Anthony Perez vividly remembers the first time he tasted the Colorado delicacy Rocky Mountain oysters. Perez was 16 years old and had just begun working at Buckhorn Exchange, an iconic Denver restaurant that first opened its doors in 1893. Its menu harkens back to the Old West, showcasing the types of game that would have been available to indigenous tribes and settlers of that era.

As locals know, these oysters don’t come from the sea. They’re actually bull testicles that chefs at The Buckhorn Exchange slice thin, bread and then fry. They’re served as an appetizer with three house sauces for dipping.

“They were really good,” Perez recalls of his first experience, “until they told me what they were.”

Perez wasn’t deterred, however. Today, he is the general manager of Buckhorn Exchange,

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