Wingin It

Located in a strip mall in NW Loveland near the DMV, Wing Shack is another local success story. Started in 2004 in Garden City (near Greeley) in an actual shack, it has grown to 6 locations today. Not a ton of ambience here: the requisite sticky floor, and some video games. But, they care about the food. Now I am not a wing nut, but they are in my family, and they say this place is good. They have a ton of homemade sauces to choose from, and even some dry rubs. Only fresh, never-frozen wings served here. Monday's are still 50-cent wing night.

It was not too long ago that most restaurants would toss the wings out with the trash: just mostly bones, anyway, not much meat. That changed when some inventive chefs started deep frying them just right, and adding some hot sauce. Soon they became a nice appetizer. Then only for sporting events (hard to buy wings right before the Super Bowl). Today they are the main course at places like this one. So, I guess I just don't get it. They are still mostly selling you sauced, fried bones. Eating them is messy and takes some work, with little gain. I'd be OK going back to the old days where the wings just ended up in the trash. But, one man's trash is another's treasure, I guess.

No Horse Meat Here

The Palomino is a newish, local Tex Mex place near the Budweiser, technically in NE Loveland, but darn near being in Windsor or in FoCo. Up above we have their chili relleno (stuffed peppers) plate. Everything tasted good here. We'll be back. One of two locations, the first one is in Greeley / Evans.

If You Have to Translate the Sign, It's Gotta Be Good

The "Authentic Tortilleria and Bakery" is the anglicized name for this quaint but fun hole-in-the wall venue in Downtown Loveland, near the Library on 4th. Cheapest, most authentic burritos in NoCo, at $3. These really are burr-itos, that is, small (-ito, as one of the Spanish diminutives). Those other places should really call them burros, because eating donkey-sized wraps is not easy, and nothing about them is -ito. Up above is a breakfast burr-ito with eggs and chorizo (Sp. sausage). Nap after not required, but delicious. Do not expect a ton of ambiance here. This place is more grocery than restaurant, so you will probably have to eat outside on a picnic table right near your car.

Be "Delite"d

Dairy Delite is that small-town ice cream stand you've been looking for. Located on the west side of Loveland on US-34, it has been around since 1978. Be sure to come by when it's warm out -- they close seasonally during November - March. They are known for their soft-serve creations, such as the hot fudge sundae above, which they call a Peanut Parfait. But they also serve food: their Chicago Dog is wrapped in foil, above. The owners moved to NoCo from Chicago, so they should know what a Chicago Dog is. It is a hot dog served with a salad inside: lots of yummy veggies with a dash of seasoning -- maybe it's celery salt. A "Delite"ful visit.

Gotta Be Illegal

Does OldTown FoCo have room for yet another burrito bistro? Looks like the answer is: Yes. Illegal Pete's is another CO startup from Boulder, which began in 1995, and now has 9 locations. This one is on Walnut right behind the Wright Life sports store.

Up above we have a steak and potato smothered burrito with a side of chips and queso. IP gets strong points for ambience: a fun space for the college students to gather, visit, listen to music, and hang out upstairs or on the rooftop patio.
But, it has been a while since I was in college, and to me the food is just OK, and kinda pricey. So look for me at Matador (not the new Mall one) instead.

Moon Man

Here's another strip-mall stir-fry place in W. Loveland, by the Safeway near Wilson. It's called Main Moon, and is the cousin to the similar place in S.E. FoCo called China Wok. They used to be co-owned, but split up about 10 years ago. Up above we have Hunan Beef with their hot & sour soup. Cheap, plentiful, freshly stir-fried & tasty eats for about $7. This place does a lot of delivery / carry out business, so the ambience is low, with a small dining area and disposable dishes and silverware. I have noticed that at the Loveland version, you need to ask for extra heat / spice. Not so in FoCo. This may be a reflection of Loveland's reputation for an older, retired population with apparently more sensitive palates.

It's an Old Stove, Not What you Look Like if you Eat Here

This place just opened right across from HP on East Harmony: Potbelly Sandwich Shop. This is a big chain with over 400 locations, with 10 now in CO. They are also planning another location in Old Town FoCo soon. This location is not a franchise, but directly owned by the parent (publicly traded) corporation.

This eatery got its start in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. Owners of an antique store decided to start serving sandwiches as a side business in 1977. The food soon outsold the old junk, but the antique stove still remains as their logo. Still a revered institution back in Chicago, I hear.

Up above we have a custom roast beef "biggie" with extra meat, cheese, hot peppers (a must), mayo, oil, and spices. Pretty good stuff, but not cheap with the extras. Kinda reminds me of Quiznos: everything gets toasted, served nice and hot.

Get here early for lunch: like most new places, the FoCo locals are coming out -- the line can be long.

What's Behind Door # 222?

You'll be surprised to find the swanky Door 222 in downtown Loveland. You'd think you were in FoCo's trendy Old Town for a meal, but I am really glad they came to Loveland, instead. This place is very gourmet, with a seasonal menu, with lots of words on it that you probably do not understand. The ambience is awesome -- the interior is created from recycled parts of old buildings and cars, and they are proud of this "green" approach to their dining room. Large windows front the 4th Street sidewalk: try to score a window seat for some people watching.

But, it's really about the food. I am not usually in for fancy-schmancy, fru-fru food. I usually tend towards simpler offerings and places. BUT, everything here just tastes wonderful. The flavor combinations are inventive and unique -- pretty much each menu item is an adventure for your palate. So now one of my favorite places to eat in Loveland.

They used to be called Next Door, but they were unfortunately sued by a Boulder restaurant for names and logos too close to theirs. The new name, since 2015, is Door 222, which refers to their address, #222 E. 4th Street. The previous name indicates that they are located Next Door to a restored arts/concert locale, the Rialto Theater, in Loveland.

Up above we have their lunch special: two tapas and a salad. This is the first place I've ever had tapas, which is Spanish for appetizer. Literately means a cookware lid or pan top. Anyway, folks call it tapas when you eat just appetizers for a meal. Up above we have cheese-stuffed, bacon-wrapped peppers, mac & cheese with pulled pork, and a spinach salad. Hard to describe the flavor explosions in there, you will just have to go there and try these for yourself. Open a new Door, you will not regret it.

Wok This Way

Here's the China Wok, serving cheap, plentiful, fresh, hot Chinese food in SE FoCo. It's located near Safeway on E. Harmony. DO NOT go here for ambience -- note the absence of fine china in the photo. This place is really mostly set up for take-out and deliveries. There are only a few tables, and it looks like a recycled retail dry cleaner's counter. Consider take-out or delivery on cold days: the door is right there next to you and every customer enters with a cold breeze. You serve yourself water from the fridge in a styrofoam cup.

Do take a wok on the wild side, however, if you want a fresh (you can watch the cook stir fry your meal from your seat) Chinese lunch, in a hurry, for not a lot of cash. You get a choice of soup and a lunch entree (Hunan Beef above) for about 7 bucks. Hard to beat that deal anywhere in FoCo, and the portions are generous. Yes, it's a hole in the wall, but the food and the prices will bring you back.

π Day, Every Day

The lunch bunch celebrated Pi Day, which is 3/14, by eating pie. One of the best places to do that in NoCo is the Village Inn, with 17+ varieties of the round pastries to choose from. Up above we have their Key Lime pie with breakfast for lunch -- a spinach and bacon omelette with a side of hash. Yes, your grandmother likes to eat here. Kinda like an old school diner. But I enjoyed it.

The Inn is another CO success story. Started in Denver in 1958, today they have over 200 locations in 20 states. That means wherever you are, a VI is probably a short radius away from your location. They will certainly add to your tummy's circumference. So how do they do it?

Well, "it takes a village".

C.B. is Yer Handle, Come Back?

Another local success story is C.B.& Potts, started in FoCo in 1974 as a "Deluxe Tavern", now with 10 locations in CO. Above is their take on a Cuban with a side salad. Good stuff, great atmosphere, kinda pricey. They are (or were?) part of the hot microbrewery scene in FoCo. They have 2 great locations currently in FoCo, one on the city's Collindale Golf Course and another as part of the new Foothills Mall. The original location near the CSU campus will soon be new student housing, part of the shifting real estate issues around town. What a great idea to partner with a local restaurant to be resident on a local city course! Much better than most public golf course food -- usually a soggy hot dog and some stale chips.

Karl IS Crazy

Here's a new place off Drake and Timberline, called Krazy Karl's Pizza.  This location is new, opened up last month, their first expansion from the 2010 original, a very popular site near the CSU campus.  Nice to see another local eatery succeeding.

And I can taste why.  I was was not excited, at first, when the lunch bunch decided to go Italian, but I'll make an exception here.  Above is one their grinders, the Philly version.  Kinda like a calzone, but more like a huge sandwich wrapped in a delicious (pizza) crust.  Almost too much food for lunch, and very cheap at $7.  Starving-student prices and servings, off campus in SE FoCo.  The food here is not exactly fast, but worth the wait. I will be back!

Tom + Chee = Whee

Tried a newish niche restaurant in SE FoCo recently, and their name does not mince words about the menu: Tom+Chee serves 3 kinds of tomato soup and a variety grilled cheese sandwiches. It opened in FoCo in the spring of 2015, (right next to the new pancake place). And therein lies the issue with niche.  Everyone in your lunch bunch has to love the narrow food window, or you may never go there.  That happened, I'd never been, until I ate out alone this day, (which, yes, is kinda sad and lonely, I know.)

That said, they have a fun origin story.  Started in the winter of 2009, the founders provided hot food from a tent at an outdoor Cincinnati ice skating venue.  It grew from there. The Man v. Food Nation TV show picked them up, then Shark Tank also funded them. Now they have about 40 locations, and FoCo is a hot place for new food ideas. 

How's the food?  I like the niche they are in, and on a cold winter's day, this is comfort food for the right customer.  However, most folks can make pretty awesome, simple meals like this easily at home.  Does not really work for me in the warmer months.  Also, kinda pricey, $14 lunch up there.  Perhaps the investors on that show really are sharks, and the prices reflect their toothy chomp on the profits. So I have some doubts about how long this one will last, but glad I got to try it in my neighborhood (during a snowstorm).

Use yer Noodle

Here's another successful franchise born & raised in CO.  Headquartered today in Broomfield, the first one opened in Cherry Creek in 1995.  Now there are over 500 locations, with 61 of those in the home state.

We used to eat here a lot with the lunch bunch when it first arrived in SE FoCo on Timberline.  Over the years, however, the portions got smaller and the prices went up. Harder to get full at lunch without extras here today.  But on a cold day, their chicken noodle soup above does hit the spot.  I do enjoy some of their Asian noodle bowl offerings, the ones that have a bit of a spicy kick.

Another Mc, but Not Donald's

Another chain deli in SE FoCo, McAlister's has about 400 locations, mostly in the south.  It began in 1989 in Mississippi, and is famous for their iced tea. There are 7 sites in CO right now.  Up above is their Blank Angus Club: roast beef, 2 cheeses, bacon, but the red onion with horseradish sauce really makes it yummy.  In the center you can get mashed potatoes with gravy as a side ... mmm, not too many places offer that kind of comfort food for lunch.  Sure, it's from their leftover baked potatoes, but I do not mind. Not my favorite deli in town, but everything tastes good here.

Longhorn Steaks

Longhorn, a new chain steakhouse in Fort Collins next to where Sears used to be, is part of the new Foothills Mall renovation.  The chain started in Atlanta, has about 500 locations today, but only 3 so far in CO.

We like everything we've had here, it all tastes great.  Above we have their Wild West Shrimp appetizer, a kinda spicy popcorn shrimp platter. Below that is their best ribeye, grilled over an open flame.  The stakes arrive with melted butter on top, and a seasoning mix that really works for me.  You do not need any extra steak sauce slathered on here -- great flavor as-is.

They probably should have built a bigger space.  The room is not large, so, usually long lines to get in here.  Not cheap, but delicious.

NoCo is Hot for Food

It is not your imagination.  The NoCo area is known in the faster food industry as a hot spot to start a restaurant, or branch out a growing franchise.  Here's a study from 2013 that shows the combined Fort Collins-Loveland market was #1 per capita for "fast casual" dining locations. So it's true, we get so many new places because we do support the good ones, and companies look to open here.  Trend setters, us, right here all along.  Makes eating out here more fun than most anywhere else.