Ed Sheeran Breaks Empower Field Record, Goes to Casa Bonita

Ed Sheeran visited Casa Bonita, saying he's a "big fan of South Park." screengrab from @teddysphotos

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Whenever travelers visit certain cities, they usually hit the big landmarks. In New York, they may go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Empire State Building; in D.C., the monuments; in Los Angeles, the Getty.

In Denver, we have Casa Bonita.

No trip to the Mile High City would be complete without visiting the pink entertainment palace, and Ed Sheeran acknowledged as much by kicking off his visit to Denver — and his record-breaking concert at Empower Field on August 20 — with sopaipillas and Black Bart's Cave.

"When in Colorado, Casa Bonita is a must," Sheeran wrote as a caption for the reel of his visit, which he posted to Instagram August 19 — even poking fun at himself by ending it with a clip of South Park's Cartman declaring, "Gingers do have souls, alright??"

Like most non-Coloradans, the British hitmaker says at the beginning of the reel that he wanted to go to Casa Bonita because he's "a big fan of South Park." The entertainment-focused restaurant was first featured on the Comedy Central series in season seven, episode eleven, and while Casa Bonita isn't the only real Colorado location South Park has showcased, it's certainly the most famous (thanks to the show — definitely not its food). And it only gained more national attention when South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone bought the space two years ago and renovated it, then reopened it (sort of) this summer.

click to enlarge

Sheeran was sure to catch all the highlights Cartman mentioned in season seven, episode eleven.

screengrab from @teddysphotos

Sheeran was sure to marvel at the cliff divers, explore the cave and get a pic in the jail, all Casa Bonita features mentioned by Cartman in the 2003 episode that celebrated the then-thirty-year-old restaurant.

The singer appeared to have the time of his life. And the food must be better, because otherwise he might not  have been able to make his concert the next night, much less weather a four-hour delay. Even with the storms, Sheeran found a warm welcome at Empower Field, breaking the stadium's attendance record with 85,233 fans — and beating out Garth Brooks's previous record of 80,000. However, there's still another record to beat: While Taylor Swift may have had a lower attendance at 70,000 (how intimate!) per show, she also is the only performer to play two nights at the venue to sold-out crowds.

Sheeran will likely be back in Denver on his next tour, and maybe then he'll check out the Coney Island Boardwalk hot dog stand in Bailey that's made several appearances in the past few seasons of South Park.

While we wait for his return, we can ponder this: How did he get into Casa Bonita when we're all still waiting to make a reservation?