MY DAY OFF

Paige DeSorbo’s Day Off in Denver Is Spent Giggling About Spicy Margaritas and Chocolate Cake

The Giggly Squad host proves that a good friend can make anywhere feel like home.

By Joleen Zubek and Paige DeSorbo

Published on 6/07/2023 at 12:00 PM

Paige DeSorbo, co-host of the podcast Giggly Squad | Photo by Amanda Villarosa for Thrillist


You may have seen Paige DeSorbo in the hit reality show Summer House, or recognize her name from Giggly Squad, the successful podcast she co-hosts with Hannah Berner, or remember her as a host of the fashion segment on the Today show. This summer, the dynamic podcast duo are on tour, giggling about pop culture, fashion trends, television, horoscopes, mental health, dating and more in cities across the U.S. During a stop in Denver, Paige gave us a peek behind her busy schedule and let us know why spicy margs and chocolate cake make the Mile High City feel like a home away from home.

Usually, when Hannah [Berner] and I go on Giggly Squad Tour, we rarely know anything about the city that we're going to. We don't typically know anyone in that city so we honestly feel so lame sometimes because we don't ever leave the hotel. We go from the airport, to the hotel, to the venue, and then wake up the next morning and go to a different city and do the same thing all over again. But Denver is different for me because my best friend from high school lives there. I rarely get to see her. We're both from Albany, New York; we went to high school together, but she went to college in Arizona, and I went to college in New York. So we've had a long distance relationship for 10 years. She is the person that knows every good spot to go to in Denver, and what to plan for a day.


When I told her we were doing a show in Denver, she sent me 15 different activities that we could possibly do, when in reality we do the same thing every time, we get coffee, we drink spicy margaritas and go shopping, and then we lay in bed.

“But Denver is different for me because my best friend from high school lives there... there's something about Denver where the air just smells better.”

On a day off, we wear workout outfits, but we don't work out, we just walk around Washington Park. Sit on the bench, sip our ice coffees, catch up. Living in New York City, there are so many times where you want to be in nature, but it's so hard to seek out nature, other than Central Park. But there's something about Denver where the air just smells better. And so I have no problem going and sitting in a park in a different city with her for hours because it just feels different than sitting in a park in the city that I live in. We get our coffee from Aviano, which also has really good outdoor seating so you can just sit there too and hang out, and grab a snack from Devil's Food Bakery, which is the cutest place ever.


So my best friend, her name is Stephanie. Stephanie and I have this weird high school joke based on the fact that my mom would always be baking cakes at any time for whenever. Stephanie would always come over to my house and have dinner with my family, and then we would expect my mom to bake us a cake. So when we're together, we have to indulge in some type of dessert. So a white cake with chocolate frosting or chocolate cake, whatever hits us at that time. We feel like calories don't count if we're doing it together. And it's also very nostalgic. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that we're not in high school anymore. We're not copying each other's homework. We're full adults. I'm here on a work trip.

“We can sit there for hours, drink as many rounds of spicy margaritas, get chips and guac, and they have such good food.”

Stephanie is also a huge spicy margarita person and she got me into being a spicy margarita person as well – and I never used to drink tequila. So her recommendation was getting spicy margaritas at Perdida. The atmosphere in there is just, I don't want to make myself sound old, but it doesn't feel super young. We can sit there for hours, drink as many rounds of spicy margaritas, get chips and guac, and they have such good food.


You can't go shopping unless you've had two spicy margaritas, because then your shopping experience is a lot better. I love going into CB2. It makes me really feel like an adult when I go into a home store. I feel very organized and very adult looking at a lamp that I'm not going to buy.


After the spicy margaritas and the shopping then we're done. Back to the bed. I usually stay at her house. I do feel a little more calm in Denver than if I were to be in Scottsdale or another city where I have no connection. So Denver does have a weird sense of home, even though it's not my home and my family doesn't live there. I guess I just feel comfortable in Denver.


Joleen Zubek is the photo editor for Thrillist. She loves to take long walks to the dog park with her puppy, Whisky. She is a local bookstore patron and will always show up if there’s pasta or dancing involved.

Places to Eat & Drink

Aviano

244 Detroit Street, Denver, CO


Devil’s Food Bakery

1004 South Gaylord Street, Denver, CO


Perdida

1066 South Gaylord Street, Denver, CO

Things to See & Do

Washington Park

South Downing Street & East Louisiana Avenue, Denver, CO


CB2

210 St Paul Street, Denver, CO