"I'm pretty sure that there are certain places in town where, if you blindfolded me, then dropped me off in said place and removed my blindfold, I could tell you what neighborhood I'm in."

That was my first comment as the Geophysicist and I stood outside Sabor Latino (4340 W. 35th Ave, 303-4455-8664) last weekend, waiting on his Rock Star wife and Mrs. Buzz and sucking distractedly on after-dinner mints.

The clientele inside Sabor Latino screamed "Highlands!" almost as audibly as the classical guitar playing overhead. There was an upscale, nouveau-bohemian style common to the dress of many patrons; a number of the 40-something men sported earrings in their left ears, while their fit wives were well tanned and dressed down for Cherry Creek but certainly up for the 'burbs.

Sabor Latino South American fare was decent, and the mojitos ($6.50; get there before 6:30 p.m. on a weekday and they're $4) were very good. We toyed with the idea of staying in the neighborhood before finally deciding to head down to East Colfax and the new Satellite bar, next door to the Red Room.

The last time I was in this same space, it was called the Congress Lounge, and it rated a "Jimmy" on my Swayze Scale of Dive Bars. Jimmy was the name of the main thug Swayze's character Dalton had to kill toward the end of Roadhouse. My visit here had been a short, surreal few moments, marked by a feeling of impending doom as my Spidey senses tingled all night. Indeed, if I had been Harry Potter, my scar would have been throbbing. The room was brightly lit - kind of like a boxing ring. Or maybe a slaughterhouse.

With the bar set so amazingly low, you could have dropped a Chili's here and it would have been an unbelievable improvement. Thankfully, Satellite is not a Chili's.

Plenty of elbow grease, paint and effort went into the conversion, as the place was so unrecognizable I had to ask Mrs. Buzz, "Are you sure? This was the Congress?" when we stepped inside. The tile floor was clean; the fixtures tastefully updated; a flat-screen TV hung over the polished bar; four excellent abstract paintings hung over booths along the wall. The muted gold paint gave the room a warm, comfortable hue, while the Internet jukebox - which I normally loathe - played a rotating cavalcade of great rock.

Obviously someone with excellent taste had been at the controls.

Our first round came to a paltry $7. Granted, that included one can each of Schlitz, Hamm's, Natty Light and Old Style, but still it was a cheap round by any bar standards. (Our impromptu taste test revealed an uncontested winner - Natty Light, hands down.)

Much like at Sabor Latino, I was pretty sure you could have dropped me blindfolded into Satellite and I would have known I was on Capitol Hill the moment the blindfold came off. Vestiges of the old Congress Lounge staggered in and out of the entrance (now notably sans the sign quoting Denver Municipal Code about fighting) over the course of the evening, like the emaciated couple that came in long enough to scream and spill beer on each other, or the man with the camouflage pimp hat and cane who did a dance whenever someone made eye contact with him.

Still, there's no arguing that the upgrade is huge.

Satellite

308 E. Colfax Ave.

303-832-3488

• Happy hour daily 4 to 6 p.m.; $1 off drafts and well drinks

• Check out the collection of Midwest working-class brews in a can for $1.75

• Four words: Big Buck Hunter Pro. Highly addictive.