Jax Fish House, The D- Bar, & Cheeky Monk (Denver, CO)

Our next day in Denver consisted of more eating & drinking. We were just packing on the pounds in Denver.

Our Coloradan friends took us to a happy hour in downtown Denver at a spot called Jax Fish House. This place has one mean happy hour.

First of all, they have $1 Chesapeake Bay Oysters... We'll have a dozen please. They are freshly shucked at the end of the bar.

Another highlight... 1/2 pound of peel & eat shrimp for only $10. You get a load of shrimp on what looks like a pizza tray covered in seasonings. It gets a little messy, but at these prices... who cares.


Then they had a great calamari. They are large slices of squid lightly breaded and fried. They sit on a thai chili sauce. Not bad for $5.


The next place was probably the highlight of our stay in Denver. They took us to this small place called The D Bar.

If you are a Food Network Challenge fan, you'll immediately recognize the tall fellow in the open kitchen. None other than the Challenge Host/Chef/ D Bar Owner... Keegan Gerhard. This place is awesome. You sit at the bar and watch the famous chef whip up your dessert orders. It's like a teppan restaurant minus the onion volcano.

What made our experience here so memorable was how personable Chef Gerhard was with his patrons. It seems that you can just about ask him anything, and he'll respond openly and honestly. One of the girls in our group asked for advice on some whipped dessert. I couldn't really tell you what exactly they were talking about because I was watching him piece together the desserts. What can I say? I dig watching food get "Plated" (learned that one from Food Network). But, I do remember him giving her tips and hints which included details of working in the higher altitude area. We even asked if he would ever accept a Throwdown challenge from Bobby Flay. Without hesitation, he said he'd kick Bobby's arse. What a straight shooter. Gotta love that. That would make for such a great Throwdown episode. Anyway, on to business. These desserts are plated up in a very artistic fashion. What else would you expect from a celebrity chef.
The wife went for the Milk & Cookies. He bakes the cookies fresh to order. I recommend the Chocolate Pecan cookies. Those are damn tasty. We even took some back to Cali with us.

I typically go for a molten cake whenever the opportunity presents itself. On this menu, he has something called "molten cake thingy everybody has." Nice. His definitely isn't like "everybody". My favorite molten cake used to be from Morton's Steakhouse. This one kicks that messy chocolate concoction in the pooper (have to keep it Rated G). As the cake bakes, he whips up the malbec fruit compote with the small burner and pan right there at the bar. Malbec is a type of booze, right? According to the menu description, there's a steamed truffle inside the cake. That must have been the tasty chocolaty goodness inside. I'm not sure what the 10 year vanilla is. I didn't know you could age vanilla. But, if he's referring to the ice cream, that was some damn good 10 year old ice cream. I think he makes his own ice cream because I noticed the container had a sharpied tag with the date on it. Now my favorite molten cake is all the way in freakin Colorado!!! Maybe my friend can FedEx me one? Hmmm...


And if you think the night ended there, think again. These Coloradans really know how to live it up. Our friends take us to this Belgian Beer Cafe called The Cheeky Monk. If my memory serves me, according to Three Sheets, there are monks in Beligium that make beer.



It's a really nice bar that serves all kinds of beer in various glasses. But, since we've been drinking pretty much the whole day, the wife & I shared a brew. Our friend recommended Kwak. I couldn't tell you how it tasted (because I can't remember), but it came in a nifty glass with a wooden handle.

There was a beer (Ommegang Rouge) our friend had that I do remember tasting like Sweet & Sour sauce. Very strange.


Denver is a great place to visit. It reminded us a lot of San Francisco. Where you have people wandering the streets of the city. And a bunch of bars and restaurants to discover.

Till next time kids... Peace Out.


I'm from LA Trick