The Buckhorn Exchange Experience

We have long been hearing about a restaurant in Denver that serves exotic meats like rattle snake and alligator tail. Tonight we finally got to experience it. Restaurant is located at 1000 Osage St in Denver, website: http://www.buckhorn.com/ . Prior to going there, we have look at the menu and were excited about some options. We also have read the history on the website - this is Denver's oldest restaurant and also the holder of #1 liquor license in the state of Colorado. It is 119 years old and has been in the same location since the time it was established. Pretty impressive, right?

Interior is filled with hunting trophies of various animal heads, whole animals and fowl, all stuffed and displayed on the walls. Also, walls are filled with photographs, posters and newspaper articles of history related to this establishment. Buckhorn Exchange is a museum that also serves food.

And here's a post card with more views of the interior that you get as a souvenir.

It takes a few minutes to let the surroundings sink in before we get to look at the menu. The menu itself is done in a form of a newspaper - front and back contain restaurant's history, other related pieces of news and tall tales.

The inside is the menu.

This is certainly an excellent presentation of the menu (you can take them home too!) for the overall theme of this Old West/Wild West.

While there is no draft beer served here, there is a decent selection of Colorado's microbrews in bottles.

Also on the drinks menu is Buffalo Bill Cocktail (bourbon and apple juice), said to be Buffalo Bill's favorite, and a drink that has been on the menu as long as Buckhorn Exchange existed.

Most of the "exotic" meat is in the appetizer section: rattle snake, alligator tail, Rocky Mountain oysters (bull's testicles), and this is what we wanted to try. Unfortunately, rattle snake was unavailable. We ordered "oysters" and alligator tails. To our disappointment, both are breaded/batters and deep-fried.

Rocky Mountain oysters:

Alligator tail:

We wanted to sample just the meat, but the breading and batter kill any taste that these exotic meats have on their own. We did scape off the covering, but it was still hard to discern the flavors after this unfortunate choice of cooking.

For main course, we went with a trio platter (to share) - ostrich, elk, quail. Main course is served with choice of soup or salad. We went with buffalo pepper soup:

It was a nice simple and tasty stew. And here comes the platter:

Bottom is ostrich, middle left - elk, top - semi-boned quail. All three were grilled, served with various sauces. Ostrich was okay. I have had it before, and it was just as I remembered it, and I am not a fan of it. Shyam thought it was just okay also. Elk, on the other hand, was delicious. And quail, in both our opinions, was the best.

Overall, while it was an interesting experience, we are not likely to come back to eat here. We had high expectations for food, and we weren't impressed. But at the same time, Buckhorn Exchange is not a place to do something extra-ordinary and innovative - it is simply not the point of this restaurant. Food here is simple and old-fashioned. And for that point - being a historical place - it is very good indeed. If you are a meat lover and you enjoy a simple grilled piece of flesh, this is the place for you. Despite our disappointment with exotic meats appetizers, just saying that we ate at Denver's older restaurant was worth it. It is part of Denver's history.