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reviewed on: September 5, 2008

The problem with being a vegetarian is that meat tastes so darned good. So, I guess until someone manages to grow something in the garden that tastes as good as a juicy, fork-tender steak straight from the grill, I’ll have to stick to my meat-eating ways. Not that I’m a huge red-meat eater but, every now and then, I just get the urge for a meat-and-potatoes dinner. Which is why, this week, we found ourselves at Sullivan’s Steakhouse downtown.

Sullivan’s, named after famed Irish boxer John L. Sullivan, has been part of the downtown Denver scene for about ten years now, alongside of a handful of other restaurants that specialize in steak. What it all comes down to with all of these restaurants, of course, is the quality of the beef, and the skill and equipment to turn that cut of beef into a perfectly seasoned grilled steak that you’ll be telling your friends about for weeks to come.

So, if all of the upper-end steakhouses turn out roughly the same product, what makes one restaurant stand out above the others. Since the three things that comprise a dining experience are food, service and atmosphere, the answer must lie with the last two. And it is here that Sullivan’s excels. From the initial greeting by the hostess at the door to the final “Thank you for dining with us,” Sullivan’s executes flawlessly. So flawlessly, in fact, that you’re likely not even to notice the flow of the service as your evening progresses. Which is, of course, the way service ought to be. And I guarantee you’ll never be referred to as “you guys.”

When it comes to atmosphere, Sullivan’s again excels. No blaring rock. No clatter of dishes and silverware. Instead you’re offered a softly lighted, intimate background where your candle-lit table becomes an island floating in space, apart from the universe around you.

Which brings us back to the food, beginning with the appetizer menu which features, along with the expected shrimp cocktail, and fried calamari, escargot served in the shell with lots of garlic butter, excellent crab cakes and an amazingly good tuna tartare.

From there it was on to the entrée selection which centers on steak, of course, as well as a nice variety of seafood, with a token lamb chop dish and Lemon Garlic Chicken. Steaks range from an 8-ounce filet all the way to a 24-ounce Porterhouse. The 20-ounce bone-in Kansas City Strip, which we selected, was a spot-on medium rare, wonderfully spiced, and full of flavor. If you’re a seafood fan, the Chilean sea bass, prepared in an Asian style, is an excellent choice.

Incidentally, we did have one vegetarian dish—the Bananas Foster Bread Pudding for dessert. Now, if I had to eat that for the rest of my life, I might be able to tolerate being a vegetarian.

Meals at Sullivan’s are ala carte, so sides of everything from creamed corn to a baked potato comes at additional charge. Which means that Sullivan’s is not the kind of place most of us can afford on a weekly basis. Nevertheless, when that special occasion comes up, or you just want to spoil yourself rotten, you won’t be sorry you chose Sullivan’s

Sullivan’s Steakhouse
1745 Wazee St.
303-295-2664

http://www.sullivansteakhouse.com