This Sunday is Easter and 4/20, so you have double the reason to celebrate. While Steuben’s does offer a mini feast to take home for Easter, you can dine inside the restaurant to celebrate the marijuana-inspired holiday.
“The kitchen gets stupid creative and comes up with weird items,” said Michael Kurowski, executive pastry chef and social media manager for Secret Sauce, the company behind Steuben’s and Ace Eat Serve.
In fact, one of the staple menu items started out as a 4/20 special. Enter the Steubie Snacks ($10), a sharable appetizer featuring deep-fried pork belly tossed in powdered sugar and served with chili garlic aioli. That’s the weird kind of inspiration the stoner holiday brings, and Steuben’s team joyfully embraces it.
Other 4/20 highlights include the Tokyo Cheeseburger ($16), a dangerous looking item featuring the classic Steuben’s burger. The burger gets cut in half and placed slice-side down in a skillet bubbling the béchamel cheese sauces.
“We are sticking to what we know, like our burger, but make it high,” joked Kurowski.
Chef Sarah Cloyd and her line cooks also came up with herbed Tater Shapes ($8), a take on McCain Smiles Mashed Potato Shapes, but better. Each order comes with a side of Nashville ranch.
Those aforementioned Steubie Snacks are also getting an upgrade with a flight of the nuggets for $20. Flavors include traditional, churro, and elote, and each comes paired with a unique dipping sauce. Also on the 4/20 menu a delicious sounding French Onion Croissant Burger ($17) makes the list. This dish is meant to invoke the classic beef broth and onion soup, including the toasted cheese found on top.
Kurowski also brought back his Baklava Blunts ($6 each), which he debuted last year. To make the sweet treat, the chef basically made classic walnut and pistachio baklava, but rolled the dough into a long, conical shape to look like a fat joint. Just don’t try to smoke it.
Also on the dessert menu is a true stoner’s delight, chocolate chunk cookies ($4.50 each) laced with smoky bacon.
But don’t forget about drinks, advised Kurowski, you need something for that dry mouth. On the cocktail side choose between two, with the option to add CBD bitters added for $2, which can be put in any drink on the menu. Try it in the tropical Pineapple Express ($13), named after a type of weed and filled with tropical fruit and coconut flavors.
There’s also the Purple Haze ($11), made with Woody Creek Distillery’s Mary’s Gin, made purple with butterfly pea flower, lemon, and grape soda. This drink comes with an edible “weed” nugget, made using white chocolate, green cocoa butter, and feuilletine, otherwise known as the crispy bits on the edge of a crepe.
The special 4/20 menu runs from Friday, April 18 to 20. It’s available throughout the day on Friday, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. 523 E. 17th Ave., Denver, steubens.com
