Dine & Dash 🍽
Mini reviews of Lebowski's Taproom / Voodoo Brewing Co.
Lebowski’s Taproom opened a couple months ago at 3240 Centennial Blvd., in the former T-Byrds Tacos & Tequila expansion location next to Heart of Jerusalem. The small, bright-lit space hosts just enough Big Lebowski paraphernalia to define the tribute without going obnoxiously overboard; the rug on the wall is a nice touch.
The outfit offers a decent local draft list — with nothing too unique other than a custom NEPIA named Lebowski’s Sunny Day (made by Wackadoo Brewing) and many a pumpkin beer on at the moment. The most interesting element to the cocktail menu is an extensive selection of White Russian variants concocted with a house-made Kahlua-style spirit we’re told (although that’s not noted on menus). For what it is, I’m not unhappy with my Colorado Tree Hugger, made with the house coffee liqueur, Tito’s vodka and coconut milk with a shot of hazelnut syrup. Minus the typical cream, it’s lighter and less sappy and thick, still sweet given the hazelnut addition but not overly cloying.
From the limited food menu — burgers, sandwiches, common bar apps and a handful of sides (plus a short weekend brunch menu) — we nab the corn riblets, basically smaller segments of corn on the cob, blistered black and drizzled with a tangy cilantro lime sauce; fine but $9. Then we pick the Grinder Sub and The Donny burger, each $17. The first sports Pueblo’s Gagliano’s green chile hot Italian sausage (in patty form, although the menu says “link”). Though there’s not much heat/spiciness to it and the overall bite with sautéed onions and a little melted cheddar tastes somewhat bland. It needs counterpoint, probably acidity from pickled peppers or at least earthiness from bell peppers or something piquant. We aren’t warned that sweet potato fries we choose for the side are the sugar-coated sweet variety, not savory; I’m never a fan. As for the burger, the patty itself needs seasoning and while I like the house green chile’s spicy bite, it quickly soaks the generic bun into a soggy, gummy texture — and like a colleague once told me, “I don’t do wet bread” (Dude).
Final feels: Movie nostalgia won’t carry the day. Even bar food needs to be tightly executed, and there are memorable burgers in town for $12-$15; that’s the competition. The $14-$16 price on the White Russians feels at least a few dollars high given that’s the going rate of many of the finest craft cocktails downtown these days.
Voodoo Brewing Co. acts like a local even if they’re a franchise out of Pennsylvania, and they sport some very fun, cool label art that sets a playful tone carried through with bright graffiti around the spacious taproom at 808 Garden of the Gods Road (not long ago Big Train Restaurant’s short-lived second incarnation). Focal Pint (Focus on the Beer) had a long chat with Voodoo back in May when it was opening; listen to that podcast episode to dive deeper and meet the folks behind the venture. I finally stopped by recently and for the most part enjoyed dinner with friends.
To the beers first, I did a six-beer taster paddle of the many options available — it’s a wide, diverse tap list — and chose three IPAs, a Belgian Tripel and two signature sours. Voodoo’s IPA game rates strong as evidenced by the West Coast-style Good Vibes, and two American-styles, the citrusy Hoodoo (composed of “different hop varieties that all start with the letter “c”; 7.3-percent ABV) and more tropical-toned VBC (dry-hopped with Cashmere and Sultana hops; 6-percent ABV). Of the batch, we choose the Good Vibes (double dry hopped with Galaxy, Amarillo, Mosaic and Apollo hops; also 7.3-percent ABV) to return to the bar for later for 12-ounce full pours.
The 9.5-percent ABV Voodoo Love Child Belgian Tripel immediately reminds me of Abita Beer’s Purple Haze raspberry lager because it’s aged on raspberries (which are prominent in the forward flavor) as well as sour cherries and passion fruit. After the fruit fades across the palate the dry finish is all pleasant Belgian yeast derivatives.
That leaves us with the Lacto-Kooler Green and Lacto-Kooler Red sours, listed as fruited Berliner Weisse beers and “the official beer of Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios.” If that gives you the impression that it’s a bit of a shtick you’re on point. The cloying red variant holds a Hawaiian Punch (or Hi-C or Kool-Aid, take your pick) finish with synthetic tropical aromas on the nose. The green evokes a green apple jolly rancher but also spirulina and GT’s Multi-Green kombucha. These drinks aren’t my jam. My buddy sums it up well by saying, “It’s funny, you have to be 21 to buy these, but by the time you’re 21 you’re too old for this.”
To the food next: we share a basket of beer-battered cauliflower bites with a selected Cajun rub and blue cheese and hot sauce dips on the side. It’s exactly the kind of fried, crunchy, tangy, acidic, rich and creamy snack treat you want alongside an IPA. Lemon-pepper-garlic mussels cooked in Voodoo’s Killapilz Imperial Pilsner are underwhelming with several shells unopened and the mussels generally tough textured except for a couple mealy ones soaking at the bottom that have taken on some bitterness. The beer sauce flavor isn’t as pleasing as a common white wine variety and pita pieces are less desirous dipped in the broth than basic toast points would be.
Next up the somewhat novel Voodill Pickle Pizza which I don’t mind at all in terms of the whole pickles on my pizza concept. The cheese cap’s heavy and the dough lacks any airy quality, with more of a stiff, frozen-pizza texture to it. Someone mentions a Hot Pockets association and someone else CiCis take-and-bake; still everyone eats it happily and the flavors are overall fine. Lastly, I dig the Tikka Masala-evoking Chicky Chicky Bang Bang fried chicken sandwich topped with slaw, cilantro and bang bang sauce on a toasty broiche bun next to well-made (not oily, plenty crisp) house chips. For me, this would be the item to return for with a beer, likely one of the lagers or several stouts that I didn’t try.
