The Fort

The Fort website
Morrison, Colorado

303.697.4771

August 4^th was my mom’s 60^th birthday.  Woohoo!  We decided to celebrate her special day and show our guests an amazing restaurant.  The Fort is located in Morrison, Colorado.  It was built in the 1960s and was made to be a replica of Bent’s Fort, a large fort in Southern Colorado.  Bent’s Fort was built in 1833 and was used as a fur trade fort.  The Fort (restaurant) decided to serve food inspired by what the pioneers ate in that area as well as Native American tribes.  The location also meant there was a Mexican influence.  The staples of the Fort are buffalo, elk and quail.  The restaurant even had a pet bear named Sissy!

The food at the Fort is delicious and the experience is well worth the trip up there.  It has an amazing view out of the foothills looking down on Denver.  We were not disappointed in our outstanding meal either.  When you walk into the courtyard of this adobe palace, you see a fire pit and a tepee.

My mom had called ahead and the restaurant welcomed our guests by putting the Scottish and French flags in front of their plates.  It wasn’t long before there was a flag sword fight.  While my parents were getting travel guides for Megan and Julien, my mom found some amazing coupons.  Each of us could order a free appetizer and cocktail.  On the waitress’s helpful suggestion, we all ordered Prickly Pear Margaritas.  The prickly pear is a small cactus that grows in the region.  The drinks were bright pink, fresh and delicious.  They were also served with fun, plastic tomahawk stirrers.  Since there were six of us, we were able to order almost all of the appetizers on the menu.  We got: Jalapeños Escabeche Stuffed with Peanut Butter: house made pickled jalapeños with a mango whipped peanut butter.  The jalapeños were not as spicy as I thought they would be.  It depended on the pepper, though.  The pickled pepper actually was very tasty with the semi sweet peanut butter.  BBQ’D Duck Quesadillas: smoked duck in a coffee barbeque sauce with aged Mexican cheeses in a flour tortilla and served with a mango-chipotle salsa.  I was probably most excited about these.  The duck was shredded and tender.  I liked the seasoning on the duck.  I wished I could make it at home.  Rocky Mountain Oysters: small bites battered and fried to a golden brown and served with a tangy “cocktail sauce”.  Do you know what Rocky Mountain oysters are?  If you don’t, are you sure you want to know?  Okay…they’re bull testicles.  I tried them and they were surprisingly good.  Of course the fact that they were fried helped increase their palatability.  The tangy sauce was very good too.  The texture of the meat was a bit odd.  That and the flavor reminded me of other organ meats I’ve tried, namely chicken livers or hearts.  My family all tried these “oysters” but we couldn’t convince the foreigners to give them a taste.  Sam’s Famous Guacamole & Corn Chips: Denver’s Best Guacamole with big chunks of avocado, tomato, onion and fresh squeezed lime, served with corn tortilla chips.  The guacamole was pretty good but still doesn’t match the awesomeness of my dad’s.  I love a good, chunky guacamole.  The chips that were served were red white and blue corn chips.  Hot Sausage Bean Dip: hot sausage sautéed with Mexican beer, refried beans and cheddar cheese, served with corn tortilla chips.  This was tasty but was a bit heavy as an appetizer.  We had so many appetizers that we had trouble finishing them.  This one was one that conquered us.  I liked the spicy sausage.  Buffalo Empanadas: light flaky pastry filled with meaty buffalo served with mild Dixon red chili and chipotle barbecue sauces.  The empanadas were very delicious.  I would definitely order them again.  The flavor of the sauces was nice as well.

While we were enjoying our cocktails and appetizers, my brother Tyler ordered their Trade whiskey with gun powder.  It comes in a shot glass with real flecks of gun powder in the bottom of the glass.  I tasted it and the whiskey itself was delicious.  The gun powder actually added an interesting flavor as well.  We were also surprised by a gift of a bottle of wine from my parents’ neighbors.  The Urbinas bought a bottle of McMurray Pinot Noir for my mom as a birthday gift.  Quelle surprise!

Dinners come with a salad.  I ordered the house salad with chipotle honey spice dressing.  The Fort Dinner Salad comes with seven crisp greens topped with pickled ginger, diced jicama and toasted pepitas.  Along with the salads we got to enjoy their pumpkin muffins and rolls.

Now on to the main dishes!  I ordered The Fort’s Game Platter:  South Texas Antelope medallions, Buffalo sirloin medallion, and a grilled teriyaki quail.  Served with Chef’s vegetables, Fort potatoes and wild Montana huckleberries.  The meats were all cooked nicely and well seasoned.  I found the buffalo to be tenderer than the antelope.  I enjoyed the quail and I was glad they had deboned it.  They’re so tiny!  I’ve had guinea hens and I was surprised how much gamier the quail is than a guinea hen.  It has a nice rich flavor.  My dad and brother ordered The Frontier Platter: a Buffalo sirloin medallion, Wild Boar chops, and a grilled teriyaki Quail.  Served with Chef’s vegetables, Fort potatoes and cherry demi-glace.  I got to try the boar.  It was in between pork and beef still with that gamey flavor.  My mom and Megan ordered Mary Schlosser's Taos Trout - Given to Saml' in 1948, recipe from The Taos Pueblo: Oven roasted trout, topped with crawfish salsa, stuffed with fresh mint and wrapped in applewood smoked bacon. Served with quinoa and wild rice pilaf and sautéed chayote squash.  It was funny seeing what looked like a whole fish wrapped in bacon.  I wasn’t used to seeing fish served that way but it was tasty!  I think Julien ordered the William Bent’s Buffalo Tenderloin Filet Mignon.

After dinner, the waitress asked if we would like to have dessert on the patio.  It was perfect weather outside.  The sunset turned the clouds pink.  It was a wonderful finish to a great meal.  Mom got to pick a free dessert.  She chose the Triple Layer Chocolate Chile Bourbon Cake: a delectable, ancient Aztec combination of a rich, dark chocolate and New Mexico red chili cake. Drizzled with Kentucky bourbon, filled with chocolate mousse and walnuts, covered in a rich chocolate ganache. It will make your heart sing "Hip Hip Huzzah!"  I tasted it and it was fantastic.  I love the mixture of chocolate and chili.  I ordered the White Chocolate & Rose Water Mousse: with Prosecco gelée, topped with huckleberries and a black sesame seed cookie.  It was served in a wine glass and it was very pretty.  There was the light pink gel on the bottom with the white chocolate mousse on top.  It was an interesting flavor.  My dad ordered the Negrita: the Fort’s famous signature dessert.  A blend of dark chocolate whipped with Myer’s rum served in a chocolate tulip cup.  The ideal choice for the chocolate connoisseur.  The chocolate tulip cup is beautiful.  It’s a pretty dessert as well as a tasty one.  The other dessert that was ordered was the Chef’s Choice Crème Brulée.  Megan and Julien ordered that.  It had a faint orange taste to it.

We got added entertainment on the patio.  We got to watch a waiter open a bottle of champagne with a tomahawk.  It was impressive.  Since it was mom’s birthday they brought out a big buffalo horn hat and a raccoon hat.  They put them on my mom and dad and took a picture.  We made sure to get a picture of Julien and Megan in the hats too.  We also were visited by a character who wanders the restaurant: Jacob the fur trader.  This man, dressed in an old trader costume complete with a long white beard, likes to come and stand behind customers until they feel him there. 

The Fort is an unforgettable experience.  I need to return and try some of the different dishes there.  I have my eye on the duck.