Mad Motherfucker

There are certain spots that I just don’t think of as places to eat. The Rio, for example. Although I know a lot of people who for some reason like to eat there, for me, the drinks and the drinkers are the draw. Just a couple of blocks away from LoDo’s Rio is Le Rouge, and while its excellent food is worlds away from what’s served at the Rio, I don’t usually consider it a place to eat, either. When I think of Le Rouge, I think of cocktails and cocksure characters, and a bar where you can quickly find yourself at home. But then, I usually wind up at Le Rouge long past dinnertime — as I did on a recent stop, when I asked a cute bartender named Tori to make me something “special.” By now the bar was packed with loud music and people, and when I make that request in a crowded bar, the usual response I get from a bartender is somewhere between “Fuck you” and “Fuck off.” But Tori was very agreeable, and said he’d make his — and I quote — “soon-to-be-famous Mad Motherfucker” ($12). Taking an enormous glass, he threw together Grey Goose, Stoli Strasberi, Triple Sec, sweet and sour, and pineapple, orange and cranberry juices. The massive cocktail lived up to its name; one sip and I was mad for it. Two sips, and I thought that next time I visit Le Rouge, I’ll come for dinner. That way, I’ll have more time for more Mad Motherfuckers.

Use this map to see where Nancy Levine’s been drinking.