Epicurean Encounters: Bastien's Steak House, Denver

For the past three years, we have celebrated my step daughter's birthday at her favorite restaurant in Denver, Bastien's on Colfax. If surviving WWII, the Civil Rights upheaval, the tech bubble of the early 2000's, and the recent economic depression does not qualify one as an institution, I don't know what would. If you have not visited this family run institution, I would urge you to stop by. It's worth the trip just to see this unique circular structure designed by Mr. Bastien himself.
Bastien's is open nightly for dinner, and the regulars pile in shortly after opening. The decor is old time, gilded glamour in the style of art deco. Even the vertical blinds are gold and glamorous! Black and white photos of cinema icons such as Marilyn Monroe further add to the nostalgia. Old Blue Eyes softly croon in the back ground. Classic cocktails are served in metal martini glasses. The tables are set formally with crisp linens. It harkens back to more formal times when dining was a leisure.
Bastien's menu offers plentiful classic appetizers such as stuffed mushrooms and mussels. They specialize in generously sized steaks of various cuts, but also offer seafood, pasta, chicken, and specialty burgers. Entrees come with your choice of a soup or salad and choice of potato including baked with the works, mashed, twiced baked, and French fries. Or you can opt out of the sleep inducing starch and get extra veggies as I did.
Our attentive and knowledgeable hostess promptly provided their signature, hot out of the oven, garlic bread sticks with a shallot and cheddar compound butter. Even though it was only 4:30, we had a very hungry 7 year old who devoured his bread stick as well as the rest of mine and mom's. The mussels arrived hot and fragrant. They were large and meaty and well cooked. Abundant sliced French bread accompanied the mussels for dipping into the buttery broth which was a bit over salted.
The dinner salads were lovely to look at. Crisp greens, graced with garnet beet curls and julienned carrots, were dressed with just the right amount of the pecan vinaigrette. Toasted pecans provided crunchy texture. Fresh ground pepper is offered for your desire.
The much anticipated steaks were beautifully presented. I opted for the 10 oz "sugar" steak since this is its birthplace. A mouth watering boneless New York strip was flanked by bright, al diente, and well seasoned vegetables. Sometimes the vegetables can be a mushy, tasteless after thought, but not here. The broccoli and red cabbage had such nice crunch, I found myself wanting more. More on the meat. The "Sugar" steak did have a nicely caramelized crust and appealing grill marks. The cut was well marbleized throughout and provided great flavor. No other accoutrements needed here.
Don ordered the daily steak special, a 16 ounce bone in New York strip with a Bernaise (a derivative of Hollandaise) sauce. The sauce rested under the steak as not to obscure the star. Again, the meat was well cooked, nicely quadrillaged (grill marked), loaded with great flavor, with just enough perfectly nappe (preferred consistency) sauce. Kudos to the saucier, it remained unbroken. The veggie was an adorable bundle of asparagus bound by a slice of bacon. The twice baked potato looked comforting albeit dense.
My step daughter ordered the steak David, a 10 ounce New York smothered with Cajun shrimp Bernaise. This was a rich dish to be sure, but it's only your birthday once a year. The baked potato was drenched in butter and sour cream, she wisely withheld the bacon. The large count shrimp were halved length wise and not over cooked.
Since my grandson is only seven, he loves burgers. The Bastien burger which he opted with cheddar did not disappoint the epicurean in training. Looks like they gave him two sweet potatoes worth of fries. Hard to mess those up.
To round out our satiating meal, we ordered the Molten Lava Cake to share. The server, upon hearing it was a birthday celebration, brought an additional NY cheesecake, gratis. Not only was the cheesecake super creamy, it was unblemished without a crack. The molten cake unfortunately fell short both in texture and the amount of "lava".
I have had non- steak dishes at Bastien's which were good, but they definitely know how to finesse a steak. I would agree with the many accolades on Bastien's website including "hidden gem". I am not sure who at Westword with such deep pockets is judging Bastien's as "low end" and "really cheap". Maybe great value would be more veritable. You do get a lot of steak for your money, but it is not cheap. Bon Appetite!