It’s 9:40 on a Thursday evening and I walk into The Cooler for my first time – my head bopping to music that only I hear – and promptly realize it won’t be my last time.  You see, The Cooler is a new place with a nice, old soul – kind of like my grandmother used to say about me (not).  I grab a bar table with a view of downtown Denver from across placid Sloan’s Lake, score a can of Hamm’s, and immediately catch a capsaicin buzz from a nearby plate of buffalo wings – they will be mine, oh yes. 

 A classically beautiful brunette drinking a White Russian at the Touchtunes Jukebox throws on Rage Against the Machine followed by something from the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack, and I am thinking this could be love.  I consider for a moment doing a George McFly and just telling her, “You’re my density.”  And then I think better.  Heck, she was probably born the year that movie came out (that’s 1985 to you, fanboy).  And, she probably has a canister of bear mace in her Prada bag.

The Cooler just rocks.  Right off the lake, with a unique menu and a nice center bar.  Pool table?  Check.  Babes?  Double check.  They have a solid beer selection – in fact, the largest selection of beer in cans anywhere in Colorado (and possibly anywhere).  Funny thing about cans – they get a bum rap, but any brewing industry person will tell you that no glass of ANY color keeps beer fresher than a can.  If you don't believe me, check out this fine story from the folks at NPR.

The Cooler is pretty much a home run of a joint, just inside the postage-stamp sized hamlet of Edgewater.  Ryan runs the place, and can help you with the important stuff like which beer will pair best with Catfish & Chips, or if the Seared Ahi Club is better on Sourdough or Wheat.  See you there sometime soon – I’ll be the guy wearing the shirt that reads “I Know What I Did Last Summer.”

Neighborhoods Served: Sloan’s Lake, Highlands, Edgewater, Wheat Ridge, West Colfax, Sheridan, Arvada

Other stuff:  Billiards, Pinball, Big Buck Hunter