Steam Espresso Bar

Steam Espresso Bar sits on the corner of South Pearl and Mexico in Old South Pearl, the stretch of Denver that runs a Sunday farmers market in the warm months. The room is built around garage-door windows that open to a side and back garden when the weather holds, which is most of the year here. The bar pulls Sweet Bloom out of Lakewood and Boxcar out of Boulder, two of the more serious Front Range roasters, and the cortado runs as the regulars' move. Pastries fill the case from local bakeries. Hours run seven to three daily. The crowd is neighborhood, and on market Sundays it overflows onto the patio by mid-morning. Order the Sweet Bloom cortado if you came for the espresso program Front Range locals take seriously. Order a drip on the patio if you came on a Sunday and want the version of Old South Pearl that Old South Pearl actually drinks.