Crabby, fatty sandwiches and stiff drinks at the Rackhouse Pub
At the bottom of the Rackhouse Pub’s (208 S. Kalamath St., 720-570-7824) food menu is a promise that none of its items are fried. It’s a bold claim for a bar, where fried food is expected—desired even—to soak up ponds of booze. Rackhouse is serious about it, though. Not even the burgers get fries for company.
This is not to say that the Rackhouse serves health food. Oh, hell no. Even with a lack of greasy, fried goodness, the Rackhouse manages to cram its menu full of satisfying fat. It is, after all, nestled inside the Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey distillery, and a selection of wussy salads wouldn’t work too well with the potent house brew. Perhaps the single most decadent item on the board is the Crabbie BLT. Let us contemplate: bacon, lettuce, tomato, spicy mayo, and a crab cake—a whole damn crab cake plopped in the middle of the sandwich like a hockey puck. Not a mini-crab cake, or a crab-based spread, a full-sized crab cake. The sandwich arrives with the top slice of bread resting on the side, leaving it to the eater to decide the best course of action, as if the chefs aren’t even sure what to do with this one.
The sandwich is easy enough to cap off with a firm squishing motion and a slice down the middle, with the crab cake breaking up neatly on top of the bacon. A typical BLT can be considered a light lunch, but the Crabbie is hefty enough for a Deadliest Catch crewman. (Captain Phil, R.I.P.) The Rackhouse doesn’t skimp on the bacon, either, piling the sandwich with thick slices of the stuff. In addition to the spicy mayo on top of the crab cake, a smear of regular mayo keeps the lettuce and tomato underneath cool and soft.
After a couple bites of flaky crab cake and chunky bacon, foretellings of gastrointestinal distress creep to mind. These warnings will largely be ignored, however, in favor of eating more crab and bacon. With a cup of beer-baked mac and cheese on the side, this is a meal that puts arteries to work. But at least it’s not fried, right?
