Hamburger Mary’s

(Eat, Drink….and be Mary!)

            In the continuation of being drunk at brunch, we decided to go to Hamburger Mary’s. My friend Ashley really wanted to go with this being her last week in the state and with me never have gone, it sounded like a swell plan.

            To begin with, Hamburger Mary’s is one of the “gay” hotspot hang outs in Denver with Drag Bingo and karaoke. I have heard nothing but great things about their food. It is a large facility with a patio, fireplace, bar, and a stage. Fuchsia, baby blue, and blood orange walls littered with pop art and pin ups. It almost feels like stepping into a cliché if you will. Their brunch menu was small with your normal sides, eggs Benedict, and select signatures. In loo of my current diet and not really feeling all that hungry, I settled for a side of bacon, two eggs over easy, and sour dough toast. Ashley had the Chicken n’ Waffles (which is one of my favorite items), and Rasha got the Huevos Rancheros.

            Our server had about 5 tables including us and he worked extremely hard. The place was not packed which was to be expected with it being Easter and all. Ashley and I finished one pitcher of mimosas and ordered another. They used about a whole bottle of champagne and only a bit of orange juice. It gave it a really wheatey taste, almost like a Jeremiah Weed fermented lemonade. Really good and rustic.

            Out comes the food! The perfect bacon, thick and the best caramelized stripes I most likely ever had! Thick and just the right mix of crispy and al dente. My eggs were almost too perfect. Not broken and not hard. Though they could have been a bit crispier around the edges. But they weren’t greasy either which is something I won’t complain about. And my sourdough toast was a bit under done for my taste but they didn’t over butter it before it came out which is something I can’t stand!

            I think the best thing was Ashley’s chicken n’ waffles. While you normally see them separate, this was a signature dish I could see myself replicating at home it was so good! Two house made waffles with bacon, scrambled eggs, cheese, and a chicken fried chicken cutlet in-between with potatoes on the side! This breakfast sandwich was ground breaking and I recommend it to anyone with a knack for the savory side of things.

            My favorite part of this experience however was our service. Anthony, our server took a lot of time to converse and anticipate our needs. He looked like the lead singer from the band Fun. And had the most perfectly quaffed hair I had seen. Noticing my camera, we had a discussion ranging from photography, to driving in Kansas, to the weather.

I think what I enjoyed the most was his patience, we stayed for an hour after we ate just drinking and chatting and holding true to their slogan of being marry. We were not rushed with a check and he asked before he brought it if that was ok. We become his last table of the day and he stayed over just to take care of us. This is something I never really expected and it raised the bar for them as I will be returning on Monday night for drinks with friends. Overall, this has been one of my favorite meals to date here in Denver, no matter how simplistic it was.

Mary’s Chicken & Waffles: 10.95                    Huevos Rancheros: 8.95

Side of Bacon:  1.95                                         Toast:  1.95

One Egg: 1.95                                                  Bottomless Mimosas: 10

Denver Beer Company.

            Located just on the west side of LoDo, sits Denver Beer Company; A medium sized warehouse bar with a reputation of having outstanding micro brews. I was joined by my favorite ice cream flavor, Melissa and her new main squeeze Justin.

            First push of door and an army of smells come out at you. The warm, mash smell of hops, dusty smell of wheat and barley being smoked, and the slight body odor smell of the place being fully packed, just to name a few. The first thing I noticed was how the barren brick walls are an ugly dark orange and a macaroni and cheese yellow. As were the chairs.  Personal opinion but I  hated the orange. However, I really enjoyed the rest of the lay out. They had a huge bar, many tables, and their walk in cooler was cleverly hidden by walls made of early 1900’s metal shelves, which were obviously left in the warehouse owned by Denver beer Company, located behind the main bar. I would have done more with those resources and made the bar more of a brewers warehouse. Even though you can see the stiles and mashing tanks and other various equipment, it just doesn’t feel like I’m sitting right in the middle of where they make their highly proclaimed beer. That would be the experience to me.

            One thing that I do enjoy is how the  entire east wall is made up of glass in tract doors which can be raised to open up their patio. Not something to use as we just got 10 inches of snow and it is 22°F outside but something to come back and experience. I’ll bet the place really gets going on a Friday night during the summer, not at 2pm on a Sunday afternoon.

            I had for my first beer their “Graham Cracker Porter” ($5 for a 16 oz.).  Me being someone who really enjoys beer but knowing that I do NOT like Indian Pale Ales, went for something new, and unique. To me, all IPA’s taste the same so it’s better if I just avoid them.  As described on the Denver Beer Co. website,

Like a campfire in a glass, this robust beauty has seductive notes of vanilla, smoked cedar, and mulling spices on the nose.  A dark pour with mild lacing, she is a rollercoaster of lush chocolate and fig fruits diving into a semi-dry finish of toast and biscuit.  5.6% ABV.

First off, I love that they refer to their beer as a female. For me, it makes this inanimate object into something I have to respect and get to know. Second, I really don’t like when beers and wines guide you with what it smells and tastes like. To me, it becomes misleading and you trick yourself into thinking that’s what you’re smelling and tasting.

            For me, it smelled like a mixture of smoke from our woodstove which we use to heat our house and water back home in Michigan. And also smelled like molasses. It looked like microwaved maple syrup and was pitch black, had no head and bubbled, in one spot in the entire glass. It had a thick, rich viscosity which danced on your taste buds the same that the smells did in your nose and stayed there for a long while.

            Now, Denver Beer Co. only had soft pretzels to order, which were $5. I read online that they often times had food trucks there. Bistro Colorado just happened to be there. One of the coolest things I saw was how it was a partnership between Denver Beer Co. and the food trucks that come in. They had an actual server working from the food truck to go outside to get your order, take your order, take your payment and clear your table. I had their BICO burger which in all honesty was one of the best burgers I have ever had. Not the best but close. The bun was the perfect mix of soft and sturdy while the meat was tender, juicy and greasy, and all flavors were balanced. I only wish it had pickles. The service was awesome for it being only one man serving the entire bar.

            Overall, the whole experience at DBC was simply amazing. I can’t remember when I went into a place with such moderate expectations and had them exceeded. I didn’t even mind that the band was playing way to loud and I could hardly talk to my friends though they did play some bitchen music. Very John Denver meets Fleetwood Mac and the Lumineers. Given the chance though, I will return to Bistro Colorado to sample more of their food.

2 Beers: $10

Burger: $10

Benihana: The Birthday Tradition continues.

(Because I met people a promised I would)

            It has finally come to an end. Birthday season for the school year is finally over. Not to say I don’t enjoy them, I do. However, birthday’s kind of bleed you dry throughout the year. Well, it was Rocky Roads’ Birthday and as a time honored tradition amongst our refrigerator cooler of friends, we go to Benihana’s for some relatively authentic food. But let’s be honest, it’s a show and the performance is just better when you’ve had some sake.

            So here we are, another year later, celebrating a friend’s birthday, deciding what rolls to get, who sits where, and having to share a hibachi grill with some other cooler of ice cream that we do not know. Awkward. Enter server, who has her parts memorized and over rehearsed. Very lack luster and without emotion. “Anyone celebrating a birthday?”, she says non-chalantley. Both Ashley and a person of the other group hide in a brief moment of shame, and excitement, or perhaps anticipation and embarrassment as their friends make a large hoopla of their birthdays.

Charles Buckel, the middle man separating our two groups, R&D Manager for The Sherwin-Williams Company based out of Ohio, knew just how to break the ice. Passing the porcelain, off white half egg shell of sake to Ashley, who really just wanted her wine, had to decline thus transferring the liability to Rasha. Charles, host to a business dinner, seemed a bit tense and drained of energy, However, I must stress just how hard he was working to keep his energy level up in order to keep everyone on a night high as it was reaching 9:30 pm.

In all honesty, it’s not that the food was bad, but after you’ve seen the same exact routine, which is performed at so many play houses, I mean restaurants, across the country, it turns into your favorite movie. A once a year type thing. I had the Chicken Yakisoba noodles and a tangerine margarita. Of course, by the time you’ve had some sushi, the shrimp, a bowl of rice, and about 7 glasses of water to keep you sober so you can drive, you really are not very hungry by the time you reach Act III. Although, in case you were wondering, this entry really has nothing to do with the food. I really enjoyed my food but don’t have much to say other than it is just a source of sustenance.  I would much rather find a dirty hole in the wall owned by two Asian-American immigrants who have built their life around a restaurant rather than a company owned dinner theater.

SIDE NOTE: I am in no way a racist, however, our cook was Hispanic.

At any rate, we enjoyed our meal but talking with Charles was my highlight of the evening. Actually, his whole party was from Ohio and being someone from Michigan who lived 15 minutes, and having family in Ohio, gave us great conversation. Of course, we exchange our places of origin. I don’t really expect anyone to know my hometown as it is only 1 square mile, home to 1,000 people.  Low and behold, they knew right where I was from, and some have ate and drank at Ray’s Tavern, voted best burger in the United States by USA Today; an accomplishment almost as old as Ray’s itself but still true none the less in my eyes.

Now, dining with a group of business adults was a little uncomfortable for me as we really wanted to let loose, joke and drink, but it must have been just as hard for them to sit with some college students who are obviously trying to condone ourselves in a civilized manner as they were there on business. A play within a play if you will. Me, having a huge ass canon T3i switching lenses all night trying to get some really cool shots of food being cooked, I’m sure, was also moderately a distraction. Charles being the liaison for his party to ours, inquired about said camera. It was very exciting to tell them about my food blog, even if it is just starting out but by the end of the night, we exchanged information and I gained some new followers.

I think one of the best parts of the evening was when we left, and we gossiped about them. Truly, nothing nasty was said and we talked about how fun it was to sit with a bunch of business professionals and feel like equals by the end of the night. Good food, something to bitch about, something to relate on, and alcohol to spark a conversation. That’s what Benihana’s is about. That is the formula for great conversation.

Breakfast on the Edge

(No really, that’s the name of the place!)

St. Patty’s day, or as a lot of people refer to it, an excuse to get drunk before Cinco de Mayo. See also  Cinco de drinko.   At any rate, this is an introduction to me, Wesley Benjamin, a student living below his desired means and my attraction to breakfast food and alcohol. This will also be a look behind the red stage curtain of my life and friends.  My philosophy in life is that three things are good for you: Food, Friends, and Education. Food being my favorite as it won’t betray you like friends and education can.

Another observation of mine would be that friends are like Ice Cream. Each person is their own unique flavor. My friend Rasha for example, would be pistachio ice cream. She is over all a healthy choice, is green in nature, and is a classic favorite by all. Then there is my friend Ashley, Rocky road in a chocolate dipped waffle cone, with crushed potato chips on top. If this says anything, she is difficult, eclectic, unique, and over all, kind of a bitch to eat! Melissa, would be salted Oreo. Truly an odd, inimitable flavor of its own, much like her. 

For me, I would have to say that I would be moose tracks, see also bunny tracks. Bland and run of the mill by nature, sometimes you cut your tongue on the sharp sheeted chocolate, and  you sometimes get those little morsels of mini peanut butter cups. Those things are just awesome but you really don’t know why. Odd that as a society we think things that are miniature sized are better but we really don’t question it. 

Moving Forward,  it is Ashley’s birthday week. When I disclosed with her that I was starting a Brunch blog about eating, drinking and enjoying food, she quickly became the coordinator of what places we would be eating at. I’m not adverse to this as I find power in a women quite sexy. Today, she decided we were to go to “Breakfast on the Edge.” 

Breakfast on the Edge: Breakfast – Lunch – Bloody Marys. Located on Sheridan Boulevard in Edgewater, CO, this AM eatery is open every day from 6:30 AM to 2:30 PM. Breakfast on the Edge is like other “pop-up” restaurants following the trend of serving a limited menu, keeping shortened hours, serving alcohol. Their menu which is trending features brunch, breakfast, and minimal amounts of lunch items which could pass as brunch items. These items include Wraps, Rubens, Burgers, and grilled cheeses. Breakfast on the Edge is also a place I would consider small venue. I would say it only seats about 40 people.

On this particular outing, Ashley, Rasha and myself decided to have a few at the bar while waiting for our table which is nothing out of the ordinary. We waited on their open patio, overlooking the lake, drinking bottomless mimosas, and observing the Denver skyline. After about 30 minutes, or as we measured time, 3 mimosas later, we are seated in a back booth, immediately served coffee and more mimosas and prompted to try their doughnut holes. Rocky Road just ordered some without the consent of the table. Let me tell you about doughnut holes. I fondly remember them at our locally owned grocery store in  the free sample bowl, dried out, cut in half, and covered in flies. I’ve never really been a fan of doughnuts, especially “filled” ones. These things though, they came out looking like deep fried beauties in a pool of cream and blueberry sauce.

One bite, I’m 7 years old again in Hillsdale, Michigan at our county fair having an elephant ear for the first time ever right before the tractor pulls. These things were like doughy pillows that a fond memory have rested on for a long time. Needless to say they did not remind me at all of those stale fly traps from the grocery store.

We ordered our separate meals, Ashley having Bacon, eggs, potato pancakes and biscuits & sausage gravy.  Rasha got carnitas benedicts with a side of grits and a bloody mary. I went for their breakfast burrito with chorizo. In the mean time, we laughed, took pictures and joked about how the restaurant was home to the legendary Mimosa Fairy. You look away for a split second and you miss your glass being filled back up. This gets conspicuously confusing when you’re on your 9^th or 11^th mimosa I must say. My burrito in all honesty was nothing too special other than it being really really yummy as I described it in my notes. First bite tasted like diesel smoke from a truck. I think it needed more cilantro to be honest. Ashley’s gravy and potatoes were awesomely cooked and seasoned even though she thought it was way to peppery. Now Rashas Benny’s were the best thing I had there, other than the doughnut holes. The pork was the right amount of seasoned and burned to give it that “soft crunch” as I like to say. The hollandaise was just the right consistency while the eggs were cooked just right. While they are not exactly mid-western like the food I grew up with, Benny’s are an underutilized form of serving eggs in my opinion.

After about 14 approximate mimosas, I didn't have too many notes other than the fun atmosphere. I was at that point where you feel like you have the biggest smile ever. But in reality you are sitting there with a stern look being very quite.  It was loud, had great new age music, and the servers were kind, welcoming, and in all honesty did their job! They didn't have a theme and found the funniest thing was how they showed off local artists’ art for sale and the only decorations they had for St. Patricks day was a green garland strand with masks hanging on the lights above the bar, which was obviously left over from Marti Gras.

Overall, I can only say that Breakfast on the Edge gets my full approval of places to go eat and try for breakfast, or brunch, or just drinks. The food was awesome at reasonable prices but the service just put it over the edge! (pun intended) Took someone less than 45 seconds to turn over a table for the next guest and if you’re there just to bleed them dry of mimosas, they really don’t seem to mind. One of the top places in the greater Denver area to get your drink and Brunch on.

Doughnut Holes: 4.50                                       Biscuits & Gravy: 7.50

Side of Bacon: 3.00                                          Smothered Burrito: 8.99

Carnitas Benedict: 9.50                                    Grits: 4.00
Bloody Marry: 7.00                                          Mimosa: 7.00  (Bottomless)