Best Eats — O’Brien’s Hungry Bear serves up some of the best in Gilpin County

Long-time chef adds love to his recipes

By Linda Jones

“Best $5 burger in the West,” said a customer in the restaurant when we stopped by for lunch. My lunch companion agreed after she ordered Kevin O’Brien’s Tuesday/Wednesday special.

“The burger was cooked to perfection,” she declared.

Normally the half-pound burger costs $5.95 on the menu, but the mid-week special, including a burger and fries (or substitute potato salad or baked beans) sells for only $5.

The Hungry Bear fills a food void in southeast Gilpin County with a great menu for travelers along CH 119. The restaurant is located beside the Gold Dust Lodge along North Clear Creek. Diners can choose among hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, including a popular chicken-salad sandwich, a fried chicken sandwich, pulled pork sandwich, wings in six flavors, hot dogs, chili and homemade soup. Vegetarian choices are also available.

The wing sauce choices are too tempting to ignore and my companion tried the Buffalo wings, praising them as perfect and crispy throughout. I enjoyed a pulled pork, bean and cheese burrito with a #3 chili sauce; he rates his chili sauces from one to five.

Kevin O’Brien is right when he says, “We only have first-time customers and addicts.”

Why are his wings different? A customer told him long ago, “It’s the love that makes the difference.”

The Hungry Bear is casual, with the inside dining area resembling a family den. Kevin’s wife April is a successful author with three books to her credit. One corner features her books and oil paintings alongside autographed photos of celebrities who’ve dined at Kevin’s various restaurants. Bears of all descriptions are displayed from one end to the other of the dining room, side by side with awards given to Kevin.

You see this roadside-diner cook has helmed major restaurants and earned major awards in the restaurant field. His resume includes large and small restaurants, and neighborhood eateries like the Hungry Bear. Kevin has served as executive chef in five-star establishments, including the Hilton, the Embassy Suites at Tamarac Square, where the restaurant was named for him, the MGM Grand and Nugget in Reno. He opened a restaurant in Heritage Square where his most devoted customer was casino owner Virginia Lewis. In Reno he was the executive chef at the Steakhouse, where he personally knew the celebrities whose photos are displayed. The downside of having a highly successful restaurant is that there’s no time for family, so Kevin changed directions and opened a covered wagon restaurant at 44^th and Carr in Wheat Ridge. O’Brien’s Wings in the covered wagon was the most fun, Kevin asserts. Eventually he left for the executive chef’s job at the Jefferson County Airport.

Kevin started cooking at age 16.

“That’s all I’ve ever done,” he said.

The Hungry Bear keeps him in the kitchen but gives him family time too. He lives in Bailey and enjoys the glorious drive through the mountains to Black Hawk. He opened the Hungry Bear in August 2010, so his patio tables didn’t get much use last summer, but this summer should see crowds enjoying the patio under the large bear sign.

Meeting Kevin is part of the pleasant experience – he’s very congenial and entertaining.

The Hungry Bear is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., 8 p.m. on Fridays/Saturdays. Save room for the homemade chocolate, cream cheese, fudge cake with choice of chocolate, caramel or raspberry sauce. All the meals here are large, and this scrumptious dessert is plenty to share around the table.