*yawn* *stretch*
After our extended vacation, we're back on the trail of fun stuff in Boulder, CO. The Doe Sisters are now both in Boulder! Yay! Manis and pedis every day!
One of the goals here at Sisters Doe is to seek out the best of Boulder/Denver. That means we may occasionally also comment on the not-so-great. Today's case in point: Baker St. Pub & Grill.
Baker St. Pub opened about a month ago at the site of the former Chili's on 28th Street. It was eagerly anticipated by some who were waiting for a decent pub/bar in that part of town, particularly after the early deaths of both the Railyard Saloon and Ruby's at 29th Street (neither was a decent bar, but at least they had beer). Baker St. Pub is part of a large chain that also includes Sherlock's Baker St. Pub and Watson's House of Ale, and I believe this Boulder location is their fourth in Colorado.
Kelly and I took advantage of the warm weather yesterday and treated ourselves to pedicures, then headed over to Baker St. Pub for a beer before grocery shopping and dinner (etc., etc., etc.). We knew from previous research that they were open for business and had a lengthy happy hour (2pm-9pm, Monday through Saturday, and all day Sunday).
The interior is pretty formulaic - I can just imagine the space empty, then receiving a box and pulling a string so that *poof* a pub springs out, just like a pop up book. Still, there is a pool table (with a hideous Budweiser light over it, bit out of character for the joint) and TVs scattered about - because who doesn't love watching ESPN highlights or the occasional game while imbibing? We weren't greeted when we walked in, despite the fact that I observed four waitstaff chatting in the front of the restaurant. Oh well, we knew where to find the booze.
What wasn't obvious about happy hour was that a) it doesn't include any food, and b) it's only a partial list on their liquor. We're beer drinkers for the purposes of pubbing, and Baker St. Pub's list of happy hour drafts left a bit to be desired - Coors Light? Bud? Shiner Bock? There were a few other brands, but all in that vein. One of the only reasons we went there was Stella Artois (which they spell Artoise for some reason) and Guinness. At $4.50 a pint for Stella, I'd rather go up the road to Brasserie TenTen, where it's $2.50 and they have phenomenal happy hour food.
But back to Baker St. Pub. We stuck it out, got our overpriced beer, and ordered an appetizer - the only healthy item we found was hummus with grilled flatbread and veggies. At $8.49, it's on the pricey side for an appetizer, but we all know that you pay more for healthy. I was okay with paying that much (I was hungry!), but what they served was a disappointment - runny hummus with chopped tomatoes mixed in, 6 tiny wedges of cold bread, and veggies that had clearly been sliced quite a while ago - my red peppers were slimy along the cuts, and the baby carrots had that weird whitish look that they get when they've been out for a while. The gentleman on the stool to my right was grumbling about how tiny his wings were, but wings aren't my thing so we didn't try them.
Couple of other sour notes:
After our extended vacation, we're back on the trail of fun stuff in Boulder, CO. The Doe Sisters are now both in Boulder! Yay! Manis and pedis every day!
One of the goals here at Sisters Doe is to seek out the best of Boulder/Denver. That means we may occasionally also comment on the not-so-great. Today's case in point: Baker St. Pub & Grill.
Baker St. Pub opened about a month ago at the site of the former Chili's on 28th Street. It was eagerly anticipated by some who were waiting for a decent pub/bar in that part of town, particularly after the early deaths of both the Railyard Saloon and Ruby's at 29th Street (neither was a decent bar, but at least they had beer). Baker St. Pub is part of a large chain that also includes Sherlock's Baker St. Pub and Watson's House of Ale, and I believe this Boulder location is their fourth in Colorado.
Kelly and I took advantage of the warm weather yesterday and treated ourselves to pedicures, then headed over to Baker St. Pub for a beer before grocery shopping and dinner (etc., etc., etc.). We knew from previous research that they were open for business and had a lengthy happy hour (2pm-9pm, Monday through Saturday, and all day Sunday).
The interior is pretty formulaic - I can just imagine the space empty, then receiving a box and pulling a string so that *poof* a pub springs out, just like a pop up book. Still, there is a pool table (with a hideous Budweiser light over it, bit out of character for the joint) and TVs scattered about - because who doesn't love watching ESPN highlights or the occasional game while imbibing? We weren't greeted when we walked in, despite the fact that I observed four waitstaff chatting in the front of the restaurant. Oh well, we knew where to find the booze.
What wasn't obvious about happy hour was that a) it doesn't include any food, and b) it's only a partial list on their liquor. We're beer drinkers for the purposes of pubbing, and Baker St. Pub's list of happy hour drafts left a bit to be desired - Coors Light? Bud? Shiner Bock? There were a few other brands, but all in that vein. One of the only reasons we went there was Stella Artois (which they spell Artoise for some reason) and Guinness. At $4.50 a pint for Stella, I'd rather go up the road to Brasserie TenTen, where it's $2.50 and they have phenomenal happy hour food.
But back to Baker St. Pub. We stuck it out, got our overpriced beer, and ordered an appetizer - the only healthy item we found was hummus with grilled flatbread and veggies. At $8.49, it's on the pricey side for an appetizer, but we all know that you pay more for healthy. I was okay with paying that much (I was hungry!), but what they served was a disappointment - runny hummus with chopped tomatoes mixed in, 6 tiny wedges of cold bread, and veggies that had clearly been sliced quite a while ago - my red peppers were slimy along the cuts, and the baby carrots had that weird whitish look that they get when they've been out for a while. The gentleman on the stool to my right was grumbling about how tiny his wings were, but wings aren't my thing so we didn't try them.
Couple of other sour notes:
- The bathroom reeked of sewage, so much so that I expected to see standing water on the floor. Yuck. Killed what little appetite I had left.
- The bartender's fingernails were so long that she struggled to pick up my ID off the bar (but yay for carding me!).
- The next bartender (who took over for Freddy Krueger) dropped our small plates and napkins on the floor, then picked them up and put them in front of us anyway.
On the plus side, they have trivia on Wednesday nights (which Kelly dearly loves), and they did splurge on every girl's friend, the purse/coat hooks under the bar. It is very convenient, right on 28th near Canyon. It's on par with eating at Applebee's, I guess, which isn't exactly a compliment but it's not the worst in town either.
