Rainy day pick-me-up: beef hearts and B3 at Colt & Gray

The beef hearts at Colt & Gray will lift your spirits

We're optimistic that the clouds will break for good later this week, returning Denver to its typical sunny self. But until then, we're combating our rainy day depression by doing what we always do: drowning our sorrows in a good meal and a good drink.

If you're feeling the same way, head over to Colt and Gray for a little beef heart and a B3 cocktail.

Beef heart isn't some cute name for another part of the animal -- it's actually the blood pumping organ of the bovine. But at Colt & Gray, the kitchen is getting a top-notch supply of hearts from Our Pastures, a grass-fed, grass-finished Colorado beef producer, and the crew is slicing it finely so that it's more reminiscent of loin than it is of innards. Those tender slices get piled on toast smeared with rich bone marrow butter and topped with sinus-clearing shaved horseradish and a handful of arugula for a crisp, fresh bite.

That makes for a good hearty snack at the bar while you suck down the B3, a twist on a Manhattan that includes bourbon, bitter benedictine and a splash of Bonal Gentiane, an herbal liqueur most often sipped as an apéritif.

Because if you can't sit on a patio, you might as well eat offal and drink whiskey.