Do you remember that feeling of freedom that rushed through your veins about half-way through your school day as a child? You would run through the school hallway and burst out the doors like a linebacker entering the Super Bowl. Goddamn, those were magical times out on the playground, caught up in the wonders of childhood recess. Well, we now have a place to recapture the glory of old at Recess Beer Garden!
Life happened out on that grassy field or on that jungle gym in slow motion. Eventually, you would go back to the cold confines of your classroom. But that didn’t matter because in that hours’ time you had nothing but fresh air and your imagination. That same rush of endless time and kickball came over me as I walked into an adult sanctuary in the Highlands called Recess Beer Garden.
The majority of the bar is an enormous, multi-leveled patio with large trees and plenty of shade. In some ways, this adult recess is an upgrade from the one I had as a child. I don’t remember relaxation on recess as a kid – only a hot field and a minuscule amount of time to waste as much energy as humanly possible. Now, in that suburban oasis, I have a place to dispose of my verve at my leisure or until they kick me out. I can watch people unravel with shots of whiskey instead of cringe as they play smear the queer or swing to and fro from monkey bars.
There are TVs mounted on the walls to watch games like any normal bar. The drinks were strong and refreshing. I ordered some Green Chili Tats and so should you. Good food and strong drink are all a person needs during the right moments in life.
During my time at Recess, I listened closely to the conversations of the strangers all around me and I realized they mirrored those we had in elementary school. As they held moderately priced drinks, the discussions about who liked who and who had the coolest toys flowed from the mouths of half-lit miscreants. Alcohol provides an opportunity for people to act like kids without even thinking about it. Humans never really grow up, we just complicate things with sex and landlords and retirement funds.
Sitting on that patio, under that hot star above, made me twitch as nostalgia and promise dripped down my neck – or maybe that was bird shit. Who knows? I was a few double gin and sodas deep by then, so, the details are a blind man’s HDTV. But I remember the touch of the cool drink as liberty was massaged deep into my shoulders on that early summer day. I thought to myself, “This is a good place of refuge, of day drinking, of letting all the world’s problems fall away. This is Recess Beer Garden.” And that is really all I want from a bar or adult playground – a venue where the gods take the wheel while I sit back and get lost in the utter indifference.
Recess Beer Garden
Website: recessbeergarden.com
Address: 2715 17th St. Suite 103, Denver, CO