After enjoying 36 days of a new-year vegan diet and surviving an embarrassing incident in which I nearly burned my apartment down baking spelt biscuits – I knew it was time to eat some meat.

There are many great reasons to go to Denver but for the sake of clarity only one reason matters:  Euclid Hall.

These were really sweet, bringing new definition to the term ‘meat candy’. When the menu writer calls this “bruléed” they are not joking around. The sherry gastrique was an excellent sauce choice for this dish, working to cut the sweetness with a solid acidic finish. I did not bone luge, an oversight I will likely never recover from.

This was an especially great beer, notes of dark chocolate and raisins. I bet you it smells like attractive Russian men and victory.

I am not the best about telling people to ‘DON’T TOUCH THAT’ until I can take a picture of an initial plating. Oddly, this was once my specialty and I would bark at anyone who tried to dig in before I could take a picture, turns out that’s not an attractive personality trait, but you know what? That’s also not an attractive picture, and the dish was incredibly delicious, well plated, and probably the best thing I ate at Euclid Hall. I think this dish also deserves credit for making a plate of pig ears an enticing menu item by pairing them with Pad Thai familiarized ingredients:  tamarind, sprouts, mint, peanuts. Well played.

This is duck poutine, squared. The dish starts with fried potatoes, duck gravy, black pepper, and Wisconsin cheddar cheese curds. To turn this poutine into the farcical iteration you see before you they add a sunny side up duck egg and an ounce of foie gras. I can’t figure out what makes this such a rich dish?! There is an obvious element of shock value here but if you enjoy a few bites  while sipping an Old Fashioned you are Doing It Right.

Pitch black blood sausage. I will admit to a deep respect and fascination for these links, I’m not sure I’ve ever had boudin noir before but I know I will be enjoying more in the future. Fascinating flavors in a dish that has a long and varied history. I recently scored a never-used Oster grinder at a thrift store and my first project is boudin noir, I will (of course) report my trials and triumphs.

There are numerous places in my neck of the woods to acquire outstanding house-crafted meat items and Euclid Hall is stiff competition to all of them. Additionally, there are many appealing aspects of enjoying this type of meal in an area of the world where the sky is so expansive and the weather so mercilessly dry and cold. A visit to this great place is a terrific reason to eat whatever you want.