Holistic approach
Holistic approach
Treehouse replaces Jarhead; "chaotic" shots you shouldn't drink; we'll make you like beef liver; my final 2024 Side Dish Dozen members + more food & drink news
Treehouse Cafe COS opened March 25 in the former Jarhead Coffee space on N. Academy Boulevard, which was historically the original Pikes Perk location.
Owner Sarah Grant actually occupied the building in October, but has spent the past six months upgrading the site. Beyond the coffee counter and abundant social and dining space, there are now apothecary and local craft goods retail spaces plus various artworks for sale all over the walls. It’s bright and cute inside.
The opening marks something special for Grant, having lost her wellness center-in-progress off Austin Bluffs Pkwy., which was taken by the City (Utilities) by eminent domain in 2022, she says. She’d just purchased the 12-suite development three months prior and was devastated by the forceful takeover.
“Treehouse Cafe is me regrouping and getting my footing back,” she says, noting she’s the single-mom of an 8-year-old. “I’ve been persistent because I know I’m creating a space that’s safe, different and needed in the community.” Treehouse also hosts a community room where skill-share classes are taking place and where local practitioners can engage with one another and the public. “It’s holistic healing here — healthy alternative food mixed with herbalism.”
Grant is a master herbalist (running her own business named The Rooted Herbalist) who also operates the Essential Wellness Society, which she tells me is the largest holistic assembly in Colorado, with group chapters all across the Front Range. She also puts on Herb Fest annually; it’s now in its 20th year (and takes place on April 20 at Westside Community Center). All that’s quite a contrast to her earlier years working in the corporate restaurant world; she says her father owns three Culver’s locations. (That’s about as far from health food as one can go.)
On the opening menu here you’ll find Bellas Bagels and Solar Roast Coffee and espresso drinks. Grant is buying commercial pastries for now but hopes to make her own sometime down the line. Elsewhere there’s a few sandwiches, a couple salads, custom açaí bowls, yogurt parfaits and a choice of simple veggie or meat and cheese charcuterie plates. She’s not planning to obtain a liquor license.
Current hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday-Sunday. Grant plans to expand those come summer, and says event rentals are now possible after hours. Check Treehouse’s calendar for programming, such as Black Rose Acoustic live music sessions from 10 a.m. to noon on 2nd and 4th Saturdays.
Liver it up! — April’s Schnips Pick at Ranch Foods Direct
Let’s just get this out of the way right up front: This month’s recipe ain’t your grandma’s liver and onions. Yes, people, you can do more with beef liver than sauté it with white onions.
Enter Chef Brent Beavers at Side Dish Dozen member business The Carter Payne. As I’ve disclosed many times in the past, Brent was my chef when I worked at his restaurant Sencha 20 years ago. So I knew, if anyone could put a fresh, delicious spin on liver, he could. I get that many people are afraid of eating it, scared of the organ-meat flavor, but I attest that liver is wonderful when prepared correctly. I dined on these sliders myself when I met with Brent to snap the above photos.
Argument for: liver “is one of the most nutritionally dense foods on the planet,” says WebMD. Argument against: none! Get the recipe here. And venture to Ranch Foods Direct this month to pick up a package of Callicrate beef liver (and several other ingredients) and get cooking. Mention Side Dish for 5% off your shopping basket. (Because Ranch Foods Direct generously supports Side Dish!)
Appetite for destruction
“If you actually drink any of this bullshit, that’s on you.” — N
That’s what my pal Nate Warren wrote on a sticky note attached to the Chaotic Shots and Cocktails That Will Hurt Your Friends pamphlet he mailed me last week. Tagline:
“Be the death of the party with this recipe booklet: Four original shots and one cocktail recipe as featured on Breakup Gaming Society, America's Least Responsible Boardgame Podcast.”
Needless to say, I took his advice, and no drinks have been drank. That’s partly because I read farther down his online description:
“Three [of the] shots that are repulsive at best, illegal and dangerous at worst. These are stunts, not real drinks. Do not drink them. They’re for laughs.”
So, you know, a recipe book for recipes you shouldn’t actually make or drink, just amuse a buddy with. (Got it.)
To some extent, as I flip through it, I feel like it’s the ultra ironic, Cards Against Humanity-esque Fuck You to sensibility and good taste — even rational thinking itself. Not as a finger-in-the-eye critique of craft cocktail culture, but more a gamer-appropriate play on classic mixology, laced with odd ingredients and nerdy subculture references that’ll go over most peoples’ heads (if not into their bellies).
Like when was the last time you saw a sipper that called for Boost Oxygen in the concoction? And you know my ass had to Google “Slaaneshi Combat Drug.”
Anyway, though I have zero time in my life to game and no need to harm any of my mates, I’m rather fascinated by Nate’s mini publication. I view it more through the lens of artistic expression, like a zine. Somewhere in the vein of guerrilla art, with high-contrast punk undertones. An invite to somewhere dark.
I wanted to know more. So I sent Nate some questions:
1) For those who didn’t run in your circle when you lived in the Springs, who are you, and what do you do?
I’m a writer and podcaster who lives in Starkville. It’s a hamlet of about 60 souls five miles south of Trinidad, Colorado.
2) What is the Breakup Gaming Society, and how did it come about?
It’s a podcast about boardgames, booze and hip hop — three topics I’m passionate about and the three pillars of The Perfect Saturday Night. In 2019 I was freshly separated and snorting my way through an ugly third adolescence. I wanted a creative outlet that my clients couldn’t ruin and that didn’t require more writing after a day of writing. So I bought a Yeti and started talking shit. The show is solo now, and I think better for it. A bit more vulnerable and introspective. I don’t record drunk anymore. Spending whole days editing my own slurred voice and poorly considered riffs became intolerable.
3) Why have you created the “Chaotic Shots and Cocktails That Will Hurt Your Friends” booklet?
I wanted to make a slick piece of donation bait using highlights from the show. Distill the show’s early undercurrent of hostility, self-destruction and tryhard bullshit into something more polished. So I harvested a bunch of shots I invented to titillate the degenerates I recorded with when we first launched in Colorado Springs and handed it to a super-talented graphic artist with a good knowledge of print.
4) How did you (and your friends) concoct these recipes?
I made most of them up based on the attributes of the Chaos Gods from the Warhammer 40,000 universe: something nasty and green for Nurgle, the Plague God; something red for Khorne, the Blood God, with gin thrown in as a nod to the British and their knack for butchery; something excessive and dangerous for Slaanesh, the Prince of Pleasure. I never tried that one myself. I made one of my young cast members do it. He did not finish. It hurt him. The “drink” is not only dangerous, it’s illegal depending on how you source it. I would not recommend it to anybody.
5) Do any of these drinks actually taste good?
Yes. Inoculation Against Predictability — a tribute to Tzeentch, the Architect of Fate — was designed by a pal on Twitter who’s a crazy good home chef and mixologist. He ran with the “plans within plans” nature of this scheming and sorcerous being with a wild passel of ingredients. It reads funny, but it works. I told a bartender at Cowboy Star about it and they recommended garnishing it with a bit of edible gold foil. I think Tzeentch would approve of that.
6) How can people follow your work and what do you want them to know?
BreakupGamingSociety.com. Most major podcast platforms. I’m also active every day on Mastodon, Instagram and LinkedIn. Pull up a chair, pour some brown liquor, take your turn and check out the scratch on this chorus. You’re home.
7) Anything else I didn't ask that you want to say?
Only our parting toast to you and your listeners: May you fight long and well.
Bites and bits
• The Q Bar and Lounge is now open inside the Satellite Hotel, daily from 4 p.m. to midnight (until 1 a.m. Thursday-Saturday). The venue’s operated by Tara Bush and Michael Anderson, survivors of the mass shooting at Club Q in November, 2022. “We want to be able to have this venue be a part of healing and a symbol of resilience and strength,” Anderson told KRDO News late last week.
• Bellas Bagels just passed its year anniversary and 300,000-bagels-sold mark according to owner Jason Stele. The outfit is hosting a birthday celebration from 10-11 a.m. on April 6. It will feature a “Big Bella bagel sandwich eating competition.” That will consist of a 5-pound bagel with bacon, egg and cheese. “Insanely big,” Stele tells me.
• Urban Egg Downtown has reopened after a serious face lift. See the transition for yourself here. So fresh and so clean, and also very modern, how bright morning is. 👈 (Dig my spontaneous haiku.)
• Cinchona Coffee has launchd a three-month service venue at 130 E. Pikes Peak Ave., serving 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. daily.
An early glance at Mausam — reader submission
Mausam Indian Restaurant — the new spot with the Michelin-awarded chef that I wrote about last week — soft opened on April 3. Longtime Gazette personality and Side Dish subscriber Warren Epstein was one of the first folks in the door. I asked him to give me a quick rundown of his visit, specifically wondering if the food notably stood out as something a cut above. Here’s his take:
High expectations are a funny thing. They can make you the perfect customer, or, more likely, they can make you super critical. On my first visit (for lunch) to Mausam my high expectations were met by an equally high dining experience. The papadam, usually a free snack provided like naan, at the start of the meal, comes with a modest price ($6 and $7), but it was well worth it. We opted for the Masala Papadam, a thin lentil wafter topped with chopped onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and potatoes, served with a rich, slightly spicy red dip, and a thick minty green dip. Both were better than we’ve ever had. (And we’ve been to the top-rated Indian joins in Manhattan and London.) One of our entrées stood out as one of my favorite Indian dishes ever: Lamb Saag Wala, fork-tender meat in a rich spicy spinach sauce. It was a wow, one of those dishes you have to stop yourself from eating until you hurt yourself. The Chicken Jafrani, (pretty similar to a Chicken Tikka Masala) also was fabulous, served in a creamy sauce with a hint of saffron. Just that sauce on the perfect basmati rice was a delicacy. The service was friendly and casual, which isn’t always the case in highly rated restaurants. I remember a visit to the Penrose Room, when we felt all the staff was walking on broken eggshells, for fear they might make some mistake. We did notice a woman at the table next to us quibbling about a spice level that arrived too mild. But so far, no quibbles from us. Can’t wait to go back.
Upcoming events
• April 5: 3rd Birthday Party at The Well. 6-9 p.m.; drink specials. Happy hour 4-6 p.m.
• April 10: Colorado Pint Day at breweries all over the city. $1 of each pint glass sold benefits the Colorado Brewers Guild.
• April 10: Intro to South America Wine Class at Coaltrain. 6-8 p.m. $29. 719-475-9700.
• April 13: Pikes Peak Chocolate and Cheese Fest at Norris Penrose Event Center. 11 a.m.; $10-$59.
• April 13: Sip And Support Spring Wine Tasting Fundraiser at Manitou Art Center. 5-7 p.m.; $40 or $75/couple.
• April 16: Rioja Wine Dinner at Tapateria. 6 p.m.; $89.
• April 18: 3rd Thursday Sip with Schnip at Edelweiss. 6-9 p.m. Details coming soon.
• April 18: Project Angel Heart seeks restaurant partners for the 30th annual Dining Out For Life fundraiser. Eaters can help too: “Dine at one of hundreds of participating restaurants … and 25% of your check will be donated to Project Angel Heart to help provide delicious, medically tailored meals for Coloradans living with severe illnesses, including HIV/AIDS.” Find local participating restaurants here.
• April 20: 20th annual Pikes Peak Herb Fest at Westside Community Center. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Introducing the final 2024 Side Dish Dozen sponsors
You’ll recall that at the beginning of March I announced the Side Dish Dozen, “a Schnip-curated selection of stalwart local businesses bundled into a sponsorship group to give this newsletter a stable financial position in 2024 and beyond.”
I launched a few shy of a dozen, and I didn’t actually clarify what kind of dozen. Due to several meetings and convos converging at virtually the same time, we actually became a baker’s dozen. 🍩
I’m honored to see such demand, as the wider journalism industry struggles onward with somewhat broken business models. It’s humbling to see community members step up to sponsor proper coverage for their industry. Said another way: These fine folks can see we’re up to something special here at Side Dish and they jumped on board to be a part of it. Please show them some love and support in return and tell the management you saw them in Side Dish. (I mean, let’s be honest: the server’s never gonna relay it for you. But hell, tell ‘em anyway.)
Anyway, if you look at the slick graphic below (thanks Ryan!), you’ll see many more than 13 logos — that’s due to several members having more than one enterprise in their portfolio. Man, don’t we look like an unstoppable army? (Who says we aren’t?)
Join me in welcoming The French Kitchen, Kangaroo Coffee, Ascent Beverage and District Elleven (to include T-Byrd’s Tacos & Tequila and bird tree cafe)! Cheers!
Side Dish Dozen happenings
• Allusion Speakeasy: The new Friends theme launched April 4 Downtown, featuring Monica’s Kitchen as a dining/drinking area and cocktails like the Princess Consuela BananaHammok and Bring on the Yams … Yams! On April 11, the theme extends to the Powers location, which has transformed into the Central Perk coffee shop, serving drinks like the Smelly Cat, Crusty Old Man and Addicted to Pork.
• The French Kitchen: 20% off Opera Cake thru April 10. The Taste of April is a Rocky Road Queenet available all month long. Class openings for “Beyond the Bean” April 12, 9 a.m. with Chef Jason and “Fruit series: the adaptive apple” April 14, 1 p.m. and April 15, 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. with Chef Nate.
• Edelweiss: Consistently voted a “Best Patio” in the Springs. Look for it to open on warm days ahead, including April 4 and 5 (for lunch service at least, possibly dinner; temp TBD). Edelweiss’ patio is shaded, dog-friendly and a great post-hike destination for beer and a bite of traditional and modern German/European fare.
• Kangaroo Coffee: Hillside Coffee House (317-319 S. Hancock Ave.) expansion is complete and welcoming neighbors and organizations to the beautifully renovated space. Celebration party coming soon. Check out our creative, barista-inspired Drinks of the Week, different at each location. A Strawberry Shortcake Latte awaits you at 720 S. 8th Street!
• Ascent Beverage: Go for the Bee’s Knees cocktail at Manitou Springs’ Toasted Bistro, featuring Jackson Hole Still Works’ Absaroka Gin.
• District Elleven: Tapas Tuesday still in effect. $6 tapas, $6 wine, $5 wells, $4 beers all day Tuesday. T-Byrd’s: 123 Organic Tequila Tasting April 17, featuring Uno, Dos and Tres; $25.
• Goat Patch Brewing: Solar Eclipse Viewing Party, April 8, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bleating Heart Night benefits Autism Vision of Colorado, Tuesday, April 9, 5-9 p.m. Trivia, April 10, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
• The Carter Payne: New spring menu just released. On draft right now: Max Out The Maxx triple dry-hopped hazy triple IPA collab beer with Batch Slapped Brewery.
• The Studio by Brother Luck: Fried Chicken & Champagne Tastings, April 11, 7 p.m., and 13 6 p.m.; $75. Top Chef dinner with Monique Feybesse at Four by Brother Luck, April 18, 6 p.m.; five wine-paired courses, $150.
• Blue Star Group: April 8 is National Empanada Day. Enjoy 10 different flavors of empanadas at Lazo Emanadas in Ivywild School. Open 3-9 p.m. Next Stellina Pizza Cafe Supper Club is April 22 (book now). Pie of the Month at Gold Star Bakery is Apricot Honey topped with cinnamon cobbler; order here by April 12.
• Bristol Brewing Company: Prohibition Party, April 6, 7-10 p.m. Celebrate Prohibition’s repeal in Bristol’s makeshift speakeasy in the brewhouse and Barrel Room. Get dolled up in era-accurate attire and watch Bristol’s social channels password hints. (Both required to enter.) Enjoy 33¢ Yellow Kite pilsners, pilsner cocktails and swing dance lessons.
• Odyssey Gastropub: Switchbacks BoGo: buy-one-get-one draft beer or house wine before or after Switchbacks games when you show us your ticket.
• Rasta Pasta: First Fridays are always hopping on our block. Check out the jewelry trunk show at Colorado Co-Op and the five new exhibits at Auric Gallery. When you’re ready to sit down and enjoy a meal, we’re ready to serve you. Swing by Rico’s Wine Bar after dinner to catch The Cleveland Experiment Duo.
• Red Gravy: Voted Best Downtown Lunch spot. Lunch special is a choice of soup or salad and a half pasta for $14.99.
Parting shot
I don’t know about your yard, but spring is already popping in mine. The bees are out and enjoying my apricot tree blossoms.