Boulder Creek and all that

We had planned to go elsewhere tonight, but due to my afternoon in the tire store our evening had to be rearranged. Boulder Creek is one of our favorite chains. The ambiance is 19th century Colorado mining town. The lobby contains a huge fireplace (inactive on this warm spring night), as if you were in some mountain lodge. At dinnertime the wait for a table can be substantial, but at 8 pm we were seated immediately. Tonight we started with an onion bloom -- a whole onion batter dipped and deep fried, and served with a creamy yet zingy dipping sauce. I like this presentation better than onion rings. One bloom can easily be shared by a small group of people. We brought more than half of it home. Steaks come with your choice of two "sides" -- keep in mind that soup and salad are considered "sides". Tonight we each chose the house salad, which is primarily iceburg lettuce with a few pieces of cucumber and some grape tomatoes. Not very exciting. I ordered "The Cowboy", a bone-in ribeye, and garlic mashed potatoes. Drew ordered a special called "Dodge City Ribeye", which was served on a sizzling platter with mushrooms, onions and peppers, and creamed spinach. Everything was done to perfection, can't wait to eat the leftovers. A word about our waitress. She tried her best, but missed the mark. She forgot to bring our bread -- said she was distracted -- and when she did bring it, gave us bread plates that were wet and dirty. She kept our soda glasses filled, but forgot to bring the water we asked for. She almost dropped Drew's sizzling platter in his lap. And at the end of the meal, told us she would bring us take-home containers and the check, but forgot to bring the containers. But at least she wasn't hanging at the bar watching the Rangers game, like some of her coworkers. Overall a satisfactory meal. Keeping the place on my favorites list.