Tucked away in Denver’s most swank-ified area is a get down and get greasy, hole-in-the-wall burger joint and bar known as the Cherry Cricket. The Cherry Cricket is located in Cherry Creek, an area known by Coloradoans and even people outside of the state to be upscale and pricey. It is a land where Neiman Marcus reins supreme and people valet park their Ferraris at the mall.

However, don’t let this land of wealth stop you from taking a trip into its heart to have a burger at the Cherry Cricket. The first time I heard about the Cherry Cricket was last July, from one of my favorite shows on the Travel Channel called Man Versus Food. I do have to say that there is nothing like walking into a restaurant that I first learned about on the Travel Channel.

We headed to the Cherry Cricket for a late lunch anticipating that the crowd would die down and our wait would be minimal. Lo and behold, upon arriving at 1:30, there was quite the group of hungry people waiting outside in the cold and snow. Knowing it would be worth the thirty minutes we were going to have to wait, we zipped up our coats, pulled on some mittens, and checked out the menu they had posted outside.

Surprisingly we did not even wait thirty minutes before we were welcomed into the relaxed atmosphere of the restaurant. Several people were crowded around the bar watching sports and others were playing pinball, pool and darts in the back. Each table was filled and I felt like we had just stepped off Rodeo Drive and into a classic, small town bar.

Because we had already spent ample time pouring over the menu outside, we knew right away what to order. At the Cherry Cricket you choose your burger size and it comes with the basic toppings. The menu includes a good-sized list of unique toppings you can add to customize your burger. Each of those toppings range from $0.75 to $1.00. Although I am sure I could eat a larger burger, I knew I should probably stick to the quarter-pound Little Cricket. Jim ordered the half-pound Cricket Burger. Because we were there with another couple (Jim’s brother and his wife who also happened to hear about this place on Man Vs. Food) we decided to order a basket of fries to share between the four of us. We topped it all off with a Diet Coke.

When our food came I was very glad that I had decided upon the quarter-pounder. It was pretty big. After much anticipation and waiting, I grabbed my burger with two hands and dug in. It definitely had that great, old-fashioned taste and was quite the little grease factory. (Just as a true burger should be). I hear that singers often eat greasy food before they perform and I am thinking I was ready to sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl after this one.

So, the Cherry Cricket now resides on the Hayes’ list of favorite places to eat in Denver.

Visit the website for the Cherry Cricket and don’t miss out on checking out the menu and reading about the restaurant’s history.

{ 0 comments }