We navigated the streets of Denver to get to Bang! and snagged a parking spot in the strip mall across the street (cagily walking by a couple of shops in the strip mall so I could feel okay about taking up one of their parking slots which were clearly marked for strip mall customers only). From across the street, Bang!’s vivid colors grab your attention first, then you notice that the front of Bang! is big windows, looking directly into the kitchen – and to get to the dining area, you have to go through a narrow alley (very narrow) around to the back.
Since it was about 1pm when we got there – and on Tuesday – we asked for and got a table in the enclosed patio section. The place wasn’t too busy – just one other table (out of 6 on the patio) taken. There was music playing, very eclectic choices – contemporary to 50’s classics to soft rock – and not too loud. Just right. Our server came right out with menus and we each ordered beers. I chose the calamari for an appetizer and Mike ordered the deviled eggs. Deviled eggs are a bit unusual – but so is Bang!
While we waited, I ducked inside to see what it was like and it’s full of small tables, very soothing and calming art on the walls and just a bit dark. My friend had mentioned that inside was somewhat dim and when I told Mike, yes, it was dim inside, the server came over and said they’d had some water damage and a couple of windows were covered. When they get those fixed, it’ll be a bit brighter inside! Off the main dining room, there was one small room with four tables – perfect for a small group to commandeer for a lunch or dinner. About that time … out came our appetizers.
My calamari was fried rounds, but they were obviously hand-battered (a huge plus). And they came pre-sauced (what? pre-sauced?) – just enough to get a taste on each one, but not enough to make anything soggy. The sauce was a sweet red chili sauce with red peppers flakes in it. The calamari and sauce was excellent, just excellent.
Mike’s deviled eggs were very smooth – and a just ever so slightly pickle-y- tasting – I think you could actually taste the smoked paprika more. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen deviled eggs as an appetizer in a restaurant. Again – Bang! is unique.
For our lunches, Mike ordered the gumbo, which had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and I asked for the penne pasta with shrimp. Mike was actually torn between getting the meatloaf and the gumbo, as the meatloaf was also featured on the TV show and he doesn’t get meatloaf at home unless I’m TDY. (There are a couple of foods I don’t do and meatloaf is one of them. Others are stuffed bell peppers and whitebait, which I did try and will never eat again.)
We didn’t have too wait long and out came our lunches – and the gumbo smelled so good. Dark, dark roux base – lots of meat and flavor, accompanied by a fried jalapeño cornbread slice. How clever to fry the cornbread so it’s not so crumbly?
My penne was perfectly al dente and – plus point – the tails were off the shrimp. The sauce was tomato-y and home-made with chunks of well-cooked tomato and globs of home-made ricotta cheese completing the dish. The portion was generous enough that I probably took home 2/3’s of it.We couldn’t bring ourselves to stop there … since this place was so special, we ordered dessert. Mike had the peach cobbler with bourbon cream and I had the chocolate mousse with hazelnuts. The peach cobbler had a crumbled topping that was more like crumbled pie crust than biscuit-y or regular crumble-type toppings. The bourbon cream was yummy. My chocolate mousse was really good mousse – soft, light, smooth. My only complaint was it could have used more hazelnuts – but then I love hazelnuts!
We gathered up our doggie bags, thanked Christine for a wonderful lunch and headed out to go home.
So … Bang! Do Again? You bet … you definitely get a good Bang! for the bucks!
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