Hot Chicken in the City

Nashville Hot Chicken, I'm told by the natives, is not a long-standing tradition.  But the term is now used as if it's been around forever, and let's face it, Southerners know how to fry up a good bird.  The "hot" is only an option, by the way--all of these places offer a mild version, so don't be scared if you don't feel like burning your lips off.

Like a good BBQ joint, a plate will offer you two sides, like mac & cheese (often done with pimento cheese), greens, corn on the cob, cole slaw, or baked beans. Here are a couple delish ones in the South, and one bonus joint in Colorado that definitely does it right, despite the lack of twang from the servers.

...special thanks to my Southern pals who helped me find the best places in Nashville!

Bolton's Spicy Chicken & Fish, 624 Main St and 2309-A Franklin Pike in Nashville, TN 

Features: Chicken on a Stick plate (trust me) makes you feel like you're at the county fair, and there's also a great selection of fried fish and pork, either in a platter or sandwich.  SO, it's basically a BBQ place that also does great fried chicken, which makes it a real crowd-pleaser for mixed groups. 

Best sides: white beans, corn on the cob, spaghetti (I mean, it's not the most amazing spaghetti you'll ever have, but-?!)

Hattie B’s, 29 Seven Apartments, 2808 7th Ave S #101 in Birmingham, AL; 596 Cooper Street in Memphis, TN; 5209 Charlotte Pike, 112 19th Ave S, and 2222 8th Ave S in Nashville

Features: Besides becoming pretty ubiquitous in a short amount of time, it's probably the most hipster place I visited (in newly gentrified Melrose, Nashville, anyway). There are some great local beers on tap, and the service is super fast and friendly. Shut the Click Up!! is their hottest chicken, and it's near-nuclear. And the banana pudding is just super Southern, if you're and outsider like me and looking to go all-out. 

Best sides: black eyed pea salad, red skin potato salad

And believe it or not:
Music City Hot Chicken, 111 West Prospect Road #C , Fort Collins, CO 

Features: Since they're just a couple shops down from Black Bottle, they have their own BB brew on tap (it's a light, summery lager called Music City Cold Beer, and it's perfect with spicy chicken). They also have some exotic flavors, like a green chili flavoring and also a Jamaican Jerk, which are both super tasty. Each chicken comes with a dipping sauce, as well, which I didn't see in Nashville.  I don't really get the point, but it's nice if you like that sort of thing...

Best sides: mac & cheese, waffles (get the Fireball syrup as your sauce)

Weekend links for NoCo

Why is it always so much easier to remember how awesome your life is in the summer? Oh right, because it is more awesome in the summer. 

Best Brunch Spots

Door 222, Loveland (opens at 11:30am)

Lucile's, Fort Collins

Rise!, Fort Collins

Snooze, Fort Collins

Sugar House, Eaton

Best Breweries

1933 Brewing, Fort Collins

Coopersmith's, Fort Collins

Loveland Ale Works, Loveland

Verboten Brewing, Loveland

Weldwerks, Greeley

Outdoor Fun

Boyd Lake State Park, Loveland

Gateway Natural Area, Fort Collins

Horsetooth Reservoir and Mountain Park, Fort Collins

Poudre River Corridor, Greeley, Windsor, and Fort Collins

Windsor Lake, Windsor

Eating Right Coast Pizza in Greeley

Greeley, Colorado has slowly been trying to become a real, grown-up town.  We've got a population of about 100,000, a gang problem, and crappy schools--how much more urban can you get?  The Downtown Development Authority has also been trying to fill all of those charming brick storefronts that have remained empty for so many years.  Enter a new brewery (WeldWerks, the only place to go for local brew), a tap house sporting 60 taps of Colorado proud beer (Brix), and now, Right Coast Pizza.

The downtown Greeley location is Right Coast's second, following their flagship restaurant in Wheat Ridge, in suburban Denver.  They specialize in New Jersey style pizza, which seems to be exactly the same as New York Style--thin, floppy crust that's best eaten folded.  When I went to the grand opening a few weeks ago, they were giving out free Tivoli lager (better than free Coke!), but an hour after the party was supposed to start, they had already run out of pizza crust, so there was nothing to eat.  Rookie mistake, except it's their second store.  Perhaps they underestimated Greeley folks' capacity for free pizza and beer. 

So, I was happy to see the place already starting to fill up at 5:30pm a couple of weeks ago.  Service was very attentive (more on that later) and pizza came out promptly.  There was some confusion about who had ordered which beer when they came to the table, which the waitress explained by confessing she "wasn't a beer person" (that was also her explanation for her ignorance over the item on the menu titled "hopped coffee", which I'd still love to see, but they were out). But the pizza came out very quickly, and it was hot and crisp.  

We got an Elmer, which is a white pizza with spinach, bacon, and tomato slices. It was good.  The crust was lightly charred on the underside, blonde but perfectly crisp above. It was really garlicky, tomatoes and spinach were fresh, and the finely chopped bacon was crisp and plentiful.  There was just enough grease to seem like proper pizza.  At $15 for a 14" (medium), it wasn't exactly grungy college food, either. 

Let's talk about the service, because I find it to be a constant, and very puzzling, problem in Greeley.  It's almost like there's some kind of central training office for wait staff in this town being run by a clown. Literally a clown.  There were way too many people working on a Thursday late afternoon, and so they were all hovering pathetically, looking for things to do.  That's a problem with management's decisions, though I have no idea who that would have been, because every staff person in sight could have all been members of the same sorority.

It was a little bit awkward when the hostess walked us so very slowly to our table while trying to make inaudible small talk over our shoulder and asking us how our day was going.  She later came over repeatedly to make sure there weren't any spare beer menus laying around, which she seemed very eager to collect immediately after the first order was placed.  (PS--this is a bad business move!  Wouldn't you sell more beer if we could see your fabulous, long list of taps all night?)

Then came our sweet, though unapologetically ignorant, server.  She couldn't answer any questions about the drinks, but she was certainly chatty.  After we had ordered our pizza and were working on our beers, she actually came over to ask what we had done all day (Again with this? Why does everyone ask me this now? Starbucks has not been a good influence on the service industry.). When I (not) jokingly said that was pretty personal, she proceeded to tell us about the four fillings she got at the dentist that day, including describing the effects of the novocaine as it wore off. It went on and on, and I think it's fair to say we were all avoiding her eye contact by the end, but she continued unperturbed.  When she brought the pizza after her speech, she complained that it was her favorite pizza and that now she was hungry from having to bringing it to us. 

This is a trend I have noticed, particularly in the downtown area--young, socially awkward girls who don't know much about the products they are serving try to make up for their lack of expertise by chatting us up, far too long and too in-depth, in order to make a personal connection.  I don't know how my fellow patrons feel about this; perhaps they find it delightful.  I can handle a little chit-chat, but at some point I feel obligated to entertain them, and that's too much pressure.  Either Greeley restaurants need to start hanging "extroverts only" signs on their doors, or they need to monitor their young, inexperienced wait staff more and tell them when to cool it on the BSing with the customers. 

This is the big problem right now with Right Coast, and if they can correct it, it'll be a great restaurant downtown.  They seem to know what they're doing in the kitchen, but more oversight and thorough training in the front of the house is definitely needed right now. I'm not sure if the owners are dividing their time evenly enough between their established Wheat Ridge location and their fledgling Greeley spot, but if not, it would be worth the investment to hang out a little more up here for a while. 

But I will repeat, the pizza was good. 

Summer in Estes Park

Estes Park, Colorado, is one of those mountain towns that's probably more heavily inhabited in the summer than in the winter.  Because skiing is nonexistent in this town, it serves instead as a great escape from the heat down in the Front Range for locals, and as the home of the awe-inspiring Rocky Mountain National Park to the rest of the world.

I'm not even going to try to cover the park here.  There are books and books out there, which is probably a good indication that my little old blog post will be inadequate. Instead, let's talk about the town itself.

Restaurants are not amazing here, but they're trying.

COFFEE/BREAKFAST: A must before a long hike in the Park, right? Kind Coffee is the alternative to Starbucks, with well-made cappuccinos, a beautiful, sun-drenched store, and mediocre pastries. I love going here in the afternoon for a pick-me-up when the daily rain shower starts, and when it's over, I take my leftover coffee outside and walk along the river behind the store.

Kind Coffee, 470 East Elkhorn Avenue

Notchtop Bakery has perfectly fine coffee, but nothing fancy, and they also serve looseleaf teas (standards and their own blends) in French presses for the tea drinkers in your group.  They bake all of their own goods, which are delicious, and they also serve a pretty satisfying plate of eggs.  They're only open from 7am-3pm, so I like to make this my breakfast stop. It's a bit hidden within the Safeway shopping complex off Big Thompson, so maybe use a GPS for this.

Notchtop Bakery & Cafe, 459 E Wonderview Ave

LUNCH: Please do yourselves the favor of eating at the buffet (or off the menu, if you prefer) at the tiny and charming Nepal's Cafe.  It's basically Indian food, if you're nervous about what the Nepalese eat, it is delicious and kept fresh on the buffet, and the old couple who own the place are sweet, sweet, sweet. It's also located along all those touristy shops and galleries, the perfect place to be when it starts raining around 1pm, which it will, every single day. 

Nepal's Cafe, 184 E Elkhorn Ave

DINNER: This is where it gets obvious that you're in a mountain town, which are not generally known for their fine cuisine.  I am a sap, and the very first place I ate two days after moving to Colorado was Grumpy Gringo, so I still go there.  It's on the edge of town when you first enter, it's fine (but not amazing) Tex-Mex fair, and the patio has a perfect mountain view.

Grumpy Gringo, 1560 Big Thompson Ave
970-586-7705

Sweet Basilico has simple, unsurprising Italian food that is cooked well.  I have often gone here for a late lunch after a big hike, but going for dinner means you can enjoy the interesting wine list, as well. I always get a plate of pasta with my choice of sauce and protein or veggie. The pesto with mushrooms is great. The pizza is very good, too. 

Sweet Basilico, 430 Prospect Village Dr

970-586-3899

There are several expensive restaurants that promise a fine dining experience with amazing local cuts of meat. Most of these places are full of shit (I'm looking at you, Nicky's).  But if you must take the plunge, Appenzell is quite good, and a bit newer, which gives me hope for the future of my Estes Park dinners. Happy hour is from 3-6, and the cheese plates and tapas are nice (and probably enough if you went to Sweet Basilico or Nepal's Cafe for lunch).  The wine list is nicely varied. 

Appenzell Restaurant and Pub, 1100 Big Thompson Ave.

(970) 586-1122

Housing is all over the place, from simple motels to luxury vacation rentals. Book early.

In town, take advantage of the greenbelt while your lazier family members are still snoozing. Pick it up from the beautiful Estes Park Visitor's Center and walk along the river, behind the shops and good old Kind Coffee.

Estes Park Visitor's Center
500 Big Thompson Avenue
800-443-7837
Not unlike my memories of Wisconsin Dells, there is a small contingent dedicated to maintaining a retro collection of family-friendly activities.  The dorkily named Fun City offers mini-golf, go-karts, water slides, bumper cars, and paddle boats, and it's smack in the middle of downtown.

Fun City
455 Prospect Village
970-586-2828

Ride the Aerial Tramway from downtown up to Prospect Mountain.  It's not as spectacular as a ride in, say, the Alps, but it's pleasant and it's not going to freak out Grandma, either. 

Aerial Tramway
420 E Riverside Dr.
970-586-3675

There are an inordinate number of shops in town--you'll know you've hit them when you start dodging large groups of slow-moving pedestrians wandering in the middle of the road, zombie-style, from one "Indian" jewelry shop to the next.  There are a lot of t-shirt shops, but embedded among all the crap are a few beautiful galleries, too (once again within walking distance of Kind Coffee on the greenway).  When your hiking blisters are well-developed enough to take a break from the park, it might be worth the wander. Once. I also like to stop at the sort of scuzzy, delightfully townie Wheel Bar in the midst of it all to gather my courage to continue. Have a brat and a beer. It'll get you through. 

Wheel Bar

132 E Elkhorn Ave
(970) 586-9381

Oh, also, this is the Stanley Hotel:

The Shining was filmed here.  You have to pay just to go in and walk around. Let me know if it's worth it. 

A happy hour tour through Northern Colorado (with a little Denver thrown in for good measure)

I wasn't very positive earlier this week when I reviewed Uncle in Denver:

A serving of superiority makes the ramen so much better...

But it made me think about all of the places I genuinely love to visit, and how lucky I am to live in this part of the country, where, overwrought snobbiness or not, people care about interesting beers and tasty, healthy bites. So, in honor of all those serious cooks and thoughtful brewers, I thought I'd share a list of my favorite places to  do my favorite thing: drink and eat snacks.  That's right, it's a HAPPY HOUR TOUR across Denver and NoCo!  

Denver

I've reviewed the Cruise Room, off the lobby of the Oxford Hotel, before, so you can read all about it here. And while they don't offer a special happy hour per se, it's worth a stop to have a martini in the swankiest bar in LoDo. Cocktail Menu

Highland Tap & Burger is large yet cozy inside, and the noise during happy hour is at a moderate din, just enough to make you feel not so alone.  The wait staff knows the menu (meaning, they've clearly tried most things on it) and makes you feel at home. They've got a good selection of taps, but their happy hour cocktails are pretty special (and boozy).  Happy Hour Menu

Linger is super-chic and the waiters are so fancy in their black outfits, but it's still pretty laid back despite the outwardly snobby trappings.  Their food is a creative, fusion-esque take on street food from around the world (please, please get a chicken bun if you go), and their cocktails are equally appropriate as works of art or as a way to kick back on Friday afternoon. Happy Hour Menu

Fort Collins

Ace Gillett's is a Prohibition Era-style speakeasy in the basement of the Armstrong Hotel.  You can go down though the hotel lobby or the unmarked side entrance from the street, and it's all dark and cozy when you get down there.  The happy hour menu is a great deal, and the drinks are some of the best-made I've had.  These bartenders have standards. Menu

The Astoria is more for slinking in after you've had enough to drink that you need some carbs to soak up the poisoning.  Along with another beer.  But the place serves great small plates of homestyle Cuban food, and the drinks are simple and nice.  I reviewed it fully right here just about a year ago, and I still think it's charming as hell. Menu

Jax Fish House has delicious fresh apps and tasty cocktails that are pretty mild on the alcohol content, but they're a great compliment to the peel and eat shrimp, mussels and frites, or my personal favorite, the dynamite seafood sliders with house-made kimchi.  Their happy hour also runs every day of the week, making it a great score post-afternoon hike at Horsetooth Mountain Park. Happy Hour Menu

Greeley

I know, right?!  There are places in Greeley now!  Well, one.

1908 Speakeasy is not perfect (their bartenders are young and need your guidance to ensure you're happy with your drink), but they're trying, and it's a cute attempt at recreating Ace Gillett's.  Located in the basement, underneath Kress Cinema, there's no sign--just a dark little bar that does a pretty good job of looking 1930s-ish.  The menu is dedicated to recreating Prohibition Era favorites, but beware: anything with lemon juice is going to be really lemon-heavy unless you warn the bartender to go light on that ingredient.  If you exert that little bit of control, however, you'll be just fine.  The fried macaroni and cheese balls are oh-so-bad for you, but oh-so-worth-it.   Drink Menu     Food Menu

Loveland

Henry's is a pretty generic looking fake-Irish pub with sports on television screens throughout the restaurant.  But their taps favor some great local breweries, the bar tenders know what they're doing, and the smoked salmon platter with dill cream cheese, capers, red onion, pumpernickel, and hard boiled egg is actually a great snack to share. The service is friendly and the menu is comforting and junky, perfect in cold weather. Menu

Next Door is downtown, a short walk from Henry's, and boasts a similarly NoCo-proud tap list.  They also make some great cocktails. A major part of the menu is small plates, so it lends itself well to a happy hour stop. The menu gets updated regularly, but in its current incarnation, the quinoa cake with Manchego cheese, smoked paprika aioli, and micro greens is actually delicious with prosecco. Happy Hour Menu

Pourhouse Bar and Grill has been in Loveland since before their downtown was cute, and happy hour runs all day Sunday (11am-6pm Monday through Friday).  They deserve to be rewarded with a visit for their generosity alone, but they also deserve your patronage for their extensive Scotch menu, local-centric taps, and lots of good red wines.  Their appetizers are pretty tan (read: lots of fried stuff), but the sweet corn and portobello rangoons are quite nice. Drink Menu  Food Menu

Greeley, CO has a new restaurant (don't go).

Some lovely friends joined us for a meal at the newest restaurant in town, Pellegrini. It's run by a native Italian who has successfully been at the helm of the Italian restaurant in Fort Morgan for a decade.  Unfortunately, all four of us know how to cook something beyond instant ramen, and so we knew what went wrong.

The wine was not bad.  Remind me to mention that again.  Although it is not difficult to find decent red wine with an Italian name, they deserve credit for that, at least.  In fact, the house chianti in a carafe (though it only serves 3 glasses) is perfectly pleasant.

Pizza: the crust is thin and puffy, and quite crisp.  It was nice.  But the pizza we got was not cooked beyond the crust: raw cheese, arugula, and cherry tomato halves were haphazardly tossed on top, making it difficult to eat and disconcertingly incoherent.

Risotto: the butternut squash and scallop had the cutest scallops!  They were like little dwarves.  But the flavor was missing entirely, and the texture was strangely watery yet dry.  Don't get this.

Pasta dishes: the amatriciana sauce with prosciutto was pleasantly smoky, and the chardonnay-cream sauce with shrimp was pleasantly garlicky and comforting (aren't all cream sauces comforting yet a bit monotonous by the end?).  The problem was the pasta itself.  It was overdone, yielding a gluey, gloppy mess that sticks in the teeth and distracts from the otherwise well-made sauces.  I wondered if these dishes would have been better if we had made a big show of requesting al dente (and isn't that assumed?).  In Italy, it's before al dente, which is just right. 

Extras: the side salad is bagged salad with no chopped vegetables and no dressing.  They provide balsamic and olive oil on the table, which is probably better than they would do with a dressing, but the instructions to "do it like in Italy" with vinegar, then oil and salt on top" is hardly authentic advice (well, I guess I don't know what they do in Sardinia).  The crusty white bread they brought to the table was warm and well-made; the olive oil with freeze-dried garlic sprinkled on top was not.

Dessert: we opted for booze.  The port is smooth and clean, the limoncello a bit on the chemical side.

It will come as no surprise that Greeley struck out again.  If you live in the area and haven't learned how to cook a basic risotto and a simple pasta dish you like, you really should.

Oh right, the wine was fine.