As the world churns
Josh & John's behind the scenes, Arts Month foodie specials, a killer Carbonnade recipe + more food & drink news
Like many of you, I’m sure, I’ve been enjoying Josh & John’s ice cream for years. I can trace my patronage back to 1997 when I moved here for college. Some of you perhaps grew up eating it — they did open originally in 1986 downtown. Either way, it’s the local stalwart that’s grown and grown, including to locations in Loveland and Fort Collins in addition to three spots around the Springs.
Back in the day, you had to look no further than the front window on the former Pikes Peak Avenue location (next to iconic Kimball’s Peak Three Theater) to see how the sausage was made. (That’s metaphor, people — no there was not a sausage ice cream flavor. Ick. … unless it had sweet mustard too … I mean I’ve had good bacon and even garlic ice cream … so maybe it could work … hmmmm … I digress.)
But in February 2020 — just before the pandemic, it’s always worth noting — owner John Krakauer created the Churn Barn. It’s off Garden of the Gods Road, somewhat hidden in a nondescript office park building. It’s not open to the public, other than for pre-arranged educational tours for school classes and the like (email them to arrange), but it allowed J&J’s to consolidate production to a single spot and set up a distribution to its locations (which could now just focus on service).
I got to visit the Churn Barn last week with some folks from the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region (COPPeR) as part of their organizing of Arts Month in October. Specifically the 10th anniversary of Arts Month, hence the creation of a special J&J’s flavor to help celebrate the occasion. (It’ll be available at local locations a little early, on Sept. 29.) We all — along with Churn Barn staff, a cool bunch of ex-teachers mostly — got to taste the first bites of a totally new J&J’s flavor named Rocky Mountain Red Rocks. It’s red velvet cake (made with cake batter) with chocolate chips. And yes, it’s good and you’re gonna want to try it. It’s distinguishable from their popular Yellow Cake flavor. (Though I’m still stuck on my Mocha Java Jolt and/or Purple Mountain Majesty go-to’s, so this special will be a fleeting habit-breaker for me.)
“It’s always fun to do specials and try new stuff,” Churn Barn supervisor Mark Breeding tells me, noting that they keep three specials going at all times in addition to three vegan ice creams and 14 flagships. Recent special flavors include a rumchata, Olathe sweet corn, amaretto cherry cheesecake, peach, Golden Oreo, Mexican Chocolate and lavender-blueberry. (Alas the many things in life I miss.)
Breeding and his team show us through the 6,000-sq. ft. space, which includes 700 sq. ft. of freezers. The deep freezers, stacked with flats of pints and multi-gallon tubs, run at -25 degrees, inspiring us to walk quickly through them. Amidst eight churns are both fast and slow models, each ideal for different flavors. The fast (15- to 20-minute batches) are sufficient for base chocolate and vanilla flavors for example, while the slow (45-minute batches) are better for flavors like the oatmeal cookie, which benefit from more time to infuse the added ingredient taste into the base. As mechanized as the whole operation is, there’s definitely a human element to inputting and extracting everything and running basic quality checks throughout.
Meadow Gold Dairy, located a stone’s throw from the Churn Barn, conveniently, provides the base, customized dairy mix. I ask about the ingredients, and Breeding fetches a giant plastic bladder from the cooler in an appreciated move of transparency. Sure, there’s expected high-sugar content (it’s ice cream — duh), but I’m glad to see all natural sweeteners (sure, we could debate about a little corn syrup) and binders and no BS synthetics and preservatives. That makes me feel better about my own sweet-toothed jaunts to J&J’s to satisfy post-dinner itches. All in moderation, my friends. You know this. Like me, you’ve been eating Josh & John’s for years.
Arty party
Let’s stay on Arts Month a moment longer — which I also teased earlier this month with my “The art of the plate” story — because Josh & John’s isn’t the only organization that’s been invited to collaborate on the food and drink front to celebrate 10 years. COPPeR has broken October into weekly thematic focuses, and visual and culinary arts kicks off the month from Oct. 1-7 (which isn’t to say these celebratory items won’t be available all month — they will).
Sasquatch Cookies will serve a newly created peanut butter chocolate cookie with peanut butter and chocolate frosting and a peanut butter drizzle. Let’s let the picture do the rest of the talking on this one:
And Local Relic Artisan Ales throughout the month will release special beers to represent each category of the different Art Month themes. Each custom bottle label will feature an artist related to the theme.
For week one (visual and culinary arts) expect the Liebfraumilch Oeno Saison, a Belgian-style saison brewed with riesling and silvaner wine grapes. Week two (theatre and film) will deliver a wet hop saison, a Belgian-style saison brewed with hops grown as part of the Local Relic Hop Cropping program. Week three’s release (poetry, prose and comedy) will be a Schwarzbier, a German-style black pseudo lager brewed on Norwegian Kveik yeast. And finally in week four (music and dance) comes the Cascadian Raspberry Sour, a dark sour ale brewed with raspberry fermented on a house-mixed culture.
Dylan Craddock, whose title at COPPeR is “Program Manager, Creative Economy,” says Arts Month (and especially this 10-year milestone) is all about showcasing the breadth of our local arts community. “One way to bring that to life is through food and drink, so we have beers, ice cream and cookies.”
Craddock says COPPeR articulated their campaign goals and allowed each participant to get creative as they saw fit. “For me it’s important to include small businesses,” she says. “Places like these have been engaged in the community and showing their own creativity with their flavor creations. This is a holistic view of what the creative economy is. Small businesses are the backbone of it, just like arts groups and nonprofits.”
Also of note, each participating business will be donating a portion of their sales proceeds from these special items back to COPPeR in support of Arts Month. Keep an eye on the Peak Radar calendar and Arts Month pages for full event programming.
Schnip’s Pick — October
How strongly can I word my recommendation that you make time this month to cook our Schnip’s Pick October recipe? I’m refraining from cuss words, but you should know I’m feeling pretty emphatic as I type this. I might use an exclamation point. (!) There, I did it. My dudes, if I may summarily call you that, this Ranch Foods Direct Callicrate chuck roast Carbonnade (Flemish beef stew) recipe from Gather Food Studio is nothing short of a slow motion chef’s kiss. (If that chef were triumphantly riding a unicorn under a double rainbow with forked lightning streaks emanating from it and probably a Metallica song is playing at full-volume in the background. Can you see it?) I made a big batch this week and have dined three separate meals off of it as of this writing and I’m still excited to go back for a fourth to finish it off. I would call out the high quality, marbled beef or Gather Green Dream Seasoning (poppin’ with tarragon, parsley, peppercorn and more) or our selected Pikes Peak Brewing Co. Gold Belgian-style Golden Strong Ale, but it’s not one of those elements that makes the dish; it’s all of them in harmony. That’s before the bacon (yeah, bacon!), fresh herbs and other base ingredients. Click here to go to the recipe. And remember, Side Dish subscribers can get 5-percent off their retail market purchase at Ranch Foods Direct, where you can find the necessary Gather Green Dream Seasoning stocked near the steak coolers and at the butcher counter.
Karma karma karma karma karma Carnelian
Ok, cheers to me for the worst headline of the year on this one, but hey, you can hear it in your head now, right? You’re welcome.
Anyway, completely unrelated to the hit 80s Culture Club song, Carnelian Coffee represented beautifully at Taste of OCC this past weekend. (More on the event in my Parting Shot(s) at the end of this newsletter.) That afforded me a chance to catch up with the outfit since my initial reporting back in mid 2017 at the CS Indy.
Here’s my takeaways:
• As tasted at the event, their house pastry game is strong. Samples of a peanut butter bar, sweet and savory scones and a killer cookie illustrated excellent textures and flavors, nothing too sweet, everything super coffee friendly.
• The light-roasted House Blend features a mix of Javan and Brazilian beans, both natural processed, and is described as having “notes of raspberry, almond, and dark chocolate.” (I tend to not always pick up on all listed aromas, etc., but I did enjoy my sips of this quality coffee.)
• Co-owner and GM Kate Firoved long ago bought out her former partner in the venture and her now-husband/co-owner/roaster and house chef Colton Klauss has come aboard since. Firoved, a Springs native, formerly worked in the coffee industry in both Seattle and Denver. Klauss is a Memphis native who prior to Carnelian was cheffing at an all-inclusive lodge in Montana.
• Klauss roasts on a zero-emission Bellwether Coffee system. These things are expensive, and badass. I first learned of them when Humble Bee Roastery (the newest division of Humble Coffee locally) introduced me to the machines in early 2022.
• They scratch-make just about everything, including house syrups. They curate gluten-free items and keep an eye on offering ample vegetarian and vegan options.
In brief
• In July I told you about the long-in-the-works plans for Suki’s Cantina at 106 Pueblo Ave. downtown. The project remains incomplete for launch (beyond a projected open date at the time of my interviewing). Meanwhile a GoFundMe has been launched to help “finish our concrete work, electricity, hvac, and plumbing. Everything has been installed, we just need the finishing touches! If anyone is or can donate services as well, it would be greatly appreciated.” (I reached out to owner Ian Perez from Suki’s for comment and haven’t heard back yet, but can update when I do.)
• Focus on the Beer says “Better late than never…” this week with a mini photo dump from the GABF this past weekend (and a promise for more unpacking soon). Ryan also gives us a heads up on Urban Animal’s one year anniversary party (Sept. 29-Oct. 1) via a sit-down with Urban Animal’s Mike Centanne and Bryan Bradigan to highlight their first 12 months and note anniversary releases like a pumpkin ale (yes it’s that time again), pineapple chile blond and bourbon and sherry barrel-aged imperial stout.
Also check back into Focus’ running Oktoberfests calendar for all the local listings of events that celebrate German beers and Bavarian culture. (Because, let’s be honest, nobody around here is still honoring a 200-year-old wedding of royals. Yawn.)
Upcoming happenings:
• Sept. 28 to Oct. 1: Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort hosts UpaDowna’s Folk’n’Flannel Festival & Fundraiser.
• Sept. 30: Blues on the Mesa at Gold Hill Mesa (an all-day music event) includes several food and drink carts, like local breweries and spirit makers plus popular sushi, wing and sweets vendors. $50-$90.
• Oct. 1: Fern’s Diner + Drinkery hosts its first breakfast grab-n-go pop-up (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.) at Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort. The all-vegan menu (‘cuz that’s their jam) features breakfast burritos (Meaty Soyrizo or veggie, both with Moon Eggs and fixings) muffins, biscuits and Sunrise Sammies. Fern’s says they’re looking for other locations interested in hosting them, to include ski shops and retail businesses.
• Oct. 4: The Colorado Spirits Collective’s first Whiskey Church Tasting Series event at The Carter Payne has sold out for this date. But (dramatic pause here) you can plan early for the Nov. 1 event with Stranahan’s and Dec. 6 event with Storm King Distilling Co. A percentage of ticket sales goes to nonprofits in Colorado.
• Oct. 7: Distillery 291 celebrates its Bad Guy Bourbon release with a cigar pairing event. Reserve a time here. $45-$175 (options include bottle purchases).
• Oct. 8: the inaugural Autumn Harvest Festival at Kinship Landing. $25 includes entry, one pumpkin and 10 percent off of brunch.
Parting shot(s)
The rebooted Taste of OCC was a blast to attend this year. It was an intimate affair (the polite way to say small and easy to enjoy at a leisurely pace vs. bigger events). Some of Old Colorado City’s most prominent eateries (Jake and Tellys, Tapateria, Front Range Barbeque) were notably absent — their owners either out of town or unable to find proper staffing I was told. This allowed opportunities for some other food/drink establishments to fill in (cheers to community!) And the samples on display were plenty satisfying.
A couple personal highlights: OCC Brewing’s OCCtoberfest Pretzel Buns treated like bao buns, filled with homemade bratwurst, sauerkraut and mustard; and 3 Hundred Days of Shine’s newer flavors, a honey salted caramel, whiskey barrel chocolate and old fashioned root beer. Edelweiss rocked both pork belly and some fine pastry samples, Paravicini’s did pasta as they do, Summa slung meatballs, and Picnic Basket Catering plated Santa Maria tri-tip among other event-wide offerings.
“We're thrilled to announce that the Taste of Old Colorado City was a resounding success, thanks to your support!” says organizer Lauren DeMarco. “With your ticket purchases, we raised over $6,000 for the Old Colorado City Partnership, ensuring that they can continue to enrich our community with fantastic events like this.”
The only place on earth I would likely try sausage ice cream is Josh & John's. Thanks for the laugh ;)