Side Bets FAREWAYS
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF TOPGOLF
TOPGRUB: Topgolf’s CAGGYwinning fare includes (from left) flatbread pizza, drinks in golf-bag pitchers, fried chicken and waffles; and filled doughnut holes (below)
Fare Above Par
Topgolf and Blackstone raise the bar on Colorado golf cuisine. By John Lehndorff THERE ARE NO club sandwiches on the menu at Blackstone Country Club or at Topgolf. These are not your grandfather’s golf facilities and they do not serve the same old roster of dishes that have defined “golf food” forever. Your votes in the 18th annual CAGGY Awards earned Topgolf (in Thornton and Centennial) top honors for the best food at a Colorado public golf facility. Aurora’s Blackstone Country Club took top honors for the best served at a private golf club. After tasting the fare at both places, it’s obvious that the future of dining for golfers of all persuasions is bright. These are very different venues and experiences, but each offers a refreshing approach—from Topgolf’s injectable doughnut holes to Blackstone’s almond-crusted halibut with shrimp and chorizo risotto.
HOME COOKING ON THE TOPGOLF RANGE Topgolf is an eye-opener for any first-time visitor. The three-story, high-tech driving range makes it easy to enjoy golf with climate-controlled hitting bays that come with music, clubs to use and a video screen providing detailed results from micro-chipped golf balls. coloradoavidgolfer.com
One of the biggest surprises is just how good the food, drink and service is at Topgolf’s facilities across the nation. The chef-prepared fare made with non-institutional ingredients attracts golf fans who sometimes stop in for a meal and never actually pick up a club. I visited the recently opened Thornton Topgolf facility, but the four-year-old Centennial location features the same menu with a few tweaks. The complexes have common areas with fullservice food and drink on each level. Bays seat eight comfortably (six players plus two spectators) with a large communal table looking out on the huge netted range. An attentive bay host tablets orders and delivers food and drink rapidly—a plus since golfers rent the bay by the hour. Maria Galan, Topgolf’s executive chef in Thornton, says that the goal from the start was to serve restaurant quality fare. “The dishes on our menu are cooked from scratch, not pulled out of a freezer. Almost everything is made to be shareable, not fork-and-knife entrées,” she says. The coolest platter is the meat-and-cheese board surrounded by a huge freshly baked soft pretzel. Spilling out of the middle are slices of Genoa salami, grilled jalapeño sausage and prosciut-
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to with pepperjack and Cheddar chunks plus fruit, berries and candied pecans. Dipping joy is provided by ramekins of horseradish Dijon and warm, house-made Pabst Blue Ribbon cheese sauce. Other great shareables include farmhouse flatbread pizzas on chewy naan bread, some well-constructed nachos and the truly exceptional Backyard Wings. The kitchen takes plump chicken wings—dry-rubbed and citrus-brined for 24 hours—roasts and then grills them until fall-apart tender and infuses them with garlic vinaigrette. Wing sauces from savory to fiery top them off.
Spring 2020 | COLORADO AVIDGOLFER