Favorite Places
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Red Robin
- multiple locations (map)
- various
- (based on 1 user review)
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Panera Bread
- multiple locations (map)
- various
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Meadow Muffins $
- 2432 W. Colorado Ave. (map)
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Old Colorado City
633-0583
- (based on 9 user reviews)
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Margarita at PineCreek $$$
- 7350 Pine Creek Road (map)
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Northwest/Rockrimmon
598-8667
- (based on 1 user review)
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La Baguette French Bakery-Café - Colorado $
- 2417 W. Colorado Ave. (map)
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Old Colorado City
577-4818
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Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches
- 1035 Garden of the Gods Road (map)
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Northwest/Rockrimmon
590-7827
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Jack Quinn Irish Alehouse & Pub $$
- 21 S. Tejon St. (map)
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Downtown
385-0766
- (based on 5 user reviews)
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Hungry Bear Restaurant $
- 111 E. Midland Ave. (map)
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Woodland Park
687-5912
- (based on 1 user review)
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Five Guys Burgers and Fries
- 7252 N. Academy Blvd., #120 (map)
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Academy (North)
264-6400
- (based on 6 user reviews)
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Colorado Mountain Brewery $$
- 11202 Rampart Hills View (map)
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Briargate
434-5750
- (based on 3 user reviews)
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Chipotle Mexican Grill
- multiple locations (map)
- various
- (based on 1 user review)
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Caspian Café $$
- 4375 Sinton Road (map)
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Central
528-1155
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Carrabba's Italian Grill
- 7120 Campus Drive (map)
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Northwest/Rockrimmon
264-0401
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The Broadmoor Golden Bee
- 1 Lake Ave. (map)
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Cheyenne Mountain
577-5776
- (based on 2 user reviews)
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Bristol Brewing Company
- 1604 S. Cascade Ave. (map)
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Cheyenne Mountain
633-2555
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Best Of 2012: Amerian
Best Of 2012: Restaurant for Kids that isn't Fast Food
Best Of 2012: Bread
Best Of 2012: Soup
Best Of 2011: Neighborhood Bar: West
Say this for Meadow Muffins: It doesn't live in the past or rely on the same equation, year after year. After pushing a larger food menu for a while, now the focus is more on burgers, pizzas and wings, though if you talk to many who frequent the bar, the wings stand out. In fact, Meadow Muffins probably has the best wings west of I-25, and what's wrong with that distinction? It's still a humongous place, about 10,000 square feet, so you can party with a big group or hide in a quiet corner. Live music on weekends at the front bar, with DJs in the back, has developed its own following. And it's still a great place to go on Sundays to watch pro football. — Ralph Routon
Bites 2013: Smoked Salmon Cakes
Precious few items remain fixed on Margarita's ever-changing menu, but this is one that's earned its spot by popular demand. The salmon's rubbed with brown sugar, salt and pepper and hickory smoked on the stove-top. Insert a bed of spinach salad, caper cream cheese and either a horseradish crema or lemon-dill tarter sauce. And son, you're in happytown. ($10 on the lounge menu/$13 at brunch)
Best Of 2012: French
Best Of 2012: Bakery/Patisserie
The genealogy of the three bakery-cafés that get their bread from Old Colorado City's La Baguette French Bakery is as convoluted as that of the French monarchy. (Which Louis was it, and he was related to the other 16, how ... ?). What's clear is this: There's no more highly regarded place in town to get your Francophile on. A morning spent on the pleasantly shady patio of the OCC storefront with a croissant aux amandes and a café au lait recalled sweet memories of Paris and Strasbourg for this Francophone, but the cute table number cards will instruct non-French-speaking diners on the proper way to order everything from a carafe of red to the legendary French onion soup. — Claire SwinfordBites 2012
From the original four, two La Baguettes remain, both independently owned (then the French Bistro and La Tartine, detailed below). The Colorado Avenue shop still bakes for all, and generates Best Of awards for bread and French onion soup, and as bakery and French spots.
Best Take-Out
Jimmy John's delivers on a number of levels, from rushing sandwiches direct to your door to having them wrapped up and ready to go pretty much by the time you reach the end of the counter. The brainchild of Jimmy John Liautaud, who started the first shop as an Illinois teen in 1983, the chain has grown to 690 stores across the nation. And as its Web site boasts, there are no additives, no junk and, at least according to a sign in the downtown franchise, no hippies. (If a location opens up in Manitou, this will surely change.) There's also classic rock, so you can get a dose of Zeppelin and Clapton with your lunchtime fix. — Bill Forman
Best Of 2012: Running Club: Jack Quinn's Running Club
Best Of 2012: Weekly Bar Event
Shawn Finley knows how much he brings to the runners and downtown. People talk about overcoming health issues and depression after joining Jack Quinn's Running Club for its Tuesday night runs. Hell, he even met his future wife on one. That sense of community brought out another record number of people this last June with nearly 1,800 runners, walkers and joggers. "I'm not the only one struggling on the hill by CC on Uintah," he says. "There's 500 more people doing the same thing." They're also supporting downtown business on a weeknight: Finley says a study the club conducted revealed that his runners and friends spend an average of $11 per person. — Sonja Bjelland
Best of 2012: Irish Pub
Quinn's is on our list for the seventh consecutive time because it does Irish right. Traditional staples such as Boxty and Shepherd's Pie share the menu with orange balsamic chicken and grilled salmon. In October, they added new items to the menu, including Guinness Brats and Pretzel Kabobs, Lime and Dill Salmon, Shepherd's Pie in a bread bowl, and a Salmon Trio appetizer. In addition to traditional Irish beers and ales, Quinn's has added a tap IPA lineup from Colorado's Ska, Odell and Avery breweries. — Bret Wright
Bites 2012
A breakfast and lunch staple up Ute Pass, with bear-themed everything ("bear necessities," and a "baby bear" kids menu). The homemade buttermilk pancakes star in the early hours, next to steak breakfast burritos. The pot roast French dip with melted Swiss sells best at lunch.
Best Of 2012: Burger
Bites 2012
Boasting new house beer releases at 5 p.m. every Tuesday and a new menu, year-old CMB is aggressively set to open a second location in the iconic former Van Briggle Pottery building. Beers and bites have been thoroughly tested and refined, virtually guaranteeing your satisfaction.
Click here for Colorado Mountain Brewery's Beer Cheese Soup
Best Of 2012: Bang-for-your-Buck Restaurant
Best Of 2012: Power Lunch
Bites 2013: Orange and Saffron caramel Cream
Oh, the love poems we've written to this one over the years ... a perfectly textured and executed cream-and-egg-based vanilla bean flan that's sent over the top by ample orange zest and a lovely Iranian saffron infusion. Enter house-made caramel sauce plus berries and a dollop of whipped cream for garnish, and you have yourself one hell of a belly dance, mister. ($5.95)
Best of 2012: Local Brewery
A series of award-winning beers, and the much-anticipated Spring 2013 opening of a new 16,000-square-foot brewing location: These things hint at how Mike Bristol stays on top, both as a local brewery operator and community leader. His company is legendary for producing tasty beers that truly give back to Colorado Springs, from a Smokebrush Porter whose proceeds help keep the Uncle Wilber fountain entertaining kids all summer, to a Pinon Nut Brown that supports Cheyenne Cañon. And don't forget the sold-out-before-it-hits-the-shelves Venetucci Farm Pumpkin Ale. When the Ivywild School renovation is complete, the brewery will finally have a building that almost matches the size of its heart. — Steve Hitchcock
Best of 2012: Local Microbrew to Drink in Summer: Beehive Honey Wheat
Again we see a Bristol beer ranking top-slot with Indy readers. We'd think the crowd was biased, but in all fairness, Beehive is a great representation of the wheat style, cloudy and with a honey sweetness. It's easy to see why you'd want to kick back with a few on a hot summer day. Funny thing about this beer is that it was meant to be Bristol's first summer seasonal, says owner Mike Bristol, but after such an amazing response from fans, Beehive was deemed worthy of year-round production. — Steve Hitchcock
Best of 2012: Local Microbrew to Drink in Winter: Winter Warlock Oatmeal Stout
Who would have thought that a character from a childhood movie would become part of such a great beer? Company owner Mike Bristol admits he got the idea for the Winter Warlock label image from the 1970 movie Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town. And much like the warlock of the big screen, Bristol's oatmeal stout delivers cheer to all who experience it. The rich creaminess of this malt-and-oat-heavy winter warmer is just what the doctor ordered to fight the long, cold Colorado nights; at the brewery, it often flows out of the tap using nitrogen to add a bit of extra buttery smoothness. By the way, no reason to wait for Santa: This season's first batch releases in late October. — Steve Hitchcock
