Archive for the ‘hash browns’ Tag
When the hostess at the Silver Creek Diner in Lone Tree told us that once we were seated we’d still have at least another 25-minute wait for our food, I laughed and asked if she wanted us to leave. She laughed, too, and assured me that wasn’t her intent. We’d already been waiting 10 minutes for a table. We decided to hope for the best. Wrong call.
Given that we had waited so long from the time we walked in the door to when the food arrived, it’s hard to know if we were simply so famished that anything would have tasted good. It wasn’t that Silver Creek was particularly busy, but the way orders were coming out of the kitchen it seemed as if all the cooking was done by one person with his/her hand tied behind his/her back.
Breakfast is standard; lots of egg possibilities and pancakes. The latter aren’t the “ridiculously large ones that some places serve” we were told. The Blueberry Pancake Plate featured two eggs, hash browns, choice of breakfast meats (bacon, sausage or ham) and two cakes full of fresh blueberries. It was a lot of food.
The Hash Brown Mix blended crispy and creamy shredded potatoes with diced red and green peppers, onions, eggs and choice of bacon or sausage. Two size options are available, and even the smaller of the two is a substantial amount of food.
In truth, it all tasted fine, but I can’t say the time spent waiting for it was justified.
Silver Creek Diner
Three Plates
7824 Park Meadows Dr.
Lone Tree, Colo
A friend, who is only slightly younger than me, remembered going to Bon Ton’s Café when she was a child with her grandmother. Although it wasn’t my recollection, I smiled at the idea of a restaurant and its food evoking a fond memory. Bon Ton’s, on the corner of Colorado Avenue and 26th Street in Old Colorado City, has been serving food for years (and years), and plating up some memories in the process.
Bon Ton’s is like a favorite sweater. It’s comfortable, dependable and, if frayed around the edges, familiar. Of course, it helps that the food is consistent. It’s only open for breakfast and lunch, so the menu, printed like a newspaper, features all the offerings. For breakfast, standard egg dishes, pancakes, French toast and several Southwestern items, identified by the presence of green chile, are available. Traditional lunch fare includes burgers and sandwiches.
I’ve enjoyed the Vegetable Scrambler in the past as much for the fresh vegies cooked with scrambled eggs as for the crunchy hash browns also on the plate. I was tempted by the thought of the hash browns — a yin and yang of crispy and creamy shredded potatoes, — but I really wanted a pancake. My friend offered to give me her spuds because she said she wouldn’t be able to eat everything she ordered. She was in the holiday spirit.
My plate-size, golden pancake with maple syrup was exactly what I wanted, as were the hash browns. They’re the stuff of memories.
Bon Ton’s Café
Four Plates
2601 W. Colorado Ave.
Colorado Springs
Having an open mind and an empty belly are important when dining. I admit I struggled with the former when my family wanted to have breakfast at The Dive. They loved it; I was less enamored. I couldn’t tell how much of my reaction had to do with the name or if I let some minor problems overshadow the meal.
When five of us order and only three get our food at the same time, I take issue. And, toast should be toasted, not simply dry bread. That was the downside – mostly.
I confess that, once it arrived, I enjoyed my vegetarian omelet. The onions, green peppers and mushrooms had been sautéed before being added to the eggs. Along with fresh tomatoes, this extra step made for a very flavorful dish. My husband and two of our sons ordered traditional scrambled eggs and bacon – along with the marginally toasted bread. They were pleased with the plentiful serving sizes.
The Dive is open 24 hours and serves breakfast and burgers all day/all night. With this in mind, my youngest son opted for a burger. His nod to the time of day was to have it topped with an egg. His French fries were better than my too-crispy, somewhat oily hash browns.
For most of the meal the only other female in the joint besides me was the server. Maybe men don’t care what a place is called as long as the food is good. Maybe I should try to follow their lead.
The Dive
Three Plates
3040 W. Pikes Peak Ave
Colorado Springs, CO
I ordered a quarter portion of The Thing and still couldn’t finish everything on the
plate. Don’t worry, the name isn’t reflective of the unknown. It’s one of several over-
abundant menu items at King’s Chef Diner. The Thing is constructed on a base of
Texas Toast, which I pretty much ignored, covered in a mound of the yin and yang
creamy/crunchy hash browns. Scrambled eggs, bacon, green chile and cheese com-
plete the hodgepodge. The quarter portion did an impressive job of concealing the
dish, but I knew it was there somewhere.
It’s important to know a few things about King’s Chef Diner. First, the green chili:
if this doesn’t make your eyes water like you’re watching a Hallmark card commercial,
nothing will. Of course, the chili is far edgier than it is sentimental. If the servers sus-
pect you are ordering the green chili for the first time, they’ll suggest getting it on the
side rather than having it doused over your breakfast. Be forewarned. It’s also import-
ant to know that most of the entrees, from the Breakfast Burrito to The Grump, a var-
iation of The Thing but smothered in gravy, are Extra Extra Large in size. Some half
and quarter options are available, but even those test the limits of the common appetite.
If by chance everything on the plate is consumed, servers come by to acknowledge your
admittance to The Clean Plate Club. It earns a sticker boasting of the accomplishment,
although a bulging belly does the same thing.
Four Plates
King’s Chef Diner
131 E. Bijou St.
Colorado Springs, CO
Cash Only
Open “7 a.m. to 4 p.m.-ish Everyday”
The Blue Page Special 