Denver is a lucky town, jam-packed with neighborhood places serving good hot food. We’ve got great cantinas, busy brew pubs, snazzy bistros and some of the best under-the-radar ethnic grills in the country.
But more than anything else, Denver is, and always has been, a city of taverns. You know them well: Govnr’s Park. The Lazy Dog. Longo’s Subway Pizza Tavern.
Denver wouldn’t be Denver without its taverns. They’re in every neighborhood, and wherever they are, they’ve been there forever. Kit Carson ate here! Molly Brown ate there! Neal Cassady ate, or at least drank, at the one across town!
But the question is, which tavern’s the best?
Without dedicating a lifetime to careful research, it would be impossible to say for sure. But Bonnie Brae Tavern on South University Boulevard in Denver and Edgewater Inn on West 25th Avenue in Edgewater are two of the finest.
Clearly similar, but unmistakably distinct, these neighborhood hangouts on opposite sides of town both serve up hot pizza, cold beer and, most important, a boisterous and friendly vibe six days a week. Both have legions of reliable, even rabid fans (or barflies, depending on how you look at it) who believe, or rather know, their tavern is tops.
So who rules?
Let’s break it down into the 10 categories that matter most: pizza, onion rings, patty melt, wild-card dish, beer, room, staff, price TV viewing and the all-important category, other.
Pizza: Both Bonnie Brae and Edgewater produce tasty pizzas, although neither can be called best in class. (I bet if you asked the chefs at both places, they would agree: There’s a better slice to be had in Chicago or New York, or even at Abo’s or Virgilio’s in Denver.)
That said, both taverns put forth a worthwhile pie. Edgewater’s top combo, the “Howdy Special,” is overpacked with sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, black olives, jalapeños, a top-secret mix of house seasonings (we suspect garlic powder, dried oregano and other good stuff) and an ample coating of gooey mozzarella. The sausage is flavorful, and the jalapeño gives a happy kick. Order a thin crust, though; the regular crust often arrives underdone.
Bonnie Brae’s “House Special” pizza combines sausage, mushroom, pepperoni, green pepper, onion, ground beef, black and green olives, mozzarella cheese, and choice of shrimp or anchovies (get the anchovies). It’s even more overloaded than the Edgewater’s, perhaps too packed for some, but the crust is consistently better cooked and the pie consistently hotter at Bonnie Brae. Plus, they have that cool metal pizza stand at every table, which holds pies about five inches aloft and frees up table space.
Edge: Bonnie Brae.
Onion rings: Bonnie Brae’s onion rings, the whole jumbled pile of them, are hot, crispy and satisfyingly, unmistakably fried. Who doesn’t love that? But if you dissect one you may have a hard time finding or tasting the onion inside.
Edgewater’s rings taste more like onion and less like the Fry-o-lator, plus they come stacked on a tower like that plastic ring game they give toddlers to keep them quiet at the pediatrician’s office.
Gimmicky? Maybe. But you can play onion-ring toss at the table.
Edge: Edgewater.
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| Edgewater Inn wins points for its stacked onion rings, perfect with a schooner of Blue Moon (Post / Brian Brainerd) |
Patty melt: Bonnie Brae’s patty melt (two burgers with grilled onions and melted Swiss on marble rye) brings together good individual ingredients, but there isn’t enough ooze to the sandwich.
The cheese and burger grease from a patty melt should ooze between your fingers and run all the way down into the webbing, making dinner so messy that you use all your paper napkins and ask for more but still smell burger on your fingers when you’re brushing your teeth before bed. Bonnie Brae’s lacks ooze.
The folks at Edgewater Inn color outside the patty-melt lines; their version subs American cheese for Swiss. I’m a patty- melt purist, and I prefer the Swiss, but Edgewater Inn has a better understanding of the ooze. It’s a patty melt, for Pete’s sake! The sandwich is hotter, the burger juicier and the cheese meltier at the Edgewater.
Edge: Edgewater.
Wild-card dish: Bonnie Brae’s open-faced turkey sandwich, smothered in brown gravy, is a thing of beauty, both in vision and taste. Edgewater’s spicy toasted raviolis, stuffed with various cheeses and served with hot marinara sauce, are gross, but totally great. Note: Avoid these if you’re lactose intolerant.
Edge: Bonnie Brae.
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| Bonnie Brae Tavern has more beers on tap, but its onion rings taste of batter more than onion. (Post / Brian Brainerd) |
Beer: Neither tavern lets patrons go thirsty, offering plenty of cheap beer options. Edgewater wins points for its 18-ounce “schooners” of draft beer, but Bonnie Brae has a wider selection on tap, plus it offers pitchers to encourage communal imbibing. (Just pick, and stick to, a designated driver.)
Edge: Bonnie Brae.
Room: Bonnie Brae Tavern, which first opened its doors to the then almost-rural Washington Park neighborhood in 1934 (barely post-Prohibition), features turquoise vinyl upholstery against white walls spotted with historic photos of the ‘hood under bright (maybe too bright) overhead lighting.
Edgewater, which first fired up the pizza oven in 1953, feels warmer and more chummy, with lower lights in the dining room, more Broncos memorabilia on the walls and a much larger and more centrally situated bar. Plus outdoor seating in nice weather.
Edge: Edgewater.
Staff: At Bonnie Brae, perfect no-nonsense servers really appreciate it when you have an answer when they ask what you want.
At the Edgewater, perfect laid-back servers aren’t bothered if you don’t know what you want yet; they’ll come back around next time they have a minute or two.
Edge: Draw. Both crews absolutely rule.
Price: At both places, a party of four can leave happy for less than $50, pizza and beer included. Edge: Another draw.
TV viewing: Every seat at Bonnie Brae has an unobstructed view of at least three (and up to eight) television sets. You’ll never need to crane your neck to see the replay.
Edgewater, with lower ceilings and view-blocking support beams, has many seats that require a little more neck-work to keep tabs on the score. But Edgewater also plays a killer period mix of Petula Clark, the Beatles and Marvin Gaye for those who can’t see, or don’t want to watch, the game.
Edge: Edgewater.
Other: Bonnie Brae is watched over by its revered original founders, Carl and Sue Dire, rendered in portrait above the bar. Their sons, also immortalized in paint, still work the front of the house – busing, hosting and keeping the Brae’s spirit alive.
Edgewater Inn has its own sentry, a classic mid-century cartoon caricature of an Italian pizza chef who appears on the menu, in mural form on the side of the building and as a statue next to the parking lot across the street. His greeting? “Howdy Paisano.” That’s hard to beat.
Edge: Draw. Too close to call.
Extra point: Bonnie Brae Tavern is directly across the street from Bonnie Brae Ice Cream. Edgewater Inn isn’t.
Edge: Bonnie Brae.
Final analysis: Ladies and gentlemen, we have a tie.
Hey, it’s much too early to call this matchup; they’ve only been going at it for, oh, 50 or 75 years or so. I say we give ’em another half-century to sling a few more pizzas before we declare a winner. In the meantime, pass me a slice.
And support your own local tavern tonight. It’s a Denver tradition. Hot pizza and cold beer are waiting.
Dining critic Tucker Shaw can be reached at 303-820-1958 or dining@denverpost.com.
Bonnie Brae Tavern | ** Very Good
Pizza, burgers and beer
740 S. University Blvd., Denver, 303-777-2262|**|Very Good
Atmosphere: Friendly, boisterous neighborhood bar and pizza tavern.
Service: Straightforward, smart and very busy.
Plates: Pizzas, $5.50-$20. Burgers, $6-$8.95.
Wine: Forget wine. Have beer. Several on draft, several in bottles, pitchers available. Also, full bar.
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday.
Details: All major credit cards accepted. No reservations. Wheelchair accessible. Parking lot. Great for families with kids.
Three visits.
Edgewater Inn | ** Very Good
Pizza, burgers and beer
5302 W. 25th Ave., Edgewater, 303-237-3524|**|Very Good
Atmosphere: Friendly, boisterous neighborhood bar and pizza tavern.
Service: Friendly, efficient and very busy.
Plates: Pizzas, $4.90-$14.99. Burgers, $5.75-5.95.
Wine: Drinkable house wines and a couple of chiantis, including a piccini in a straw basket. Beer: a few on draft and several in bottles. Schoon- ers (18 ounces) available.
Hours: 10 a.m.-midnight Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday.
Details: All major credit cards accepted. No reservations. Wheelchair accessible. Street parking plus lot across the street. Outdoor seating on warm days.
Three visits.
Our star system:
****: Exceptional.
***: Great.
**: Very good.
*: Good.
No stars: Needs work.
