Latest visit: Sep 2022
First visit: Dec 1994
Time for our annual review for The Loop. We don't go as much as we once did, primarily because of the aforementioned parking and heavy crowds. So of course we pick Labor Day to go - during an Art Festival no less. Aaaggghh. But we know of a super secret place to park for free, and it was available so we continued on with the original plan. Last year, we went not too long after the lifting of the pandemic restrictions (masks primarily). It was April, and things still weren't the same. They were short staffed, tables spaced out weirdly, and the food wasn't what we recalled. Happy to say everything is back to normal. And in fact this Burrito From Hell was spicier than I recall - maybe the most ever! I feel like I'm out of practice. I was sweating profusely and my mouth was on fire. Happiness. My dish was accompanied by Mexican rice (decent) and charro beans (excellent with bits of real bacon). And I had a Bristol Beehive to wash it down with, solidifying memorable visits from the past. Mrs. RJG went with the salmon and it was really great - crispy and cooked to perfection. She loved it. In fact, she didn't really want to go after last year's mediocre visit. But she's back on board now!
We were both stuffed and decided to walk both sides of the old town. Just enough to stop for ice cream, so I could get Josh & John's Sea Salted Espresso Caramel ice cream milkshake! She had an scoop of the salted peanut butter ice cream. Going down the tubes baby! Back to the regular diet tomorrow....
---original 6/30/18 review
Ah, the Mexican food institution known as The Loop, opening up in 1903 as a place to eat barbequed wild game (including bear!). Named for the roundabout it sits on (which was once a trolley route), one can grab a window seat and gaze across the street at the recreational pot shop and see what walks in and out. An education in of itself. We only went once in the RJG's initial phase here in 1994 (and frankly do not recall much about the experience), but it was on business and personal trips from DFW starting in 2005 that The Loop became a mainstay of the RJG's repertoire. The Mexican food here is excellent, very much of the Colorado variety, so keep an open mind if here from out of town. The RJG comes here for only one thing: The Burrito From Hell. A mixed concoction of very spicy peppers, the flavor is out of this world - unlike any other we've ever experienced. So if you're a pepper head, make a beeline here if already in Manitou - as beautiful a Colorado town on the Front Range as there is. Beer selection is limited, but at least they do carry Bristol, Colorado Springs' leading brewery as well as at least one other microbrew (Goat Patch on our last visit).
Ah, the Mexican food institution known as The Loop, opening up in 1903 as a place to eat barbequed wild game (including bear!). Named for the roundabout it sits on (which was once a trolley route), one can grab a window seat and gaze across the street at the recreational pot shop and see what walks in and out. An education in of itself. We only went once in the RJG's initial phase here in 1994 (and frankly do not recall much about the experience), but it was on business and personal trips from DFW starting in 2005 that The Loop became a mainstay of the RJG's repertoire. The Mexican food here is excellent, very much of the Colorado variety, so keep an open mind if here from out of town. The RJG comes here for only one thing: The Burrito From Hell. A mixed concoction of very spicy peppers, the flavor is out of this world - unlike any other we've ever experienced. So if you're a pepper head, make a beeline here if already in Manitou - as beautiful a Colorado town on the Front Range as there is. Beer selection is limited, but at least they do carry Bristol, Colorado Springs' leading brewery as well as at least one other microbrew (Goat Patch on our last visit).
1994; 10/9/05; 5/19/07; 7/10/10; 6/30/18 (new entry); 4/24/21; 9/5/22
Comments