Senor Manuel ~ Colorado Springs, Colorado

Latest visit: Jan 2023

First visit: Oct 1994

We were recently reminded of Senor Manuel due to local food critic Matthew Schniper's excellent series known as Historical Haunts. We had both just featured Roman Villa and Luigi's. I wrote him about it and he responded in kind, which was nice (and unexpected). So on this cold Saturday it was the perfect comfort food lunch outing. There is just something special about a hearty Mexican lunch on a cold Saturday, what can I say? On this visit, Mrs. RJG and I indulged in a house margarita, something we don't do much anymore. Hey - they actually managed to put some tequila in it. Yaay. No wonder they've been around since 1970. The chips and "hot sauce" were exactly as we noted below: Very similar to Fort Worth's iconic Mexican Inn chain (which is in this blog somewhere). I stayed unimaginative and had ground beef enchiladas with the chile verde. Just as good as I remembered it. Hot to the last bite too. And speaking of memory, I also recalled the meal being gargantuan, so I laid off the rice and beans. The Mrs. went for it anyway, so I knew I'd pick from her plate. I ate my meal all gone like a big boy. Mrs. decided to be adventurous and try their "famous" Chile Mondongo sauce. I'm not keen on mushrooms but she wanted to try it. It wasn't a hit. She also didn't like the beans this go round. Too many and too much mush for a lack of a better word. We both agreed the rice was delicious. She only ate half of her meal, so no dessert for her. Oh well, it's her own fault haha. Service is way above average, to note. Speaking of that, it looks like they're only open from Thursday to Sunday now, due to "staff shortages". Yea, sure. Methinks they want 3 day weekends. Why not? They earned it. In any case, we'll be back - about every 2 years is about right. Takes that long to run it off... Bring a huge appetite.

---original 4/18/21 review

There was a time when Colorado was loaded with Mexican restaurants like Senor Manuel (forgive the lack of the diacritic throughout). Founded in 1970, Senor Manuel is like visiting a museum from a distant era. These restaurants were dark, with a dingy bar, and most assuredly cigarette smoke wafted through the air. Most of these places are long gone now, and I miss the atmosphere of going to them on a cold wintry Saturday afternoon for lunch. Followed by a game of pool perhaps. Who remembers Nemeth's El Tejon? That vibe is hard to recreate, and honestly I don't think anyone is trying that hard to either. 

While it may look like the RJG have been regulars for 27 years, that would be entirely misleading. In fact I only went that one time in 1994 in my first tour of duty here in the Springs. I know the date, because of the circumstances on why we went there in the first place. I was with some old friends who were also from DFW (and who were responsible for me moving to Colorado in the first place, for which I'm eternally grateful). We were struggling to find the kind of Mexican food we got back home. That would be Tex-Mex. Of course we were seeking out the wrong thing. It wasn't until I moved to Denver the following year that Colo-Mex had real meaning to me. And it's a flavor I crave. Senor Manuel is just that. Old Colorado. Mrs. RJG and I "rediscovered" Senor Manuel when we had the summer Denver townhome sometime in 2011. And since then we've been infrequent, but enthusiastic diners.

On this visit, we took special note of the chips, which reminds us of a place in the Fort Worth area called Mexican Inn. Deep fried, crispy, and delicious. They're not "fritos" style like Mexican Inn, but everything else is about the same. Including the yummy red sauce, that has a small kick too. And speaking of which, Senor Manuel has moved with the times. and offers multiple chile sauces to drench your enchiladas in. Neither of us could resist the pork green chile, which is delicious, with large chunks of pork and that flavor that only a good green chile has. They also have a super hot habanero, which they gave me a sample of. Oh yea, this is some great chile for sure. Probably too much heat for an entire platter, but I was grateful for the taste. The rice was delicious, and we both appreciate the super hot temperature refried beans, which reminded us of Abuelos back in Texas. One area that Senor Manuel has stayed stagnant on is their beer selection. Basically it's Bud Light or Dos Equis (lager and amber) on tap. Ah what the heck, a Dos Equis Amber hits the spot sometimes. Like a big glass of flavored water. Haha.

Want a look back into the old Colorado Mexican restaurant scene of the 1960s and 70s? Hard to beat Senor Manuel for that.

10/1/94; 7/2/11; 3/31/18; 9/22/18; 4/18/21 (new entry); 1/28/23

Dueces Wild Brewery ~ Colorado Springs, Colorado

Latest visit: Jan 2023

First visit: Jan 2019

Dueces Wild is one of Colorado Springs most adventurous breweries. If you define adventure as historical or going back in time. And I do. Usually that word is saved for breweries who mix in all sorts of non traditional ingredients, and focus on sours, wilds, and freaky IPA's. That's not Dueces Wild. They focus on beers from antiquity. This is the only brewery - that I know of - that has an Old Burton ale for example. What? Yea, exactly. Apparently it's a beer that goes way back to the Belgian Abbey's and made popular in London in the 1600's. If you get a pilsner here, it will be "pre-prohibition" style. I love breweries that focus on traditional beers, and especially ones that dig up styles that time has forgotten.

The location is in a somewhat isolated area in east Colorado Springs, not too far from Powers and Galley. It's a large space and you can sit with the brew tanks if so desired. They recently took down their very large wraparound bar and have more tables and chairs. Dark woods and friendly bartenders are what you can expect here.

Mrs. RJG and I will always remember Dueces Wild on one splendid evening, February 2021. Remember we were still in the throes of the pandemic. Not only was Dueces Wild mask free, but you could also buy F*ck Polis T-Shirts while you were at it. American flags are prominent here. Not a destination for wokesters that's for sure. Anyway, at one point in the evening everyone randomly burst into the chorus of Neil Diamond's 'Sweet Caroline'. After a full year of captivity, that event was just too awesome. Freedom was upon us again.

If you're looking for eats, I've seen food trucks here, but I didn't see one on this afternoon visit. In addition there's a grinder (sandwich) shop next door, though their hours are limited. Dueces Wild also maintains a taproom at Union just north of Fillmore. It was the former 1876 Ale Works which lasted all of a month (but we managed to go anyway). It's a great location, that's for sure. I'll write more on that location if we go there again.

1/20/19; 2/27/21; 1/23/23 (new entry)

NaRai Thai ~ Colorado Springs, Colorado

Last visit: Jan 2023

First visit: Jul 2022

We had one of our Official Niece's in town while her husband was taking care of some family business. We gave her a choice of 3 places, and she chose Thai. It had been a few months since we last went here, and it was dinner time, so NaRai Thai was the obvious answer to which Thai restaurant that would be. It's been almost a full year since said niece and nephew-in-law treated us to Aung's Bangkok Thai in Denver. And NaRai Thai is closest in taste and atmosphere to Aung's. We were excited to go back - though there was a caveat... Some of you may recall the surprise visit we received from Mr. and Lady Music last September. We took them to NaRai Siam. That would be the name of their Cheyenne Mountain location. While we collectively enjoyed our meal, they refused to make my dish as noted in the original review, even though they have all the ingredients. Well that was a bummer. At least our closer locale is much more amenable. We just won't go back to this southern location.

Or so we thought. I received a raft full of attitude when I asked for my dish here too! I told them they'd made it for me before on the last 3 visits. Well - they acquiesced and I got what I wanted. But it felt like it was under protest. They were not kind about it - at all. What is wrong with these restaurants? What I'm asking for is not complicated nor unreasonable.  Basically they left a strong message to us that they weren't interested in our business. Wow. OK, you win! Was my meal good? Yes, delicious in fact. But I don't want to battle for my meal each time, so I don't want to come back. It wasn't until we got home that Mrs. RJG said she didn't like hers either. Same dish - but their way. I didn't realize that was happening since we were chatter-boxing with our niece. Mrs. RJG is far more unforgiving, especially when it comes to Thai food. So for certain we're not coming back now. As for Official Niece, she said she enjoyed her Pad Thai, though she had some small critiques. I told her to write them down and send them to me. I'm going to guess that won't happen lol.

Late last year we welcomed back Thai Basil (and we've been regulars since). And unfortunately we are now releasing NaRai Thai out of the RJG rotation. Poor business skills and - and as Governor Polis might say - it's their own damn fault!

--- original review (7/31/22)

Anyone who has spent time reading the RJG will know that we are heavily weighted towards Thai food. This would be Mrs. RJG's influence on our blog and dining habits. In NE Tarrant, it wasn't unheard of for us to go out to dinner 3 times a week for Thai food. Such were the great options we had there. But for certain we went at least once weekly. That stopped when we moved to Colorado Springs. But why? Were the Thai restaurants there that much better than here? No, I wouldn't make that claim. It really gets down to associative thinking: Wine. White wine in particular. One goes with the other, or it just isn't the same. I remember hearing my dad talk about coffee and cigarettes in that way. Of course with dad, the formula was anything + cigarettes = happiness. But I digress...

And therein lies the problem. Only a couple of Colorado Springs Thai restaurants serve alcohol in the area. Which isn't that different from NE Tarrant either. What's the X Factor here then? BYOB. Texas has it, Colorado doesn't. We would bring our sub $10 grocery store wine, and our "Spider Man" cooler everywhere we went. For some reason, we didn't realize NaRai Thai (aka NaRai Siam) had wine. The other place, known as Lanna Thai (ed: I forgot about Thai Basil when writing this), went downhill right after we moved here leaving us with what we thought were zero options. Oh we tried to make it work anyway. We'd go with water, or I'd have Thai Iced Coffee. But it just isn't the same. I wanted a little white wine (not red) buzz with my Thai hot. It's a taste of heaven for me. Mrs. RJG isn't quite so particular but she readily admits it's a sacrifice. One she's willing to make. And one I'm not. Just sitting there with a glass of water at night while waiting for my food in a bright lit setting reminds me too much of my college pauper days, when I was just lucky to be able to go out to someplace at all.

So what did we do? We moved our Thai experience from dinner to lunch. At noontime it seems natural to have iced coffee. I rarely have an alcoholic drink during the day, and even at that, it's usually for a business related function. But that still doesn't help with the buzzed flavor, but I'll make that trade for lunch. Mrs. RJG was OK with doing this, but really wants Thai for dinner, not lunch. And Thai food just doesn't do that well as a takeout option. At least for the type of food we get. And to be fair, I'm usually running errands for the side record store business on weekends (or vacation days) during the lunch hour, so I'm not available for a date anyway. 

Will NaRai Thai be the solution we've been looking for? After ordering our bottle of wine, we usually get appetizers but we decided to get straight to it on this visit. I had my usual Thai styled basil chicken. I customized the dish with my standards: minced chicken, added fried egg, Thai hot, cut any lousy vegetables (peas, mushrooms). Mrs. also had the stir fry, but the American way with cut chicken breast, medium hot, and the more veggies the better. And let me tell you - they nailed it! The rice was perfect. The flavors our respective basil chickens were out of this world. And with the wine we were enjoying the experience as if we were back in NE Tarrant at Sweet Basil, Sea Siam, or Magic Springroll. And NaRai Thai is a nice setting actually, feeling more like a restaurant than a fast food outlet, as so many Asian restaurants tend to be.

However, I left out one small detail. The menu didn't have the bottle of wine priced. I figured it would be in the $15 to $20 range, even $25. $42! Que? Oh for crying out loud. That's a steakhouse price! Dammit. That's not going to be a sustainable weekly option. I wasn't expecting our sub $10 grocery store wine cost, but c'mon. Well - there is another option here, and it's one I've adapted to for the aforementioned steakhouses and Italian restaurants: Beer. Just a good crisp Thai lager will be just fine actually, like that place our niece took us to in Denver. So the matter is settled (unless they have a price surprise here too).

NaRai Thai may just be the best Thai food we've had in the Springs, though my opinion is a bit skewed given the wine associative experience. Some of the places we've been to here in the Springs are excellent, and we'll continue to go to them. For lunch, that is. NaRai Thai is now our Thai dinner go-to option.

7/31/22 (new entry); 9/26/22; 1/21/23

The Post Chicken & Beer ~ Denver, Colorado

First visit: Jan 2023 (Denver - Rosedale)

Well this wasn't the original plan. I had MLK day off and decided to go record digging in Denver. I originally had targeted a sandwich shop only to find out it's mainly a catering place. The website was very confusing on that front. OK fine - what's nearby? Some interesting place that makes all kinds of bacon. Walk in, start to grab a barstool, and I'm told "sir, there's a 45 minute wait". For an empty barstool? Who ever heard of such a thing? First come first serve, that's always the way for bar seating. There was no one waiting inside - probably sitting in their car and they'll ping you when it's time. Well that sucks. Oh but wait - I parked right next to a pizza joint that promises by the slice. They even had a sign on their door indicating they're open on MLK, even though it's a holiday. Came back - close inspection said they were opening an hour later. C'mon - this is a conspiracy! Thank God Mrs. RJG wasn't with me - she'd have been furious. OK - next option. A short walk away is The Post Chicken and Beer. The only reason I hadn't circled it already is they don't open until 11. After all of my mishaps, the clock just turned 11. Let's go there.

I was the first in the door, about 5 minutes after opening. Grab a bar stool, and I can clearly see the restaurant is already ready for business. I usually avoid going to places when they first open, as they're never ready. Seems like "open at 11:00 means kitchen is ready at 11:30". Not here. They were going full blast with the head chef ensuring all the chickens were cooked to the proper heat. Perfect. The Post is also a brewery (in nearby Lafayette) and I've had a few of their beers prior, but I found one quickly that I hadn't tried. Cold and delicious. What am I ordering? I must try their chicken. So I went with a fried chicken sandwich, with pickled pepper relish and dijonnaise. 

Take a look at that bad boy. Now we're talking. I picked away on the chicken at first. Excellent. The bread was toasted Mrs. RJG style and the condiments were perfect. Fries were excellent and I added one of their signature habanero sauces to it later.

The Post is a very welcoming place with a light wood interior and large windows to allow plenty of light. It sits in a very hip part of central-south Denver, with tons of new condos and townhomes going up at a rapid rate. This area was fairly dilapidated when I first moved to Denver in the mid 90s. Of course, all this comes with a huge price tag. I really do enjoy areas like this, but not sure they make economic sense to reside here (rents are exhorbitant). Happy to visit and eat here though! Watch those crowds though. As I was leaving, The Post was pretty much filled up some 30+ minutes later from my arrival.

As of this writing, The Post Chicken & Beer have 7 locations, mostly north and west of Denver. The Rosedale neighborhood location is the furthest south.

1/17/23 (new entry)

FH Beerworks ~ Colorado Springs, Colorado ***CLOSED***

Closed: Dec 2024

Latest visit: Jan 2023

First visit: Feb 2019

Of the breweries entering into this year, FH Beerworks is the one I hadn't been to in the longest time. Trying to catch up plus there's 3 new breweries that showed up in the latter half of 2022. Part of the reason for that delay is that FH cans their beers for the local stores, so I don't necessarily need to go to their brewery to try them. However they always have different beers at the brewery than their "flagship" offerings. And that's what I had this time (and probably will every time).

When we first moved back to the Springs, FH had 2 locations - one downtown and one off of Powers (east). We went to the former first. They have since sold that location to a brewery called Red Swing Brewhouse, who opened in 2021 (we've been once and after our next revisit, we'll report on it - sometime this year hopefully). 

FH (which originally stood for FieldHouse) is a large space, with a warehouse like feel, and plenty of flat screens to enjoy the game or other entertainment. They also have a permanent food truck known as Twelve Thirty One. I didn't try them this time, but did on the last visit. I'll have to make a point to eat here next time I stop by. Currently they greet you at the door and seat you like at a restaurant. I just went straight to the bar, but that's not their setup I guess... While I wouldn't put FH at the top of my favorite local breweries, at least in terms of ambience, I have to say that their beers are very good and tasty. 

2/3/19; 1/15/23 (new entry)

Halfpenny Brewing ~ Centennial, Colorado

Latest visit: Jan 2023

First visit: Feb 2020

Coming into 2020, we had started the great habit of trying breweries in the Denver area. I had convinced Mrs. RJG that it would be fun to have one beer on the way home, after seeing family (which is why we're usually in Denver together). Halfpenny Brewing represents the last time we did that before the pandemic hit. So it was fitting to restart the tradition here again, almost 3 years to the date later. Oh believe me, I've been trying to kickstart this program since 2021, but she wasn't very interested. And I always state that I'm going to stop at one while digging for records in the area. But I get so busy that by the time I look up and get some air, I need to skedaddle back home.

Halfpenny is definitely on the large side for a neighborhood brewery, and they feature a full biergarten in the back. On this day, the NFL playoffs were going, and it's nice to see places like this filling up again to watch sports like we used to. No politics and no masks. Just root for your team, and enjoy a brewski or two. Mrs. RJG isn't a huge dog fan, and this is one of those breweries that allow pets inside, so the smell got to her. And my Irish red was a bit flat this time, though her Rye IPA was excellent. We have tons of breweries to go in Denver, but it was nice to circle back and pick up where we left off.

Let the games begin!

2/1/20; 1/14/23 (new entry)

 

Trivelli's Hoagies ~ Colorado Springs, Colorado

Latest visit: Aug 2023

First visit: Jun 2020

---1/12/23 notes

Managed to get in Trivelli's review visit early this year. Arrived just before the flock from the local high school showed. This is one of many establishments the kids descend upon, so bear that in mind if you show up around 11:30 on a weekday during the school year. To avoid sitting in a makeshift high school cafeteria (and all the bad memories that go with that), I ate the sandwich in the car. Which reminded me of the pandemic as noted below. Not so bad to do that really. In this case I couldn't decide if I wanted a meatball or Italian sausage sandwich. So I got both! They have a combo that reminds me of the old Friendly's Sub Shop (see South Jersey Subs for more about that place). Not as good of course (nothing ever has been). And... they still don't toast the sub roll for whatever reason. But I do like their meatballs, sausage, and especially the sauce. Worth coming here once in a while. And as also noted below, it's conveniently across the street from the ARC thrift shop. Yee-haw.

---5/7/22 notes

Back for my first visit in over a year. I think I was really in the mood for a meatball sandwich, and I loved every bite of this. Great sauce and meatballs. They should toast or at least heat up the bread though. Weird to have a meatball sub on a cold hoagie roll. That's the only thing keeping this lovely dive from a Silver Star.

---original 4/7/21 review

There were a handful of restaurants that the RJG discovered during the pandemic. Mostly we limited new places to drive-through windows and carryout. Trivelli's Hoagies represents the latter. Conveniently located near both an ARC and Goodwill thrift store, Trivelli's makes the perfect lunch break while doing some thiftin'. It's an old fashioned Italian styled deli, the kind you see in the older Midwest and Eastern neighborhoods in places like Chicago, Cleveland, and Philadelphia. Not much for decor, it's all about the food. Walk in, order at the counter, and a few minutes later your piping hot sandwich (or entree) is ready to be devoured. Best we can tell, this location is a recent buyout (or franchised - they have separate websites), but they have maintained the original recipes of Steve Trivelli, who still owns a location. Trivelli's goes back to 1976 (and the recipes to 1955 in Philadelphia), and is one of Colorado Springs' legacy sandwich shops. The red sauce for the meatball and sausage sandwiches are excellent, if not a tad bitter. The Philly Cheesesteaks are very good as well. Perhaps not a destination spot, but certainly worthy of a visit if in the area (which I often tend to be).

6/12/20; 11/27/20; 4/7/21 (new entry); 5/7/22; 1/12/23

La Casa Fiesta ~ Monument, Colorado

Last visit: Jan 2023

First visit: Sep 2018

We had the FNABQ's over yesterday. Who are they, you ask? A family that used to live across the street from us here in Colorado Springs but now live in Albuquerque. Hence, Former Neighbor [now in] Albuquerque. It's highly likely we will see them down there this year as well. Like the Cowcatchers in NE Tarrant, it's apparent we will be keeping in touch, as our friendship has continued to grow. Their son is attending the Colorado School of Mines, and he didn't join us on this occasion. Mrs. RJG and I were hoping they'd arrive with a suggestion for lunch, and sure enough they did: La Casa Fiesta in Monument.

This would have been the only way that Mrs. RJG and I would have returned. As you can see we went once not too long after moving here. We didn't enjoy the experience, and we had such high hopes going in that first time. La Casa Fiesta is one of those restaurants that looks great on paper. Especially Regular Joe's Guide paper. Check the boxes: Their legacy goes back to a Hobbs, New Mexico restaurant in 1957. Current generation opened up a successful Mexican place of their own here in Colorado Springs called Pepe's from 1983 to 1995. Even though I was here then, I don't recall hearing of it. I would have caught it at the end anyway. One year later, they opened up in quaint downtown Monument. The location screams "old Colorado Mexican". Mostly darkened interior and of course, "the best margaritas". They take it further to state "The Best Margaritas on Front St.". Umm, who or what would be the competition?

In any case, we're back. Since we didn't write about the original experience, this entry will constitute our first new review of 2023. On our original visit we were both very disappointed with the salsa that comes with the chips. It was very bland and tasted of tomatoes and little else. I cannot recall if they were just out of their hotter variety or they've added one since, but this proved to be much better. I would suggest their hot is "medium" but the flavor was good. The chips are tri-color (mostly yellow though) and seem out of the bag (still good though). While we were munching on chips, I had a craft beer from Bristol, while Mr. FNABQ had a Negro Modelo. The ladies each had a margarita on the rocks. So far so good. Onto the main event. The FNABQ's shared a fajita platter, and the Mrs. and I each went for the New Mexico stacked enchiladas. And added rice and beans.

And this is when things began to fall apart. The rice was slightly mushy and closer to cold than hot. The refried beans were unimaginative and also lukewarm. The "spicy beef" isn't any such thing, more like ground beef with a taco seasoning. The temperature of this dish was better, still not perfect. We both got Christmas. You know you're in trouble when it's hard to distinguish which is which. There was just enough color variation to figure it out. But this is miles away from what we expect from a New Mexico chile, or even something we would experience in Pueblo. We just cannot get excited about La Casa Fiesta. And we want too - it's location and ambience are perfect. It's also very popular. We have inside knowledge that it has gone down a storm with the local Mormon community, which might explain the lack of extra spice. I fear it will take some other outside event to get us back to La Casa Fiesta. As for the FNABQ's, they seemed to enjoy theirs thoroughly. But we know their tastes run more conservative than ours.

9/1/18; 1/9/23 (new entry)

B Street Cafe ~ Pueblo, Colorado

Latest visit: Jan 2023

First visit: Jan 2022

It was time for my annual record buying trip to Pueblo, though based on the success I had this visit, I probably will make an effort to return 4 to 6 times more this year. If for nothing else to try more great Pueblo restaurants, which is beginning to establish itself - in my mind - that it competes strongly with New Mexico. In fact, while touring the whole city yesterday, I came to the realization that if Pueblo was actually in New Mexico, it would have a better reputation. It feels like New Mexico, and not so much Colorado. And if they had a culinary bake off with Colorado Springs, I'm pretty sure Pueblo would win. 

Speaking of New Mexico, in the interim between these posts, I did manage to get Mrs. RJG here on our way to Santa Fe last April (that trip was documented in these pages, but not B Street since I'd recently been here). She loved it as well, though not the chorizo as an fyi.

On this visit, I had exactly what I've had the other 2 trips: The Breakfast Burrito. The temperature of the chile could have used a boost, but otherwise just as delicious as the below review suggests. And I didn't mention this last time, but I'm pretty sure the sausage is of the Italian variety, which makes it that much better. The excellent ambience and superb service remains.

B Street Café is establishing itself as one of my favorite breakfast haunts in the country. Be sure to go here if in Pueblo.

--- original 1/9/22 review

B Street Cafe has restored my faith in trying new restaurants. After a string of mediocre to very good places, I finally found a restaurant that I can call excellent to superb. It's only been one visit, but they did everything right. No worker shortage excuses here.

I parked across the street from the B Street entrance, but locals usually park in the back where there's more room to wait. Fortunately I didn't have to wait and was seated immediately in one of the small 2 person booths. There is no counter seating, so getting a table is essential, and I can tell the place is usually full. The building sits in the downtown Pueblo Historic District across the street from the Arkansas River. The décor is awesome and the space has been completely restored. Black and white checkered floors, high ornate ceilings, historical photos (e.g. all Marilyn Monroe in the men's room), and black vinyl booths. And best of all for me, jazz music. Finally a soothing environment. No annoying pop or rock. Of course I love the latter, but not when I'm eating. Give me jazz or classical, or whatever indigenous music goes with the setting. So it's perfect on that front.

Flavored creamers are on the table, so I get a cuppa joe. Weaker than I prefer, but then again, I drink one strong dark roast each morning so my taste buds have a different expectation. Now comes what matters, the breakfast itself. The choice is easy: B Street Burrito. That which comes with eggs, sausage (cut very finely), ham, fried pappas (potatoes), and bacon (not on the menu version, but I'm sure mine had some). Smothered in red or green. Or... both. Of course I did the latter. The red is very fine like a sauce, so it's different than its New Mexican cousin. Superb flavor with a nice fiery kick too. The green is a traditional Colorado pork green chili that was just as delicious and completely different to the red (as it should be). I gobbled that whole big 'ol' fat burrito with one big smile the entire time. Just awesome.

A tad expensive, though I did get my money's worth for once. $20 including tip for the above. Can't wait to take Mrs. RJG here. When we go to Santa Fe for a week (hoping March), we'll stop here for breakfast on the way (ed: ended up being April, but we did accomplish this goal).

1/8/22 (new entry); 1/7/23

Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill ~ regional chain : Colorado Springs, Colorado

Latest visit: Jan 2023 (Colorado Springs - North Gate)

First visit: Jul 2013 (Colleyville, Texas)

Happy New Year everyone! Back for our first move forward of 2023 (or technically the second, since Freddy's got a head start in December). On this visit I switched things up and had the carne asada which was very good - tender and tasty. They smothered it in red sauce - and then smothered it again with the same sauce on top of the burrito with cheese on top. No honey habanero or chile verde this time, just that red enchilada sauce. It was hotter temperature than last visit. While I don't go here very much, Costa Vida always satisfies.

Costa Vida is a regional chain from Utah (Lehi - in the row of towns between Provo and Salt Lake City) that originally came up during the burrito craze of the 90s as lead by Chipotle, Baja Fresh, and Qdoba's. Their core audience seems to be in the Mormon country of Utah, Idaho, and Arizona with a handful of other western locations (including Alberta). Otherwise there's a couple in Kansas City, one in Minnesota, and one lonely location in Nashville. This remains the only location in Colorado Springs with 3 in Denver and one in Grand Junction (and Farmington, their sole New Mexico locale). And of course they're still in Texas, where the original RJG NE Tarrant location of Colleyville continues (wonder if they still have margaritas?), as well as North Fort Worth and Flower Mound.

--- 3/19/22 update

Back for the annual review. Had a full burrito this time with grilled chicken. They did have the honey habanero which I added generously to some of the bites. The rice was particularly good this time, as was the chicken. Nice red enchilada sauce with a slight kick, and melted cheese on top. I think the dish could come out a bit hotter, to fully utilize the aluminum pan, but it wasn't lukewarm either. They're advertising "chile verde" season, but they told me it wasn't very spicy. And it was loaded with pork, which can be a dicey proposition. So I passed. On the whole, Costa Vida remains a good burrito option.

--- 5/29/21 update

Had my first visit in a couple of years to our local Costa Vida. Went with the same Baja Bowl as below, but they were out of the honey habanero, so I settled for the medium red, which was flavorful (and chunky). Everything seems back to normal here. Definitely enjoying this more than the Qdoba that has lost their way over the years. No margaritas here, BTW.

--- original 7/16/13 review

We were reviewing new restaurants in the area, when I saw that they planned on opening a new Costa Vida in Fort Worth. I had totally forgotten about this place, and that reminded me of the one in Colleyville, which is closer than the new one will be to us. Surprisingly this is our first visit here.

I zoomed in on the Baja Bowl, which is their variation of the Naked Burrito or Burrito Bowl, and filled it with grilled chicken, pinto beans, rice, red enchilada sauce, and cheese. Now the distinguishing characteristic of Costa Vida is they then push the bowl through the heated conveyor belt (like Quizno's) for a nicely toasted dish with melted cheese. On the back end they'll toss on top lettuce, pico, and a salsa of your choice (in this case I grabbed a container of the honey habanero). Mrs. RJG did similar but she asked for half grilled chicken and half sweet pork, which is their signature dish. I also had a frozen margarita, because it's that time of year, right?

We both were satisfied. Their grilled chicken is slightly better than Chipotle's, and I've always been a fan of Chipotle's chicken. The toasting concept is fantastic, as the melted yellow cheese is excellent in this setting. The rice is also a major winner, besting the other chains. The beans are... well, beans. They're fine. On the downside, the sweet pork was indeed sweet. Too sweet, and too greasy according to the Missus. The honey habanero, while packing a little bit of heat, was also too sweet, and definitely pales compared to better salsas found at the three chains mentioned in the prologue. I need to try their other salsa next time. And finally, while on the topic of sweet, the margarita was more like a sugar Kool-Aid. So it's obvious the chain has a bit of a sweet tooth, which doesn't quite appeal to us.

Will we be back? Oh definitely. In total, an excellent experience. And we want to try their tacos, quesadillas, and maybe even the enchiladas. And I'll grab a beer next time. A good place for sure. I can't believe it took us this long to try it.

7/16/13 (new entry); 5/24/14; 7/13/19; 5/29/21; 3/19/22; 1/6/23

Colleyville, Texas; Colorado Springs, Colorado