Once you get over the fact that Rocky Mountain "oysters" are really bull testicles sliced, breaded and deep-fried, you can start to enjoy the taste, especially when they are prepared properly. The Buckhorn Exchange makes great oysters - tender, lightly chewy with a nice hint of liver flavor.

Once you get over the fact that you are surrounded by stuffed heads of the animals you're eating, you can savor the fine job Denver's oldest eatery does with preparing buffalo, elk and especially beef.

The first thing you see when you walk inside are glass-fronted display cases packed with Derringers, Winchesters, flintlocks and Colt 45s. Everywhere you look there are American Indian artifacts, signed photos of historical figures and walls covered with a menagerie of stuffed animal heads: boar, wolves, elk, deer, zebra, ducks and even two-headed curiosities.

What sets this restaurant above other Western-style eateries is that it's the gosh-darn real thing.

The Buckhorn Exchange was opened in 1893 by Henry Zietz, a scout for Buffalo Bill. Zietz was given the name "Shorty Scout" by the legendary chief Sitting Bull, and took Teddy Roosevelt hunting. The Zietz family collected and preserved the museum-quality artifacts that still decorate it. The restaurant holds liquor license No. 1 from the state of Colorado, and was designated a Denver historic landmark in 1972.

Although it includes item translations in several languages, the Buckhorn's menu is not too complicated: you can have this meat, that meat or the other meat. Given the decor, vegetarians don't flock here.

Evening supper begins with exotic starter choices including Rocky Mountain "oysters" ($8.50) with horseradish cream, spicy mustard and cocktail sauce. Unless you just want to brag that you tasted it, I'd skip the rattlesnake ($15.50). The small amount of meat is submerged in a spicy cream sauce. The same goes for the fried alligator tail meat ($9.75), slivers of which are coated in batter, and the sirloin game tips ($9.25) overwhelmed by brown gravy.

We liked the mild smoked buffalo sausage ($7.50) accompanied by memorable red chile polenta. Also worth sampling is a delicate slice of smoked herbed salmon filet ($10.50) presented with caper- and onion-laced cream cheese and toast rounds.

This is a casual steakhouse, so it has a well-worn and welcoming comfort to it that many modern restaurants can't equal. The servers know the food and help neophytes make a reasonable entree choice.

For accompaniments, forego the fairly plain salad and pick a crock of thick, house-made bean soup, a soul-warming balm when coupled with a hunk of pumpernickel bread and butter. For a side dish, the best choices are skin-on garlic mashers, baked potato, fresh potato chips and fine, not-too-sugary baked beans with a red chile edge. Skip the blah rice pilaf.

In lieu of overpriced potroast ($18) and merely adequate baby back ribs ($24) with a tooth-rattling barbecue sauce, dine on the wild side.

The most beef-like selections are the excellent, buttery buffalo tenderloin ($39-$44) and buffalo prime rib ($31-$39). A little leaner but not gamey tasting at all is the elk medallions ($34). Lamb fans will want to opt for the expertly grilled lamb chops ($27 two chops, $34 three).

For more adventurous palates, the one must-taste dish is Colorado-raised yak, a juicy, fork-tender and quite mild meat.

In the bird department, we found the Cornish game hen ($18 one, $25 two) to be much better tasting than the quail ($19-$24) and a better deal because there's quite a bit more meat on the bones.

Neither of the Buckhorn's two fish items, grilled salmon ($26) with red chile Hollandaise and red snapper ($28) with fruit salsa, really cranked our dinner bell.

All the exotic ambience and meats aside, the best reason to dine here is to savor top-notch dry-aged prime beef grilled to perfection. It's hard to go wrong with the 24-ounce T-bone ($40) or 14-ounce tenderloin ($32) but the menu's piece de resistance is The Big Steak. Cut from a New York strip loin and grilled in one piece, the carved-at-the-table main dish ranges in size from a 1 ½-pounder for two diners ($59), to a four-pound centerpiece for five guests ($160).

Because it's a bigger piece of meat, the steak sits on the grill longer and develops a great charred crust and also retains more sweet juice. All I can say is that it was one of the best steaks I tasted in 2003.

Most of the meats should be ordered cooked no more than medium-rare, or you are really shortchanging your taste buds. You can have the buffalo and other flesh blackened with spices or served with a peppercorn sauce, and almost everything is served with garlic butter. I recommend asking for everything on the side so you can appreciate the naturally good flavors in the meat.

Youngsters can be adventurous too with a kid-sized buffalo or elk steak ($9.75) or buffalo bratwurst sandwich ($6.50).

After such a heavy-duty meal, you don't need to save room for the dessert selections. The best of the lot is warm apple pie ($5.50) with cinnamon rum sauce and vanilla ice cream. The too-sweet wedge tastes better without the sugary sauce.

For the relatively high prices, we thought some of the meal details should have been done better. We'd like a deeper wine and beer list. We wish smoking was banned in the cozy upstairs lounge.

The Buckhorn is not the greatest restaurant in Denver in terms of cuisine, but it's wrong to dismiss it as a tourist trap. The fact is, we had a real good time there and I'm happy to recommend it.

John Lehndorff is the dining critic. Lehndorffj@rockymountainnews.com