Shellfish and baseball go together about as well as tuxedos and hot dogs. But there are great crab-cake sandwiches at Camden Yards in Baltimore, and Safeco Field in Seattle serves all kinds of sushi. So when a friend and I ended up sliding oysters after a Rockies game this summer, it didn’t seem blasphemous.
The oysters we found weren’t at Coors Field. That would just be cruel. We ate them nearby, after a game. When the sun rose on July 23, the Rockies were 49-49, stuck in average mediocrity. They hadn’t been more than three games above or below .500 since June 1.
But that night, with sure hall-of-famer Greg Maddux pitching for San Diego — Maddux amazingly stole second base in that game, remember? — the Rockies rallied with late Matt Holliday and Brad Hawpe home runs to win 7-5.
After the game, we tripped over to the nearby Cruise Room on 17th and Wazee streets for martinis, beer and bourbon. We stayed for oysters on the half-shell.
Since that night, the Rockies never again dipped below .500. They went on a ridiculous run to end the season and streaked into the National League Championship Series, perhaps the greatest local baseball stretch since the Denver Bears won 19 in a row at home in the 1980 American Association.
Superstitions being what they are in baseball, we had to go back for more oysters this week, before the Rockies faced the Diamondbacks. No need to tempt fate at this point.
The oysters at the Cruise Room come from its sister restaurant and bar next door, McCormick’s, in the Oxford Hotel. But at the Cruise Room, the oysters are served in a decades-old bar, built in 1933 to last — around the time the Denver Bears were still in the Western League.
The Cruise Room and McCormick’s menus change daily, depending on what seafood arrives fresh that day. This week, I liked the Malpeque oysters from Prince Edward Island in Canada and the Delaware oysters from Indian River Bay. She liked the Pebble Beach oysters from Hood Canal in Washington.
Each oyster was fat and fresh, served six to a plate for around $12, with options of lemon juice and garlic and a healthy serving of horseradish in a cocktail sauce.
Turk Wendell, one of the more superstitious baseball players, used to brush his teeth between innings. Maybe it worked, maybe it didn’t. But if the Rockies reach the World Series, we’ll be back for more oysters.
Nick Groke: 303-954-1015 or ngroke@denverpost.com
Cruise Room oysters. 1600 17th St.,
303-628-5400. $10-12. Open daily,
4:30 p.m.-11:45 p.m.; major credit cards.
Front burner: A Denver bar standby,
classy in every way, with some of the
best bartenders in the city.
Back burner: Beware the pre-midnight
closing time.
