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The day was all bluebird at Loveland until the powder turned into half-dried cement sometime around 2:30 p.m. The latter interpretation of snow grabbed my skis while my body kept going more times than I could count. My ankle was already sore from a drinking injury — now the rest of my body has caught up. It’s nothing a PBR at the Buffalo Restaurant & Bar in Idaho Springs can’t at least temporarily salve.
I sidle up to the bar part of the place with two compatriots — the restaurant looks a little slick for us.
“This does seem a little higher quality than your normal write-ups,” says one of my friends. I agree — the old place John Rohner took over as a bar circa 1900 (roughly the same year he fought for the heavyweight championship) looks great.
“What can you do?” I reply.
Inspired to Tiger Woods’ return to HDTVs in bars everywhere, the conversation degenerates over $1.87 PBR drafts and a $2.99 basket of fries dipped in the house’s private-label chipotle sauce by Captain Spongefoot. A steady stream of skiing families and locals pass in and out of the doors. I admire the Rapid-Kool Milk Conditioner sign and “The Stampede” mural, featuring a buffalo horde and a lone horned basset hound.
“How old is the bar?” asks a tourist.
“It was built in 1862,” comes the bartender’s response.
Our conversation continues to devolve. “What about a death metal band where they all look like Taylor Swift?” somebody offers.
“These things just write themselves,” I respond, scrawling some notes on a chipotle-sauce-speckled piece of paper.
Buffalo Restaurant & Bar, 1617 Miner St., Idaho Springs, 303-567-2729, www.buffalorestaurant.com.
