This post was originally published on April 28, 2015.
I never thought I would be at a dive bar in Broomfield, but there I was last week, eating and drinking at the Old Man with some friends from high school. My friends came out to Colorado to see the Disco Biscuits, so I couldn’t be happier to spend a night with them after they attended the four concerts. They were staying in Broomfield and the Old Man was down the street and had the promise of fried pickles and BBQ, so we were in. The Old Man looks like your classic dive bar/pub from the outside– walled with burgundy siding and red bricks, a lone structure in the middle of a big parking lot, a place my dad would like– your classic “Road House.”
I was happy to be here with some good ol’ friends from Illinois, as the Old Man reminded me of a hole-in-the-wall in my hometown where we would go for $2 beers and darts. We sat down in a big booth under dim lights and ordered some spicy Bloodys, fried pickles, burgers, and BBQ. The Bloody was damn hot, the fried pickles damn good, and the rest of the food pretty damn decent for a bar (my friend and I split the BBQ short rib sandwich and a cheese-stuffed burger). I don’t usually get Bloodys for a dinner, but when I do it’s on a Sunday Funday and likely my third or fourth drink of the day. You can read the review of the Old Man’s Bloody Mary below.
AT A GLANCE 16/20
The Old Man’s Bloody Mary looked pretty good when it arrived at the table. You could see an abundance of spices floating around the deep red-colored drink, while the cocktail had a relatively clean appearance except for some liquid spilling over the side. The Bloody was garnished with two huge olives, a giant pepperoncini, and a lemon slice. Not the most abundant in terms of garnishes, but sufficient.
GARNISH 15/20
I loved the giant olives and pepperoncini– they made the Bloody very appealing and I wanted to dive in. The olives and pepperoncini tasted good, although it was not the most creative garnish. If you aren’t going to go crazy with a garnish, at least give large-sized items like the Old Man Bar!
SPICE 14/20
Although I did order the Bloody spicy, holy crap! It was definitely really, really intense in terms of spice. It was tangy, while the only flavors I could really pick out were the celery seed and habanero. It was super hot and I couldn’t really taste the individual spices that much, as they were masked by the hotness. I like my Bloodys spicy, but would have preferred this one to have a little less intensity so I could actually taste the flavor and not just heat.
TEXTURE & ACIDITY 13/20
The texture of the Old Man Bar’s Bloody was on point, but it was pretty acidic. I had some intense heartburn during and after I drank the thing. Sure, I did order it spicy, but the heartburn was way more intense than other times when I have eaten or drank spicy things. I definitely needed water after I consumed this Bloody, although I did get used to the burning in my throat as I came closer to the end of the drink.
UNIQUENESS 14/20
The Old Man’s Bloody Mary was decent, but pretty average. There was nothing very unique about it and it was not the absolute best, though I didn’t mind drinking it. It was just your typical bar Bloody. I did really like those unique and GIANT olives though 😉
OVERALL SCORE 72/100
You can check out the Old Man here. The Old Man is located at:
4381 W. 120th Ave, Broomfield, CO, 80020