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THE BUZZ: New tiki bar pours relief by boatloads

By Dave Flomberg, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 14, 2008 at 7 p.m.

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When I was a youth, my kid sister and I decided we were ready to move up from the Atari 800 and our dog-eared collection of games - Pac Man, Star Raiders, Missile Command and their ilk - to the big time: Nintendo. Super Mario Bros. Duck Hunt.

Of course, Mom and Pop Buzz weren't on board with spending the dough, so, young entrepreneurs that we were, we decided to have a weekend garage sale to liquidate our toy collection for the greater good. Goodbye Tonka Trucks, Legos and G.I. Joes; hello Metroid, Contra and Legend of Kage. It's funny how much I wish I still had those old Tonka Trucks. But after two long days of haggling with the neighbors, we had enough for our first 8-bit game system. Sweet victory.

Mrs. Buzz grew up in a town house with no garage and never delighted in the back-breaking labor of a garage sale. She was determined to try it once, and I think once was enough. Although the foot traffic on our block in Aurora dwarfed that of the cul-de-sac I grew up on, it still seemed like too much for too little return. By the end of Day One, we were in tacit agreement there would be no Day Two.

Instead, it was time to spend some of that hard-earned dough on cocktails - hopefully, the kind that erase the annoyance of trying to explain why a perfectly good sewing machine is worth more than 83 cents.

So, when I heard Denver had a tiki bar again, I figured that was exactly what the doctor ordered. We cajoled the Confidant into schlepping across town to Edgewater, south of Lakeside Amusement Park (I can't believe that place is still open. Wow.) and just west of Sloan's Lake, to the weeks-old Tiki Torch Restaurant and Bar, where salvation hopefully resided in the form of mai tais and zombies.

Both were served up with deft skill by Janet, the weekend bartender. She was expert enough to educate me on the use of Trader Vic's Spiced Rum, something uncommon 'round these parts, at least as far as the myriad Chinese restaurants whose mai tais I've imbibed.

Turns out the backwater mai tais I've been downing are little more than pale facsimiles of the original (depending on which account you believe, as Don the Beachcomber lays claim to the cocktail as well).

Admittedly, the Tiki Torch is a touch more restaurant than bar, which turned out to be a good thing, as the Baja Burger was easily in the Top 5 of burgers I've had in Denver. Their hush puppies stand alone at the top.

The menu is a simple collection of tasty fare, and you can enjoy your meal over a rousing game of speed trivia (thanks to the tattered Trivial Pursuit cards in the center of each table) or in a boat on the patio out back or bellied up to the adorable little tiki hut bar in the corner of the room.

Mrs. Buzz tried the Broasted Chicken, which came with a choice of sides that ranged from sweet potato French fries to bacon. Yes, a side of bacon. Awesome.

Still, the draw is a great collection of boat drinks that can't be beat at $5 during happy hour.

Tiki Torch Restaurant and Bar

5280 W. 25th Ave., Edgewater

303-723-9599

* Happy hour: 3 to 5 p.m. daily. $2.50 well, $5 Tiki drinks

* Daily specials

* On a scooter? It's always happy hour for you!

Comments

  • September 27, 2008

    11:14 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    ebk1973 writes:

    This place is horrible. When it was the okoboji inn the only thing worth going there for was the broasted chicken.the cooks at the tiki torch bar managed to screw that up too. aside from taking 45 minutes to get a three piece order it was over cooked and had no flavor. I ordered a bbq burger medium and and asked to add bacon to it. the bacon came on the side and i got no fries. the server calmly told me "well i didn't charge you for it" my burger also came out well done. I sent it back and the second time it came out it was extra well done with no rings and they obviously picked the bacon off the other burger as it was ice cold. the only good thing about this place was the $2 pbr and the fact that our server forgot to charge us for half of them. If the owner happens to read this, YOUR RESTAURANT IS POORLY MANAGED!!!! But hey, it's your money and you'll be getting no more of mine.

  • October 10, 2008

    2:05 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    ehausen writes:

    Fortunately, I had a much more pleasant and less angst-ridden visit to Tiki Torch than ebk1973 did. PS dude - the minute you send anything back more than once, you've got to expect it's either going to come back a giant loogie in it or that it's going to be ice cold.

    Moving on: Tiki Torch's burgers are FANTASTIC. They are large, served under a perfect bun and ooze flavor with every bite. My husband, who prides himself on being a burger aficionado, agrees that the Torch's burgers are divine. And where else in Denver can you order up a burger and a Mai Tai?

    If you're expecting grand things in the Tiki Bar department, however, you will be a little disappointed. Tiki Torch does serve fantastic tiki drinks in festive tiki mugs, and has bamboo and thatch strategically placed throughout, but severely lacks in the serious tiki decor department. We're hoping that this will improve over time, if they're interested in being a true Tiki bar. For now, go for the amazing burgers, fantastic tiki drinks and great happy hour specials.