Restaurant Review World

Ah, the local deli - tables that have seen better days, a griddle within view, and the friendliest service you’ve ever had. That is Pete’s Kitchen, on Denver’s South side.

Last week my husband and I took a trip to his old stomping ground, Denver, to watch my beloved Packers take on the Broncos for Monday Night Football (sorry, Bronco’s fans). It was an amazing trip for so many reasons, one of which being that I got to explore a few of the restaurants in the city.

The very first restaurant that we went to was Pete’s Kitchen, upon insistence by my husband. It was Saturday at around noon, and the first thing I noticed was a large population of hungover individuals, burying themselves into the house specialty: the breakfast burrito. The second thing I noticed was the seemingly random selection of Greek items dispersed between the deli items on the menu. Seeing as how I wasn’t hungover, and not in the mood for gyros, souvlaki or kabobs, I chose to go with the very friendly waitress’s favorite sandwich, the Reuben. My only issue with the Reuben as a sandwich is that I hate Thousand Island dressing. I am sorry, but I just don’t get it - is it mayo, ketchup, and relish? I am not sure, and I really don’t want to find out. So, I ordered my Reuban sans dressing, and just to be safe, the sauerkraut on the side.

The corned beef was delicious - it was completely lean and wonderfully warm on that autumn day. (By the way, I was really missing Autumn, so I was so glad I had the chance to be in Denver during October.) It was sandwiched between two melted slices of swiss, which were sandwiched between buttered and toasted rye bread. (All of this was compensated for by my side salad, of course!) The sauerkraut must have been made in-house, because it was delicious. I had no reason to fear it, and piled it upon each bite.

While my sandwich was great, the best thing about Pete’s was just feeling like you were at a neighborhood deli. Every table except mine had a breakfast burrito on it - you can tell people wait all week to get hungover enough to eat one. And the servers, all decked out in their Rockies gear, were just the nicest, happiest servers I have ever met. They weren’t nice in the I-want-a-big-fat-tip-from-you way. They were just nice because that’s how you should treat people, no matter what. I noticed that during my entire stay in Denver, and (no offense to LA) it was refreshing.

Also, it should be noted that there were about a hundred awards and “Best of Denver”s hung all around their walls. To read more about Pete’s accomplishments, check out Pete’s Kitchen’s website. You will learn, as I did, that Pete owns a few other restaurants, with very Greek themes (I guess that explains all of the Greek deli items on the menu).

Pete’s Kitchen is located in Cheeseman Park at 1962 E. Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80206
Phone: 303-321-3139

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