38 WESTWORD FOOD & DRINK 2023 The Fort 19192 Highway 8, Morrison 303-697-4771 thefort.com Perched in the foothills just below down- town Morrison, the Fort has looked out over the ever-changing skyline of Denver for sixty-plus years. The sprawling adobe structure was built in the early 1960s by Elizabeth and Samuel Arnold as a replica of Bent’s Fort, a trading post located along the Santa Fe Trail in southeastern Colorado more than a century earlier. Initially the Arnold home, it soon became a destination dining spot; it’s still run by the Arnolds’ daughter, Holly, today. The menu is filled with steak, wild game and Rocky Mountain oysters, and the place sells more bison than any other independent restaurant in the country. Luke’s a Steak Place 4990 Kipling Street, Wheat Ridge 303-422-3300 lukessteakplace.com Luke’s is nearly thirty years old, but it’s been under new ownership since 2019. You can go all out with USDA Prime ribeye or New York strips, but the house steaks are cooked nicely, too, and ring in at surprisingly low prices. You’ll find all the comfort of a neighborhood classic with none of the stuffiness of the high- end national chains. Lulu’s Inn 33355 CO-36, Watkins 303-261-9672 lulusinn.com When Lulu’s Inn opened in the ’40s, the classic country joint was actually in the country, but today Watkins is just min- utes from the eastern edge of Aurora and a short hop from Denver International Airport and its nearby hotels. Lulu’s left its original home and moved a few doors down in the ’80s, into a bigger space with a bar, full dining room and dance floor. Along with reasonably priced steaks anytime, head here on Fridays for the surf-and-turf special with lobster tail and your choice of cut, or swing by on Saturdays for the roasted prime rib special. You can cook your own steak on the patio barbecue, though the pros at Lulu’s Inn are also happy to do it for you. Mickey’s Top Sirloin 6950 Broadway 303-426-5881 mtsusa.co In 2005, Mickey’s replaced its decrepit, decades-old home with a shiny, fami- ly-friendly new building on the same lot. The atmosphere is still casual and diner-like, though, and the menu is ba- sically unchanged — which guarantees that you’ll get a whole lot of food for just a little bit of money. Most of the fare is solidly Italian and Mexican, especially at lunch; steaks, which are hand cut in- house, star on the dinner menu and come with soup or salad, a side and dinner rolls (if you ask for them). Steakhouse 10 3517 South Elati Street, Englewood 303-789-0911 thesteakhouse10.com Steakhouse 10 isn’t where you go for a cheap slab of beef; the menu reflects modern steakhouse prices for the qual- ity cuts it offers. But the place feels old-school and welcoming like the best neighborhood eateries; you’ll often see the same folks on return visits to the dining room, so you can nod hello to familiar faces on the way to your table. The combination of properly cooked steaks and service that makes you feel like family has kept this cozy Engle- wood restaurant going for nearly three decades. Meat and Greet continued from page 36
