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Night on the town
A trip through a Saturday night in the Mile High city
By Adam Goldstein
goldstea@mscd.edu

Photo by Rachel Crick • crick@mscd.edu Matt Gunn racks a game of pool at the Horseshoe Lounge, 414 E. 20th Ave. The bar boasts a quirky ambience complete with Western furniture and a blues-infused jukebox.

A long, bitter winter has finally submitted to a hesitant spring in Denver.

As the weather turns tolerable and the seemingly endless series of snowstorms recedes, The Metropolitan set out to see what the city has to offer on a Saturday night in way of food, fun and libations on a modest budget.

Our central question was simple: While the end-of-the-semester academic pressures mount, how is a starving student to find respite and relaxation from term papers and final exams?

From miniature golf to diner fare, from karaoke to Western-themed bars, we took our yearly litmus test of the Mile High City’s nightlife. As always, we tried to avoid any chain establishments and instead focused on the quirky, the small and the independently owned purveyors of weekend fun.

Kennedy Golf Course
10500 E. Hampden Ave.

As the sun sank in the west and the comfortable temperature turned chilly, we started our night with a traditional staple of American leisure: mini-golf.

While Kennedy Golf Course may seem a bit of a trek from downtown, its views of the Cherry Creek Dam and its expansive driving range provide a picturesque setting for putting.

With three separate mini-courses, putters can choose a lighthouse, a windmill and a castle as their central challenge. Unfortunately, during our visit, industrious rabbits had blocked the castle’s tubing with their nesting fodder, so we opted for the lighthouse.

Though a teenage couple trailed us on the course and a group of five or six players sounded off from one of the other courses, we weren’t forced to compete with a large crowd. We were able to start putting immediately and between four players, the competition quickly became fierce. As we made our way through challenging holes featuring jagged fake rock formations,

eometrically placed concrete barriers and a plaster log, the trash talk and intimidation ran high.
With a postcard-perfect view of the dam behind us and the symphony of thwacks coming from the driving range as our soundtrack, we finished our 18 holes in high spirits. True, Kennedy’s mini-golf course sometimes showed its age – some of our balls got caught in the windmill, and we were forced to coax others from leaf-blocked tubing on our hands and knees. Still, the modest price of $6 a player and the expansive setting more than made up for these minor inconveniences.

As a departure point, Kennedy provided the perfect mixture of fresh air and competitive adrenaline. It would prove to be a healthier forum for fun than the next stop – a greasy eatery that left us all with heavy, unsettled stomachs.

Tom’s Diner
601 E. Colfax Ave.

As a 24-hour eatery on one of Denver’s seediest thoroughfares, Tom’s Diner competes with the Denver Diner as the city’s most entertaining spot for people watching. When it comes to the food, however, the diner’s appeal plummets precipitously.

The grueling physicality of miniature golf had whetted our appetites, but Tom’s greasy fare soon turned our hunger into indigestion.

A member of our party tried to find value in Tom’s ambience. Citing its rock wall and verdant houseplants, he extolled the gritty immediacy of the place. “This is a pretty real place,” he said. “Look at those plants – even those are real.”

Focusing on the quirky atmosphere didn’t spare us from the flavorless fries, the gristly meat and the dry toast.

“I guess that tastes like chicken,” I offered as we forced ourselves to finish our meals. With a median price range of $7.95, the prices are definitely modest. Still, that doesn’t include the cost of the Pepto-Bismol required for its digestion.

Our bloated stomachs grumbling, we exited the diner in search of an alcoholic salve for the large amounts of grease we’d just ingested.

The Horseshoe Lounge
414 E. 20th Ave.

Occupying a small space off of 20th street, the Horseshoe Lounge’s modest proportions recall the cramped, intimate taverns of Manhattan. The lounge’s smaller dimensions – a main bar and a sitting room – are a plus, as the cozy atmosphere lends for conversation and comity.

The former site of Sweet Rockin’ Coffee takes full advantage of its smaller size with kitschy leather sofas, Western lamps and a blues-infused jukebox. With a menu featuring pizzas from $8 to $12 and drafts that run from $3 to $6, the bar provides affordable fare and a relaxed ambience.

After picking up a few drinks at the bar, we easily settled into the lounge’s casual atmosphere. We moved to the sitting room, where we revamped the earlier competition of mini-golf at the pool table.

After a few beers and a few games of pool, the heaviness of the diner food finally evaporated. We soon forgot the greasy eggs and sandwiches in the bar’s convivial atmosphere.

With its unassuming appeal, the Horseshoe Lounge provided the perfect grounds for our gastronomic recovery. The lounge’s small size and understated façade served as a hidden haven to catch our breaths, shoot some pool and prepare for our final and most challenging stop: karaoke.

SoBo 151
151 S. Broadway

Touting a unique menu that features Czech cuisine, SoBo 151 has gained a reputation among late night Denver-diners as an unparalleled eatery. With dishes that run from $5.95 to $9.95, SoBo’s colorful menu encompasses everything from pickled knackwurst to beef goulash.

Notwithstanding its unique culinary offerings, our purpose in visiting the Broadway bistro had nothing to do with food. With one of the most extensive karaoke menus in the city, we were ready to turn on our star power.

Taking advantage of the $3 Newcastles, we primed our pipes with affordable brews. We chose several crowd-pleasers, including Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” and Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler.”

The crowd was modest, but its enthusiasm was boundless. Every number we chose elicited sing-alongs and dancing, and we were treated to unmatched spectacles as other patrons picked their favorite numbers. A short, stocky bald man called forth the Godfather of Soul as he flawlessly performed a James Brown number. A proper, primped blonde woman shed her inhibitions in a convincing rendition of Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise.”

As we downed more beers, our choices became less inhibited. A rousing round of Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O” preceded a performance by our most reticent companion of Sublime’s “Santeria.”

As the evening wound down and we warbled our last refrains, our night on the town played itself back in my mind. Despite the heavy diner food, the night proved that a random sampling of Denver’s nightlife still provided a diverse and delectable menu of fun.

As much as others may label our city a cow town, any devoted fun seeker is sure to find thrills cosmopolitan and refined enough to match any big city's.