Burgers are big in Denver. My all-time favorite burger joint in the world is the Cherry Cricket in Denver. (Click here, here and here to read about previous visits to the Cherry Cricket.) A devastating kitchen fire shut down the Cherry Cricket for a portion of last year and I wasn't certain it would be open when I went out there last fall for a trade show. (It was - and it was very good.) But some people in Denver are partial to some of the other very good burger joints in the city and I have received e-mails ([email protected]) from various people over the past few years that I really needed to try the burger at CityGrille. After I arrived in Denver one sunny fall afternoon and found one of my colleagues at the hotel who had gotten in earlier, it didn't take much to convince him to accompany me to CityGrille for lunch.
Actually, a former owner of the Cherry Cricket was the one who started CityGrille in 1998. Dick Salturelli was a marketing executive for the Ford Motor Co. and he'd had enough of the corporate world. Along with his brother, Salturelli bought the Cherry Cricket in 1976 and ran it until 1991. In 1998, Salturelli started CityGrille, a smaller version of the Cherry Cricket, and almost immediately it was a hit with the burger loving population in Denver. For the next few years, if the Cherry Cricket wasn't getting voted as having the Best Burger in Denver in local polls, CityGrille got the nod.
From the CityGrille, Salturelli opened other burger joints and watering holes around Denver including CityPub and Burger, Blake Street Tavern, and Benders Bar and Grill. In 2013, Salturelli sold CityGrille to sisters Helen Patterson and Nancy Brady who happened to own the Fork & Spoon restaurant next to CityGrille. Knowing that they had a great thing going in both spots, the sisters kept the Fork & Spoon focused on their breakfasts that were famous for the large portions, and the wonderful burgers and other food that kept the lunch and evening crowd hopping next door at CityGrille.
CityGrille is located on East Colfax street, the main east-west drag through Denver, not far from the Colorado State Capitol building. (see map) It was pretty much tough to miss the building on the north side of Colfax with a huge "The Best Burger in Denver" banner across the facade of the building. We found a parking lot behind the building - my colleague was observant enough to see a sign that showed some of the parking spots were reserved for CityGrille behind their building.
In back of the restaurant was a small outdoor seating area that featured a small number of mismatched tables in a narrow space. It wasn't the most inviting outdoor space that I've seen, even with the brightly painted countryside murals on the walls.
Going into the back door, we were in a small dining area with a number of booths along the wall and small tables in the middle. Cozy would have been almost an overstatement for the description of this room.
We made our way up to the hostess stand and an outgoing and effervescent young lady from behind the bar told us that we could sit anywhere. We ended up going into the bar area and taking a seat in a booth along the wall. The bar, itself, wasn't all that big. It was three-sides and featured about a dozen high-backed metal chairs.
It turns out that they lady behind the bar who greeted us was the same one that was going to take care of us. I never did get her name, but let me just say this - she was a great waitress. She was funny, accommodating, gave great recommendations, and was quick as a hiccup in getting our beers out to us. I got a Dale's Pale Ale to start off the festivities at CityGrille.
Burgers are definitely the main item on the menu at CityGrille. All their burgers are made from ground steak and they feature about a dozen different types of burgers on the menu. They also have turkey, salmon, and veggie burgers, as well as a number of soups, salads, and sandwiches to choose from. They also had a number of appetizers to choose from including wings, onion rings, bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers, and mac and cheese bacon bites.
Like most places in Denver, CitiGrille had the wonderful green pork chili - and, of course, I had to try some. I got a cup of it and it was very good and very thick. After I finished that up, our burgers came to the table. My colleague got the Western burger - a 1/2 pound patty topped with cheddar cheese, bacon, barbecue sauce and onion straws. I went with the CityGrille Burger - a Swiss cheese and bacon burger with a Caesars dressing. I asked our server if I could get the dressing on the side and if she could put some sautéed mushrooms on the burger. She didn't disappoint me as the mushrooms were swimming in the melted Swiss cheese. And for my side, I got the tater tots. (When I ordered the tots for my side, our server said, "Yeaaaahhh... tater tots! Woo!")
Now, this burger was very good. Was it as good as my gold standard over at the Cherry Cricket? It's tough to say. The burger was juicy, flavorful and the taste combination of the fresh ground steak burger with the mushrooms, bacon and Swiss cheese was fabulous. The lightly toasted bun held together very well with all the stuff going on with the burger. It was definitely a multi-napkin burger at CityGrille. And after the cup of the thick and rich green pork chili, then the burger and about half of the tater tots on top of that, my colleague almost had to roll me out of the place.
I went out front to take a picture of the front of CityGrille and their audacious signage proclaiming them to have the best burger in town. A guy walking by when I was taking the picture asked, "Is it the best burger in Denver?" While I couldn't really tell him yes or no, I felt the burger at CityGrille was very good. I may still like the burger at Cherry Cricket just a bit more, but I'm not certain I've had one or two burgers in Denver better than the one at CityGrille. It was a fun little place with great service and a nice craft beer list. If you're in downtown Denver and don't want to venture out to the Cherry Cricket for a burger, CityGrille is a worthy back-up plan - or even one that some in Denver says is even better than the Cricket burger.
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