Apple Manhattan Martini

Location Info

Map

Vita Restaurant

1575 Boulder St.
Denver, CO 80211

Category: Restaurant > Modern American

Region: Northwest Denver

Photos

12 user reviews	Write A Review
Save to foursquare	0

Details

303-477-4600

1575 Boulder Street

Related Content

• Pizzeria Basta will roll out cocktails next week
  March 23, 2012
• Ask the bartender: What's up with Colorado winning so many contests?
  October 4, 2011
• Street Kitchen Asian Bistro does the trick for a quick lunch in the DTC
  January 12, 2012
• Indulge Wine Bar now open in Golden
  May 14, 2012
• Celebrate National Margarita Day with one of Denver's five best
  February 22, 2012

More About

• Eating Out
• Liquor and Spirits

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Dining Newsletter: The week's top local food news and events, plus interviews with chefs and restaurant owners, dining tips, and a peek at our print review.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

Life after death. I'm sure it's no coincidence that the owners of Vita, the Italian restaurant that opened in part of the old Olinger Mortuary in December, named their place after the Italian word for "life." The interior is certainly lively enough, with its exposed brick, dark wood, leather booths and expansive bar that extends through the floor-to-ceiling glass window and out onto a wide patio. At first I loved Vita's soft lighting, since it blurred the difference between my laugh lines and the dewy-eyed twenty-somethings at the bar. But then I looked at the menu, and I couldn't believe that anyone -- young or old, living or dead -- could actually read it. Yes, my presbyopia is advancing by the day, but I've yet to resort to cheaters -- and here I was, ready to rush over to Walgreens for a pair just so I could order a drink. Then the bartender, who was at least ten years my junior, came to the rescue and said that most people were challenged by the light, or lack thereof. He brought over a candle, which I promptly used to inadvertently light the menu on fire. After that, I just asked him to serve me something that I couldn't get anywhere else, and he came up with an ambrosial Apple Manhattan Martini ($8.50), made of Maker's Mark bourbon whiskey muddled with fresh apple, simple syrup and a squeeze of lemon. Although the menu says the bar uses Apple Pucker (or so I'm told; I couldn't see through the scorch marks), using real fruit makes for a perfect collision of lusty bourbon and sweet-but-not-sugary apple. To life!