Peonies and Pistols: I don't think I'm in Cheyenne anymore...

A new restaurant has opened in town...so cool that when you walk in you kind of feel like, "you're not in Kansas anymore."

Suite 1901, a new martini and tapas bar (can you believe tapas...here??), had a soft opening over the weekend. Invitations for a night on them were emailed out with your meal and first drink to be taken care of. All they asked is you honestly fill out the comment card on the whole experience so they could learn what they needed to do to be better.

Well. How in the world can you pass that up?

I made a reservation and Brandon, myself, and Todd's parents all went down to check it out. (Todd couldn't be there because of work.)

Um...it's actually cool. Really cool. Inside it's all swank and decked out in a very 1930s Art Deco decor. It truly is done very nicely and it far surpassed my expectations.

I had heard horror stories about the martinis from a friend who had attended the event the night before, but mine - the Charles Berry - was done very well. Our service was also a lot better than what I had heard from my friend. There were a few little kinks - like the drinks take WAY too long to come out - but I think that will change once they get the hang of things.

And the food was awesome! Seriously, done just right. Between the four of us we were able to try one of everything on the night's menu. Everything was great, but the chocolate marinated steak was amazing. Holy crap!

The meal also included a starter and dessert. I really enjoyed the starter: a piece of crostini with a nice tomato chop on top and some grilled pita with black bean and traditional hummus (though the traditional hummus wasn't my fave).

The dessert was my least favorite part and typically is, since I'm not a dessert fan. However, I do know a good dessert and this was a disappointment after the rest of the dinner. It was panna cotta with chocolate sauce, but the panna cotta was kind of rubbery and the sauce tasted like nothing more that Hershey's drizzled on top. It hardly ruined the night though!

Their wine list is actually pretty nice too. Brandon and I ordered a Malbec that was just perfect then we toured the rest of the place.

The restaurant is in the refurbished historic Frontier Hotel. They kept a lot of the old, original fixtures, which was really cool. Projected on the wall behind the bar was a black and white movie, which I thought was a nice touch.

Downstairs is a room called the Casablanca Room which can be reserved for parties or meetings. There's also a wine tasting room where they will set up private tastings from, apparently, their own winery that they plan to start. Not sure about the details of this or how that will work.

Overall, I'd give the place high marks. There is absolutely nothing else like Suite 1901 in Cheyenne and it's about high darn time something like this made a go. I'm hoping they will be around for a while - and I will certainly do my part to make that happen!

My photography isn't the best here, but a little peak inside...