Craft Beer and Gourmet Food In An Airport!?!?!

Root Down
Denver International Airport
C Concourse
Denver, CO





Airport food is usually just so disappointing…

I mean, only in an airport can you be served sub-par fast food, pay twice for it, all just minutes after getting groped by a government agent.

Fast food is already not the greatest experience when you get it not at the airport, but at least you aren’t paying an arm and a leg for a sub-par version of the same thing.

And let’s be serious, that is really the only option that most travelers have, as we are usually running for our lives to get to our gate.

But there are those rare instances where that half hour delay on your flight actually becomes at a blessing, as it allows you to slow down and explore some of the more interesting options at the airport.

Very rarely has this happened to me.

But, alas, it did happen for me and at a convenient time, and it turned out well.

Situated in the “C” concourse at Denver International Airport, Root Down provides weary travelers comfortable seating, delicious food, and a decent craft beer selection.

I must say, though, it is a little intimidating at first glance. All the “cool” people hanging out and waiting for a seat, while disco music is blaring in the background, it makes one wonder if he is about to walk into an airport restaurant or a dance club.

Once past the façade, though, it is actually quite a cozy place. And once I noticed that they had my favorite beer from O’Dell Brewing, a Chocolate Milk Stout called “Lugene”, on tap, I wasn't going anywhere else.

As is common with most airport restaurants, the menu was small, but provided a decent variety of options, while also providing their own take on the classic.

I went with the half pound burger, complete with bacon, sriracha mayo, and a pretzel bun. It also came with a side of sweet potato waffle fries, along with two dipping sauces.

The burger was absolutely delicious and actually paired well with the Chocolate Milk Stout. Of course, I would probably drink Lugene with any dish, but that is beside the point…

The sweet potato fries were good as well, but what really made the fries were the dipping sauces.  One sauce was called “Elevated ketchup.” I’m not really sure what that means, but that stuff was like candy. It had a pumpkin spice flavor to it that went very well with the sweet potato taste. The other dipping sauce was like a mustard and curry combination, or something like that. It was good as well, but the Elevated ketchup won the day.

Overall, this was a great experience. Of course, it cost an arm and a leg, but that’s airport food. At least it was money well spent on a good meal, rather than paying twice as much at a fast food joint serving death on a bun.

Rating: Seriously Thought About Buying Shirt.

An Oasis of Liberty -- In an Airport?

Smoking Lounge
Denver International Airport
Denver, Colorado.

When I first started traveling the country eight years ago, you could smoke in bars and restaurants virtually everywhere -- even in the most liberal of areas.

Seattle, Washington.  Washington, D.C.  Minneapolis, Minnesota.

At that point, only California and New York City had decided that restaurant owners should have the freedom to decide who does what on their property stripped from them.

After that, the anti-smoking movement spread like tobacco fire as Christian nanny-staters and left-wing jackboots joined forces to tighten their straitjacket on American citizens even tighter.

Today, you can barely smoke anywhere.

A someone who now enjoys a cigarette only on a very rare occasion, Suit69 isn't personally affected much -- but the affront on property rights is still worse than irritating.

So when I rolled up in the Denver Airport with two hours to kill before my connection, the last thing I was expecting was a bar where you could still enjoy a torch of liberty.

Isn't this Denver?

Where our esteemed national leader Barack Obama gave his Democrat nomination acceptance speech?

And in an airport too?

Aren't airports the same places where American citizens are herded like docile, government-school bred cattle through porno scanners and forced to take off their clothes while our heroes in TSA agents collect their fat government checks for all their "hard work?"

Sure it is.

But at least in Denver you can enjoy a smoke after being violated.

The truth is, there's not much special about the Smoking Lounge other than it's in an airport.

Their menu is airport lame.  3-4 different choices for way too much money.

The special when I went there was "sausage."  I'm pretty sure it's sausage on a bun with peppers and stuff, but it just said "sausage."

The beer selection was equally lame.  A few different domestic American puke beers.

But they had Fat Tire.  And Suit69 really likes Fat Tire.

I had 1-2 during the 2 hours waiting on my flight.  Or maybe it was 3-4.  Or maybe eleven.

And then I got on my FIRST CLASS flight and drank even more.

But the experience was made even better with the fact I could enjoy a half a pack of cigarettes while I drank a beer and watched ESPN.

Almost like this was America or something.

Rating:  Would Wear the Shirt if it Were Free

Discovering a Mexican Diamond in the Suburban Rough

La Fogata
8090 E. Qunicy Ave.
Denver, CO
Visited August 10, 2010

Beer selection: Typical domestic and Mexican imports

Food: Better than expected Mexican dishes

Sometimes, finding a good place to eat isn’t that hard.

Look around at the folks eating there.

Typically, among the people dining at a really good Mexican restaurant will be, well, Mexicans.

Of course if you are the only gringo in the joint, that could be a good sign. (Or it could be a bad sign.)

So by those criteria, La Fogata wasn’t off to a good start.

A tidy little place with a well-flowered outdoor patio near the intersection of I-25 and I-225, this suburban cantina is as about white bread and yuppified as any Mexican restaurant since the Chi-Chi’s chain went out of business.

The only Mexicans at La Fogata were the ones cooking and serving the food.

But what do you expect in what is the vast soulless suburban hell that is south Denver?

As it turns out, you can expect some darn good authentic Mexican food.

My low expectations were exceeded right from the moment I dipped the first chip into La Fogota’s homemade salsa. Too many Mexican restaurants serve up a bland, tomatoey nothing-there kind of salsa.

Not La Fogata.

Their dark, maroon-colored salsa jumps right off the chip and says hello – a vibrant earthy burst of flavor and spice.

It turns out the salsa was a premonition of even better things to come.

My “Toquitos de Carne Adobada” were absolutely delicious, reminiscent of similar marinated pork dishes served up in Santa Fe, though not as spicy. The fork tender pork was smothered in Chorizo sausage-based bright red zesty sauce, with an extra helping of red sauce on the side to pour over the top.

Accompanied by grilled onions, lime wedges, tomatoes and a guacamole salad, it was one of the best Mexican dishes I’ve had in a while.

After I polished off my meal, my only regret was that I couldn’t sit there all afternoon plowing through every dish on the menu, complimented with an endless stream of Negra Modelas.

Alas, the jack-booted bureaucrats at Denver International Airport were waiting for me to justify their pathetic existence.

But I left with something valuable – a reason to look forward to a return trip to the strip malls and cul-de-sacs of south Denver.

Rating: Seriously Thought About Buying Shirt