Picture: British Bulldog patron Kristen Vaughan, 26, of Denver shows her disappointment Sunday after the U.S. women lost to Japan 3-1 on penalty kicks in the World Cup final.

Title after tragedy: Japanese boost their devastated nation with a stunning upset

Europeans are known for their almost cultlike following of soccer. And for some in Denver, the sport is a religion, with The British Bulldog soccer bar as their cathedral and Abby Wambach as their goddess.

"I'm not a religious person, but this is like my church," said Keith Laubhan, 29, of Denver, before Sunday's Women's World Cup final between the United States and Japan. "I come here, and I've got community. There's elements of faith."

His barmate, Mario Nicolais, took it a step further.

"I'm religious, and I went to church this morning and said a prayer for the U.S. women's national team," Nicolais, 32, retorted with a laugh.

About 300 soccer fanatics drank, sang and chanted at the British pub, only to watch the Americans lose 3-1 in a penalty shootout.

Though the outcome wasn't what fans hoped for, general manager Wendi Reed tried to keep them feeling patriotic with red, silver and blue beads, large American flags throughout the bar, deafening chants of "U-S-A" and traditional soccer songs.

Only one pubgoer, Irishman Shane Barrett, predicted Japan's victory.

Barrett, who moved to Denver from Ireland nine months ago, woke up extra early to blast the Japanese anthem in his home.

"I started to get a little love for Japan going here," he said, with a smirk. "Of course I wanted to see USA win, I was just trying to make it a little more entertaining."

While the USA team has skills, some fans at The British Bulldog pointed out that it hasn't hurt TV ratings that they're also attractive.

According to Shayna Teutscha, a 33-year-old youth soccer coach and teacher who lives in the Dominican Republic, Alex Morgan and Hope Solo may have caught male viewers' attention, but men kept watching because of the team's talent and resiliency.

"They just have a swagger, an attitude about them," said Thomas Garza, a 24-year-old from Thornton. "It's a lot prettier of a game to watch than the men's games. The men just seem like they're out to kill each other. The women, you see all of their skill and hard work, the look on their faces when they run for a ball."

Veronica Davis, 23, sporting an Abby Wambach jersey, added that female players tell the story of the game on their faces, which makes the loss even more heartbreaking.

"You can see just how much they actually want to win," Davis said.

Not only did they emote, they spoke eloquently and with class to congratulate Japan. That kind of poise will be replicated by the more than 65,000 youth soccer players in Colorado, according to former girls coach Carisa Donahue, 32, of Denver.

"My girls are so geeked about this game," she said. "They're super pumped. I'm seeing all their Facebook posts and that they're getting together to watch the game."

Colorado College women's soccer assistant coach April Kater spent the last two weeks in Germany, where she watched eight World Cup games.

While there, she thought the "American mentality" had captivated fans from all countries. The team finally caught the attention of its home country too. The previous two U.S. matches averaged more than 3.5 million viewers.

"At moments, we might not be playing the most attractive soccer, but we're getting it done and that's what counts," she said.

Sarah Kuta: 303-954-1033 or skuta@denverpost.com

posted: July 18, 2011

From swanky lounges to boozy bars, we round up more than 40 of the city's best places to imbibe. Plus, the nondrinker's journal, bartenders' tips, and debunking the alcohol-altitude myth.

Bars are often confused with restaurants. It's a common mistake that can be avoided by understanding the main difference: Restaurants are destinations; bars are not. The best restaurants, through their food and fame, will draw people from across the city, the state—or sometimes the country—to enjoy their crispy Colorado striped bass filet or slow-braised Highland beef with roasted corn risotto. Bars are local joints. Regardless of whether they're swanky cocktail lounges or dingy hole-in-the-walls, they attract people that live, work, or play nearby to come in for a beer or three. Bars, like parks or libraries, belong to and reflect the surrounding blocks in the best ways. The crowds, the decor, and the staff are familiar, inviting, and inherently of a neighborhood. The best bars are like second homes—with draft beer.

With that in mind, we scoured Denver, Boulder, and the suburbs for neighborhood drinking institutions. (For our methodology, see page 71). Chances are, there's one a stone's throw from your house. Go there. Drink. Watch the game. Meet your neighbors. Be merry. And have another

DOWNTOWN
British Bulldog
2052 Stout St., 303-295-7974
You're drinking: Fuller's London Pride, on draft
You're listening to: The Killers, The Hives, Rage Against the Machine
Though it's only two years old, the British Bulldog oozes history—partly because it feels a bit like an old pub you might happen upon while wandering around London, and partly because the Bulldog's building has been home to one bar or another for more than 100 years. The worn tile floors, high, pressed-tin ceiling, and private booths painted with faded landscapes make for a cozy, welcome respite from the bleak stretch of Stout Street outside. Also welcome: two two-for-one happy hours, between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., and 10 p.m. and midnight, every day; soccer on the teley round the clock; and some killer Pakistani eats. If that weren't enough, the Bulldog opens at 7 on weekend mornings during the English Premiere League soccer season, and serves a true breakfast of champions: eggs, bacon, bangers, fried tomatoes, baked beans, and blood pudding—and, of course, two Imperial pints of your favorite English suds. —GVD

posted: June 30, 2011

posted: June 27, 2011

Lori Midson
If the Bank Bar & Grill has been your neighborhood watering hole for the past several years, grab a beer and weep, because it's gone. In fact, save for the distressed red brick walls, which have anchored the two-tiered space for decades, little remains of the former sports bar that resides on the corner of East Colfax and York.

And in late July, when The Three Lions, a "world football club," opens, there will be no resemblance at all.

Jon Forget, the general manager of the British Bulldog, along with Mark Berzins, owner of the Little Pub Company, which encompasses nineteen joints in and around Denver, including the British Bulldog, have taken over the behemoth plot, which, says Forget, will reopen as a bar for soccer hounds. "We're doing quite a few renovations, and it will look nothing like the Bank when we open as the Three Lions," says Forget. Instead, he promises, "it will feel like you're in an authentic English pub in London with like-minded soccer fans."

The pub, he says, will be the "ultimate viewing experience for fans of the game," with several TVs strapped to the walls showing world soccer matches -- at noon, night and even in the wee hours of the morning, if that's when Spain and Brazil happen to be kicking each other's shins. "My philosophy is that I don't care how obscure the game is; if you contact me to say that you want to watch a game, and it's on at 4 .m., I'll come down and personally open the doors myself," insists Forget, adding that he's striving to achieve the same camaraderie that exists at the British Bulldog. "We're not competing with the Bulldog -- we're the sister to the Bulldog, but here, we can accommodate much larger crowds who enjoy a heavy concentration of European sports, especially soccer."
R But the pub won't be entirely about fútbol. Both suds and food -- much of it English pub grub -- will also take center stage. The beer list will be mostly European, notes Forget, adding that the pub will feature a full line of Fuller's beers. He says, too, that he'll have a fourth tap pouring cask-conditioned ales from across the pond.

As for the menu, Forget tells me that it'll be a "combination of American pub fare, authentic British pub fare and signature, around-the-world curries." In addition, says Forget, the kitchen will do a special board to coincide with whatever teams are playing on the telly. "If the Spanish are playing the Dutch, then we'll offer a Spanish special and a Dutch special, which gives us a chance to play around a little bit and create whatever we want."

When The Three Lions opens, the hours, says Forget, will fluctuate depending upon when the games are being televised, but at the moment, he's shooting for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday; breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday; and extended hours if there's a late-night match on that requires the kitchen to satiate the hooligans.

posted: June 27, 2011

Satisfy a craving for samosas, football, beer

Story and photo By Kristen Browning-Blas The Denver Post Posted: 09/17/2008 12:30:00 AM MDT

Craving fish and chips with a side of samosas? A pint of Boddington's served at the proper (not too cold) temperature? A place to watch the World Cup qualifiers in the game called football everywhere but here?

You don't have to fly to London, just head over to the British Bulldog on Broadway and Stout Street. The menu of "proper English meals," American bar standards and Pakistani mainstays has seen some tweaks since the Little Pub Co. bought the place this summer, but new owner Mark Berzins assures regulars that's all that will change.

The 18-foot-long bar inside an 1885 cottage opened as the Punch Bowl in 1904, and became the Stout Street Pub for a short time before Isaac James and his brother bought it and turned it into the Bulldog. The high-backed booths Noel "Chief Sundown" Adams painted with Colorado scenes in the 1930s (in trade for his bar tab, some say) remain.

Unlike some of the Indian buffets around town, where many of the dishes taste like they came from the same spice jar, the Pakistani dishes here all have unique, complex flavors, thanks to the previous owners, who taught chef Tomás Cortez to make their grandmother's recipes, and to Little Pub's executive chef Sean Kelly, who wisely kept the most popular dishes.

The Bulldog Sampler was one of the first menu items to go, leaving first-time diners to plunge right in with the samosas, cumin-chile-spiced potato dumplings served with red, tangy tamarind sauce and peppery green cilantro chutney. At $8.95 for three, they're a bit overpriced, but worth trying.

The ginger-garlic-marinated Peshawari chicken comes atop a bed of garam masala basmati rice and triangles of hot naan bread. The heavier spices of the curried lamb and potatoes give the aloo gosht an earthier flavor.

In the mood for fish and chips with your ale instead? The Guinness-battered cod and hand-cut chips are as good as any I had in London. And the malt vinegar's right where it belongs — on the table next to the HP Sauce.

If you have to ask why the pub's open at 7 a.m. on the weekends, you must not be a fan of the beautiful game. The Bulldog shows live English premier league and World Cup matches throughout the season, as well as rugby and Australian rules football.

Kristen Browning-Blas: 303-954-1440 or kbrowning@denverpost.com

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The British Bulldog English, American and Pakistani pub food. 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2052 Stout St. (at Broadway), 303-295-7974; britishbulldogdenver.com

Read more: Satisfy a craving for samosas, football, beer - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/restaurants/ci_10472484#ixzz1FGzZXWJt Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

Below: William Baird, Warren Phillips, Alex Leighton Reier and Shawn Duncan get started on their weekend. (Kristen Browning-Blas, The Denver Post)

posted: February 28, 2011