Steuben's Brunch Review

Ok, time for take two at Steuben’s in Denver’s Uptown Neighborhood! This time Dave and I decided to try brunch at this renowned “urban diner” and I found myself to be beyond impressed with the gluten-free brunch offerings.  Not only could we have all of those deliciously bad forbidden delights (French fries, hash browns, chicken wings, etc.), but there were also plenty of other options to choose from.  The brunch menu is an eclectic mix of breakfast, lunch and dinner, with offerings like salads, soups, omelettes, eggs benedicts, sandwiches, burgers, and various sides, and, surprisingly, our gluten-free menu proudly hosted a good 75% of the regular menu (minus the bread, mind you!). 

Since it was Saturday and it is rare that we come across a gluten-free wing, we decided to share the buffalo chicken wings with bleu cheese.  Normally we request our wings extra crispy, but did not this time and we were both happy that the texture was neither too dry nor overly moist.  The flavor was there, but definitely not super spicy or overpowering.  I found the bleu cheese dressing to be one of the best I’ve had ; it was clearly house-made and had some chives mixed in for extra flavor.  Even the veggies served alongside were tempting – very fresh and crispy, definitely a step up from the anemic celery and carrot sticks that normally accompany wings.  I must say that we were thoroughly tempted by our server’s description of the “Steubie Snacks”, another item on the gluten-free appetizer menus which consists of fried pork chunks, dusted with powdered sugar and served with a house made sauce.  We did, however, resist the urge (at least on this occasion!).

As for the entrees, Dave decided to stick with a classic and had two eggs with sausage and hash browns.  Of course, he lathered everything with Tabasco, but not before I could steal a few bites.  The sausage patties were generously portioned and had a nice subtly spicy flavor.  Hash browns were crispy and the eggs were perfectly cooked (over easy); both were yummy.  As for me, I could not resist trying a cup of the French onion soup, and so decided to lighten up the rest of my meal by ordering the chopped salad, dressed with the house vinaigrette.  As a fan of French onion soup, I must say Steuben’s definitely gets this right.  The soup is not too salty but at the same time packs a lot of flavor.  They certainly do not skimp on the gruyere and, trust me, I did not miss the crouton!  The salad was a typical chopped salad with bacon, eggs, chicken, avocado, and tomatoes.  All of the ingredients were fresh and colorful, unlike a few chopped salads I’ve had in the recent past (I won’t name names here…).  I could take or leave the vinaigrette, as it was mostly flavorless but did add a bit of much needed moisture to the salad.  All in all, we were happy and quite impressed with the presentation and flavor of all of our dishes. 

It was, again, a nice sunny day here in Denver so we were able to dine al fresco.  The tables are nicely spaced and service was excellent, as usual.  Besides the fact that brunch can get a bit pricey if you include a couple drinks, I was very pleased with the experience and quality of food and will definitely be dining here again in the near future.  If you live or will be visiting Denver anytime soon, I highly recommend a visit to Steuben’s on 17^th Avenue in Denver!