Nigori Cold Unfiltered Sake

From the outside, Mori looks slightly bunkerish, and with its weird VFW sign, I thought I might stumble into a concrete room filled with bitter WWII vets smoking and talking about “the big one.” But the minute I stepped inside the bright, streamlined space, my fears were assuaged by a crowd of downtown hipsters, families from the suburbs and folks of Japanese descent. The menu, full of color photos of food and sake choices, needed no translation, even though this is one of the most authentic Japanese/sushi restaurants you’ll find in landlocked Denver. Keeping that in mind, I went with Nigori Cold Unfiltered Sake ($7 for eight ounces). I’ve always been a fan of unfiltered sake, with its weird milky color and sweet banana/coconut taste; Mori served it in a martini glass, which didn’t seem particularly authentic. But while sipping my drink, I noticed something that was: karaoke. I’m now dying to rent out Mori’s Karaoke Box for a party; the combination of friends, booze and karaoke is sure to produce lots of laughs — and lots of bribe-worthy photos. Mori rents this space by the hour for $10, and also has a deal for three hours of box time for up to forty people, with food (240 pieces of sushi roll, six pounds of chicken wings, forty pieces of shrimp tempura and four pounds of edamame), for only $400 plus tax and gratuity — and a cash bar. So the next time you and your friends are looking for things to do in Denver when it’s dead, head to Mori, drink some sake and start singing!