The Fort Restaurant History's

Building The Fort

SAM ARNOLD'S "FORTE"

Samuel P. Arnold is a man always ignited with an appreciation for history, and a love of good food, and, with a background that ranged from selling toys to advertising, Arnold was leafing through some historical photographs at the Denver Public Library, in 1962, when he chanced upon a line drawing of Bent's Fort, the 1830s Colorado fur trade and freighting center on the Santa Fe Trail. Sam envisioned, not just a fort, but a home.his home. "I could live in a place like that," he mused. He was hooked.

Arnold had driven by a scenic seven-acre plot of land just beyond a Rocky Mountain hogback. From this lofty perch, Denver's lights twinkled below and the view stretched 70 miles south to Pike's Peak. It was the perfect place to build his fort and settle down. Refused by banks for a residential loan, Arnold came up with the idea of opening a restaurant on the first floor of his fort, and he secured a business loan from the Small Business Administration to finance the construction. He bought the land and hired a 25-man crew from Taos to build the structure, using 80,000 45-pound adobe bricks (each made on the site), supported by hand-hewn beams. The floors are the same color as the original "blood floors" of the period. The St. Vrain Bar floor is made in the traditional mixture of earth and ox blood, now only visible under the wood planks as ladies' high heels and earthen floors were not compatible.

Sam Arnold set about opening his restaurant in the lower portion of the building. True to his dream, Arnold immersed himself in the world of Bent's Fort to create an environment that would reflect the 1830's and 40's in every way, researching the special foods that were served at the fort and along the Santa Fe Trail, such as buffalo, peppers, and gunpowder whiskey.

Since a child, his fascination with food had been constant. He liked to cook (as a teenager at Andover Academy, Arnold treated schoolmates to late night friend eggs and bacon sandwiches), but running a restaurant was a whole new challenge. Unfamiliar with food service logistics, he hired chefs to start the project. But when they ran out of food in two hours on Thanksgiving Day, which a full 300-customer house pounding their knives and forks on the tabletops, Arnold decided to get into the kitchen himself to avoid further embarrassment.

After that, his resume became quite impressive. He studied cooking with James Beard and culinary skills at La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Paris, and he also attended cooking classes in Sri Lanka, Thailand, and the People's Republic of China. His attention to detail has encouraged trips to ranches, farms, and groves, all in search of the product (often available only from a small source) he wished to serve. On behalf of buffalo, his restaurant, and other food interests, Arnold has spoken and cooked around the world, hosted radio and television shows, won countless awards, and been featured in top culinary publications and national newspapers.

Sam Arnold's vision of 1962 had become a reality. A sense of history wraps itself around visitors as they enter The Fort's courtyard through massive doors. A fire is glowing in the rock fire pit, an Indian tepee reminds one that Bent's Fort was a trading center licensed to trade with the many Indian tribes that inhabited southeastern Colorado as well as fur traders and pioneers moving west and south. On special occasions, a military band of the period is playing on the balcony onto which doors of the second floor open.

Moving through the courtyard, the visitor may enter several of the nine unique dining rooms. Most of the rooms, like Bent's Fort, have their own beehive fireplaces. Through the main dining room windows and from the garden patio, the view of all Denver and environs sprawls before with glittering lights matching the star-lit sky.

Traditions of the period add authenticity and excitement: having your champagne "tomahawked" before your eyes (the French, during the Napoleonic wars, sabered their champagne bottles open; Arnold changed this skill he'd learned into a western version), or the holiday treat of having "farolitos" (candle lights in paper bags, a tradition of New Mexico) placed along the walls of The Fort and along the courtyard walkways.

The pioneer spirit that Arnold brought to the project has been the inspiration for The Fort's menu. He researched more than 2,000 books and diaries kept by trappers and traders along the 19th century Santa Fe Trail to turn his restaurant into a living history culinary experience. The Fort serves more than 50,000 buffalo dinners annually, and not just in the form of steaks of prime rib: there's buffalo hump, tongue, sausage, and "Rocky Mountain Oysters." The menu also features salmon, beef, pintade (guinea hen), elk, Colorado lamb, and many other exceptional entrees, with an emphasis on side dishes and condiments that creates a truly authentic and delicious dinner.

Sam Arnold's philosophy is to give his guests "shinin' times." "When people walk in with a cape of woes, miseries, frustrations and angers," says Arnold," we want to take them away to another place, with time out from life, to restore and refresh their spirits. What Arnold does, in fact, is to pass on the dream. Step into the world of Mountain Men as you repeat their toast with him: "Here's to the childs what come afore, and here's to the pilgrims what's come arter. May yer trails be free of grizzlies, your packs filled with plews, and may you have fat buffler in your pot. WAUGH!"

Now, about your dream.