Balls!

Asparagus - Colorado tastes like asparagus.

But you're not going to get away with asking such a 'fill-in-the-blank' question as "What does Colorado taste like?" without getting a little more perspective then a promotion for a varieety of ediable llilies that grow wild on the borders of irrigation ditches throughout the state.

Asking "What does Colorado taste like?" is like asking a person what they found when they went out to find themselves. People that have to go looking for themselves are the last to know who they are. They usually start out looking for what they think they are, or looking for what they think they want to be, instead of doing an assessment of how they are perceived.

Denver, the city folks think about when you mention Colorado, has a reputation, and that reputation is what it is. It isn't modern, or suave. It's a cowtown. A trailhead. Its a town with a Federal Mint for a reason - something to do with the Gold Rush or something...Colorado is dusty. My 18-year-old said "Colorado tastes dry".

Colorado is past its hay day for what defines it. I fell in love with this state in 1981, when there were more natives then transplants. I finally got an opportunity to move here 8 years ago, to find it a shadow (a lovely shadow) of what it was.

So, if you have to ask if we should continue to promote Rocky Mountain Oysters as the State delicacy, I say "Sure why not!".
Just because 'Bruce's' up in Severance happened to close down due to a poor case of estate planning, doesn't mean we have to look for who we are - who we are is a combination of our funtion and our history.

Royal Borel

Arguably, even the Taste of Colorado would've been a better representation of our cuisine (even if Wolfgang Puck's restaurant has a booth there). They should've just rounded up some of the exhibitors and sent them to New York.

I'm pretty tired of Denver (and by extension, the rest of the state) having its cuisine known for a creative use of cattle testicles. The sheer variety of the things I see Jason Sheehan writing about (incidentally, the biggest reason I pick up Westword each Thursday) should clue in even the uninitiated into the width and breath of the food available here. Failing that, we could always jump off the deep end and embrace our testicular passion. Wonder what Argentina's doing with their supply?

Colorado tastes like an ice cold beer on the roof of The West End Tavern, with the blue face of the Flatirons staring at you and the setting sun warm on your face. I'll have the burger.