100th Post! Restaurant Review - Buckhorn Exchange

I just have to do it. I can’t hold back anymore. If you have a weak stomach you may want to stop reading right here….Last week, in Colorado (haha, like last summer at band camp) I ate rocky mountain oysters, aka bull testicles. That’s right bull balls…and not just me, the future husband ate them, and our friends that we were visiting ate them and we cleaned the plate…it was pretty crazy. Marc & Nicole, the FH’s bestie and his wife, humm…do boys have besties, or is it just “their buddy”? Anyway…Marc & Nicole took us to the oldest restaurant in Denver, the Buckhorn Exchange, it is famous for pretty much coming up with the idea to eat these jewels and call them Rocky Mountain Oysters. Oh, and they have Colorado liquor license number 1! Pretty impressive, can you imagine how much liquor has been drank there... Anyway sorry this post is all over the place I am just so excited; I can’t contain myself or my thoughts. There are a couple of things I want to tell you, so I will do it bullet point style and hopefully get this train wreck of a blog post under control:

• The restaurant itself is amazing; there are big game heads hung all over the place and it is like museum with old stuff every where: dishes, pictures, Native American clothing. So cool! Luckily our server was into history and was able to tell us stories of FDR coming in here and Buffalo Bill’s buddy started the place and 5 presidents have eaten there and really it is amazing. Check out the website, if you are ever in Denver you should try this place.
• Crazy appetizers: Rocky Mountain Oysters, Grilled Rattlesnake that was marinated in chili lime sauce, blackened unicorn (ok I made that up, the unicorn I mean but everything else is really there). We tried the Rocky Mountain Oysters which were served with 3 sauces: mustard, marinara, and horseradish. I like the horseradish the best! In all honestly since the “oysters” were deep fried they really didn’t have a distinctive taste. The thing I relate them to the most is a fried chicken liver. Oh, and I had a cup of navy bean and ham soup – to die for! It is the same recipe that they were using back when FDR came…so cool.

Picture of Rocky Mountain Oyster to be posted later, check back….

• The main courses will blow your mind! On the menu is beef, buffalo, elk, lamb, I could go on and on. The FH and I shared the special which had four ounce filets of: buffalo, elk and ostrich and was served with a full quail and giant mound of mashed potatoes. They were all so good, and all of these meats are 90-95% lean. The ostrich was my favorite, it sort of tasted like a duck but not greasy at all and it had the richness of a really good beef filet. Marc and Nicole had some of the same things we had but they also had lamb and yak and said the yak was the best…interesting I might have to go back to Denver.

So there it is my crazy eating adventure in Denver. It was a blast. If you ever visit I highly, highly recommend this place. What is the most adventurous thing you have ever eaten? Did you like it? Would you recommend it?

Sorry pictures to come later in the day…

Sincerely Loving Food,
Lainey