting it to be an herbalist’s shop (as I did) or a place to score some pot.The Herbery sign, Capitol Hill, Denver 2009

At this point I remembered Denver Infill’s idea that Denver should remove 1 lane from every downtown street. A startling idea, isn’t it? If it were applied here, at the bottom of Capitol Hill, if 6th Avenue suddenly became 1 lane narrower, more people would have the opportunity to peek in the windows of the Herbery as they stalled in traffic.

Seems like the kind of thing the government would do after people gave up driving for busing or walking. Since the United States has been building around the car for the past 50 years (at least), removing lanes seems like shock therapy.

But it would integrate streets into the neighborhood, making them less like dividers, less formidable to cross.

A chicken and egg, question, I guess.

Leave A Comment

  1. BernardL April 23, 2009 at 6:41 am - Reply

    You certainly incorporated variety in this post. 🙂

  2. saint facetious April 23, 2009 at 8:22 am - Reply

    I often wish I could have lived 100 years earlier.

    And it’s weird, I’ve been to that cigar shop a half dozen times and never noticed there was a barber shop inside!

    saint facetious’s last blog post..Languages and more languages

  3. Beth Partin April 23, 2009 at 10:13 am - Reply

    Saint, why do you wish to have lived 100 years ago?

    Bernard, maybe I should have stuck to the cigars and cupcakes. That might have been more consistent. 🙂

    Beth Partin’s last blog post..Capitol Hill, Denver: Across 6th Avenue and up Downing

  4. Mary April 23, 2009 at 10:09 pm - Reply

    I have also been past those shops dozens or hundreds of times and never stopped in. Thanks for checking them out and sharing!

    If you see a place you think BlogDog should visit, let me know.

    Mary’s last blog post..Where was BlogDog Wednesday?

  5. Beth Partin April 24, 2009 at 7:37 am - Reply

    Mary, there was a pet store across from the Herbery. It looked pretty nice. I didn’t have time to go in there, but maybe you could check it out sometime.

    Beth Partin’s last blog post..Crazy About Denver: Views from the Daniels and Fisher Tower

  6. Darren March 20, 2010 at 12:17 am - Reply

    I too never noticed the barber shop inside of Cigars On Sixth until I read about their barber getting best shave in 5280 magazine. What a hidden gem both these shop are. I’ve always been big into cigars just because of my grandfather and if her were alive today I would think he would say this place was identical to the places he bought his sticks. It’s truly taking a step back in time when you walk into this place. What a great little neighborhood this is. Makes me want to move to back.

  7. Beth Partin March 20, 2010 at 12:29 pm - Reply

    Darren, thanks for commenting. I love 6th Avenue as well.
    .-= Beth Partin´s last blog ..Time to Rethink =-.

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