Continuing to operate the longstanding Pet Pawlor dog grooming shop, the Gunter family has gone a different direction with their second business: a vegan food truck.

Knowing that the most experimental brewery in the Springs no longer has the polarizing but undeniably skilled Jason “Saison Man” Yester at the helm, we’re unsure what to expect.

Sometimes, all there is to hold onto is a quick, tasty hot dog: no BS, no craft aspirations, nothing fancy whatsoever. That is what Stump Dog does, and for only a few bucks, the modicum of sanity that a fine-ground, cured, smoked, all-beef sausage offers can make its soothing presence felt.

You’ve never heard someone talk about pizza as enthusiastically as Slice 420 co-owner Christian Patriarca. But he and his wife Stefany are equally passionate about the mission behind their business, inspired by their daughter Sofia’s special needs, which brought them all to town as “medical …

Dynamo Coffee Roasting has taken over the former Java Punk Coffee space at 4029 Tutt Blvd.

I am steeping in beer ingredients. I am drinking beer. I am one with the beer.

Dine & Dash takeover: This week, in tandem with our summer guide, we venture to Denver’s graffiti mural-rich River North Art District (RiNo). We sample a classic, a newbie and a one-of-its-kind in Colorado. This is just a snapshot from a very happening area with options aplenty.

Dine & Dash takeover: This week, in tandem with our summer guide, we venture to Denver’s graffiti mural-rich River North Art District (RiNo). We sample a classic, a newbie and a one-of-its-kind in Colorado. This is just a snapshot from a very happening area with options aplenty.

Dine & Dash takeover: This week, in tandem with our summer guide, we venture to Denver’s graffiti mural-rich River North Art District (RiNo). We sample a classic, a newbie and a one-of-its-kind in Colorado. This is just a snapshot from a very happening area with options aplenty.

Altitude Hospitality Group has more dining concepts and brands than we care to shake a stick at, but given the high bar they tend to set, we’re not complaining. Garden of the Gods Market & Café, for instance, has expanded into the former Coquette’s Bistro at 616 S. Tejon St.

Long-standing India Palace, owned by chef Raj Kumar, was replaced by China One a little over a year ago when Kumar’s family chose to make more time to raise young’uns with proper energy and attention.

It’s been five years since I last dropped by Black Bear, which holds more than 20 years’ history under several owners. I recall it being more popular for fine in-house pastries and sweet espresso drinks than straightforward coffee drinks for the third wave snobs.

White Pie launched a new brunch menu a couple weekends ago, and we got a sampling on week two with co-owner/chef Kris Wallenta and team. Brunch is served Saturdays and Sundays starting at 10 a.m. 

Bottles & Taps is so not what it seems to be from the outside. Located in the corner of a strip mall near a Walgreens off Academy Boulevard, with poor street visibility, it reads like a dive-y watering hole where comestible- and hooch-wise you’d expect to find Fat Tire as the craftiest b…

Locals most likely know Mike Morea, also known as Taco, from his time working the kitchen at King’s Chef Diner. But during the pandemic, he and wife Lindsey decided to start up a food truck. When we stop by, Lindsey says they hope to become known best for their green chile, which is made wit…

Newly opened Thai Taste replaces Panbers Asian Bistro, and owner Krystina Pascua formerly had a stake in Lanna Thai off North Union Boulevard she says. She grew up in eastern Thailand but also lived in Bangkok, and like many Thai restaurateurs, she insists her cuisine is authentic.

Peak 31 at Union Station is a pretty competent breakfast diner on top of being a sports bar and live music venue. At least, that’s our impression after we GrubHub some breakfast for a late dinner.

Just a half block apart, two iconic Springs eateries are hosting simultaneous re-openings on May 26. 

Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar just released its new spring menu, with almost a dozen entrée items refreshed along with a handful of smaller plates. 

After partly closing for renovations during the pandemic, the Ivywild School as a whole reopened on April 2, and there have been more than a few changes under the Blue Star Group’s continued leadership.

Pub Dog (pubdogcolorado.com) pioneered the dog park/bar concept locally four years ago on Bott Avenue. The spot’s still barking strong, with weekly breed-specific meetups, trivia nights and more. But it will soon see some competition — if a 15-mile distance away can be considered that — in t…

Phat Frankies launched in July 2020, fulfilling a dream for co-owner Michael Hodges, who is also a web developer. He and his partner, Jane Anderson (who was formerly a limo driver) mostly park at corporate spots, but we catch them at 1350 Distilling.

This is Mici’s sixth location and the first outside Denver’s metro area. Co-founder Jeff Miceli says the menu is based on what he and his two siblings grew up eating. It’s family-operated to the point that his dad flew in to refine and scale up sauce recipes as Mici’s grew.

Sticky Fingers isn’t a new food truck — it launched in 2018 — but it’s relatively new to Colorado Springs territory. You’re most likely to find it at Red Leg or Fossil breweries, though we catch it at Metric.

Frankly Coffee opened May 1 in a former barbershop space at 727 1/2 W. Colorado Ave. It's operated by original Story Coffee cofounders Brandon and Kelly Noffsinger.

Visit Colorado Springs just released the 2021 Crafts & Drafts Passport, offering its fourth year of deals at drink spots all over the city. 

At my first Araucana Bespoke Cocktails sampling a couple months ago inside The Carter Payne, owner/bartender Anastacio GarciaLiley described his ethos to me in familiar culinary terms, utilizing the farm-friendly phrase “nose to tail.” It’s fine-dining chefs’ way of saying they utilize every…

As Nelson Rufran’s Manitou Springs-based pizzeria expands across the greater Springs metropolitan area, we can’t help but recall 2010s upstarts Borriello Brothers’ rise and fall.

In our April 28 Indy, we highlighted spots inside Castle Rock’s Ecclesia Market, but there’s one more I wished to call out. Those familiar with the relative restraint Brit bites take regarding spices won’t be disappointed by Brit Stop Cafe. We get a blackberry latte, which sips smooth, nutty…

Monse Hines struggled during the pandemic as much as any business owner, but loyal patrons showed support and she’s one of the rare success stories leading into 2021. She’s even expanded her menu. If you haven’t been in since the 2018 opening or 2019 bar addition, there’s much new for you.

Five-year-old Red Gravy just expanded its offerings via Blue at Red Gravy (23 S. Tejon St., facebook.com/blueatredgravy), a live-music-driven cocktail lounge in the restaurant’s back area (in what was formerly banquet space; rear-entry after hours). It will be open from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., Thu…

The COVID-19 pandemic sunk a lot of small businesses and local institutions, but when JJ Grueter’s punk dive, the Triple Nickel, and Gentle Fritz’s beloved weirdo hangout, Zodiac Venue/Bar, both closed, it hurt many a heart, and thousands of Springs residents cried Robert Smith tears. Howeve…

Nine-month-old Dee Tacko came highly recommended by a Pueblo friend, and it doesn’t disappoint — a sharp space with floor-to-ceiling light wood slats, a front order counter with big flat-screen menus (with fair prices) and a huge dining room plus patio.

This brewery, opened in early 2021, occupies a high-visibility spot opposite the Trolley Buildings on South Tejon Street, in the space from which FH Beerworks started many years ago.

4 of Hart’s (named for four co-owner siblings) opened in September, 2020 as a sister outlet to 1129 Spirits & Eatery, located just across the Pueblo Riverwalk. I favorably reviewed 1129 in fall 2019, noting smart, local-spirit cocktails and conscientious grass-fed beef burgers. 4 of Hart…

Not long after the pandemic began in 2020, Gabby and Ryan Main were furloughed — she from a party rental company and he from personal training at a gym that never reopened. Though they’ve since been re-homed in full-time jobs — she managing a Realtor company and he now an event coordinator —…

Food writers more devout than I probably have a better term for what Garlic & Spice Kitchen serves than “American eclectic,” but this eatery in Ecclesia Market’s “main” room aims for that niche, by our estimation. It ticks all the boxes: a variety of sandwiches including burgers, flatbre…

I love that Birdcall opened directly across the street from a Chick-fil-A in northeast Colorado Springs. It’s a “cluck you” throwing down of the gauntlet: We’re coming for your market share, even if just in this one neighborhood, for now. (Oh, and our food tastes better.) 

Opened in early 2020, Fish & Company locks down the seafood options at the Castle Rock food hall, Ecclesia Market. Given that Ecclesia is a former church, we wonder if Fish & Co. is particularly busy on Fridays.

At one point, the only alcohol that could be found at 221 Perry St. was communion wine. But now, food hall Ecclesia Market rules the roost, and on its topmost floor, the lounge Sinners & Saints serves craft cocktail goodness, as well as a selection of beer and wine, with many CO-made off…