Park Burger

This entry is a slight caveat to the otherwise stated goal of this blog. The eatery in question was not on The List, but Holly and I have been here recently and I am incredibly fond of it. I was extremely close to taking my parents here on their recent visit, but another fine hamburger location fit more conveniently into our plans. Still this is an exciting new place and I want to share it.

Park Burger is everything that I want from a small local restaurant. It is placed on an otherwise inconspicuous corner hidden in a mostly residential area on S. Pearl St. Its basic design is that of a simple 1960’s dinner. It almost looks like a classic malt shop. There is a long counter to sit at, as well as a good number of tables. The place settings consist of pleasingly plain glasses, plates, and silverware, with white dishtowels used as the napkins.

Unlike some other retro style places I have been to, this one is not tacky. It does not bombard you with horrible mixtures of orange chairs and yellow counter tops like what you might expect to find at a truck stop in Wyoming somewhere. Everything is clean, bright, and attractive. It is a perfect mixture of modern, classy, and old fashioned. In a word, it’s just really hip. When I walked in and sat down at the counter, I instantly had a good feeling.

“How’s the food”, you ask? It fantastic. The menu is straightforward, consisting mostly of burgers and fries. I love this place because the food has the same perfect balance as the décor. They take the same kind of food you might find at a bowling alley and they make it excellent. They take choice ingredients and prepare them expertly.

For $6 you get the full size burger (1/3 lb.) with all the usual fixings. This alone is great, but you can add avocado, bacon, mushrooms, jalapenos, and more, if you like. They use all natural beef from Colorado’s own Harris Ranch, and it is never frozen. I had mine rare, and it tasted great. You can also get a turkey, buffalo, or housemade veggie burger instead. Holly tried the buffalo burger and speaks very highly of it.

Besides the main attraction, they also have a couple of salads, onion rings, and fries. You can choose from regular or sweet potato, and they are really tasty. They are thin, hand-cut, and golden.

In the drink department they have an impressive milk shake list, a selection of cocktails and wines, and a great selection of beer. My love of a good microbrew is one of the things that really draws me to this place. They have a nice variety of bottled beers ranging from well-known European choices to most hard-to-find local brews (like Del Norte, which I was fortunate enough to sample at Brew at the Zoo last September). In addition to that, they have several rotating drafts on tap everyday. When I was last there they had the Avery IPA (from Boulder), 2 Below (The New Belgium seasonal from Ft. Collins), and Alaskan Amber, which is always nice. As if you could possibly need more of a reason, all drafts are only $3 during happy hour, 3-6 p.m. on weekdays.

This is the perfect place to get a casual and affordable meal in a fun atmosphere, without having to settle for low-quality food. The classic items are all elevated to a level of greatness that will keep you coming back for more.

1890 South Pearl Street
Denver, CO 80210-3137
(720) 242-9951

Organixx

I can already sense the eye-rolling.  “Organixx?  Really?  What is this, more of his hippy garbage?”  Resist the temptation to revolt, for I assure you that even my most non-alterative of friends and relatives would love this place.  There could not have been a tastier or more encouraging beginning to this endeavor than this groovy little downtown lunch spot.

Organixx is simple, enjoyable, and pure.  It is set up to be a casual lunch place where diners order at the counter, choose a seat, and wait for the food to be brought out.  It is the same organization as places like Baja Fresh or Noodles and Company.  However, while the set up resembles that of fast food, the quality is the exact opposite. 

The guiding principals are fresh, local, and sustainable.  As much as is possible, everything on the menu is locally, naturally, and organically grown.  I typically maintain a vegetarian diet, but at a place like this I am happy eating the pulled pork sandwich because I know where it comes from and how it is raised.  It is done without hormones or antibiotics, right here in Colorado.  This is true of nearly every item they use, although they are sometimes faced with certain logistical and seasonal restrictions.  Nevertheless, they are making a great effort to provide the community with a lunch option that is healthy and responsible, both socially and environmentally.  Best of all, they accomplish this goal without compromising anything in the way of taste or value.  The food is completely affordable and extremely delicious.

My friend and I walked into Organnix last weekend for a late lunch.  The space is bright and welcoming and designed in a simple minimalist style.  Softly playing over the speakers was the first album by the Silversun Pickups.  I instantly liked the vibe. 

Partially because we love good food, partially because we had a gift certificate, and partially because I was excited to be hitting the first location on the list, we decided to go all out.  We ordered two sandwiches, two sides, a salad and a soup.  After a brief wait spent enjoying the atmosphere, our food came out and we dug in.

Cream of asparagus soup – Straightforward, creamy, and full of flavor.  It was not overly heavy, as many cream soups at lesser lunch counters tend to be.  It was just great.  I ended up tearing small bits of bread from my sandwich so that I mop of every last drop from the bowl.

Avocado tower salad – This was so fresh wonderfully put together.  It was full of a variety of mixed field greens, roasted peppers and tomatoes, croutons, a ton of avocado, and it was all topped with rock shrimp.  Besides the quality, it was also huge.  Under normal lunch conditions (meaning that I’m not one of the people eating) this could easily stand alone as a meal.

Pulled pork wrap – I love pulled pork.  One of the lasting effects of growing up in Bakersfield, CA, is that I love good BBQ.  It may seem unlikely that a place obsessed with being healthy and organic would have good BBQ, but I swear that it was delicious.  It came with a chipotle BBQ sauce that had just the right balance of flavor.  I can say with conviction that it was better than the pulled pork from many of the BBQ places I have visited.

Build your own sandwich – I took advantage of the opportunity to customize my own sandwich.  I choose to put tomato, avocado, smoked turkey breast, and brie on their focaccia bread.  The combination was outstanding.

Best of all, we got all of this food for less than $35.  That includes two drinks.  Each item we ordered was under $10 and the portions were ample.  The sandwiches came with sides.  I got mixed fruit and potato salad.   We were overwhelmingly pleased by the mixture of quality and value.  Besides their sandwiches, soups, and salads, they also do breakfast daily before 11 a.m. and I look forward to trying it. 

The first destination on the list was a huge success.  I highly recommend this to anyone.  Even if you are not interested in local or organic food, you will still like this place.  The quality of the food will please anyone that likes a good lunch.

Check out their website!

Organixx