Down and Out in Denver

The lovely lighting at the LoHi SteakBar

We recently ventured out to the LoHi SteakBar, and we were not disappointed. They don’t take reservations, but we’re willing to play things fast and loose every once in a while. It’s definitely a little loud and crowded on a weekend night but it is, after all, also a bar. The décor is appealing; we especially liked the lampshades in the front room (though there could be a third in the middle) and the extra wide bar.

We got ourselves on the list as soon as we arrived and the maître d’ (read: skinny kid with the list) kept us informed, at least three times, about our status on the list as we moved up it. It was divine! Like the overly organized homosexuals that we are, we tend to get a little antsy about table lists in restaurants, like someone might swoop in from the side and claim a table before their rightful time, but not here. I (Blake) have never felt so reassured. Bravo LoHi! Also appealing was the bartender, who was friendly and generous with her pours. Femmes take note: hot butch bartender in the Highlands. There were, in fact, many of our sister homosexuals in evidence last night at LoHi. As well as a hipster staff (hipsters in Denver!) that seemed to be outfitted almost entirely in plaid shirts, as if it were the uniform.

But on to matters of importance: food and wine. Wines by the glass were priced well, especially considering the generosity of the pours. Granted, they do come in those silly mini-carafes that one then must pour into one’s glass, but these ones were at least cute, like little beakers in a chemistry set. Once seated by Skinny we ordered steak frites. There are a few options from which to choose and we both went for the strip, which promised the most meat (10 oz). One also has a choice of sauce; we opted for Béarnaise and blue cheese butter. (And thank goodness they have the decency not to spell that “bleu” on their menu, á la française. My pet peeve: if one wants to spell it bleu then one should go for broke and say “fromage bleu,” but if one wants to use the word “cheese,” then use the English spelling on blue as well.) But I digress. The steaks were tender and tasty. The Béarnaise was good, though there wasn’t much blue cheese flavor to the butter in the second option and I loves me some blue cheese. The fries were seriously good: not too crispy and not too soft. A little hint of herb on top. And just right on the salt, which for me means salty! (But if one wanted more, and I might have wanted just a little more, as I am wont to do, the salt on the table seemed to be kosher. Yay!)

Only one complaint: our service could have been better. Everyone else around us seemed to be satisfied with their hipster but ours lagged a little bit. He took his time in taking our order and then pretty much disappeared. We asked for water and he forgot it. And he wasn’t really around to be reminded. On the other hand, the cute flush-cheeked runner who brought our steaks delivered water immediately upon being asked so it seemed like our waiter might just have been the dud of the bunch.

On the whole, were the DaOiD boys satisfied? Indeed they were. And they shall be returning. This trip to the Highlands certainly paid off.