Our base camp for this Colorado trip was Estes Park, the eastern gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park.
Entering Estes Park from the east.
Now if you are from a lower elevation, you’re going to want to hang out in town for a couple of days to get acclimated to the altitude before you go up higher into the mountains. Therefore, a grocery run might be in order while you’re waiting. I mentioned in my post on donuts that Estes Park has what is quite possibly the busiest Safeway grocery store in the country, at least during the summer peak months. Pro tip: go early, like 7 AM at the latest.
If you’d rather just sit and be served, though, here are a couple of good breakfast options. Just down the hill from the Safeway is The Egg and I, a Colorado chain specializing in breakfast, brunch, and lunch. My favorite item is the Mexican Omelette, stuffed with chorizo, green chiles, onionsand cheese, and topped with the pork green chili I love so well (they spell it with an “I” on the end here instead of an “e.”).
Served with a tortilla and seasoned ranch potatoes.
You Need Pie!
Another local favorite for breakfast is the Estes Park Pie Shop, Bakery and Diner. That’s its official name, but it is usually referred to by its slogan, emblazoned on the banner outside: “You Need Pie!” They have everything from blue-plate specials to a Build Your Own Breakfast Burrito. Pro tip: tell your server “An egg would be perfection,” and they’ll add an extra egg to your order.
But of course, the not-so-subliminal message that lured you here in the first place was that you needed pie. They have some of that. 38 different flavors, to be precise. They cut their pies into six slices, not eight, so when you order pie, you’re getting a BIG ole slice!
But if that’s not enough of a sugar bomb for you, then you can do what I did and order a Pie Shake. This is exactly what it sounds like. They make you a milkshake and blend an entire piece of pie into it.
Half of my wife’s Caramel Apple Pie (center)–$4.75. My pie shake on the right–$7.00. There’s more in the container on the left. You can make one with any flavor of pie.
So a couple of days later, when you feel like eating again, maybe you’ll decide that a lighter lunch might be in order? Come back next time for more Yums from Estes Park!
So I mentioned a couple of months ago that my wife and I vacationed in the Colorado Rockies last summer. This was our first road trip in my wife’s new Camry Hybrid.
The wife’s new ride. What should we name it?
We decided to take the Camry instead of the van, first since it was just the two of us, and second, if you can get all the way across Nebraska without having to stop for gas, this is always a good thing. (We would also find out later how beneficial they can be for mountain driving.)
Our first Colorado meal was just across the border in Sterling at a Colorado chain Mexican restaurant called Santiago’s.
Unfortunately, I had drained the battery on my phone using Trip Advisor for the last 6000 miles of Nebraska trying to find somewhere to eat. As a result, I do not have a picture to share of one of Santiago’s signature items, the Stuffed Sopapilla.
If you’ve been to a Mexican restaurant, you’ve seen sopapillas, usually in a dessert setting. They’re dough folded over and fried, coated in cinnamon and drizzled with honey. They are frequently served with ice cream.
This is a different animal though. It’s shaped roughly the same, but about twice the size. Then they stuff it with any two items from the burrito menu (except steak). I had chicken and rice with carnitas in mine. Then they smother it in their signature green chile, and THEN they deluxe it (yes, they use “deluxe” as a verb) with cheese, lettuce and tomato. I had been working up a hungry from driving literally all day, and it was still all I could eat. For only $6.75.
Let me go back a minute to that signature green chile. The official name at Santiago’s is “Authentic Green Chile Sauce with Pork,” but if you just say Colorado Green Chile, everybody knows what you’re talking about. Whenever I’m away from home, I always like to try regional specialties. On this trip, it was the green chile.
Green Chile is to Colorado as the horseshoe is to Springfield. Just about every restaurant has it in one form or another, sometimes as a soup you can order a bowl of, sometimes as a condiment. Of course, each establishment has its own recipe, but here are the basics:
Simmer two bone-in pork chops in a stockpot for 2-3 hours. Then remove what’s left of the chops.
A word of caution. If you’re not from Colorado, your digestive system isn’t used to this. It seems harmless at first, but later . . . well let’s just say if you’re not traveling alone, you might want to take one for the team and sleep on the couch that night. Your spouse will thank you.
Southern Illinois, where the Coffman clan has its roots, has many a culinary gem hidden away in the hills of the Shawnee National Forest. One of these is The Blue Boar, down in Kratzinger Hollow between Cobden and Anna. (Local tip–the word “Hollow” is pronounced “holler,” even among the educated. That’s just the way it is. If you go down there and say, “Kratzinger Hollow,” people will look at you like this):
The Blue Boar sits next to the Great Boars of Fire Lodge, a banquet hall and catering facility known for its award-winning BBQ. The Great Boars and I go way back. Not only did they cater my wedding, but my uncle John was one of the original Great Boars back when they were “just” a competitive BBQ team.
John Belcher, my late uncle. Wish I had a picture of him grilling. Maybe some of the Anna folks can help me out?
Along with fellow Great Boars Dave Fombelle, Jerry McFadden, Bob Lyrla, Jim West, Sonny Beanland and Richard Sheeley, the Boars won 1st place in shoulders at the World Champion Barbeque Cook Off in Memphis. They also held the record for the highest points ever scored at the Jack Daniels’ World Champion Invitational. For four consecutive years the team was ranked in the top 10 in the World by Memphis in May. They also have won The Illinois and Missouri State Championship.
So yeah, they’re pretty good.
The Blue Boar builds on this legacy by adding a New Orleans vibe.
Looks like Mardi Gras exploded on the wall!
You can’t go wrong with anything coming off the grill or out of the smoker. They also have a variety of po-boy sandwiches, burgers, and of course, cajun-inspired dishes, like shrimp or crawfish etoufee. They add chicken to the smoked sausage in their red beans and rice. Come hungry so you can start off with a plate of the pulled pork nachos, which include my still-favorite-ever baked beans.
The Juicy Lucy ($8.99) is a half pound of ground chuck stuffed with cheese. It’s a bit messy, but you won’t mind.
The highlight of their weekend brunch menu is the Bubba Benedict, which is a Southern Illinois version of what we would call a breakfast horseshoe up here in the 217.
The food is only half the experience at the Blue Boar, however.
Take some time to enjoy the peaceful down-in-the-holler setting. If the weather’s right, get a table on the large covered patio out back. After you eat, take a short stroll across the bridge behind the restaurant to the grotto.
My kids at the Blue Boar, Easter 2017.
You never know what you might see up in the trees!
Watch for various sculptures on the grounds. These giant metal insects reminded me of James and the Giant Peach. I may or may not have screamed like a girl when I turned around and unexpectedly saw this one.
So if you find yourself down in Southern Illinois orchard and vineyard country and have a hankerin’ for some really good BBQ, hop onto Kratzinger Hollow Rd. off old US 51 just on the outskirts of Anna and go GETCHA SOME!
Last summer, my wife and I vacationed in Colorado. As I have mentioned before, one of the fastest ways to connect with a new place and its people is through their food. As it turns out, the Colorado Rockies are home to many immigrants from Nepal. The Rockies are nothing like the Himalayas, but they’re the best we can do for mountains in the lower 48, so the Nepalese make do. As a result, there are quite a few Nepali and northern Indian restaurants in the Rockies. Our favorite that we found on this trip was Kathmandu.
The Kathmandu Restaurant has two locations. The newer one is in downtown Boulder, but the one we visited is in the smaller town of Nederland, about a half hour’s drive up into the mountains from Boulder. Astute Stephen King fans might recognize Nederland as the hometown of the Colorado Kid.
We didn’t come from Boulder, though. We arrived in Nederland from the north, along the Peak to Peak National Scenic Byway. This is a 55-mile road that begins in Estes Park, where we were staying, and meanders southward to the casino town of Black Hawk. Nederland is a little more than halfway down.
Mt. Meeker, 13,911 feet. From the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway.
Kathmandu is on a dusty side street a couple of hundred yards off the main drag. We arrived in time for the lunch buffet, which they offer daily from 11 to 3 for $10.99. (Tip: Leave your jacket in the car. It is ROASTING hot in this place!)
Kathmandu Restaurant, Nederland, Colorado.
So what is Nepali food like? Well, for the most part, it tastes a lot like Indian, which I adore. One notable addition is momos, which are handmade, Tibetan-style dumplings, fried or steamed, and filled with chicken or vegetables and mild seasonings.
And papadums. Love me some papadums. These are basically chips made out of fried lentil flour. I could eat those all day. Actually, I could eat all of it all day. Or at least until 3:00, whereupon the buffet closes.
So if you’re in the Boulder area, or going for a leisurely drive in the mountains (not TOO leisurely–the drivers in Nederland do get a bit cranky with tourists), go GETCHA SOME!
This is the story of how I became acquainted with the best hot dog I have ever eaten. I am speaking of the Kirkland Signature Beef Dinner Frank, affectionately known in our family as “The Devil Dog of Costco.”
A Costco membership is not the most practical thing to have in Central Illinois, as the nearest warehouse is 71 miles away, across the river in St. Peters, Missouri. We’re pretty much in Sam’s territory here.
Nevertheless, my wife, Diana, is from the Toledo, Ohio area, and most of her family is still there. Two of her nephews, and the wife of one of them, all work for Costco. When you first hire on there, you are given a few free memberships that you can give to friends and family. Since we were a fan of their products and travel service, we decided to go ahead and sign up, despite the fact that we knew we would not be able to visit all that regularly.
A couple of months ago when we were back visiting family, we had some time to kill, so we thought we’d stop in at Costco to stock up on. . .whatever. Upon arriving, my wife said she was thirsty, and went over to the food court to get a Mountain Dew. Having had one of my mother-in-law’s lavish country breakfasts earlier in the day, I didn’t want anything.
After a few minutes, Diana came back with her soda (excuse me, her POP. We’re in Ohio now.) along with one of the biggest hot dogs I had ever seen, slathered in ketchup. (I’ll pause a moment for the Chicago folks to regain their composure.)
“What did you DO?” I asked. “I told you I wasn’t hungry.”
She replied, “It’s a special–a dog and a drink for only $1.50. Plus I can get one refill on the drink. I couldn’t pass that up!” I had to admit, that was quite a deal. Eventually, she convinced me to take a bite. Oh my. Juicy and full of flavor, but not as overwhelmingly spiced as a Hebrew National, which is now my SECOND favorite hot dog.
“You’re the devil,” I said. I’m not sure if I was talking to my wife, or the dog itself. Despite my not being hungry at all, I put down half of that dog in about 30 seconds. Later on, as we were browsing the store, we saw that these dogs were on special for $11.99. We grinned at each other, almost wickedly, and grabbed a package.
Kirkland Signature Beef Dinner Franks. Using my shiny picture because I didn’t feel like dealing with Costco’s copyright department for their prettier one. Low-rent, you know.
These devil dogs come advertised as “1/4-pound plus.” To be specific, 4.36 ounces apiece, which is to say, at least twice the size of a normal hot dog. They come 14 to a pack. Since there are only the two of us at home, we realized quickly that there was no way these were all going to be consumed in one hit. Diana had the idea to freeze them in fours–one each for dinner, and one for my lunch on a day when I would have a time conflict at the dinner hour.
One of the tricks to the proper consumption of devil dogs is finding a bun that can successfully corral them. I think I have found the perfect one–the pretzel buns from Shop ‘n Save, a chain of supermarkets in Illinois and Missouri. (UPDATE–Shop and Save was bought out, and has since closed all their stores in this area. On my birthday, no less. Figures.)
Four dogs and four buns. Solving the age-old conundrum of making the number of dogs and buns come out even.
I have discovered that an excellent flavor combination is the Costco dog on the pretzel bun with dijon mustard. This way, in a single bite you get the flavor combinations of hot dog/mustard as well as pretzel/mustard, both of which are great individually. My choice of complementary beverage is a Yuengling Traditional Lager (another thing I have to travel to get).
So last week I told you the story of our trip to Sint Maarten, the Dutch side of that tiny island in the Caribbean. We had heard that the food was legendary on the French side, so we planned to visit the town of Grand-Case (pronounced grahn cahz) to see about lunch. At the suggestion of Alton Brown in his show Feasting on Waves, we decided to seek out the lolos, cheap outdoor restaurants on the beach.
So, how to get there? St. Martin has lots of cars, but not a lot of roads, so getting anywhere takes a while. We hailed a cab, and told our driver where we wanted to go and what time we needed to be back to the ship. He told us it would be virtually impossible to get a cab to bring us back from Grand-Case, but he didn’t want to see a pair of tourists stranded in a foreign country, so he offered to wait for us while we ate, then drive us back to Philipsburg himself. I said if he would be willing to do that for us, I’d buy him lunch. This turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made on a vacation.
Crossing over to the French Side. I was on the wrong side of the taxi to have the camera, apparently.
When you arrive in a foreign country on a cruise ship, you are a tourist by definition. There’s nothing wrong with that, especially in a country whose primary industry is tourism. Yet, somehow, it never felt quite right to me to identify myself as a tourist. Somebody just there to see stuff and leave. If I’m going to go all the way out to some island, I want to make some kind of connection with the place and its people. I have found that food is one of the fastest ways to make this connection.
Our cab driver’s name was Roberto Pantophlet, but everybody on the island calls him “Choo-Choo.” We hit it off immediately, as he commented on my ubiquitous Chicago Cubs cap. It turned out that his son, Simon, was pitching in the Cubs farm system that year. All the way around the island in the slow, slow, traffic, we talked about baseball, family, faith and island living. By the time we finally reached Grand-Case, I felt a lot less like a tourist.
Boulevard de Grand Case
So, the lolos. My goodness, where to begin. Have you ever been to an outdoor barbeque, maybe at a county fair or some such place, with huge amounts of meat cooking on a grill right in front of you? And the incredible smells making you want to permanently excise the word “diet” from your vocabulary? Where the only thoughts jockeying for position in your mind are what you want to try first and how much of this can you eat without dying? OK, now multiply that by about six, and you’re starting to get the idea.
Lolos. Pro Tip–one Euro = one US Dollar at the lolos. So not only are you getting awesome food, but the best deal in the Caribbean as well!
We chose The Rib Shack, the last Lolo on the right, for no other reason than due to sensory overload, we just needed to sit down.
The Rib ShackView from the Rib Shack.
Honestly, I could have spent at least a week in this place. There was so much to try, a single visit didn’t even make a dent. Of course, you have to get ribs at the Rib Shack. They are marinated in lime and cider vinegar with onion and garlic and served with “rice and peas,” which we would call “red beans and rice” stateside (see photo at top of post). We also tried several other local favorites, all of them fantastic.
Stewed Conch and Curry Rice. So good that I about had it gone before I remembered to take a picture of it.Saltfish fritter with Carib beer. Every island has its own main brew. This one is actually brewed in Trinidad and Tobago.Crab Back. A spicy stuffed crab that is quite possibly the best thing I ate all week.
This experience was over way too soon. Yes, the food was great, and I wanted more of it, but this day remains the best “local” experience I have had on a cruise. For a few hours, I wasn’t just in another world, but felt like I was actually part of it, not just some foreign interloper with American money.
That’s Choo Choo on the left.
Hurricane Irma update
The pictures in this post were taken in 2010. On September 6, 2017, Hurricane Irma tore across this island as a Category 5 storm. As you can imagine, it made a hell of a mess.
Six months later, as I write this, the island is making a near-miraculous comeback. Many hotels and restaurants have reopened, and many areas have been cleaned up. The Huffington Post has some remarkable before and after shots, published just a few days ago.
I never did hear what happened to Choo Choo or his family. Facebook isn’t really much of a thing on the island. I found a couple of people who might be relatives, but they didn’t respond to messages (not surprising, I guess).
So on our honeymoon, my wife and I went on a Caribbean cruise. It was my first time on a cruise ship. I became spoiled very quickly with the sunshine, the sound of the waves from our balcony and being able to see places you can’t drive to. And cruise ship food is legendary. It’s everywhere, all the time, and frequently awesome. Plus, most of it is included in the price of your ticket, so you don’t have to get nervous at the dining table when you see things on the menu that you wouldn’t eat at home because they’re too expensive. Lobster tail or filet mignon? Have both. You’re on vacation!
Long story short, we decided that if our finances allowed, we would try to do a cruise every five years. So when the five-year mark rolled around, we made good on that and boarded the Carnival Miracle in Ft. Lauderdale. I could do a whole series of posts just on cruise ship food (and I probably will at some point), but today, I want to talk about our first stop on this particular voyage, a tiny little island called Saint Martin/Sint Maarten.
Why does it have two names? Because it’s actually two countries on one island that measures a scant 34 square miles, which is about half the size of the city of Springfield, Illinois. The southern part of the island is Sint Maarten, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The northern part is Collectivité de Saint-Martin, an overseas collectivity of France. St. Martin/Sint Maarten is known for many things, but we’re here to talk about the food.
Oh, that food. . .
Basically, I would have to make many more trips to explore ALL the food options on this island, particularly on the French side, but here’s what I experienced in our day there. We disembarked at the Great Bay in Philipsburg, the capital of the Dutch side.
Downtown Philipsburg is easily walkable, and our wanderings brought us to the Guavaberry Emporium.
Guavaberry is the national liqeur of St. Martin/Sint Maarten. It is made from rum, cane sugar and the rare wild guavaberries that grow in the center of the island. On Front Street is a shop that sells rums and liqueurs. . .and hot sauces.
You have my attention, Guavaberry Emporium.
Of all the comestibles that I consider myself a connoisseur of, hot sauce probably tops the list. So whenever in my wanderings I come across a place that has samples, it’s, “Honey, you go browse. If you need me, I’ll be over here hurting myself.”
The Guavaberry Emporium has 11 different sauces and spices for sale. I tried most of them, but one was a cut above. It is known as Liquid Fire, and is billed as “not for children or normal adults.” In about a 4-second span it is sweet, then fruity, then intensely hot. Notice the sweatball on my forehead. That’s not just from the tropical weather.
Whew, I think I need a break before lunch, but I AM getting hungry!
