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)

My hygge = fried chicken

When I was growing up in the south suburbs of Chicago, we would occasionally get Brown's Chicken, a chain known only to the locals that served a southern-ish version of fried chicken that is still, and will always be, my ideal.  But now that I am an occasional visitor to the Nashville area for both family and business trips, I've also become totally sold on Nashville Hot Chicken (it's just fried chicken that may or may not be spicy, guys). When I found out there was a place claiming to make the real deal in hipster, foodie Fort Collins, Colorado, I was so skeptical I had to try it.

It's called Music City Hot Chicken (next door to the wonderful Black Bottle Brewing), and it is amazing! It's not terribly cheap (you pay for the luxury of sitting in a clean place in a safe neighborhood, I guess), but it's a mountain of food.

My tasty meal on a particularly cold day in January.

Let's start with the fried chicken: it's super crunchy, only a little greasy, and the batter is super thick, so you're getting a ton of tasty coating on each bite. I've had both hot and green chili seasoning, and they are both great. For a medium-to-medium-plus girl, hot is about as far as I'll ever go up the spicy scale.  The green chili (not a traditional flavor, but what the hell, it's FoCo) reminds me ever so slightly of Indian food. The leg quarter is a ton of food (maybe too much for me, pictured above), and the chicken tenders are juicy white meat and very generous in size. as well.

The dipping sauces, I kind of don't get.  The spicy remoulade and honey mustard didn't add anything special to the chicken, but the Fireball maple syrup was great with the green chili, if you like that sort of thing.

Mac and cheese is definitely made from scratch with pimento cheese.  The baked beans are a great balance of sweetness and tang, and I think they are my favorite.  Haven't had any other sides, but the waffle looks very fluffy and nice, too.

The blues/funk/R&B they play over the system is the cherry on top, but it's way too loud in the dining room.  Sit at the bar if you want to be able to talk at all. The servers are exceedingly competent (food comes out hot and shockingly fast) and friendly, making this perhaps the only bar I have ever enjoyed sitting at.

I don't think these guys are in any danger of going out of business anytime soon, given the crowds I've seen at lunchtime.  But hurry up and go--it's as comforting as any of the stupid candle-and-oversized knit throw photos floating around Pinterest. This is a version of hygge I can wrap my brain around.

Eating at The Kitchen in Fort Collins

I hate paying too much for chicken and mashed potatoes.  I hate the unnecessarily fancy service, the Pottery Barn atmosphere, the glass of wine that costs as much as the whole bottle, all of it.  And thus, I avoided visiting The Kitchen in Fort Collins for a long time.

This mini-empire was started in Boulder in the early 00s by Kimbal Musk, brother of the eccentric Elon Musk of Tesla Motors, among other things. The claim is that community is important to them, so they locally source what they can and also host "community hours" in which patrons are encouraged to sit with strangers and make new friends while eating.  I didn't do that. I just ate with my friend who is not strange.  I also saw a whole lot of non-local elements on the menu, like the oysters (not of the Rocky Mountain variety) and octopus, for instance.

But I soldiered on.  After all, although a glance at the website invokes South Park-like images of Prius drivers enjoying the smell of their own farts, I didn't get any of that feeling when seated by my earnest, perky hostess or served by my down-to-Earth, keepin'-it-real-y'all waitress. The hardwood floors and spare furniture were also stunning.

I ordered a glass of sparkling cab franc because, what the hell? That exists? It does, and you should get it.  Because when a glass of Kitchen White is $8 (I had just paid $9 for the entire bottle down the street at Wilbur's Total Beverage an hour earlier), you might as well try something you can't find easily in stores.  It was dry, refreshing, and a bit mineral-iffic.  I loved it.

The garlic fries were pleasant, but nothing special, and they badly needed salt. The Hazel Dell Mushroom Risotto was rich and creamy, and the seasoning in the slightly brothy mushrooms running over the top of the rice like a deep, dark river was just perfect. The Roasted Cauliflower with charred spring onions, beluga lentil puree, pickled radishes and breadcrumbs was kind of amazing.  The lentils really made the meal--super garlicky, creamy and comforting, and well-salted, they formed the base of the dish.  The cauliflower was well browned but seemed not to be seasoned at all, so it was important to always smear it around in the lentils.  The spring onions were so vivid there must have been some vinegar involved, and the bread crumbs were buttery, evenly toasted, and made from some beautiful, many-seeded bread.

There was, indeed, chicken and mashed potatoes (with lemon sauce), but it was moist and divine.

The food at The Kitchen is definitely elevated comfort food; I'm not sure how "New" it is, though the ingredients are definitely "American".  Head chef Joel Ryan seems to display a fair amount of French influence in his flavors, making the dishes I tried in no way challenging or surprising, but certainly homey and fun to eat. Classical proportion and subtlety are in here; bold flavors and creative combinations are not.

Will I go back? Probably not. But I've got some new ideas about how to cook what's already in my kitchen when I'm not feeling adventurous, and I had a really nice time last night.  So there.

Roasting and baking the garden leftovers, with weekend links

We had a couple of cold nights last weekend, which sent me scrambling to harvest what I could from the garden in case it would be last chance to eat fresh basil and tomatoes.  It was; although the temps are now back up near 90 during the day, those tomato, basil, and squash plants are deader that the proverbial doornail, and we have a hell of a lot of pesto in the freezer.  

I also grabbed a lot of kale and all the raspberries I could get my hands on.  Those little sugar bombs were the perfect amount for The Pioneer Woman's Raspberry Crisp, which was a fantastically simple recipe.  

With the kale, I did this...

Roasted Potato and Kale Salad

Serves 4

Olive oil
3 large baking potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch chunks
8 cups loosely packed kale, washed and roughly chopped
½ yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
Zest and juice from ½ lemon
¼ cup Castelvetrano olives, pitted and chopped (could substitute canned black olives in a pinch)
2 chopped hard-boiled eggs
1 tablespoon chopped or slivered almonds
Salt and black pepper to taste

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Place the chopped potatoes in a large mixing bowl and drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil on top.  Season with salt and stir to coat.  Spread potatoes into single layers on the baking sheets and place in the oven.  Bake at 425°F (no need to preheat) 20-25 minutes, or until they’re just starting to turn golden.



Meanwhile, place the chopped kale in the mixing bowl and season with salt.  Rub it around the edges of the bowl to pick up any residual olive oil (don’t worry if it’s not coated very much).  When the potatoes are at aforementioned state, spread the kale and sliced onion evenly over the potatoes on both baking sheets, give each a bit of a stir, and replace to oven.  Cook another 10-15 minutes, or until kale it crispy in spots and onions are soft.

Place roasted vegetables in a large serving bowl (or the mixing bowl I used in the steps above) and add the garlic, lemon zest and juice, olives, eggs, almonds, and black pepper to taste.  Stir to incorporate and taste for salt.  Serve piping hot.

Thinking of all things harvest-y, don't forget the fantastic Sustainable Living Fair in Fort Collins this weekend. While you're there, you can sample local brews to your heart's desire with this enormous Fort Collins Brewery Guide and enjoy the local Bike Library if you think you can keep your balance...

Bar Review: Northern Colorado's version of Havana has a lot of booze

Oh dear, oh dear--I have fallen in love with yet another bar in Fort Collins. Here goes nothing, old liver of mine...

The Astoria is a charmingly dilapidated space at 146 N. College Ave. that attempts to recreate the dilapidated charm of Havana.  Having never been there, I imagine The Astoria is heavier on the charm than Havana might be, but the tall ceilings, cracked plaster, heavy red velvet curtains, and slightly run-down (though comfy) furniture sells well enough to me. Like so many bars in Fort Collins, The Astoria boasts a long line of local taps, a good wine list, and over a dozen clever, retro-sounding cocktails.  But these guys also do food: simple, small(ish) plates of starches and protein to satisfy your drunken cravings and provide a little nourishment. The offerings and portion sizes are just right, and the cooking is skilled.  Here's what we got:

The shrimp ceviche had a nice bite thanks to generous squirts of lime juice and just a sprinkling of serrano peppers.  I could have eaten a large vat of this, but it was large enough for two to share, eating about  bites each.

Patatas Bravas were basically potatoes smothered in a smoky adobo sauce with three grilled shrimp on top.  The potatoes could have been crisper (maybe less sauce would have done the trick), but the sauce had a great earthy, and very smoky, flavor with a little heat at the end.

Lechon (roasted, marinated, and shredded pork butt) and Ropa Vieja (marinated, shredded flank steak) both came with white rice and seasoned black beans on the side. About the equivalent of lunch portions (I'm guessing 4 - 5 oz. of meat), this was fantastic comfort food while sitting by the fire.  The beans were seasoned well and cooked tender but not mushy, the rice was fluffy, and the meat was tender and juicy.  The pork marinade didn't come through as well as the one used for the flank steak, so the flank steak was a little more tangy and flavorful, but both were executed well.

We also got flan and rice pudding.  The rice pudding had a pleasant, mild flavor with a pinch of cinnamon, and the flan was intensely caramel-flavored--perhaps the best I've had in a restaurant.

I wish I had written down what I drank, because by the end of it, my mind was a blur.  I started with an El Presidente (vodka, gin, rum, and tequila with orange and pineapple juice in  sugar-rimmed glass with a cherry) and then had a cucumber-y gin thing.  Both were delicious and not too sweet.  The taps included seasonal and standard beers from New Belgium (of course), Equinox, and Odell, as well as some other popular Rocky Mountain regional names.   The service was relaxed but friendly (read: no hovering at the table), dishes were well-timed to arrive when we were ready for them without feeling rushed, and the vibe on a Thursday night was chill and more for the over-30 set.  There is frequently a live music offering later at night, however, so check in advance before you go. 

The Astoria Bar

                                                146 N College Ave, Fort Collins, CO, 80524

  T: 970-484-0995 /E: theastoriainc@gmail.com

     Bar Open Monday - Saturday 4pm - 2am, Sunday 7pm - 2am  

            Kitchen open Tuesday - Saturday 5pm - 10pm

The best vegetarian restaurant in Fort Collins

Tasty Harmony  is the whole package: located in a dressed-up old storefront, serving things like cashew cheese and fried seitan with gravy and mashed potatoes, and a wait staff that is heavily tattooed and pierced. The bartender even has white dreadlocks.  There is everything in the world to poke fun at here, if you're into rolling your eyes at the hippy-dippy college town stereotypes.  And who isn't?  It's fun. Here's why you should go here:

1. The food is incredible.  More details on our specific meals below, but the short-hand is that ingredients are local and organic whenever possible, plates are beautifully rendered, flavors and combinations are creative and delicious, and there is an amazing amount of time and care represented in a lot of these dishes.  That seitan?  Made in-house.  Cashew cheese and three kinds of raw hummus?  That requires special equipment and a lot of care to make properly. The house-made BBQ sauce is like none I've ever had (and better than any I've ever had), and TH is quite possibly the only place in northern Colorado where you can try jackfruit, the newest super food for vegans.  They go the extra mile--and then some--in the kitchen.

2. The drinks are incredible.  Beers are carefully chosen from the long list of possible suitors brewed in Fort Collins and surrounding towns, and they seem to keep only the best on tap.  Whole meal smoothies and shakes are the real deal--not only are they delicious, but they are packed with actual healthy goodness, like chia seeds, flax oil, and raw honey. These are not sugary shakes disguised as health food; these are honest-to-goodness health tonics packed with fruits, milks, natural protein, and nuts and seeds that will provide healthy fuel for hours.

3.  The wait staff is respectful, patient, and knowledgeable about everything that goes on in the kitchen. Ask them anything about cooking process, ingredients, flavors, and they will answer as if they have made it themselves.  And to prove how appreciative they are of first-time vegetarian diners, they have a page of terms explaining some of the more exotic ingredients and cooking processes on their menu.  It's not condescending, and there's no air of superiority.  They just know their stuff. And they always seem to be available when you need them without hovering at the table.  They leave you alone until you want their attention.

4. Meals are moderately priced by normal standards, but when you think about the price of individual ingredients and the labor-intensive nature of many of their menu items, you are actually getting an incredible deal on your food. You could easily spend $10 on a sandwich made with white bread and cold cuts at a coffee shop, but here you'll get a garlic grilled hoagie roll, homemade raw hummus, cashew cheese, grilled onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, sprouts and fresh basil for the same amount.  Oh , and a side of your choice.  Want some Southern cooked greens with that sandwich?  Good luck ordering it at Panera.  

So, let's talk details.  I had the BBQ pulled jackfruit sandwich because I was  curious to try jackfruit, finally.  I've heard about it so many times but have never been able to find it in my local stores, and quite frankly, I wouldn't know what to do with it if I did.  So, I let Tasty Harmony do the work for me.  I wasn't expecting to like this sandwich, however, because I never like anyone's BBQ sauce.  It's like a liquid candy bar: too much brown sugar and molasses, not enough salty or sour elements. But this homemade sauce was surprising: thick and very smokey, there was only a twinge of sweetness provided by the tomato paste in it.  It was salty, earthy, slightly sweet, and tangy all at once.  I actually loved it.  The fresh tomato slices and coleslaw on the sandwich was just right--very North Carolinian.  And the jackfruit itself had a tender texture and was an appropriate carrier for the sauce (it had a mildly vegetal flavor to it, but mostly it just tasted like the sauce).  The roll was an ordinary kaiser roll that had seen better days, and the side of greens I ordered were completely unseasoned, but the shaker of black and white sesame seeds and salt did the trick.  If I got it again, I think I'd ask for some mustard to put on the greens.  

We also tried the whimsically named "Kentucky Fried Freedom" plate, which had batter-fried, house made seitan cutlets served with mashed potatoes, seasoned greens, black-eyed peas, and vegan gravy.  Everything was spectacular.  The seitan really did mimic chicken pretty successfully, the gravy was nicely salty and flavorful, the potatoes were hand-mashed, and the greens and beans were both seasoned nicely.  The beans had a great al dente bite to them which seems impossible to achieve when you merely open a can.  And the greens in both of our dishes were clearly freshly cooked--still bright green and firm, these were definitely not fished out of a vat of day-old slop.  

Besides the ubiquitous half sandwich / cup of soup deal, I also love that you can choose from a long list of mock meats, vegetables, grains, and beans to make your own "Daily Plate".  It seems like the perfect way to sample everything you're curious about.  

Tasty Harmony is right around the corner from everything else you've already noticed in Old Town Fort Collins--the sports bars, dressed up pizza places, and yet another bar boasting local brews on tap.  But this place offers a truly unique dining experience and an honestly healthy alternative to the typical dining out experience in a laid-back, friendly atmosphere. I cannot recommend it highly enough. 

Some of my favorite hikes in Northern Colorado

Gem Lake, RMNP

There are tons of online guides for finding hikes in Northern Colorado and the Denver area, but when I started searching recently with my own criteria in mind (shade, nearby beer), I couldn't find any variety in the listings.  Everybody thinks that you should spend as much time in Rocky Mountain National Park as you can, and I agree--that park is amazing.  It reminds me of just how incredible and diverse this country is every time I go, and since I only live 47 miles away, I go as often as possible.  But my most of my favorite hikes there generally take a half-day and/or a whole lot of energy.  The restaurants in Estes Park are terrible, and so is the beer. What about when it's hot out and you want some shade?  And some food and beer? What about when your sea level-dwelling friends and family come to visit and they hate you for taking them on the "easy" Gem Lake hike (that happened)?  And then there's the tourist traffic in the summer, which is welcome because that's how we make our money in Colorado, but it can get a little tiring if you know where you want to go and don't want to walk at a snail's pace, stopping in front of every crappy "Native American" jewelry store along the way.

Here are some great, quieter spots with hikes that will offer beautiful views, proximity to good beer and food (a must), and occasionally some shade, all without killing you if you're not from around here or it's been a while since you got out of the office.

In Boulder-ish:

Betasso Preserve, Canyon Loop Trail: This trail looks pretty easy, but we were surprisingly tired and hungry by the end.  There are some moderately steep sections, and the starting elevation is a bit higher than some. It's a 3.3 mile loop that takes you through some great shady areas and down some narrow paths you must share with bikes, but the park does a great job of controlling the traffic.  Every day, there is a sign that announces which direction bikers must take (and there will be a lot of them!), so walkers are encourage to go in the opposite direction.  If you're with someone who doesn't want to work up a sweat, stop in either direction at the first overlook with a bench, which provides a great view of the city of Boulder, and come back to the trail head to wander the short nature trail that takes you behind the bathrooms off the parking lot.

Forsythe Canyon West of Boulder

Forsythe Canyon: This 2-ish mile out-and-back trail is rated "easy" by most sources and has several shady sections as you walk along a waterfall, a stream, a lake, and through a canyon with some great wild flowers in June and July. Great sights and a pleasant stroll for groups with mixed physical abilities.  Dog allowed.

Eldorado Canyon State Park: There's a fee to park at this one, but they deserve it, don't they?  After all, they're providing you with this beautiful park.  Sorry for getting all political on you. There are several hikes here of varying difficulty, and they are all terrific.  The Streamside Trail is the shortest (.5 mile one way) and follows close to the sides of the creek and canyon walls. The Fowler Trail takes you .7 miles (one way) and provides great views of the canyon. The Rattlesnake Gulch Trail is more difficult, traveling 1.4 miles up to the ruins of the Crags Hotel that burned there in 1912. Another trail goes from the hotel another .8 mile loop and features a view of Colorado’s continental divide. The Eldorado Canyon Trail is the longest, 3.5 miles (one way), eventually intersecting with the Walker Ranch Loop Trail.  Great picnic spots abound in this park. 

Glen Haven/Estes Park area:

We love Crosier Mountain, in the town of Glen Haven, just east of Estes Park.  If you're visiting RMNP and want a good workout without the crowds during vacation season, had down (East) on US-34 and take a left in Drake, where you see the sign for Glen Haven.  At 1857 miles in elevation gain, this is not the hike to take your kids on, but if you make it the entire 3.7 miles to the top (there's a little scrambling along steep but stable, wide rocks at the end), you'll get a 360 degree view of the area.  There's not a lot of shade on this one, and it's rated "moderate to strenuous", making it a bit more work than the others I have listed here, but it's a great hidden gem when the crowds at Estes Park are getting to you and one of our favorites, so I wanted to include it here.

Fort Collins area:

Of course, Horsetooth Reservoir and Lory State Park (both have an admission fee) offer myriad wonderful trails and riparian landscapes.  Poudre Canyon has quite a few nice trails, too, so I'll just single out...

Young Gulch in Poudre Canyon

Young Gulch is in the Poudre Canyon, northwest of Fort Collins. It is 9 miles round trip and an easy to moderate hike, rising 1,000 feet in elevation. Much of the canyon is shaded, making it a great place to go in August.  It's popular in the summer, so arrive before 11am to ensure parking is available. The trail winds along a creek. It starts out fairly level in a meadow with ample wildflowers and then leads into the tress about a 1/2 mile in. If you hike during late spring, you can find a small pool in the rocks with a beautiful waterfall flowing into it. The last mile does get quite steep, and if there is still snow on the ground it can slow you down a bit.  If you don't do that last bit, you'll still have gotten a great show. 

Lyons:

The historic Hall Ranch just West of Lyons has some great trails that are longer than they are steep, so you can turn back at any time if someone gets tired or cranky.  Hall Ranch is rich in wildlife. It is considered a crucial nesting habitat for numerous birds. Predatory birds such as golden eagles hunt here and are always on the lookout for a feast of prairie dog or squirrel. White-tailed deer and rabbit are also commonly seen from the trail. One of the better places for observing wildlife at Hall Ranch is in the meadow at the junction of Bitterbrush and Nelson Loop.  The oldest rock in the area is about 1.7 billion years old and the youngest is approximately 62 million years old. The rocks are a mix of sandstone and granite. Bitterbrush Trail is 5.9 miles one-way, and a lot of it is in the sun, so you could save this one for winter when other trails are snow-packed and the cool weather encourages a longer walk.  However, the town of Lyons is a lot of fun in summer.

Nearby food/beer: It's not as obvious as Boulder or Fort Collins, where you are surrounded by great breweries and restaurants, but you should stop at the original Oscar Blues in Lyons,.  It's good pub food, fantastic beer, and  has a great relaxed, grubby vibe like Lyons itself. This is definitely my favorite town in Boulder Country.  There is also a little family farm along the South side of the road on the way back to town with an inconspicuous sign selling "Fresh Eggs" in the summer.  Stop and get the eggs.  They are amazing, and so are the owners. 

Adorable Lyons, CO

Creative Mexican food in Fort Collins

A friend long ago recommended El Monte Grill to me, and after driving past the strip mall it calls home several times, I finally went in.  They're owned by the Rio Grande chain here in Northern Colorado, and while I don't fool myself into thinking the food is authentic at Rio, I do appreciate their high-quality ingredients and skill in preparing tasty food.  So why not?

El Monte is actually so good that I have thought about it occasionally since visiting.  The atmosphere is a little more hip/ less family-oriented, and the food is just a little racier than Rio's Chile Rellenos (El Monte has three different kinds!) or Enchiladas (El Monte has one with spaghetti squash and arugula!).  I joke, but I really did find the slightly offbeat combinations enticing.  One can only eat so much cheese and beans with white rice...

El Monte focuses on Oaxacan cuisine, and the entire menu sounds amazing.  So, after much consternation, we landed on two kinds of "street tacos", fish and chicken.  The fish was delicious, and remarkable grilly-tasting. The chicken was roasted in adobo sauce and came with generous portions of cilantro and crema, which was my main reason for ordering them--they did not disappoint.  Three tacos sounded stingy to me, but I was stuffed when I was done, and the rice and beans that came on the side was actually delicious.  Usually rice and beans are a throw-away, but these were seasoned so well, I could have happily eaten them alone.  That kind of attention to detail is evidenced throughout El Monte's offerings.

We made it there in time for the end of happy hour and enjoyed some lovely $5 Cubanos, which is basically a mojito made with gin instead of rum.  El Monte tried to make a thing out of their guacamoles, offering an "exotic" guac with mango, strawberry, and chives, a traditional, and a choose-your-own with a little sushi-style menu.  I had the exotic and it was interesting for a few bites, but wasn't really complex enough to keep me going.  And oddly, there is no garlic unless you ask for it.  I will admit that I am almost always bored by restaurant guacs, though, so at least El Monte was trying.

Finally, the complimentary salsas, a red and a green, were delicious, moderately spicy, and generously served.

El Monte doesn't look like much from the outside, but inside it's a little cocoon of foodiness in southern Fort Collins.  The atmosphere is decidedly grown-up without being snobby (our waiter practically killed himself trying to keep us happy), and the menu has just enough subtle surprises, backed by solid ingredient choices and great skill in the kitchen, to make Mexican food exciting again.  I have a long wish-list of meals I'd like to get in future trips to El Monte.

Le Craperie Fort Collins

This cost me $12.

OK, it is juvenile to call a "creperie" a "craperie"--I apologize for that.  But really, this place kind of sucks.

You may know of my penchant for French goodies from reading my reviews of Le Central, one of my favorite restaurants in Denver, and Cafe Panache, one of the few edible restaurants in Greeley.  The way I see it (and I'm not in the food industry, just picky), great French food is about the ingredients.  It's also about technique if you're dealing with haute Parisian cuisine, but here in Northern Colorado, we just seem to keep getting the same southern French, down-home food.  Fine by me--it means I can get a good egg dish wherever I happen to be.  But all I'm saying is that, when it comes to crepes, omelets, and the occasional plate of mussels and fries, the best dishes are a product of terrific ingredients and minimal alteration by cooking.  The seasoning is not particularly exotic or complicated, either, so you can't hide if you use canned crap (though you should take some care in seasoning, too).

Having said this, I'm pretty sure La Creperie and Bakery of Fort Collins is using some canned crap, or old crap, or something not up to par.  When you look at the menu, it sounds exciting, doesn't it?  And there is no one else satisfying these tastes in Fort Collins right now, so I really wanted to like the place.  Despite the fact that they charge a whole lot more than the fabulous Le Central, I went in with an open mind.  At $12 for a crepe, I wasn't going to become a regular customer, but I would certainly tell you about it if it was tasty.

The galettes are made with the traditional buckwheat flour, and they are lovely--thin, spongy in the middle, crispy on the edges, and quite salty.  The filling is the problem.  The scrambled eggs are inoffensive, but get a bite by itself and you find there is little seasoning added.  Likewise, the spinach was unsalted and not properly drained, creating a big wet ball of slime here and there.  These are cheap and simple ingredients (and a staple of southern French cuisine), but they deserve respect.  Make them delicious--it's not difficult!

Smoked salmon features heavily on the menu, but it was quite fishy the day I visited.  I realize that we are not exactly living near a supply of fresh coho, but other restaurants manage to offer well-balanced fish, and at these prices, La Creperie can do it, too.  Or if not, then they need to cut the salmon from the menu.  It was incredibly unpleasant.  Likewise, the brie is thrown in unevenly in thick hunks, so one bite might be a nice balance of egg, caper, and cheese, but the next mouthful is nothing but a block of chalky, oozing brie and fishy salmon.  Doesn't sound too pretty, does it?

La Creperie also boasts its own bakery, and the croissants are quite nice--fluffy, buttery, and rather salty.  So are the baguettes, though I detected a slight burned flavor to the crust which was a little off-putting.  The coffee is also pleasant--medium-bodied with a pleasant nuttiness--but at $2.25 for a mere cup of the unadorned stuff, it's a pretty expensive way to enjoy a cup of coffee and a pastry in the morning.

Finally, the service is unapologetically slow, and they make no effort to bring meals out together.  They even say in their menu, "They are  made fresh to order and served immediately– hot and delicious – Perhaps not all at  once but don’t worry you won’t have to fend off your tablemates for long."   And then they direct you to eat your galette right away, even if everyone else at your table is still waiting for their food.  I don't understand this--do they only have one crepe maker?  Perhaps they could use some of that $15 I spent on lunch the other day and start saving up to order another one.  


Obviously, I don't have much to say that is positive about this place.  I would like for there to be a charming, delicious French bakery/creperie in Fort Collins, and I would even be willing to pay a little more once in a while to keep a great creperie going.  But La Creperie of Fort Collins is collecting  high fees for a low-quality product, and I can't wrap my brain around the notion of rewarding such behavior.  Perhaps, like Cafe Panache in Greeley, they need to create a smaller menu that they can consistently recreate every day.  But for the time being, I'd put my money on some nice Indian food down the street instead.

Hot (food)Spots in Fort Collins, CO

Fort Collins is a great place to visit--hiking and whitewater rafting on the edge of town, unique boutiques, some decent clubs with local bands, and great food and beer.  Here are my favorites, if you're looking for somewhere to start:


Lucille’s Creole Café: 400 South Meldrum

If you’ve been to New Orleans, you’ll get the same classic brunch experience from Lucille’s.  Each Lucille’s location (FoCo, Longmont, Boulder, Denver) has a slightly different menu.  The FoCo shop features more vegetables than other menus while keeping all the heavy, greasy stuff that makes Sunday morning feel so cozy.  Order up a plate of Beignets with your chicory coffee (costs a little extra) while you wait for fluffy biscuits and homemade marmalade with egg dishes chocked full of spicy sausage, shrimp, and flavorful sauces straight outta NoLa.  Be ready to wait, though--the line is always out the door on the weekends.

The Bean Cycle: 144 N. College

There are plenty of funky coffee shops in Fort Collins.  This one makes a mean brew and orders up the best pastries from local bakeries in the area, plus it’s run by a sweet family and shares space with a non-profit, lefty bookstore.  Why not give them your money when it’s time to perk up?

Rasta Pasta: 200 Walnut Street Suite A (corner of Walnut and College)

This place is pure college town: grungy little corner shop with old furniture and mismatched silverware, plastic cups, and cheesy Rasta nostalgia to boot.  If you have an allergy to Bob Marley worship, don’t go.  But if you want a huge plate of tasty pasta for cheap, embrace your hippie past and come on in. Sauces range from simple, elegant white wine and garlic (and be forewarned: they love garlic!) with fresh tomatoes to Jamaican jerk chicken, and you won’t need another meal for a looong time.  Great after a hike at Horsetooth.


Coopersmith’s Pub and Brewing: 5 Old Town Square

This gastro pub is definitely for grown-ups, though it welcomes a wide range of guests.  Try every home brew you can handle--they’re all well-crafted and balanced--or get a Scotch flight and learn why the stuff can be so expensive (and revered).  Typical pub grub gets some extra touches: the pub fries are lovingly breaded and seasoned, personal pizzas with hand-tossed crusts feature a wide array of fresh toppings, and the quesadillas are stuffed with smoked salmon and brie.  There are a lot of microbreweries in Fort Collins, but I think Coopersmith’s does it best.


Lulu Asian Bistro : 117 South College Ave

I stumbled upon this place after a Christmas day hike because I was peckish and nothing else was open.  What a pleasant surprise--the happy hour beers were a great deal, martinis were creative and tasty, and the food is very well-done Asian with a little modern flair.  Very capable preparation, and a great blend of cozy bistro and sleek bar.



Taj Mahal: 148 West Oak Street

If you like Indian food, you probably fall into one of two serious camps: fans of Taj Mahal or fans of…that other place.  I’ll tell you why I love Taj Mahal.  Each dish is amazing--meat is fresh and well-cooked, sauces are all distinctive and flavorful, appetizers are all carefully prepared and wonderfully balanced, and the kitchen wants nothing more than to tailor your dishes to your tastes.  The building is getting a make-over outside, but the inside is the same as it’s always been and open for business.  I know people who drive from Wyoming to eat here, and I know why. (I once ate so much there that I almost passed out.  No joke.)

The Skinny on Brewery Tours in Fort Collins, CO

The school year is starting to stare down at us oppressively and we soon won't be able to come up for air before Thanksgiving break.  Maybe that's too dramatic, but that's how it always feels in August.  So it seemed like a good time to enjoy our freedom and head to Fort Collins to sample some of the most recent beers.  While I have learned that I am cannot drink as much as I used to, it was a pretty pleasant day overall.

My husband and I started at New Belgium, at 500 Linden, who might have the cleverest marketing campaign ever. Modeling their beers after the founders’ great passion for ancient Belgian-style brews, they have created a niche market that is pretty unique in the industry. It yields some pretty weird stuff at times, but you can't say they aren't trying.  Their brewery is also completely wind- and solar-powered, and they hand out four generous 5-ounce glasses of the stuff for free to anyone who comes into the tasting room (over the age of 21, of course). Oh, and employees get free bikes and free trips to Belgium for their loyalty.

We tried the following samples at New Belgium Brewery:

From the Lips of Faith series:

Belgian Style Blonde: a clean, light lager with strong citrus notes.

Helle: A Southern German style lager with a hint of citrus and a strong taste of wheat.

Belgo: A Belgian style IPA that was bright and bitter, but missing the floral notes of a British IPA. The bitterness seemed rather unbalanced for the rest of the flavors to my taste.

1554: A dark stout with a hint of coffee and a chocolaty finish.  This is my favorite NB brew of all time.

Abbey: a Belgian “dubbel” with a strong scent of banana and flavors of banana, clove, and caramel. These are some pretty unique and powerful flavors to mix together, and it’s one of the more adventurous brews they make. In other words, this is one of those weird ones I warned you about.

Ranger IPA: a British style pale ale that is crisp, bitter, and hoppy. It’s not as hoppy as some of my favorite IPAs, but the bite is still there.

We also had Fat Tire shoved at us, which niether of us asked for, but it was free.  FT is fine, and as far as ubiquitous beers on tap go, I'd drink it over Coors, for sure. 

A short walk down the road took us to Odell Brewing Company at 800 East Lincoln. Rather than choosing from everything on tap, samples are organized into different coordinated “trays” of six or eight different beers. We chose the “Pilot Tray” from the menu of samplers. The $4 you pay is donated to charity.

Session D.O: this rather complex ale was hoppy and golden in color; it was my favorite of the day.

Snowriders Ale: a very light American wheat with a mild, clean flavor.

Town Pump Pail [sic] Ale: Odell’s British IPA is hoppy and far less bitter than New Belgium’s.

St. Lupulin: a seasonal “dry hopped ale” that didn’t seem very hoppy, but was rather bitter with a slight citrus aftertaste.

Nitro IPA: an American style IPA smoothed out by nitrogen gas, creating the texture of Guinness while retaining the flavor of a light, hoppy ale. This was a strange experience for me, and it certainly challenged my expectations of either an IPA or a nitro pull.

Nitro Cutthroat Porter: pure Guinness all the way.

Both New Belgium and Odell offer tours, but it’s perfectly acceptable to just belly up to the bar in the tasting room if you’re short on time (or attention span).

We intended to walk a couple of blocks down the street to visit Fort Collins Brewery, which boasts a new building slated to open this month on its website. However, said building is still under construction and shows no sign of opening anytime soon. When they do open, they will have a full restaurant, as well, so this is one to check on again in the near future.

At this point, we were hot, thirsty, and hungry. We needed to fill our stomachs with something besides strong beer. Just south of the breweries was Saigon Grill Vietnamese food at 755 S. Lemay. It’s in a shopping plaza and lacks some of the outward charm of those sidewalk cafes on the pedestrian mall, but the food is cheap, plentiful, and delicious.

Lunch specials range from $5.95 to $6.25, and include a cup of hot and sour soup (rather sweet, but also pleasantly spicy), a vegetable egg roll (swap it out for a jumbo-sized crystal roll for $1), and a generous plate of steamed rice and authentic Vietnamese food made with fresh ingredients and accompanied by versatile, flavorful sauces.  There is also a separate noodle bowl lunch menu within the same price range.  Get one of everything.
For us, no trip to Fort Collins would be complete without a stop for coffee. This is because we always drink beer when we visit, and then we have to drive home to Greeley.  Our favorite place is Bean Cycle, which shares space with the socially conscious Matter Bookstore. Located at 144 N. College, it’s on the way back up to Laramie and brews a strong, flavorful cup of coffee with in-house roasted beans. The staff is friendly and very serious about their craft, and the bookstore offers some pleasant browsing time while you sober up for the drive back home.



Directory:

New Belgium Brewery:  500 Linden, (888) NBB-4044

Odell Brewing Company: 800 East Lincoln Avenue, (970) 498-9070

Saigon Grill: 755 S. Lemay Ave, Unit D-3, (970)416-9722
Bean Cycle and Matter Bookstore: 144 N. College Avenue, (970) 221-2964

Beer!

I live in Northern Colorado, and as many of you know, this place has more microbreweries within its border than any other state in the union. Having moved here from Indiana, where a 24-pack of Natural Light was all we could afford as grad students, Colorado truly did feel like the Promised Land to me and my husband when we moved here seven years ago. Actually, it still does.

If you ask five different people to name their favorite local beers, you will most likely get five pretty different answers—the privilege of having so many choices. But I, as your humble servant, have seriously dedicated myself to the craft of sampling and reviewing beers for you, the public, over these six years (it was hard work), and here are my humble offerings:

Let’s deal with the elephant in the room first –Fort Collins. FoCo has four well-establish, regularly visited breweries in Old Town alone, and they all have their local followers. New Belgium (http://www.newbelgium.com/) has such a great business model—totally wind-powered brewery, perks like free bikes and trips to Belgium for loyal employees, and a hip, perky set of twenty-somethings taking you on tour and tell you all the ways in which you should love them. But for all that, I don’t think too many of their beers are really all that special. Fat Tire, ubiquitous in the taps of hip bars all over the RM West, is an inoffensive but forgettable lager, their wheat beers are socially appropriate for summer but again, not distinctive, and then they sometimes just get downright weird with the medieval Belgian recipes and sour, barrel-aged swill. They make a respectable porter called 1554 and a downright tastey Frambozen (limited edition from October through January only), but if I wasn’t able to drink up to the equivalent of two free pints in their tasting room, I honestly wouldn’t bother.

Coopersmith’s (www.coopersmithspub.com/) is a brewpub, so no tours here. That’s fine—I do get a little tired of being told how beer is born over and over again. My favorite offering is Sigda’s Green Chili beer, but it does get rather spicy and vegetal in flavor. I love it, but it’s strong stuff. The Horsetooth Stout, named after the local reservoir, is a creamier, richer version of Guinness with chocolate undertones, and around Christmastime, the Jingle Ale, rich in clove and other spices, is both savory and sweet. They have others which are equally deserving of mention; generally, if you have a favorite kind of beer, with the exception of an India Pale Ale, Coopersmith’s makes a great version that will keep you happy.

ADDENDUM
I avoided this for years, thinking I was above such populist beers, but the Budweiser (http://www.budweisertours.com/) center on the south side of town really does give a good tour and a lot of free samples. It’s a good place to bring visitors who don’t want to get too experimental with their beers. And beyond the usual swill sold at sporting events, they have some decent lagers and wheat beers.