Pizza and Brew With A View

Backcountry Pizza
20 East Lake View Dr. #212
Nederland, CO 80466




You know what they say about real estate;  it's all about location, location, location.

And you'd be hard-pressed to find pizza with a better view than what I found at Backcountry Pizza.

Tucked away on the second floor of a quasi-strip mall in the scenic Rocky Mountain town of Nederland, CO, Backcountry Pizza is an unexpected gem.

The mountain towns in Colorado are like visiting a different country. The culture is foreign. The pace of life is slower. And for some people living there, being "high" is a lifestyle. There are at least two pot dispensaries in this town with a population of just over 1,400 people.

Nederland is home to the Frozen Dead Guy Festival, in which they celebrate some guy who had himself cryogenically frozen and, at his request, had his frozen body brought up to the town of Nederland.

It seems with the dying off of the mining industry in Colorado that many of these mountain towns are quite economically depressed. I don't know if I should blame the unions, NAFTA, the EPA, or perhaps all of the above.

In any case, the people of Nederland, and other mountain towns, are rugged. You'd have to be to live above 8,000 ft, with harsh winters far from civilization.

After a full morning of snowshoeing just outside of Nederland, we were quite hungry, so we meandered our way into Nederland.

Having been there previously, I had a pretty good lay of the land. Wanting to try something new we found our way to Backcountry Pizza.

As soon as we walked through the door, our noses told us we were at the right place. Thankfully, a table opened up just as we walked in, as the place was pretty well packed.

The place smelled amazing, and after seeing the pizza, we couldn't help but be excited for the deliciousness to come. Of course, being that this is in Colorado, they had a decent selection of craft beers on tap.

I ordered a Gilpin Black Gold Porter from Hogshead Brewing in Denver, CO. After a nice morning of snowshoeing, a dark malty beer is exactly what I had in mind.

After looking over the menu, we decided to go with an order of chicken tenders and The Works Pizza, complete with ground sausage and beef, mushrooms, banana peppers, feta and mozzarella cheeses. It usually comes with olives, but considering that olives are a communist plot to ruin pizza, we had those deleted.

The chicken tenders came out first, and they far exceeded our expectations. Here we thought we were just ordering the standard run of the mill pizza joint chicken tenders. Not the case. These were hand-breaded and served with a house-made BBQ sauce. So good...

Then came the pizza. I'm not sure what measuring system they were using, but supposedly we ordered a 16" pizza. Maybe they meant 16" radius, instead of circumference. This pizza was massive.

And delicious. And we'll be eating it as leftovers for the next couple days. Everything about this pizza was great. The crust was perfect.

If you ever find your way out to Nederland, CO for some snowshoeing or for the Dead Guy Festival, I highly recommend checking out Backcountry Pizza. Good pizza and brew with a view.

Rating: Bought the Shirt!

Craft Beer and Gourmet Food In An Airport!?!?!

Root Down
Denver International Airport
C Concourse
Denver, CO





Airport food is usually just so disappointing…

I mean, only in an airport can you be served sub-par fast food, pay twice for it, all just minutes after getting groped by a government agent.

Fast food is already not the greatest experience when you get it not at the airport, but at least you aren’t paying an arm and a leg for a sub-par version of the same thing.

And let’s be serious, that is really the only option that most travelers have, as we are usually running for our lives to get to our gate.

But there are those rare instances where that half hour delay on your flight actually becomes at a blessing, as it allows you to slow down and explore some of the more interesting options at the airport.

Very rarely has this happened to me.

But, alas, it did happen for me and at a convenient time, and it turned out well.

Situated in the “C” concourse at Denver International Airport, Root Down provides weary travelers comfortable seating, delicious food, and a decent craft beer selection.

I must say, though, it is a little intimidating at first glance. All the “cool” people hanging out and waiting for a seat, while disco music is blaring in the background, it makes one wonder if he is about to walk into an airport restaurant or a dance club.

Once past the façade, though, it is actually quite a cozy place. And once I noticed that they had my favorite beer from O’Dell Brewing, a Chocolate Milk Stout called “Lugene”, on tap, I wasn't going anywhere else.

As is common with most airport restaurants, the menu was small, but provided a decent variety of options, while also providing their own take on the classic.

I went with the half pound burger, complete with bacon, sriracha mayo, and a pretzel bun. It also came with a side of sweet potato waffle fries, along with two dipping sauces.

The burger was absolutely delicious and actually paired well with the Chocolate Milk Stout. Of course, I would probably drink Lugene with any dish, but that is beside the point…

The sweet potato fries were good as well, but what really made the fries were the dipping sauces.  One sauce was called “Elevated ketchup.” I’m not really sure what that means, but that stuff was like candy. It had a pumpkin spice flavor to it that went very well with the sweet potato taste. The other dipping sauce was like a mustard and curry combination, or something like that. It was good as well, but the Elevated ketchup won the day.

Overall, this was a great experience. Of course, it cost an arm and a leg, but that’s airport food. At least it was money well spent on a good meal, rather than paying twice as much at a fast food joint serving death on a bun.

Rating: Seriously Thought About Buying Shirt.

Rocky Mountain High

Poppy's Pizza and Grill
342 E. Elkhorn Ave.
Estes Park, CO 80517





If you would have asked me six months ago if I ever would have considered living in Colorado, or that I would ever end up living in Colorado, the answer probably would have been a resounding "No".

But, alas, here I am, living in a fourth state in three years.

Duty calls, and here I am fighting on yet another front against the rising tide of socialism. But this time, there are mountains in my backyard.

Anyway, enough about me. Let's get to the reason why we are here and that is to discuss good beer and good food.

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, Mrs. Suit317 and I decided to go wander into the Rocky Mountains to see what we could find.

We found ourselves in Estes Park, which is the gateway to the Rocky Mountain National Park, so naturally it has a certain "tourist-y" feel to it. After spending some time at the National Park and popping in and out of local stores, we took the recommendation of a local store owner to check out Poppy's Pizza and Grill.

What attracted us to Poppy's was the promise of gourmet pizza and burgers, as well as an excellent beer menu.

Before deciding on our main dishes, I ordered an Autumn Maple Brown Ale from The Bruery, which is a brewery out of California. This beer is delicious. It is a mix between a fall pumpkin beer and a Belgian. Easily one of my favorite beers.

Mrs. Suit317 decided to go with the special, which was a smothered burrito, which had a mixture of house-made chorizo and beef. I went with something a little more unique: the Rocky Mountain Pizza.

Now, before you get any crazy ideas, no, this was not a pizza with Rocky Mountain Oysters or anything else strange like that.

The Rocky Mountain Pizza consisted of a Garlic and Olive Oil Sauce, topped with Smoked Trout, Capers, Cream Cheese, and Red Onion.

This pizza was delicious. I don't think I have ever had fish on a pizza before, and I wasn't quite sure how it would turn out, but it was great. I made the right decision.

I did have the chance to sample Mrs. Suit317's burrito, and it was quite delicious as well.

If you ever find yourself in Estes Park, Colorado, I highly recommend you check out Poppy's. The food is great, the prices are outstanding, and there is nothing better than supporting a locally owned restaurant.

Rating: Bought the Shirt!

Emigrating from the People’s Republic of Boulder

Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery
1535 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO




What the hell is Suit757 doing in Boulder, Colorado -- the most leftist city in the country?

Except, it’s not, really -- because I don’t consider Boulder to be part of America.

That’s the life I live.

Tuesday I’m in Fort Worth, Texas, home of cattle, oil barons and the world’s largest honky tonk, Billy Bob’s Texas. Where liberty reigns and men are still men.

Wednesday I’m in Boulder, where eco-freaks reign and the women are still men -- and don’t shave their armpits.

Trust me. If it’s hot chicks you are after, go to Atlanta, Dallas, L.A. or Oxford, Mississippi.

But do NOT come to Boulder.

My eyes are still bleeding from the painful aesthetics.

But that hip leftist lifestyle goes far beyond a stubborn rejection of mascara and Daisy razors.

Being a true blue leftist requires a fanatical devotion to every form of diversity -- except diversity of abilities.

You see, it is just not fair for some people to be better than others.

Clearly, any diversity in outcomes must be a product of America’s capitalist, oppressive, racist biases.

This philosophy is on full display at Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery, where every employee does every job in the restaurant.

Every waiter is also a busboy, hostess, brewer, cook and toilet scrubber (I hope they wash their hands frequently). And all the employees pool their tips at the end of the night to be distributed equally.

How egalitarian.

It certainly wouldn’t be fair if one exceptionally good waiter received bigger tips than the rest of the staff.

Talk about not facing up to the facts of human reality.

I’m pretty sure this experiment in leftist utopia would fall apart in the real world, as soon as one good waiter got tired of handing over his hard earned tips to his slacker colleague.

Eventually, Atlas will shrug.

But it seems to work fine here in Boulder where everyone cheerfully buys into the Communist Manifesto.

From the moment I walked in the front door until I made my way to the bar in the back of the packed dining room, at least four different members of the Mountain Sun staff offered to put my name on the wait list and serve me a beer.

Within moments, eager employees were pushing free samples of their fresh brewed beer into my grateful hands. Each one enthusiastically described their various homemade brews while dashing back and forth across the dining room.

“Go with the F.Y.I.P.A.”, one particularly cheerful employee advised when I mentioned I like hoppy brews.

Good call. Hoppy, but not overpowering, the F.Y.I.P.A. had a nice sweet flavor.

I had barely taken a sip when yet another young lady led me to my table. She helpfully described the various culinary concoctions on the menu. Just when I was about to give her my food order, Mr. F.Y.I.P.A. appeared tableside and announced he would be my waiter.

I was so confused. I had only been in Mountain Sun Pub for five minutes and I had already interacted with the entire staff. A bit overwhelming for an introvert like Suit757.

Going for one of Mountain Sun’s gourmet burgers was tempting. But that would mean four nights in a row of burger consumption.

Maybe a bit much, even for Suit757.

So I opted for my dead cow in a slighted altered configuration -- the Speakeasy Steak Sandwich accompanied by top notch hand cut French fries.

Thin sliced marinated beef was tender as butter and smothered in camelized onions and melted mozzarella cheese. Horseradish and garlic mayo and giardiniera provided just a hint of spicy kick to keep my attention -- and keep the high alcohol beer flowing into my bloodstream.

The only downside to my delicious hoppy F.Y.I.P.A. was, where do I go from here?

My waiter brought out several samples of their other high potency concoctions. But none of them lived up to the hoppiest beer on the beer menu.

Then I noticed the term “nitro” listed next to a few select beers on the list.

Yes. Mountain Sun nitrogenates, rather than carbonates, several of their beers.

Anyone who has ever won a beer chugging contest knows that nitrogenated brews like Guinness go down much smoother than their carbonated brethren.

But most nitro beers tend to be mild and bland like stouts and cream ales.

Just the thought of trying a hoppy beer like Mountain Sun’s XXX Pale Ale on nitro was enough to get me excited.

Sure enough, it looked like a work of art.

A thick foamy head white as Boulder’s famous snow capped peaks on top of a golden body of hoppy deliciousness, this was one of the greatest beers that has ever graced Suit757’s liver.

Without the distraction of carbonation, the full flavor of the XXX shined through. And smooth as a baby’s bottom, this 7.5% alcohol beer slid down easy.

Real easy.

Two beers in (and so many free sample that I lost count), I was thanking myself for making the decision to walk, rather than drive, the one mile from my Room 255 at the Best Western.

Which made my next decision that much easier.

When asked, I said, “Hell, yeah”, to one more beer.

My night capper of Dropkick American Stout was well named. 6.5% alcohol, this was one manly black stout.

My head was spinning by the time my waiter brought the check and informed me they don’t take credit cards.

How fashionably anti-capitalist.

I may have been in an altered state of mind after so much high octane craft beer, but I still wasn’t buying into Mountain Sun’s collectivist vibe.

However there was no questioning the top notch service and enthusiasm displayed by the Mountain Sun staff.

But how can the good vibes thrive in the long run as long as individual initiative and achievement is squelched?

Just as I was peeling off the twenties to pay for my evening of fun, I noticed a few cracks in the Communist façade.

My chipper waiter was exchanging his contact information with the customers.

“Boulder is great, but I need to get out of here,” he said. “I’m looking for a job in finance in Washington DC. I’d really appreciate it if you could put in a good word for me.”

And you know what? That’s the beauty of the free market.

Everyone -- even liberals -- eventually gets tired of scrubbing toilets and want to be recognized for their individual abilities.

But you are going to have to leave Boulder for that.

Welcome to America, my friend.

Rating: Bought the Shirt!

Conway’s Red Top Won’t Leave You Hungry

Conway’s Red Top
1520 S. Nevada Ave.
Colorado Springs, CO



I love burgers.

As if you haven’t figured that out by now.

What other food item offers such diversity of goodness?

Thick, thin. Single, double, triple.

And then you can get into all the cool and crazy toppings.

Bacon. Ham. Fried Eggs. Pineapple. BBQ sauce. Onion rings.

All of the above.

But today, I uncharacteristically tried to keep it simple.

Forgoing all the other exotic combinations, I ordered the cheeseburger with lettuce, onion and tomato.

Conway’s Red Top has been world famous for decades for its delicious burgers. I just wanted to check out the real thing. The original. Just as Mr. Conway intended when he bought this place in 1944.

Conway’s Red Top isn’t going to get any points for quaint atmosphere. A non-descript place by the side of a busy road just south of downtown Colorado Springs, this place puts all its effort into the food.

The first thing you notice about Conway’s burger is the size.

This thing looks enormous sitting on its little plate beside a pile of onion rings and French fries.

Half a foot in diameter, it takes two hands to lift it off the plate.

But after that first bite, I knew this burger was about more than just quantity.

This monstrosity just might be burger perfection.

Thick fancy burgers get all the fame and chicks, but Conway’s proves that good quality thin patties can be just as good. If not better.

It’s all about texture.

Conway’s Red Top grills its buns to a toasty crispness which in combination with the soft juicy burger, melty American cheese and crunch of lettuce and onions, conspires to make each bite a little piece of hamburger heaven.

And thanks to the fact that it is as big as a small pizza, there is no way this thin burger is going to leave you hungry.

Especially with all those onion rings and French fries, known as “frings” on Conway’s menu.

Actually, the onion rings were fairly ordinary. The skin-on fresh fries were better.

Note for next time: skip the “frings” and just stick to the fries.

Or better yet – order two burgers.

Rating: Seriously Thought About Buying Shirt.

An Oasis of Liberty -- In an Airport?

Smoking Lounge
Denver International Airport
Denver, Colorado.

When I first started traveling the country eight years ago, you could smoke in bars and restaurants virtually everywhere -- even in the most liberal of areas.

Seattle, Washington.  Washington, D.C.  Minneapolis, Minnesota.

At that point, only California and New York City had decided that restaurant owners should have the freedom to decide who does what on their property stripped from them.

After that, the anti-smoking movement spread like tobacco fire as Christian nanny-staters and left-wing jackboots joined forces to tighten their straitjacket on American citizens even tighter.

Today, you can barely smoke anywhere.

A someone who now enjoys a cigarette only on a very rare occasion, Suit69 isn't personally affected much -- but the affront on property rights is still worse than irritating.

So when I rolled up in the Denver Airport with two hours to kill before my connection, the last thing I was expecting was a bar where you could still enjoy a torch of liberty.

Isn't this Denver?

Where our esteemed national leader Barack Obama gave his Democrat nomination acceptance speech?

And in an airport too?

Aren't airports the same places where American citizens are herded like docile, government-school bred cattle through porno scanners and forced to take off their clothes while our heroes in TSA agents collect their fat government checks for all their "hard work?"

Sure it is.

But at least in Denver you can enjoy a smoke after being violated.

The truth is, there's not much special about the Smoking Lounge other than it's in an airport.

Their menu is airport lame.  3-4 different choices for way too much money.

The special when I went there was "sausage."  I'm pretty sure it's sausage on a bun with peppers and stuff, but it just said "sausage."

The beer selection was equally lame.  A few different domestic American puke beers.

But they had Fat Tire.  And Suit69 really likes Fat Tire.

I had 1-2 during the 2 hours waiting on my flight.  Or maybe it was 3-4.  Or maybe eleven.

And then I got on my FIRST CLASS flight and drank even more.

But the experience was made even better with the fact I could enjoy a half a pack of cigarettes while I drank a beer and watched ESPN.

Almost like this was America or something.

Rating:  Would Wear the Shirt if it Were Free

Discovering a Mexican Diamond in the Suburban Rough

La Fogata
8090 E. Qunicy Ave.
Denver, CO
Visited August 10, 2010

Beer selection: Typical domestic and Mexican imports

Food: Better than expected Mexican dishes

Sometimes, finding a good place to eat isn’t that hard.

Look around at the folks eating there.

Typically, among the people dining at a really good Mexican restaurant will be, well, Mexicans.

Of course if you are the only gringo in the joint, that could be a good sign. (Or it could be a bad sign.)

So by those criteria, La Fogata wasn’t off to a good start.

A tidy little place with a well-flowered outdoor patio near the intersection of I-25 and I-225, this suburban cantina is as about white bread and yuppified as any Mexican restaurant since the Chi-Chi’s chain went out of business.

The only Mexicans at La Fogata were the ones cooking and serving the food.

But what do you expect in what is the vast soulless suburban hell that is south Denver?

As it turns out, you can expect some darn good authentic Mexican food.

My low expectations were exceeded right from the moment I dipped the first chip into La Fogota’s homemade salsa. Too many Mexican restaurants serve up a bland, tomatoey nothing-there kind of salsa.

Not La Fogata.

Their dark, maroon-colored salsa jumps right off the chip and says hello – a vibrant earthy burst of flavor and spice.

It turns out the salsa was a premonition of even better things to come.

My “Toquitos de Carne Adobada” were absolutely delicious, reminiscent of similar marinated pork dishes served up in Santa Fe, though not as spicy. The fork tender pork was smothered in Chorizo sausage-based bright red zesty sauce, with an extra helping of red sauce on the side to pour over the top.

Accompanied by grilled onions, lime wedges, tomatoes and a guacamole salad, it was one of the best Mexican dishes I’ve had in a while.

After I polished off my meal, my only regret was that I couldn’t sit there all afternoon plowing through every dish on the menu, complimented with an endless stream of Negra Modelas.

Alas, the jack-booted bureaucrats at Denver International Airport were waiting for me to justify their pathetic existence.

But I left with something valuable – a reason to look forward to a return trip to the strip malls and cul-de-sacs of south Denver.

Rating: Seriously Thought About Buying Shirt