by | Aug 18, 2014 | 30 Miles of Cocktails
The World Famous Lion’s Lair Lounge
2022 East Colfax Avenue
Denver, CO 80206
http://www.lionslairlounge.com/
“God… I’m starving”, Kelly said as she rushed into the bar.
The World Famous Lion’s Lair is not something that you immediately think of when contemplating food. Easily enough though since they don’t serve any (aside from an M&M and other odd candies in an over sized gum ball machine in the corner.) Luckily however, I brought a tortas sandwich along with me for Kelly from a small hole in the wall a bit further along East Colfax (Tortas Grill… very good.) She sat down and tore into the bag while I ordered another whiskey from Sara Belle. As Kelly had just walked in, Sara also mixed up a ‘Buckshot Beauty’: an original cocktail that she made up and named after Kelly (that’s a longer story for another day.)
The World Famous Lion’s Lair… a no frills space for a beer and a shot. Part venue, part East Colfax institution. I’ve heard various stories about the origin of the place, depending on whom you ask, which can be traced back to the 50’s or 20s (as a dancehall that also included the spaces where the tattoo shop, dispensary, and liquor store all reside now.) To me, the Lair best represents what Colfax Avenue actually is: a bare-bones, low-down place full of stories and characters. This is the bar where everyone eventually finds themselves in at 2am. This is the bar where bad and sometimes great decisions are made. This is the bar where you collect stories.
… This is the bar where everyone eventually finds themselves in at 2am. This is the bar where bad and sometimes great decisions are made. This is the bar where you collect stories.
One of the reasons we love the Lair is that you never know what to expect from this place. Walk in on a Saturday afternoon and you may find half the bar singing and dancing along to Abba, Nancy Sinatra, or some weird unknown cover of ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ (Thank you, DJ Bell of ‘Kooky K!t$h!’). At another time you may be accosted by one the East Colfax Regulars, slurring his way through a story that involves an alley, a wheelchair, the cover of darkness, and a copious amount of bourbon. Walk in on a weeknight and the place may be full of music from some band passing through town. If you’re lucky, you may stumble upon a The Melvins secret show (happened to us), or a set by John Doe (who only plays the Lair when he’s in town).
The Lair was also one of the first bars I found myself in when I finally moved to Denver years ago (living only a couple blocks away also helps). Not only had I been hearing about that place for years back then (even before I started visiting the city), but at that first night there was able to see Slim Cessna’s Auto Club – one of the best, most welcoming (at least to me) events after I’d only been living in the Mile High City for less than a month. If Denver was some sort of communicable disease, I got it that night from the sheer press of the crowd at the show in such an intimate setting.
Yes, I used the word ‘intimate’ which in all ways seems wrong. It kind of brings to mind singer/songwriters strumming on acoustic guitars, singing about their lost cat by candlelight… which is totally not the case if you’ve ever set foot in the place. The size of the Lair is so small that you can be punched on one side of the bar and still hit the wall of the other, likely hitting a half a dozen band stickers that have been placed there over the years (I can still find the sticker of a local Philly band that I saw many times in the 90’s among the collection of band debris scattered over the Lair’s walls). That first night, and most other nights I’ve been there for shows are cramped, beer soaked, rowdy, near riots. People yelling for drinks or at each other; booze being tossed onto the floor, over the patrons, and down their gullets; shoving matches that could be called dancing or drunken stumbles; and music blaring over everything, demanding some attention. Events that have to be experienced to be believed.
Kelly finished her torta and the last of her ‘Buckshot’ cocktail. She then looked straight at me, saying, “Another round?”
by | Jul 30, 2014 | 30 Miles of Cocktails
“You’ll never leave this bar with your dignity intact”, the bartender said as he slid a Lone Star and shot to a friend of ours.
Kelly took another sip of her cider when I gestured toward Marion Street outside the bar window.
“Is it me or has that guy with the green duffle bag just keep walking passed the bar, up and down Marion, every 15 minutes or so? It’s getting pretty ‘Truman Show’ out there…”
We were sitting at the bar and our local watering hole: Tooeys Off Colfax. Kelly finished her pint of cider and ordered a Newcastle. I have finished my whiskey and moved on to a glass of Montenegro. Our friend finished his shot, turned around, and glanced out the window at the tall lanky man with the bag strolling past.
“The guy with the green BUM bag? Yeah, he’s been around for a couple weeks. One of the ‘Off Colfax Players’. Kind of homeless, but not crazy enough for the real Colfax as of yet.”
We’ve been Tooey’s regulars for the last couple years. We’ve had good nights there, we’ve had bad nights there, we’ve had incredible nights there, we’ve had several art shows there, several 30 MILES OF CRAZY! stories have been set there; in the end, we’ve probably spent way too much time there. No matter what’s going on when we walk into this bar, we are guaranteed a good drink from a great bartender and conversations covering everything from World War I, Shakespeare, the pros and cons of the pot economy, the merits of any numbers of the bottles of liquor on the back shelf, and which hobo came around during the day. Doesn’t matter, though – when you become a regular at a bar, it’s your second home, and the rest of the regulars are family.
“You’ll never leave this bar with your dignity intact”, the bartender said as he slid a Lone Star and shot to a friend of ours.
It’s hard to pin down and define what kind of bar Tooey’s (named after the owner’s cat) actually is. Aside from its close proximity to our place, this mystery is one of the reasons we like it so much and keep coming back. Is it a dive bar? Not really, though most of the regulars are beer-and-a-shot people. Is it a cocktail lounge? Not really, though Ryan N. has put together a decent cocktail menu as well as a fine selection of scotches, whiskeys, and a full shelf of local and regional boozes behind the bar. Is it a sports bar? Not really, though they have a screened projector TV and infrequently show a game or two if there is enough enthusiasm from the regulars. Is it a venue? Not really, though bands and DJs play there frequently (We highly recommend Denver Vintage Reggae Society (DVRS) events as well as the blues-infused ‘Biscuit Lunch’ nights.)
No… the only thing Tooey’s should claim to be is just a great neighborhood bar with a cross section of widely divergent regulars from the neighborhood. This is the bar that, when the bartender sees you walking in, they have your beer already waiting for you. When you can simply ask for ‘A Cocktail’ and they will know exactly what you would like. Sure, there may be an internet jukebox (which are becoming way too frequent in many bars), but you can make that work for you. After a couple rounds, Tooey’s is the only place where the regulars try to out-do one another in music wars in an attempt to find the weirdest (and sometimes most annoying) songs to play. You may hear a cross section of Edith Piaf, Nick Cave, Dropkick Murphys (ok… that was one of mine), Charles Trenet, Duke Ellington, The Melvins, Lesley Gore, and the Muppet version of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ (Christ… I had Chicago’s ‘You’re the Inspiration’ running through my head for three days after the last music battle. Damn you, Dale.)
Honestly, the best example of why we love this bar is this: most Sunday afternoons the regulars get together and have a pot luck buffet. Sometimes it’s themed, most times it’s not. It’s just a moment in the week were we get together, share a moment, and meal with each other… like a family… which is what your best bar friends are.
by | Jul 23, 2014 | 30 Miles of Cocktails
Gin, Beer, and Beignets
Everyone who knows me knows that I love a good hotel bar; so the idea of finally trying out Ship Tavern had me delighted before I even set foot in the place. After a drink or two, I was loathe to leave the AC and the insulated ‘we-are-all-just-travelers-here’ camaraderie of the Tavern, but snacks of a slightly more affordable nature were hollering at us from up 17th Street. So Karl and I bravely set forth, back into the scorching heat, and further on up the hill.
Our second stop for the afternoon was our original destination: Avenue Grill. Opened in 1988 and styled after the supper clubs of the 1930s and 1940s, Avenue Grill is one of my favorite places to drink in the Uptown East neighborhood. I just love this place.
Remember me saying, I love a good hotel bar”? Well, what I love even more is a really good hotel bar that’s not actually even in a hotel. Avenue Grill is that bar. Just stepping into the place always makes me feel like I am in an historic hotel in Any City. I just want to park myself at the bar with a book and an excellent beer. The service at the Grill is always excellent, the snacks are tasty, the bartenders are knowledgeable and very friendly – the sort of thing one comes to expect from the best hotel bars. There always seems to be an immediate familiarity between bartender and drinker at a hotel bar; an effort to give the weary traveler a moment of comfort and ease while in an unfamiliar place. The hotel bartender’s job, in many ways, is to make the patron feel like they are a regular and to treat them as such, even if only for the night. It is this sort of service that I have always received at Avenue Grill. Combine that with the 1940s-inspired retro sign, the spacious 1920s building with its pressed tin ceiling, the warm blond wood of the bar, and I just feel like I should be able to say goodnight the bartender and crowd and walk right up the stairs to my room. It’s just that kind of pleasant and comfortable place.
Avenue Grill is that bar. Just stepping into the place always makes me feel like I am in an historic hotel in Any City. I just want to park myself at the bar with a book and an excellent beer
Anyway, Karl and I finally made it to our destination after our sludgy humid walk from downtown (seriously, I am pining for that ‘dry heat’ Denver generally has – there has been nothing but humidity over this summer – although I am delighted that the state is not on fire this year, as in previous years…so, you know, that’s a decent trade-off…). We immediately went to sit at the corner of the bar. With just a few other patrons further along the bar – and only a couple of occupied tables – it was quiet, cool, and just the right thing for my over-heated brain-meats. Our bartender, Chris, immediately brought over a couple of ice waters and I ordered my Avenue Grill usual – the Avenue Amber (a very nice, mellow amber ale). Karl went with a dry gin martini with a twist, hoping that the crisp clearness of the drink would banish any remaining effects of the lingering heat. Once we had our drinks, glancing periodically at the lone TV in a high corner (which was showing some local sportsball team), my growling belly quickly reminded me what else was missing. After a perusal of the menu, we got the Fig and Prosciutto flatbread (with ricotta, watercress, and peppers), along with an order of beignets (new item for brunch – warm, not too sweet, completely covered in powdered sugar and resting on some raspberry jam).
Granted we were starving, but the flatbread is really tasty (and fills the hole punched in my soul when Encore closed up and took away their Fig & Pig dish…but that is another story entirely. Suffice it to say, I like fig jam and cured pork products, together, in perfect harmony), and the beignets were quickly demolished. I had another Avenue Amber while Karl finished his martini (a quick note: Avenue Grill makes their martinis in the proper size – none of those gigantic big-gulp candy-booze concoctions – just a sensible, classic gin martini served next to the shaker, with enough for a refill. And they are good – very, very good. You have been warned) and it was time to settle up and head back out into the heat. We had more places to be and people to see. As much as I would have preferred lingering, we had to leave much too soon.
by | Jul 22, 2014 | 30 Miles of Cocktails
Sunday, July 20th, 2pm.
Kelly and my first stop for 30 MILES OF COCKTAILS was almost by accident. We were walking east on 17th Street on a bright Sunday afternoon (way too bright, in my opinion, but that is Colorado where you cannot escape the sun) with plans for cocktails at the Avenue Grill, but a scorching 90+ heat was blasting down upon us as we trudged up the street (damn Death Orb in the sky! When will you relent?!) Where shall we find sanctuary? On seeing the historic Brown Palace Hotel come up to view, I suggested a cocktail break before we reach our further destination, where we knew there would be snacks. Kelly suggested Churchill Bar inside the hotel. I suggested Ship Tavern, since neither of us have ever been there (and have been to Churchill’s many times. I think Kelly only wanted to go there since it is one of the very few remaining bar in which you can still smoke.) In this particular case, I won. Bright shiny idea of Newness beat out cigarettes, which is funny since this bright shiny new bar has been around since 1892.
We’ve seen the doorway to Ship Tavern many times, as it’s right by the restrooms in the Brown Palace lobby. Fleeting impressions on the times we’ve passed it: wood, ship,… and that’s about it. I’ve always wondered why the hell a land locked city and state would have a nautical themed bar in their most prestigious hotel? I mean, the closest bit of water is the Platte River, which is much more of a creek from the rivers I’ve seen growing up. Are they being ironic? Or is it some lost memory? Either way… these fleeting impressions hit us, punched us full on in the face as we walked into the Tavern. Wood… ship… blue… sails… anchors…. and it just didn’t stop. If the old Original Arthur Treacher’s served booze (and it may have), it would look like this.
Now, that is not to say that we didn’t like it. Actually, both of us found it kind of enjoyable… like being in a tiki bar, it ran the knife-edge between kind of kitschy and bad taste tacky. However, as a hotel bar, it was all utterly apt. More than that, in fact. What we found interesting about the place was, unlike the rest of the stiff collar Brown Palace, the sort of comfortable air of the Tavern. This was the corner of the hotel where you could let your hair down and unfasten the top button of your shirt. A place where I wasn’t worried that I left my suit coat at home (well, it was 90+ degrees).
Now, that is not to say that we didn’t like it. Actually, both of us found it kind of enjoyable… like being in a tiki bar, it ran the knife-edge between kind of kitschy and bad taste tacky.
The Tavern, serving booze and food, was still quite busy for a Sunday afternoon – although, like us, the heat probably drove many of the patrons on a quest for AC. Most of the tables were taken, which didn’t bother us at all as we moved to the few free stools at the bar. A quick glance at the taps and shelves made us aware of a bar well-stocked with local and regional beers and whiskeys. Kelly went for the old reliable Newcastle while I wanted to try one of the two cask beers taps that I found in front of me. Our bartender, Daniel, unfortunately found that the ESB cask beer was blown, so he gave me a taster of the other: Palace Caskcraft, which was brewed specifically for the Brown Palace by the Wynkoop Brewing Company. Very good.
We chatted with Daniel (who is also a transplant to Denver from the East Coast) about the city and the bar. …And this is one of the reasons Kelly and I decided to do this project. I’ve lived in Denver for about 7-8 years now, never been to this bar, and never heard the story of Frank Henwood, who shot and murdered two people (one an innocent bystander) over a love triangle in this small bar in 1911. Apparently there was a book written about it (‘Murder at the Brown Palace’.) No clue… and finding out about this little bar, that bit of history, meeting new people, and finding new beer is all utterly brilliant.
by | Jul 21, 2014 | 30 Miles of Cocktails
The many other places to find the new 30 MILES OF COCKTAILS! homes on the internet machine. “Tesla! Bring ALL social media to ME!!!”
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