Sunday, July 1, 2012

Breckenridge Ballpark Pub

The Breckenridge Brewery & Pub, now known as the Ballpark Pub, opened in November of 1992 and was one of the first brewpubs in Denver.  Located on Blake Street in downtown Denver's Historic Ball Park Neighborhood, adjacent to Coors Field, this pub is a must before or after a Colorado Rockies baseball game. The Breckenridge Ballpark Pub is conveniently located just two blocks north of the LoDo area with plenty of parking near by.

Enjoy the games on one of the many HDTVs while enjoying one of 32 American Craft Beers on tap. A spacious and private back room is also available for parties, luncheons and meetings.  Featuring traditional pub fare, great burgers and sandwiches, salads, barbeque, Tex-Mex and daily specials.

Keith got tickets to the Rockies game on this Sunday, so we knew we wanted to stop by Ballpark Pub beforehand for a nice lunch and perhaps sample some of the famous Colorado beers.  We were seated in the back room and after looking at the expansive beer menu, we asked to try a couple beer flights.  Regrettably, our server informed us that they don't offer the flights on game days. What!?!? Why!?!? She had no real explanation and offered to send over the manager who just repeated that they don't do beer flights on game days because "it tends to back up the kitchen". Huh? This did not make sense to us and was not worth arguing over, so I just ordered their Summer Pale Ale and Keith opted for an IPA.  The beer was decent, but I really wish we were able to sample a couple different options to get the whole experience.

On to the food. A couple items caught my eye, and Keith wanted to try one of the appetizers that would be great for large groups.  The Spicy Polish Sausage and Cheddar Cheese Platter came with precut pieces of meat and cheese on little party sticks.  Pickle spears, soda crackers, and extra barbecue sauce and hot mustard for dipping were also on the plate.  The sausage was spicy but had nice smoky flavor, although had too much barbecue sauce smothered on top. It would be better if the sausage was left plain, since there were  the dipping sauces available.

For my main meal, I settled on the Turkey, Bacon, and Avocado sandwich. It came on multigrain bread with tomato, alfalfa sprouts, cheddar cheese, and a chipotle mayo.  The bread was too much for me, so I destroyed the sandwich to just eat the insides.  I nibbled on a few fries, but passed on the rest as I was already filling up with the beer and all the sausage and cheese.  Keith ordered the bison burger that came with way too much horseradish sauce. Since we were in Colorado, known for their buffalo and bison meat, he was excited to try the burger but found the bison meat to be a tad too lean and lacking flavor.  Overall, Breckenridge Ballpark Pub is an acceptable place to have lunch before the baseball game or to have a drink and appetizers afterwards, although I suspect it may get crowded due to its prime location.  They should reconsider the odd "no beer flights" rule on game days though.  Especially for the out of towners, who purposely came to the Pub for the specific reason to try the local microbrew.

Total Rating: 3.575
Food: 3.5, Price: 4, Service: 3.5, Ambience: 3, Accessibility: 4

What I ate:
Spicy Polish Sausage and Cheese Platter

Turkey Bacon Avocado Sandwich
with cheddar cheese, alfalfa sprouts, tomato and a chipotle mayo
served with French fries

Plus Keith ate:
Bison Burger
topped with fried onions and horse radish
served with French fries

Breckenridge Brewery & Pub on Urbanspoon
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