Best of 2016

Nordy’s BBQ – Loveland CO Full Review

 

 Carolina pork platter with Aunt Judy’s beans and fried okra

 

Music City Hot Chicken– Fort Collins Colorado Full Review

leg quarter combo  hot version with  French fries and ranch dressing for the sauce on the side

 

Grimaldi's Pizzeria- Foothills Mall - Fort Collins, CO Full Review

 small size 16 inch pizza with pepperoni and spicy chicken sausage

Grimaldi's Pizzeria- Foothills Mall - Fort Collins, CO

November 18, 2016

This is one of my all-time favorite pizza place anywhere I’ve been to. So when I heard they were coming to Fort Collins I was very excited but I hadn’t made it until now. So on this day I met a friend here around 1130. We were seated right away and they asked if we been there before. I said I’d been to some of them in Arizona. Soon after our waitress arrived and quickly explained the menu and took our drink orders; a Pepsi for me ($2 50) and my friend ordered a Mountain Dew ($2 50). We took a bit of time to look at the menu. My friend thought we should try one of the sausages along with pepperoni. So we picked the spicy chicken sausage to go with pepperoni. I wouldn’t normally order that but I figured why not. We ordered the small size 16 inch pizza ($14) and added pepperoni ($3) spicy chicken sausage ($3). Then we waited. There were really not that many people here, so maybe it’s just not a big place for lunch.

 

Pretty soon our “small” pizza arrived and was placed on a stand.  It was ridiculously big for being a small size. This was an excellent pizza and just like I remember from all their other locations. The crust was perfect with char spots here and there and everything on top was great. The toppings were three dollars apiece but they put quite a bit on and they were about as evenly distributed as possible. The sausage tasted maybe a bit different but mostly was just like good sausage and actually had quite a bit of heat to it. The cheese on top was fresh mozzarella and was really good as well. Grimaldi's was excellent as usual I am very happy that they came to Fort Collins and I can’t wait to return.

 

 

 

 

Address: 327 E Foothills Pkwy #110, Fort Collins, CO 80525

 

 

Lupita’s Mexican restaurant - Fort Collins Colorado

October 17, 2016

A few years ago I ate here but hadn’t been back for a while. I stopped here for lunch with my dad we were at the late end of lunch so it wasn’t too crowded, but there were a handful of tables taken. When we entered we were greeted and told to sit anywhere we’d like and menus were delivered. Soon one of the waitresses came and asked us something, but we couldn’t understand what she said but eventually we figured out she was asking about drinks so we both ordered Pepsi’s ($1.79 each).  Quickly our drinks were delivered and a different waitress came to take our orders dad ordered a shredded beef burrito deluxe style ($7.49) which means smothered with green chili topped with lettuce, tomato and cheese. I ordered a beef and bean burrito deluxe style ($6.49). We both ordered our burritos with medium green chili. Also we ordered chips and salsa ($2.00).

Right away the chips and salsa arrived. The chips were warm and were well salted but they were kind of on the small side and a lot of them were broken. I thought the salsa was very good and had all your basic components of salsa and a decent amount of heat and plenty of fresh cilantro.

 

After eating only a few chips our burritos arrived. They were good-sized burritos and smothered with plenty of green chili. With cheese and tomatoes and a huge amount of lettuce. They were filled with just basic fillings and nothing really fancy. The chili on top was delicious and I would’ve been happy with just a bowl of it. This had some heat but a comfortable amount for me. We continued to eat until I ate most of my burrito and we had finished the basket of chips. Once we were about done our waitress dropped off the check but it seemed like she took a while to come back to pick it back up. But eventually she was back to take it. We both enjoyed our burritos and green chili and are looking forward to a return trip.

 

 

 

Address: 1720 W Mulberry St, Fort Collins, CO 80521

 

 

Mt. Everest Café –Fort Collins CO

July 28, 2016

When I started my blogs a few years ago I never imagined I would be eating and writing about food from Nepal and Tibet, but here I am. 

I met a friend for lunch at about 12:30, and I was not sure what I was getting myself into. I had never really had this kind of food or anything like it before, so I figured Mt. Everest café with their buffet would be a good way to try some new things.  We picked a table and headed to the buffet. 

 

I filled up my plate with naan, a vegetable samosa, some chicken curry, tikka masala and some rice.  The samosa definitely had potato in it along with I’m not sure what other veggies.  But the filling was good and the outside fried dough was delicious.  The naan the first trip through was a little tough and chewy, but the next trip they were fresh and were really good.  I’ve never really had much curry of any kind, but this chicken curry I suppose tasted like what curry would taste like, I thought it was good but not my favorite item I took. The tikka masala was by far my favorite thing I took.  It was orangeish and was a bit creamy, I don’t think I’ve had anything like it before, but I really enjoyed it quite a bit.  It along with the chicken curry both went real well with the rice.

Going in I wasn’t so sure, but after trying some new things I was happy that I came here for lunch.  I was very impressed their buffet, and thought it was one of the better buffets of any kind I’ve been to around here.  I will definitely be back to maybe try something new or maybe just what I had this time.  Either way I am looking forward to returning.

 

Mt. Everest Cafe  

 

website: http://mteverestcafe.com/

Address: 1113 W Drake Rd, Fort Collins, CO 80526

Music City Hot Chicken– Fort Collins Colorado

June 30, 2016

I’ve always really enjoyed fried chicken but there was never anywhere to get it in Northern Colorado besides fast food places like Raising Cane’s which has good chicken fingers, but it’s just not the same and KFC which is just KFC. So when I heard this place was opening, I knew for sure I had to try it out.

 

I met a friend here for lunch around 12:30 and the place was still mostly full. You order at the counter right inside the door next to the bar. We moved over to the side and let a few others pass us because I wanted to take a bit of time looking at the menu on the wall. While looking at the menu my friend mentioned that the hot version is actually quite hot, but I figured I’d take my chances. I then ordered the leg quarter combo ($9) which came with one side and sauce and a choice of heat level. I picked French fries and ranch dressing for the sauce and chose to go with the hot version. I also added a fountain drink ($1 50) all prices here include tax. My friend ordered the Hot chicken sandwich ($8.50) So we paid and took our drink cups and our numbers and we found a table. We chatted for a while and soon enough our food came out.

I had a problem with my camera so I used my phone, so it’s not a very good picture.

 

 

The chicken was excellent; perfectly cooked, crispy and really not as greasy as some fried chicken. There was a dry seasoning on the chicken which was definitely hot, but also had some kind of different taste than I think I’ve ever had and it was a tad sweet. This was about as hot as I like to go comfortably, and it definitely got my nose running. My friend said he thought it wasn’t as hot as it was when he was there previously. On top of the chicken were three pickles which I thought were perfect to go with the hot chicken. My fries were kind of different and I wouldn’t even exactly call them fries. They were kind of thick and round and a bit curled but whatever you would call them they were very good and were good dipped in the ranch dressing.

 

Music City Hot Chicken is just what Fort Collins and Northern Colorado needed.  After one trip I can’t wait to return soon to try another version of their chicken maybe the southern kind or the green chili and hopefully I’ll be able to get some better pictures.

 

 

 

  

Music City Hot Chicken

http://mchcco.com/

 111 W. Prospect Rd
Fort Collins, Co 80525   

  

 

What’s for Lunch: Chili House - Fort Collins Colorado

6/14/2016

I met a couple of friends for lunch on this day, I visited Chili House a couple of years ago which you can read about here. 

Today I decided to try something new, so I tried the Black Pepper sauce with chicken.  I thought this was pretty good although not the greatest Asian food I've had. 

This came with soup and steamed or fried rice, I choose egg drop and fried rice. The lunch combos also come with a egg roll.  Other dishes that were ordered were red curry and also pad Thai.


Address: 4200 S College Ave #110, Fort Collins, CO 80525

What’s for Lunch Stuft A Burger Bar - Windsor, CO

May 12, 2016

I visited Stuft Burger Bar in Windsor once again this time with a group including the godfather and had another very good build your own burger.

 

 

 This time I did a 1/3 pound burger with a brioche bun, smoked cheddar, caramelized onions, guacamole and lettuce, tomatoes and pickles. I also thousand island as my sauce, but I didn't put it on the burger.  Along with my burger I had the fried onion strings, these were good, but a bit hard to eat especially the little pieces.

address: 1294 Main St. Windsor, CO

 phone: (970) 674-5037 

 Hours: Open 11am - 10pm Daily  

Coyote's Southwestern Grill – Greeley Colorado

March 20, 2016

Somehow I figured out how to stretch my birthday into five birthday meals and this was the fifth and final one. This time I went out with the godfather and his son Matt and grandson Cole. We met at about 11:30 AM and when we entered we were seated immediately and they told them that we were celebrating my birthday. After we were seated they brought chips and salsa and we got an extra set to make it easier. Also we had our drinks orders taken I ordered a Pepsi and I’m not sure what everyone else got. Then we had time to check out the menu and catch up and also eat the chips and salsa.

 

This was identical to what you get at the Palomino restaurants which I guess they are somehow related to coyotes. I thought the salsa was pretty decent, but I didn’t think the chips were all that great. I narrowed my choice down to a few choices and when our waitress eventually returned I ordered the chicken chimichanga with guacamole because I’ve been on a guacamole kick recently. The godfather ordered the lobster mac & cheese and Matt ordered the chicken tacos with corn tortillas which the waitress recommended. The lobster mac & cheese and chicken tacos were two of our waitress’s favorite items.

 

And Cole got the chicken strips from the kids menu. After we had a while to talk some more our food arrived.

 

The godfather seemed to very much enjoy his lobster mac and cheese, but didn’t want his jalapeno cornbread so Matt and I both tried some of it and neither of us liked it very much.

 

 

It also seemed like Matt enjoyed his tacos.

 

 

I really didn’t know if a chimichanga here would be any good, but I was pleasantly surprised and I was very happy with it. Everything about it was good; the tortilla, the filling with chicken, cheese, green chilies and onions and the green chili on top. The rice on the side was okay and I really liked the black beans.

 

Just as we were finishing up some of the staff with my dessert came out singing happy birthday. They also asked Matt about ice cream for Cole which comes with the kids meals. My dessert was a slice of ice cream cake. This was kind of like a Dairy Queen cake but definitely better and Cole got a little ice cream sundae. 

 

Cole and I enjoyed our desserts and that was that. I had another successful birthday lunch at Coyotes. After we chatted for a bit longer we were off and I still had part of a chimichanga for later.

 

Website   http://www.coyotesgreeley.com/index.html

Address: 5250 W 9th St Dr, Greeley, CO 80634

 

 

Chili Thai II– Windsor Colorado

February 8, 2016

Mom and I stopped in for a quick lunch on the Chinese New Year. We arrived just after noon and the place was not too full. We were seated quickly and menus were brought to our table. After a bit they came to take our drink orders I ordered a Pepsi and mom just had a water. Once our waitress was back mom ordered the Kung pao chicken ($7.25) which came with an egg roll and a cheese wonton choice of rice and choice of soup. Mom had the fried rice and egg drop soup. This time I decided to try the Szechuan Chicken ($7.25) with fried rice and hot and sour soup. I’d been here before and tried the egg drop soup and wasn’t too excited about it so I thought it try a different kind this time.

 

Shortly after this the soups arrived along with fried crunchy wontons. The soup was all right not the greatest, but I think I did like it more than the egg drop had the previous time. This hot sour soup had tofu and bamboo in it along with some red pepper flakes here and there. Before we were even done with our soups our entrées arrived on plastic trays. Once I finished my soup I started into my entrée.

 

This Szechuan Chicken had a spicy sauce with plenty of vegetables and plenty of sauce actually there was a pile of it underneath. This tasted quite good and the chicken was pretty good quality chicken and I liked all the vegetables except for maybe the red and green peppers but they were all right. The fried rice was pretty good just fried rice with egg no other vegetables or anything, but pretty good. I also like that they give you a wonton and an egg roll. There was also a squeeze bottle of sweet-and-sour sauce on the table. The wonton was good and the egg roll I thought was a very good egg roll. After I ate just about all I could eat I asked for a box. We went up to the counter and paid and were on our way. Usually you get dry rice with your leftover Chinese food, but when I ate my leftovers the next day there was so much sauce left underneath that I definitely did not have that problem.

 

Chili Thai II

http://chilithaiwindsor.com/index.php

Address: 1215 Main St, Windsor, CO 80550

 

Nordy’s BBQ – Loveland CO

2/20/2016

 For my birthday lunch this year with the godfather, I picked Nordy’s BBQ.  I have been to Nordy’s several times, but just have never gotten around to writing a review.  When we entered the restaurant at around 11:30 we were greeted right away and the godfather told them it was my birthday and asked if I get to pick a dessert, they said it’s usually a cookie with ice-cream. I’m not the biggest dessert guy but a free dessert is always nice.  So we were seated and pretty soon I ordered a pepsi and the godfather a water and then we had time to look over the menu, I had been looking at the menu all week online so I pretty much knew what I wanted, but I checked out the menu again anyways.  I did think about trying something different than I’ve had before like the brisket, but in the end I ordered the Carolina pork platter with Aunt Judy’s beans and fried okra as my two sides.  Somewhere along the line the godfather asked if the baked beans were any good, I said they were very good. The godfather ordered the smoked sausage with Aunt Judy’s beans and mac and cheese.  These platters also came with a cornbread muffin along with pickles, onions and jalapenos on the side.  After we ordered we had time to chat about sports, food and travel among other things.  But shortly thereafter our platters arrived.  

 

My pork was excellent, tender, moist and falling apart.  On the table were their 5 barbeque sauces Kansas City, Texas, Carolina mustard, Colorado wild fire and jalapeno.  And although the pork didn’t need any sauce I always like places with multiple sauces and like trying them all.  Here my favorites are the jalapeno and the Carolina mustard sauces, but they are all good.  I told the godfather that the mustard sauce was one of my favorites, so he tried it and he liked it so much that’s the only kind he used.  My sides the Aunt Judy’s beans were amazing, with plenty of meat and I think are the best beans I’ve had at any barbecue place I’ve been anywhere.  And the fried okra was alright but not too exciting.  I don’t usually like cornbread too much, but I figured I should try it and it was actually pretty good so I ate the whole muffin. 

 

The godfather very much enjoyed his smoked sausage and sides especially the Aunt Judy’s beans, which he couldn’t believe how good they were. 

  

When we were finishing up part of the staff came out singing happy birthday and delivered my free birthday dessert and as promised it was a chocolate chip cookie topped with ice-cream.  This was quite good and a perfect way to end my birthday lunch. Nordy’s has some excellent barbecue. I have had better barbecue in a few places like in Texas but not around here I haven’t.                          

  

Nordy's BBQ

Address: 4360 St Cloud Dr, Loveland, CO 80538 

Pizza Ranch Loveland Colorado

January 13, 2016

My family and I decided to visit Pizza Ranch for dinner.  Once we entered we went up to the counter and we all ordered a buffet for 9.79 and a drink for a 1.79. At Pizza Ranch they have nights for organizations to help out and get tips and part of the sales for donated to their organization. This night was a youth hockey team with the kids from the team always there to take your used plates away and get you refills on your drinks which was very nice. The salad bar was decent although it wasn’t all that big, but enough to get a pretty good salad. The potato soup I didn’t think was all that good, but it was nice and hot on a cold night.

 

The fried chicken was excellent a bit greasy but perfectly crispy and delicious. The only thing else I got off the hot food buffet was just the mashed potatoes and gravy which were good. I also tried a variety of different pizzas there was a Tuscan one that I liked and the buffalo chicken pizza was all right but overall the pizza was just okay. I didn’t make it into the desert bar. This was my second visit to Pizza Ranch and I always eat too much and neither time did I make it to the desert bar. Although the blueberry pizza looked awfully good. This place might be called Pizza Ranch, but I think their strong point is their fried chicken which I would definitely return for, but I’m not so sure if I would just for their pizza.

 

 

 

 

 

Address: 3451 Mountain Lion Dr, Loveland, CO 80537

 

Phone:(970) 619-8787

 

Website: http://www.pizzaranch.com/menus/Loveland

 

 

Dickey's Barbecue Pit - Fort Collins Colorado

January 12, 2016


A friend and I met up for lunch around 12:30. We were greeted immediately then went up to the rather high counter and checked out the menu. My friend decided to get the rib plate with waffle fries and another side which I don’t remember what it was. I ordered the one meat plate ($11) with chopped brisket along with the jalapeno beans and fried okra for my sides. We continued down the counter to where you pay and we both paid for our meals and drinks and were told the waffle fries and okra would be out soon. By the time we filled our drinks and got barbecue sauce our fries and okra arrived.

The plates were completed with a roll and some pickles and onions. I thought the brisket was all right but not the greatest although after going to Texas and having brisket down there I’m rather spoiled. The jalapeno beans were pretty good and the fried okra was just excellent and the best around here. It was perfectly crispy and plenty salty. My friend seemed to enjoy his plate very much. I think Dickey's Barbecue Pit does decent barbecue and pretty good for around here.  I still think you can get better barbecue even around here unless you just want fried okra and then definitely go here.

2721 S College Ave, Fort Collins, CO 80525