Where To Find Authentic "Denver" Cuisine in Denver
Everyone is aware that the Denver Omelette originated in Denver, but it is likely that few know that Denver also claims to have originated the first cheeseburger. Yet omelettes and cheeseburgers do not a cuisine make. If one had to define "authentic" Denver faire, it would have to be the food that defined Denver in its early "frontier" days, the most famous dish of which is the nearly legendary "Rocky Mountain Oysters."
To spare someone not from Denver an unpleasant surprise, if you happen to see Rocky Mountain Oysters on a menu, do not order it expecting seafood. Enough said about that for now, however, a discussion of Rocky Mountain Oysters and people's first (and often last experience) with them could be the subject of a complete post in and of itself. Suffice to say that a restaurant serving Rocky Mountain Oysters is alleging that it serves at least one item of Denver Cuisine. Yet there is a great deal more to Denver Cuisine that does not require quite the sense of adventure of Rocky Mountain Oysters, although an open mind is still very helpful.
To my mind the best place to sample Denver Cuisine in the most authentic setting possible is the Buckhorn Exchange at 1000 Osage Street, in a once forgotten part of old downtown Denver that is being revitalized by the recent addition of light rail. The Buckhorn may well be the oldest restaurant in Denver. It is the proud holder of the first liquor license issued by the State of Colorado in 1935. The Buckhorn's history goes back quite a ways further than that, however. 1935 was just the first year that Colorado required establishments that serve liquor to obtain a liquor license.
According to Buckhorn lore, the founder of the Buckhorn Exchange, H.H. "Shorty Scout" Zietz, a former scout of William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, had once helped provide food for the plains indians during a particularly brutal winter on the plains. Some years later, in gratitude the nephew of Sitting Bull, is alleged to have given Zietz one of his tribes most prized trophies, the sword taken from the body of George Armstrong Custer at Custer's Last Stand. The walls of the Buckhorn Exchange are covered with the mounted trophies of just about every animal imaginable, including some not native to Colorado. On Wednesday through Saturday nights beginning at 7:30 Roz Brown performs cowboy songs, folk songs and sing-a-longs. But even will all this ambiance and history unless the Buckhorn Exchange provided the finest in authentic Denver cuisine, it might be worth a visit, but I would not recommend it as highly as I do.
Fortunately, the Buckhorn Exchange prides itself in extremely authentic Denver cuisine. In addition to the requisite Rocky Mountain Oysters mentioned above, for the almost as adventurous there is marinated Rattlesnake for $15.50, marinated in red chile and lime and served with a chipolte pepper cream cheese.
For those who can't quite imagine themselves eating something that they can imagine biting back there is an incredible assortment of steaks, the best of which are from American Bison (also incorrectly referred to as Buffalo). Buffalo is a good deal leaner than beef and just as tasty (to my mind tastier), although you don't want to order it well done because it can dry out quicker than beef. The Buckhorn serves a Buffalo Tenderloin 8 ounces for $36 and 12 ounces for $43. The Buffalo Prime Rib, however, is amazing but again don't order anything more cooked than medium well. The 12 ounce version is $31, blackened $33, and the 16 ounce version is $37, blackened $39. There is also smoked buffalo sausage for $7.50 with red chile polenta and spicy wild game mustard.
As an interesting aside, in these days of concerns about cancer, ranchers that raise bison reported to me that they had received a grant from the American Cancer Society to study their herd. The reason, is that very much unlike domestic cattle, no form of cancer has ever been found in a pure American bison. Of course, that isn't to say that eating buffalo will make you cancer proof.
In addition to Rocky Mountain Oysters, rattlesnake and buffalo, the Buckhorn also features elk (wapiti) , which unlike some venison I have tasted, never tastes gamey, quail, Colorado lamb, fried Alligator tail (not a Colorado native), grilled duck breast, and occasionally other exotic faire, such as the Yak that my son-in-law once ordered there.
That isn't to say, however, the Buckhorn exclusively serves exotic faire. In addition to over a half dozen varieties of steak and beef choices, there is also cornish game hen, seafood including salmon and scarlet snapper and barbequed baby back ribs along with an incredible dessert cart.
For real authentic Denver cuisine, aside from the Buckhorn Exchange, there is a restaurant in the Red Rocks area toward Morrison called "the Fort" which is built as an exact replica of Bent's Fort, the first American structure built in Colorado in 1840 near La Junta along the Santa Fe Trail. It too serves almost all of the items mentioned above, but it is, after all, a re-creation and therefore does not have an atmosphere of authenticity that is unmatched by the Buckhorn Exchange.
