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Food & Drink Issue CO FFEE, BREWS & BITES

O C TO B E R 2 02 6

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LIFESTYLE LETTER

Savoring the Flavors of Fall

October 2026 PUBLISHER

Branden (Brandy) Murray branden.murray@citylifestyle.com E D I TO R

Denise Leslie | denise.leslie@citylifestyle.com

October has arrived in Durango, and the mountains are beginning their annual show. Aspens are turning gold, the air feels a little crisper, and cozy flavors are returning to our tables. In this Food & Drink issue, we celebrate the people, places, and traditions that bring our community together. We’re warming our hands around cups of coffee, discovering the savory comfort of Cornish pasties and saving room for pie—including a strawberry rhubarb kolache you can make at home. We also raise a glass to Steamworks Brewing Company, now officially “over the hill” at 30. For three decades, Steamworks has poured far more than great beer—it has created a place for friends, neighbors, and visitors to gather and share a taste of Durango. Food and drink tell stories. They remind us where we’ve been, introduce us to something new, and give us a reason to slow down and connect. Whether it’s over morning coffee, a freshly baked pastry, or a locally brewed pint, some of life’s best moments happen around the table. Here’s to fall colors, familiar flavors, and the people who make Durango such a delicious place to call home. Cheers! DENISE LESLIE, EDITOR @DURANGOCITYLIFESTYLE

S O C I AL M E D I A C O O R D I N ATO R

Arielle Alston | arielle.alston@citylifestyle.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Kalista Pena | kalista.pena11@gmail.com Kathleen O’Connor | kathleenoconnor11@yahoo.com Jennifer Mason | jen.michelle.mason@gmail.com C O N T R I B U T I N G P H OTO G R AP H E R S

Andy Wingerd, Kathleen O’Connor, Bonnie Boggiano, Denise Leslie

Corporate Team CEO Steven Schowengerdt President Matthew Perry COO David Stetler CRO Jamie Pentz CoS Janeane Thompson AD DESIGNER Rachel Chrisman LAYOUT DESIGNER Andi Foster QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Anna Minnick

Learn how to start your own publication at citylifestyle.com//franchise. Proverbs 3:5-6 Durango City Lifestyle® is published monthly by Lifestyle Publications LLC. It is distributed via the US Postal Service to some of the Durango area’s most affluent neighborhoods. Articles and advertisements do not necessarily reflect Lifestyle

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L I F E ST Y LE LE T T E R

Publications’ opinions. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without written consent. Lifestyle Publications does not assume responsibility for statements made by advertisers or editorial contributors. Information in Durango City Lifestyle® is gathered from sources considered to be reliable, but the accuracy of all information cannot be guaranteed.

inside the issue OC TOB E R 2 02 6 | FOOD & D R I N K

18 Featured

18 22

WHY CHOOSE BETWEEN PRESTIGE AND PLACEMENT?

Departments

Pearls Before Stein

Lifestyle Letter

After Three Decades, Steamworks Brewing Co. Powers Forward, Full Steam Ahead

City Scene

Business Monthly

Happy Hour FOOD + BEVERAGE

The Unconventional Pie

Eat Right FOOD + BEVERAGE

Home Update HOME + DESIGN

Hot Spot FOOD + BEVERAGE

Seasonal Setups FOOD + BEVERAGE

Events

Culinary Creations FOOD + BEVERAGE

How The Happy Pasty brought a 700-year-old tradition to downtown Durango

Designed to Gather Fine Wood Interiors and the Heart of the Durango Home

On the Cover Photography: Andy Wingerd

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city scene WHERE NEIGHBORS CAN SEE AND BE SEEN

COURTESY OF DURANGO SENIOR OUTDOORS

DENISE LESLIE

COURTESY OF THE ARTROOM COLLECTIVE

1: Durango Creative District folks gather for the State of the Arts Soirée at Gable House Inn. 2: The Durango Seniors Outdoors outing to Grizzly Peak. 3: Artists at The ArtRoom Collective at the Smiley celebrate 5 years creating art together!

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The Blacksmith Cafe Durango’s newest creative pairing brings craftsmanship and coffee under one roof. Nathaniel Winkler runs Element Hardware, while his partner, Johanna, operates Blacksmith Café. Together, the couple has created an interactive hardware showroom and neighborhood café where visitors can enjoy coffee and pastries, browse distinctive handcrafted metalwork, and watch live blacksmithing. With open-forging hours and beginner classes, the space celebrates artistry, hands-on learning, community, and connection. Visit www.blacksmithcafe.com for more information.

Photography Courtesy of The Blacksmith Cafe

The Animas Apron: Tools for Inspired Cooking At The Animas Apron, the right tools help inspire great cooking. Its thoughtfully curated collection of small kitchen appliances is selected for craftsmanship, performance, and timeless design. Whether you’re refining a favorite recipe or trying something new, each piece is chosen to make kitchen time easier and more enjoyable—turning everyday prep into a creative experience and every meal into something truly worth savoring. Take a look at www.animasapron.com

Photography Courtesy of Animas Apron

Toast Records & Bakes: Where Vinyl Meets Pastry Toast Records & Bakes gives Durango music lovers a place to slow down, dig through vinyl, and discover something unexpected. Owned by Joshua and Kyra Bensik, the Main Avenue shop pairs a thoughtfully curated selection of new and reissued records with select pastries. Intimate live performances add another layer, transforming this cozy record store and bakery into a gathering place for music, conversation, and community. Visit their Instagram at toast.records.and.bakes

Photography Courtesy of Toast Records & Bakes

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Sean Clark, Kris Oyler and Joel Hayes

ARTICLE BY JENNIFER MASON PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDY WINGERD

After Three Decades, Steamworks Brewing Co. Powers Forward, Full Steam Ahead

Pearls Before Stein Relationships are hard work. Perhaps no one knows this fact better than the hardworking crew inside Steamworks Brewing Co. now celebrating their 30th anniversary. “They said we wouldn’t last 30 days,” says co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer Brian McEachron. Kris Oyler, CEO and originating mastermind behind Steamworks, chimes in, “Most restaurants don’t make it this long anymore. Three years later, it’s gone.” Since 1996, Kris and Brian have grown their humble brew pub into a hospitality empire spanning three eateries (Steamworks, El Moro Tavern & Spirits, and

H AP PY H OU R | FO O D + BE VE RAGE

industry take off, Kris wondered: could he start his own brew pub in a small, scenic mountain town? He shared the idea with Brian, who was all too ready to put his marketing degree to good use. “What drew Kris and me to Durango is that it had a backbone of hard-working people. Workingclass people doing good things,” Brian explains. As outsiders in a small town, Kris and Brian took pains to learn Durango’s local history and roots. Rather than pick any building, they sussed out historic sites—first, the old Pittman Motorworks on Second Avenue, and later, the El Moro Saloon on Main Avenue. Kris adds that with 30 years under its belt, Steamworks is now part of that history. “Thirty years out of 150—that’s a pretty big percentage of the history of Durango!” CONTINUED >

Homeslice Pizza) at five locations—with a new airport gastropub on the way—all helmed under the banner of Peak Food & Beverage, a parent company boasting nearly 40% ownership among its employees. Peak aptly represents a pinnacle, boasting beers, food, staff, and even beer can labels that have all amassed local, state, national, and world awards. Some might say these accolades are the natural byproducts of a polished business plan, but in reality, Steamworks’ origins and operations have often defied conventional restaurant wisdom, instead abiding by the same covenants couples apply in any enduring partnership.

HONOR EACH OTHER’S HERITAGE

Couples who know each other’s families and histories build unity. Kris and Brian, who often finish each other’s sentences, share a common heritage. Both grew up in family-owned restaurants in Greeley, Colorado. “I had my first job when I was nine or 10 years old,” Brian says. “Kris started in his family’s business when he was like four or five years old,” he notes. Later, as college students with bills to pay, both boys worked at the Oyler family’s brew pub. Kris brewed beer while Brian bartended. Seeing the craft

OCTOB ER 2 0 2 6 | C I TYL I FE STYL E . C OM / D UR A N G O

“WE BUILT THIS BUSINESS ON COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT, COMMUNITY EVENTS, LUBRICATING GOOD CAUSES,” BRIAN MCEACHRON ATTESTS. “DO GOOD FOR GOOD’S SAKE, AND GOOD WILL COME FROM THAT.”

H AP PY H OU R | FO O D + BE VE RAGE

CHECK IN OFTEN

Healthy, happy relationships achieve stasis through regular check-ins—designated discussion times to cover what is and isn’t working. To that end, the crew at Steamworks has racked up 1,560 Tuesdays for team meetings. “Since day one, we have had weekly meetings,” Kris attests.

MAKE SOMETHING THAT LIVES BEYOND YOU

The best partnerships create something that lives on, whether that’s children or a legacy fund. Peak Food & Beverage hopes to attain entrepreneurial immortality through its unique employee-owner structure. On any given shift, multiple owners might be delivering food to tables or serving up beers. Executive Chef and Chief Operations Officer Sean Clark was one of the earliest employee owners. He too was a college kid paying the bills when he started tossing pizza dough at Steamworks in the mid-1990s. His post-college plans to teach art shifted when he was offered a chance to own a share of the company. “It’s a small stake, but then it becomes more,” he says. “You start contributing to decisions and guiding the direction of the company.” Between generous wages, ample benefits and perks, plus employee-owner dividends, Kris and Brian see very little turnover. The average staff tenure exceeds a decade. This stability radiates across the community as employees reliably support their families and mortgages.

GROW BETTER TOGETHER

Self-improvement is a feedback loop in the best relationships. One partner’s growth sparks transformation in the other. The entire management team seems obsessed with one question: What can we do better? Their modus operandi has also centered on how to make Durango a better place. “We built this business on community involvement, community events, lubricating good causes,” Brian attests. “Do good for good’s sake, and good will come from that.” In addition to the countless gift cards donated to local nonprofits and kegs of beer gifted to local events, Steamworks is also a major sponsor of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, Devo, and the Community Concert Hall, to name only a few venerable beneficiaries. Pearls are the customary anniversary gift for reaching that thirtieth year. For Steamworks, El Moro, and Homeslice, the pearls they offer locals are a promise that they will always work hard for all of us hardworking souls with a thirst for good times and a hunger for great gatherings.

OCTOB ER 2 0 2 6 | C I TYL I FE STYL E . C OM / D UR A N G O

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THE Unconventional PIE How The Happy Pasty brought a 700-year-old tradition to downtown Durango ARTICLE BY KATHLEEN O’CONNOR PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDY WINGERD

The versatile pasty, once a prized food item on the dinner tables of medieval England’s royalty, then the humble all-in-one meal of choice for 18th-century Cornish tin miners and, later, for Colorado miners in Leadville and Silverton, has found its latest home in modern-day Durango, courtesy of Kerry Adams, owner of The Happy Pasty located in downtown Durango. You may be wondering: what exactly is a pasty? Pronounced “PASS-tee”, the pasty is a portable, half-moon-shaped pastry traditionally filled with potatoes, onions, rutabaga, and steak. In Cornwall, the pasty is a deeply rooted symbol of the country’s rich heritage, one Kerry is excited to share with Durango. Married to a Cornishman, Kerry and her husband, Ross, traveled back to Cornwall every couple of years, where she first experienced the pasty. She immediately loved the idea of a tasty, affordable grab-and-go you could carry with you around town. That combination of a scrumptious, flaky crust, a hearty filling, and no need for a fork hooked her. When COVID hit, Kerry had to pivot from her 35-year massage therapy practice in San Jose, California. She decided to try pasty-making, poring over traditional Cornish recipes and gathering tips from her mother-in-law on perfecting the pasty dough. She began selling pasties as a roadside pop-up in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Clearly, she was onto something special, as her popularity and customer base grew weekly. Sure, the pasties were delicious, but something else was happening too: nostalgia.

EAT R IGH T | FO O D + BEVE RAGE

Photo courtesy of Durango Chamber of Commerce

For the Brits and Cornish transplants living nearby, biting into a pasty evoked memories of home. “It helped people during COVID have a connection,” Kerry says. Customers would line up and, unprompted, start telling her their stories. “I remember my grandma making these,” or “I remember waiting in line for these at lunchtime.” Kerry recalls thinking, “Wow, this is what it’s about. It’s about connection.” After moving to Durango in 2021 and spotting a small, vacant kiosk on Main Street a few years later, The Happy Pasty was born in June 2025. CONTINUED >

OCTOB ER 2 0 2 6 | C I TYL I FE STYL E . C OM / D UR A N G O

THE PASTY CONNECTION TO COLORADO MINING TOWNS

The journey of the pasty to mining towns in Colorado begins in Cornwall, of course, thanks to its thriving tin industry in the 1700s, where it became a miner’s ideal staple during lunch breaks. It could be easily transported into the mines without cutlery, providing much-needed sustenance while staying warm thanks to a sophisticated feat of food engineering. The pasty’s shape, along with its heavily crimped edge, created a seal that insulated the filling and kept it warm for hours. That crimped edge also doubled as a handle since the miners’ hands were often contaminated with arsenic dust, a toxic byproduct from tin mining. After eating the pasty, the handle portion was thrown into the mine to avoid arsenic ingestion and as an offering to the “mine gods” for protection. As Cornwall’s mines declined in the 1800s, its miners, nicknamed “Cousin Jacks,” brought their skills to other countries, including America, and eventually landed in Colorado’s mining camps. They brought pasties with them, revered for the same reasons: portable, calorie-dense, and built to survive underground. Ingredients shifted with local preferences, but the pasty endured as a hallmark of the immigrant labor that built the West’s mining towns. -YOU CAN FOLLOW THE HAPPY PASTY ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR WEEKLY SPECIALS AND SPECIAL EVENT DATES AND TIMES.

EAT R IGH T | FO O D + BEVE RAGE

Steak, Cheese and a Little Bit of Texas Beyond the traditional steak-and-cheese pasty, Kerry rotates sweet and savory specialty pasties weekly and offers take-and-bake options for those who want fresh-from-the-oven flavor at home. She also makes Texas-style kolaches, filled with smoked sausage and cheese. Find The Happy Pasty on Fridays 12-3 p.m. and Saturdays from 11-2 p.m. on Main Street. As Kerry puts it, “When the British flags are flying, I’m open!”

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D e s i g n e d to G a t h e r FINE WOOD INTERIORS CREATES KITCHENS SHAPED AROUND HOW FAMILIES LIVE.

ARTICLE BY KATHLEEN O’CONNOR PHOTOGRAPHY BY RYAN THROOP AND KATHLEEN O’CONNOR

Co-owner of Fine Wood Interiors, Ryan Throop

H OM E U P DAT E | HO M E + D E SIGN

Coffee at dawn, wine at dusk. This generous island gives room for both.

You can plan the house party anywhere you want. Set out the comfy chairs in the living room, string fairy lights across the deck, arrange the appetizers on the dining table. It won’t matter. By the second glass of wine, everyone will be inevitably standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, reaching past one another for the corkscrew, having a conversation with whoever is whisking something on the stove. There’s no doubt about it: kitchens hold a special place in the home that draws people to it. Eventually we stop fighting it and, in the case of Fine Wood Interiors, start designing for it. That instinct to cozy up in the kitchen is supported by the data. In the National Kitchen & Bath Association’s 2026 Kitchen Trends Report, surveyed designers were unanimous in agreeing that kitchens are becoming more personalized, multi-purpose hubs. Kitchens are no longer places to cook but also places to gather.

BEAUTIFUL FUNCTIONALITY

Understanding that important distinction is the daily work at Fine Wood Interiors, the cabinetry shop and showroom on Bodo Drive that has been designing Southwest Colorado kitchens since 1998. Founded by Erik and Donna Enriquez, the business was purchased in 2024 by its current owner, Ryan Throop, and his wife, Klancy Nixon. Throop did not just arrive at cabinetry by accident. “I definitely didn’t stumble into it,” he says. His father ran a cabinet shop in northern Michigan, so the trade was the backdrop of his childhood in Traverse City. At 18, he moved to Durango on little more than an aunt and uncle’s glowing description, arriving in October of 2008. He went to a job fair, started serving tables at Purgatory, and spent two winters as a ski bum before a conversation with a customer turned into his first carpentry job on a house at Lake Purgatory.

Six years of home building, 10 years total, followed by a slight detour. In 2014, he launched a camper van rental company as a side business, then later a custom van build-out shop with a full metal and wood shop behind it. When he was ready to return to the home services industry, cabinetry sat near the top of his list. Three months after Ryan and Klancy met the Enriquezes, the deal closed. Today, the couple continues the legacy that Erik and Donna began. One of them is “quality craftsmanship and specialized service.”

DESIGNING AROUND THE WAY YOU ACTUALLY LIVE

What Fine Wood Interiors offers now is a hybrid. The showroom partners with five manufacturers, spanning affordable semi-custom lines to fully custom high-end cabinetry, and offers a wide range of wood species, paints, stains, and custom finishes. Behind that sits the company’s own shop, where the team builds live-edge shelving, custom bookcases, the odd dimension that finally makes a room work. That matters, because no two Durango households cook and gather the same way. A family with small children may need deep drawers a six-year-old can manage and a landing spot for backpacks. A couple who entertains may want an island with real seating and a beverage area that keeps guests out of the cook’s path. Fine Wood Interiors’ work stretches well past the kitchen door, too. They custom-design cabinetry for wine cellars, wet bars, outdoor kitchens, pantries, and entryways, among others.

A FAMILY BUSINESS, THREADED IN

Ask Throop what he loves talking about the most, and the answer is not just cabinetry. CONTINUED >

“We feel really privileged that we’re able to own and operate a business in such a great small town. It allows us to be threaded into the community.”

OCTOB ER 2 0 2 6 | C I TYL I FE STYL E . C OM / D UR A N G O

“What Fine Wood Interiors offers now is a hybrid. The showroom partners with five manufacturers, spanning affordable semi-custom lines to fully custom, high-end cabinetry.” Built for cooking in, not just for looking at.

H OM E U P DAT E | HO M E + D E SIGN

“That would be my family,” he says. His daughters, ages three and six, are in and out of the showroom regularly. He and his wife, Klancy, are raising the girls on the Durango lifestyle options that brought them here in the first place. Things like rafting, fishing, hiking, and beautiful mountain views. For Throop, quality of life is just as important as work. And that includes giving back to the community. He extends that same thinking to his business. Fine Wood Interiors offers its staff paid volunteer days, sending the team out to work alongside local nonprofits such as Adaptive Sports and Manna Soup Kitchen. Throop credits the Durango Chamber, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), and Region 9 with helping him buy and run the company; he took the SBDC’s six-month business accelerator course back in 2018. “It helped me through my entire entrepreneurial journey,” he says. “We feel really privileged that we’re able to own and operate a business in such a great small town. It allows us to be threaded into the community.” Which, in the end, is what a good kitchen does. The holiday meal, the birthday cake, the homework spread out on the counter, the friends planted on stools at the island with a drink in hand and a smile on their face. The kitchen holds all of it. And that, more than the cabinetry, is what Throop is really building.

L E A R N M O R E : Good food, good wine, good

company. And a room built to hold all three. Custom cabinetry from Fine Wood Interiors turns a kitchen into the place everyone gathers, with room to prep, pour, and linger.

Fine Wood Interiors is located at 178A Bodo Drive in Durango. For more information, visit www.finewoodinteriors.net or call (970) 375-0002.

The Nixon- Throop Family

Stone, timber, and a slab island makes for an ideal Durango kitchen built for a crowd. OCTOB ER 2 0 2 6 | C I TYL I FE STYL E . C OM / D UR A N G O

Before Durango Wakes Inside Durango’s earliest coffee rituals.

Long before most of Durango reaches for its first cup of coffee, lights flicker on inside cafés and in a trailer on North Main Avenue. Espresso machines warm, grinders hum, and ovens heat as the aroma of coffee replaces the night’s quiet. Customers rarely see the first espresso calibrated or the morning rush taking shape. For those who make Durango’s coffee, the day begins well before the doors and service windows open. According to the International Coffee Organization (ICO), the world consumes approximately 2.25 billion cups of coffee every day. For Bruin Coffee & Biscuits, Still Life Coffee & Botanicals, and Blue Wing Coffee, mornings unfold differently, yet they share a purpose: starting someone else’s day. For Jake, who oversees Bruin’s Durango operation, work begins hours before the trailer opens. At 4 a.m., the central kitchen crew in Pagosa Springs prepares biscuits, donuts, and syrups that will head west that morning. “That early rhythm is the heartbeat of the entire operation,” Jake says. By 6:30 a.m., the delivery has arrived at the trailer. The Durango crew warms the speed oven, stocks ingredients, and starts the drip coffee. The crew prepares sandwich components in advance, though they assemble each stuffed biscuit to order.

ARTICLE BY KALISTA PENA | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDY WINGERD & BONNIE BOGGIANO

H OT SP OT | FO O D + BEVERAGE

Soon, teachers, parents, first responders, and workers line up beside customers bound for the trails and mountains. Their days are beginning; Bruin’s crew is already hours into its own. Across town, the morning takes shape at Still Life Coffee & Botanicals, the plant-filled café owned by mother-and-daughter Lorie and Haley Wilhelmsen. For baristas Emily and Chloe, opening means moving through essential tasks. Hot water fills the pots, the espresso machine comes to life, and they pull the first test shots to adjust the grind before serving customers. While one focuses on coffee, the other monitors the ovens and prepares baked goods. The register is stocked, pastries are sliced, and ingredients are placed within reach before the pace quickens.

Bonnie (center) at Blue Wing Coffee with her gals!

For a little while, the café belongs to those preparing it, with the greenery around the counter deepening the stillness. Then regulars arrive, turning the tucked-away shop into a neighborhood gathering place. Espresso fills the waiting cups, and pastries disappear from the counter. At Blue Wing Coffee in the historic Smiley Building, a weekday opening shift begins around 6:20 a.m., 40 minutes before the doors open. On weekends, it begins an hour later. The first task is measuring beans for the espresso hoppers and brewing drip coffee. Blue Wing roasts its beans in-house and serves only single-origin coffees. Its Papua New Guinea house beans are checked each morning to ensure they have rested properly after roasting.

Still Life Coffee & Botanicals and their morning treats.

For Bonnie, coffee combines precision and creativity. Her engineering background draws her to how the process shapes each agricultural ingredient. Coffee is also shaped by presentation, latte art, and the interaction surrounding each order. “It is an art you can consume,” Bonnie says. “It’s everything surrounding the coffee as well.” Before the weekday rush arrives around 8 or 8:30 a.m., Blue Wing experiences what Bonnie calls “that nice calm before the storm.” Then the room fills with people getting ready for work, and the quiet café takes on the city’s energy. Customers see a finished cup, a stocked pastry case, and a crew ready to greet them. They do not see the darkened rooms, warming ovens, measured beans, and preparations that came before. While Durango slept, coffee brewed and practiced hands prepared for the rush. By the time the city woke, the people behind its morning rituals were already well into their day. Bruin Coffee & Biscuits with "crew".

OCTOB ER 2 0 2 6 | C I TYL I FE STYL E . C OM / D UR A N G O

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ARTICLE BY MEL BOBAN

How To Stay Festive And Healthy? Sure Thing

S EASON A L SE T U P S | FO OD + BE VE RAGE

Halloween is typically filled to the brim with salt, sugar and carbs. It can be hard to stay on the nutrition wagon during spooky season, but there are plenty of fun ways to add a festive spin to favorite healthy dishes.

stuffed

PEPPERS

pumpkin

This fall staple easily can be incorporated into a fall gathering or Halloween night by carving jacko-lantern faces in orange peppers, and resuming a favorite recipe from there. Serving bread on the side? Use a skull or pumpkin shaped cookie cutter to re-shape it.

With luck finding a melon or watermelon at the store, simply carve it like a jack-o-lantern and make the mouth large enough to have other sliced fruit emerging, such as cut pineapple, sliced grapes and apple chunks. Along the side, peel mini oranges and add a green stem to mimic pumpkins.

ghostly

FRUIT BOWL

spooky

CHARCUTERIE These fan favorite boards can easily be kept healthy with some additions. Make any treat spooky with edible eyeballs. Adding them to a small snack such as mini bell peppers or grapes and strawberries is a fun way to stay on theme without sacrificing a healthy streak. Eyeball salami rolls also can be added, starting first with a green olive in the center, surrounded by a roll of mozzarella cheese and then surrounded by salami or even prosciutto.

DIP

Hummus and pitas can be made scary in no time. Use a ghost shaped cookie cutter to shape pita bread, lightly toast and serve with red pepper hummus, which is usually orange in color.

jack-o-lantern

VEGGIE TRAY The easiest bet for a quick and healthy Halloween treat? You can’t go wrong with a veggie tray shaped like a jack-o-lantern. Use baby carrots as the base, and cucumber or celery to shape the mouth and stem. The eyes? Two round bowls of veggie dip.

OCTOB ER 2 0 2 6 | C I TYL I FE STYL E . C OM / D UR A N G O

OCTOBER 2026

events

A SELECTION OF UPCOMING LO C A L E V E N T S OCTOBER 2ND-4 TH

Mountain and Valley Fiber Arts Festival the beauty of the season with Legacy Properties West. Whether you're looking for a cozy mountain retreat or a spacious family home, our expert agents are here to guide you every step of the way. Let us help you make your real estate dreams come true in this stunning corner of Colorado!

La Plata County Fairground and Event Center 2500 Main Avenue Durango, CO Celebrate the rich traditions and creative culture of the Southwest at the Mountain and Valley Fiber Arts Festival. Explore a juried market featuring handmade natural-fiber goods, yarn, roving, fleece, and tools. Watch demonstrations of shearing, dyeing, and spinning, enjoy live music and hands-on learning, and meet the llamas, yaks, sheep, and alpacas whose remarkable fibers bring artistry and life together. Visit www.mavwafiberartsfest.org OCTOBER 16TH

Downtown Balloon Glow 500 Block of Main Avenue, Durango, CO | 6:00 PM Watch downtown come alive as colorful hot air balloons inflate and illuminate the evening during the Downtown Durango Balloon Glow. Visitors get an upclose look at pilots in action, capture spectacular photos, and explore “candlestick” baskets and burners. Children can even step inside a basket and pull the burner. Complete the evening with nearby dining, drinks, treats, and shopping. www.animasvalleyballoonrally.com OCTOBER 19 TH

Monday Social with Country Swing & Line Dance The Durango Collective 1315 Main Ave Durango, CO | 7:00 PM

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A Strawberry Rhubarb Kuchen and A FA MILY REMEMBERED ARTICLE BY DENISE LESLIE

St rawbe r r y R h ubarb Ku ch e n

1. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg yolk, then mix in the flour, baking powder and salt until a soft dough forms. 2. Chill the rich dough for easier handling. Press evenly into the bottom and approximately 1 inch up the sides of an 8-by-11-inch baking pan to hold the fruit and custard.

For Moni Grushkin, strawberry rhubarb kuchen carries memories of Gygax Farms in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where she, her nana, and the family filled baskets with strawberries—sampling a few along the way. Back at Nana’s Milwaukee home, built by Moni’s grandfather near the Wauwatosa border, those berries became homemade jam. Rhubarb from the family garden completed Nana’s beloved kuchen. Born in Switzerland, Nana brought recipes that nourished both body and family. Her sister, Aunt Cal, lived nearby, and the two often baked and visited together. These were ordinary afternoons—hands dusted with flour, bowls filled with fruit and conversations shared across the kitchen table—but they became some of Moni’s most treasured memories. Today, the sisters’ warmth and personality live on in Aunt Cal’s handwritten recipe card. Its faded ink, practical reminders, and cheerful notes make it feel almost as though they are still nearby, guiding the next generation from the kitchen. One family rule was passed down by word of mouth: Never double the recipe. If you need two kuchen, prepare two separate batches. KUCHEN CRUST INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS: Also called cookie dough • ¼ cup butter • ¼ cup sugar • 1 egg yolk, beaten • 1 cup flour • ¼ teaspoon baking powder • Pinch of salt

C ULIN A RY C R E AT ION S | F OOD + BE VE RAGE

FRUIT FILLING INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS: • 1½ cups rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces • Fresh strawberries, sliced 1. Arrange the fruit gently over the crust, taking care not to make holes in the dough. CUSTARD INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS: • 1 cup sugar • 1 tablespoon flour • 3 egg yolks • ½ teaspoon salt • 1 level teaspoon cinnamon • 1½ cups whipping cream or rich whole milk, unwhipped 1. Thoroughly combine all ingredients. Drizzle evenly over the rhubarb and strawberries. BAKE Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until a knife or cake tester inserted into the custard comes out clean. AUNT CAL’S KITCHEN NOTE “If the rhubarb is quite red rather than green, you can use a little less sugar. OK? OK!!” Whenever Moni prepares this treasured dessert, she remembers fresh-picked strawberries, backyard rhubarb, and time in Nana’s kitchen—a reminder that family recipes preserve more than flavor. They keep the people we love close to the table.

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