Regular Joe's Guide

Latest visit: Apr 2025 (Havana St.) First visit: sometime in 1994 (Colorado Springs) ---4/14/25 I saw a nice looking estate sale up in Denver on this fine Thursday, so I decided to "work" the city. I keep putting work in quotes because it's just me digging for inventory or my personal collection. Pure retirement hobby activities. The location of this sale was right next to where I used to live from 1995 to 1997. This is at the time I met Mrs. RJG, Rude Dante, Old Boss, and others. I haven't been to "the old neighborhood" in years, so it was great to be back. I lived in the fancy schmancy "Breakers", which now has a different name apparently. It was a very nice apartment / condo complex set in a much more modest area of town. Best of both worlds as far as I was concerned. So many great little divey restaurants nearby, though I was spoiled to live in a very nice one bedroom apartment with my two cats. It was to be the end of my bachelor days. Haha - ...

First visit: Apr 2025 ---4/14/25 I've had The Green Line Grill circled for a few years now as a place to try. I even thought when I served on jury duty last year, I'd give them a shot then. But it became apparent it was too far a walk from the courthouse. Wednesday is usually my day to "work" Colorado Springs, and if I stay on schedule, I should be near downtown for lunch. And that was the case on this day. I didn't realize how close The Green Line was from my usual thrift stop, so let's finally give it a try. Location: Off of Wahsatch just east of downtown. Looks and feels like your classic dive bar. Checkered floors, booths, pool tables, etc... I believe you can park at the restaurant for free, though I saw meters on adjacent parking lots. It's pretty far off the beaten path and paying for parking seems silly. Order at the counter. Food: The Green Line Grill is known for their "Onion Fried Cheese Burger". I'd never heard of such a thing, bu...

First visit: Apr 2025 (120th Ave) ---4/7/25 Mrs. RJG and I had a family event in Brighton (NE Denver suburb) the night before and stayed in a nearby hotel. The next day we decided to hit some thrift shops before lunch. Now we're hungry, where to go? We were in the Northglenn / Thornton area, so not an area we are familiar with at all. That's when Fat Shack popped up. Looks exactly what we're after. Let's give it a shot. As noted in the Locations section, they have two locations here at home. If I had known that, I would not have come here. I'd never even heard of Fat Shack before. And honestly I thought it was an independent all the way up until I started researching today. Location: A little dive place inside of a hidden strip mall center, next to a tattoo parlor. These are clues... Food: They specialize in creative hot sandwiches (no deli meats though), along with chicken, wings, hamburgers, and Philly cheesesteaks. I had a cheeseburger and Mrs. RJG ordered the Ph...

First visit: Apr 2025 ---4/7/25 I was in the Rockrimmon area for an estate sale, and afterwards was starving. My original plan was to head over to Oliver's Deli. However it was packed on this particular Friday. Good to see old fashioned crowds like this, but unfortunately it drove me away as the line was too long. Right across the parking lot is High Rise. Let's go see what they're all about. Location: Strip center location at Rockrimmon and Delmonico. Was mostly empty when I arrived. Food: Pizza obviously is their stock and trade, and it would appear takeout and delivery is their primary business. However they do offer plenty of seating. Most importantly they offer slices! They rotate three options every day, and on this visit, I went with one pepperoni and one cheese (maybe these two are static I'm not sure). You get a free drink if you order at least two slices. So for $8 bucks that's not too bad in this day and age. No soda fountains, but they have cans in the f...

First visit: Apr 2025 ---4/7/25 Location: On South 8th Street, tucked away on a small hill. Cool spot that recalls the DIY aesthetic of New Mexico. Food: Mexican is their primary fare. We started with chips and salsa. The chips are homemade, crispy and very good. The salsa packed a lot of flavor though it doesn't have much heat. Mrs. RJG and I each tried the enchiladas. I had the ground beef and shredded chicken and she had carne asada. Both buried in Christmas. Pretty good, nothing overly distinctive. The green chile being the lone exception, and would want to have this included on any future meals. Drink: They seem to specialize in margaritas, though we just stuck with water for this lunch visit. Overall: Decent Mexican option though it didn't capture our imagination enough to add to the rotation. Certainly wouldn't reject coming here again and will sample other dishes and possibly a margarita. They're mainly a breakfast and lunch house with dinner from Thu to Sun. 4/...