1. Foam On The Range
Colorado breweries produce more beer by volume than any other state in the union, and Fort Collins is Colorado's top beer producer.
Anheuser-Busch (aka the brewing company responsible for Budweiser, Michelob, Becks, Bass and pretty much every other non-craft beer on the planet—OK that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point)has one of its 12 breweries in Fort Collins. But real beer aficionados know that the local craft breweries are where to go for serious suds.
Odell Brewing Company, Fort Collins Brewery, New Belgium Brewing Company, Pateros Creek Brewing, Equinox Brewing...gotta try 'em all!
2. Fort Collins Is A Hub Of Pub Grub
All those craft brews mean that Fort Collins is also a brew pub paradise.
The original C.B. & Potts CSU location makes great burger mashups like the ham/cheese/bacon/egg Faberge and Cuban sandwich-inspired Ricardo, while Coopersmith's serves up homemade beer bread and ale-simmered wild game sausages.
And then there's Scrumpy's, which specializes in hard cider (14 different varieties on tap), and sometimes even offers—be still, my heart!—an appetizer of candied bacon!
Put all the candied bacon on my plate, right now.
3. Fort Collins Can Also Pop A Cork With The Best Of Them
While hops may be king in Fort Collins, fruits of the vine also get their due at several local wine bars.
d'Vine Bistro not only offers wines poured from the bottle, but also has six wines tapped directly from kegs and a menu full of elegant, yet interesting, entrees such as locally-raised lamb chops in jalapeno mint sauce and molasses-glazed medallions of elk.
Cafe Vino's walk-in cellar boasts 150 varietals, and their menu features nightly specials such as a madeira-sauce duck scallopine or beef tartare topped with a fried quail egg and a large selection of tapas so you can mix 'n' match to your heart’s content.
4. Fort Collins Is South Of The Border
OK, so before you start throwing all of the globes, atlases, and Google maps apps at us the actual border in question is the Wyoming state line—which apparently is where great Mexican food stops.
Fortunately for Fort Collinsians they are south of that particular Mexican food desert and thus are are blessed with an abundance of muy bueno Mexican restaurants.
Two of the best are Tortilla Marissa's, which won a Copper Spoon award at the TASTE food festival (the warm salsa and chili rellenos will knock your socks off), and the El Monte Grill and Lounge, which is known for innovative cocktails such as their fresh watermelon martini and ever-popular mint and lime-spiked Esteban—just make sure that when you’re lost in the drink menu you don’t miss their incredible custom guacamole!
5. Krazy Karl's Pizza Is Insanely Delicious—Also Just Insane
Pizza is practically beer's best friend, and Krazy Karl's perpetually tops the polls of Ft. Collins' best pizza places. Their specialty pizzas which you must eat immediately include the Jalapeno Popper with bacon and cream cheese, and the Thai with chicken, pineapple and peanuts.
But perhaps the most epic of all their pizzas is The Mile High, this over-the-top ode to junk food includes chicken tenders, waffle fries, bacon, green chiles, ranch dressing and, oh yeah, there's a pizza somewhere under there, too.
Eat it, we dare you!
6. Get Stuffed With Burger Goodness At Stuft
At Stuft you really can have it your way. Their burgers are a DIY delight.
You design your own custom creation from the bun up: pretzel, brioche, or go totally nuts and opt for a glazed donut as a bun.
Pile on huge, juicy patties of beef, chicken, veggie, even buffalo. Choose cheeses like smoked cheddar, feta and sundried tomato basil goat; toppings including roast corn, strawberry jam and bourbon bacon relish; and sauces ranging from basil pesto mayo to malt vinegar to maple syrup.
Basically, if you dream it, you can build it...but can you eat it? And should you eat it? Yes, the answer is yes.
7. In Fort Collins You Only Need One Word To Describe Great Food...
Snooze specializes in breakfast dishes you'll want to wake up for, like an egg and sausage pot pie and pineapple upside down pancakes.
Another single syllable breakfast joint, Spoons, has hand-tossed salads and an ever-changing roster of soups du jour.
Fish specializes in pulled pork. Just kiddin! They're all about our finny (and shelly) friends: try the crawfish risotto, ahi egg rolls or the fisherman's stew where chunky chopped veggies swim alongside great big hunks of expertly grilled fish.
8. Ace Is The Place To Stuff Your Face
Ace Gillett's is an underground lounge located in the basement of the Armstrong Hotel.
This swanky speakeasy features live jazz music nearly every night, and a menu of decadent delicacies like Dungeness crab macaroni with asiago and mascarpone cheese, and seared Kobe beef carpaccio.
Cocktails run the gamut from classic to creative: put some sizzle in your swizzle with the Dirty White Brother: Kahlúa and cream spiked with chipotle vodka. Or saddle up the Tijuana Burro, a Mexican spin on the Cold War classic Moscow Mule that replaces the vodka in this ginger beer and lime concoction with tequila.
9. Souza's Smokes Any Other BBQ Joint Around
Northern Colorado is a long way from the barbecue belt, but you’d never guess that at Souza's. The ribs, brisket and pulled pork here are some of the best you're likely to find this side of Kansas City.
Their 'cue is served up sans sauce so you can taste the meaty goodness, but go ahead and doctor it up all you like with a selection that includes a zesty house barbecue sauce and a South Carolina-style mustard vinegar as well as less traditional options like hot orange and sweet ginger.
What really sets Souza's apart is their occasional offering of smoked salmon. Add a slab of this to your side of ribs for a smokin' surf 'n' turf.
10. A Harmonic Convergence Of Herbivores
Tasty Harmony caters to diners who love plant life soooo much they could just eat it up by offering a full menu of nothing but vegetarian, vegan and even raw foods.
Even a die-hard carnivore's got to admit, however, some of this rabbit food's pretty darn tasty, like the awesome (and alliterative) pesto-sauce penne pasta with portobellos and Thai-style stir-fried veggies in coconut curry.
11. Maza Kabob Is Amazingly Good
Who'd have thunk it? A former freedom fighter-turned-hotdog vendor opens Fort Collins' only Afghan restaurant, and just a few years later, it's one of the city's most popular eateries.
Yeah, well, it gets a lot less surprising once you taste the juicy grilled chicken and beef kebabs, the subtly spicy eggplant borani and the buttery basmati rice.
Don't miss the exotically yummy desserts like milky rice pudding (sheer birinj) and cardamom-flavored, pistachio-sprinkled Afghan ice cream (zhallah) topped with sweet, crunchy noodles.
12. Joe’s Coffee House Is Not Your Average Cup Of...Well...Joe
Everyday Joe's Coffee House is way, way serious about their java. They brew it in small batches via French press, or even one cup at a time using a cute little gadget called a Clever Dripper. And oh boy does it show, the coffee here is stellar.
Their coffee is locally-roasted and ethically-sourced, and they also offer a line of teas that are specially (and locally) blended just for Joe's.
The coffee house is run by volunteers, with local artwork hung on every wall and an eclectic mix of live music ranging from a small chamber orchestra to an all-ukulele ensemble, and they sponsor lectures on topics from social justice to the colors that lie beyond the rainbow spectrum.
Everyday Joe's isn't all serious, though—their fun loving side comes out from time to time, like when the baristas draw cute little designs in the latte foam.
13. A Little Bird Told Me: The Pastries Here Are Perfection Itself
There's just one problem with the Little Bird Bake Shop's homemade pastries...well, OK, maybe two, if you're counting calories. But the real downside is, they're just so luscious that they tend to sell out as soon as they hit the display case.
Better be an early bird if you want to wrap your lips around one of the specialty items like the Grand Marnier-soaked Costock, the crunchy caramel Canelé or the tart cherry-studded brown butter/hazelnut Financier.
If you're in the mood for something savory instead of sweet, the rosemary focaccia is fabulous and the manchego biscuits are too cheeselicious for words. (Even made-up ones.)
14. Dementors Don't Stand A Chance At The Chocolate Cafe...
Seriously, one slice of the Chocolate Noir truffle cake, and they're done for.
Why take chances? Be dementor-free, and happy, and hey, it's even healthy, isn't it? The say dark chocolate is good for the heart, right? Especially if you pair it with a glass of red wine, which they also happen to serve, assuming you can pass up the temptation to order the Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Martini instead.
On second thought order that martini, this is the Chocolate Cafe, after all, not the Broccoli Bistro.
15. I Am The Walrus...And I Want Some Ice Cream
Walrus Ice Cream wipes out the local ice cream competition. Flippers down, their homemade premium scoops are the best frozen treats in town.
Flavors change daily, but since just about everything they make is pure melty magic, you can't go wrong no matter whether you choose Mexican chocolate cake, caramel sea salt, bourbon vanilla chip, lemon coconut, cinnamon roll or all of the above.
Feature Image Source: Flickr user Gregor_y
