It's my birthday
It's my birthday
Phantom Canyon celebrates 30 years, Munchies turns 1 + more food & drink news
On Nov. 26 Munchies celebrates its one-year anniversary in the former Michelle Chocolatiers’ space on Tejon Street. To mark the occasion, Chef Chuck Thomas has released an updated menu featuring around 20 new items. His wife MaryAnn and her front-house team also refreshed a list of colorful cocktails.
At a menu preview tasting last week, Chuck highlighted how almost half of the new plates are vegan or adaptable. He told me that vegan items had failed to launch in their former location inside the Triple Nickel Tavern, but since they’ve been here, his mushroom tacos in particular became a strong seller. It helps that several of his front-house staff are vegan (so can more passionately promote the items) and that the menu playfully lists the respective plates as #VeganAF — several are #GF as well.
A quick refresher in case you’re new to Munchies: It originally started as a food truck in the fall of 2019 before joining on at Triple Nickel. The Thomases did a good amount of renovation and design work themselves in this former Michelle’s spot to brighten it and highlight the legacy sweets aspect. In the front half of the eatery, they outfitted their own vintage-soda-fountain-style ice cream shop which serves shakes, malts, sundaes and house-baked cookies and muffins (and some purveyed cake slices). Chuck told me at the time that they were going for the feel of “old-school diner food with fusion.” He’s a Springs native and longtime local chef in kitchens that include the former Tejon Street Old Chicago and Ivywild School in its early days.
The somewhat oversized, heavy comfort food aspect remains on the new menu, though several of the vegan plates do lighten it up. For example, despite being fried, Munchies’ tempeh buffalo wings are a crispy treat and one of the finest renditions of the compressed soybean substance I’ve tried. Plated with celery bits, a mildly spicy wing sauce and zesty, creamy side dip, they should easily appeal to omnivores too.
Look for a new selection of flatbread mini pizzas made atop rounds of fairly sizable naan bread — easy for sharing. And Chuck has made four new burgers available, including a classic Pueblo Slopper featuring Colorado beef and Munchies’ very capable pork green chile. Just like eating it in the Steel City’s most beloved dives, you’ll find this Slopper a total mess on the plate next to a tangle of fries. I recommend a craft lager or one of the light, commercial beers as a drink pairing.
My dining companion enjoys a fresh mocktail with her chicken and waffle plate composed with a thick rosemary and cheddar waffle topped in crispy chicken pieces and bacon strips drizzled with blackstrap molasses instead of typical maple syrup. That dials down the typical sweetness and keeps the dish more on the savory side; fresh garnishing rosemary lends aromatics and a nice herbal reinforcement.
One other dish I try is Munchies’ new Nashville hot chicken sandwich spin, plated on Texas toast with simple mayo for sauce and dill pickles for extra acidity. Chuck has dialed the heat to an appropriate beginners level, so I order more chile sauce on the side and it definitely gets the party going. I sip the “Is Juan Collins” cocktail on the side; it’s a simple, spirit-forward, scantly sweet reposado tequila mix with lemon juice, agave and soda water.
To close out the visit, we make a chocolate chip ice cream cookie sandwich with Colorado City Creamery’s raspberry cheesecake flavor and can barely finish it. (It does seem that if you aren’t leaving Munchies stuffed then you aren’t doing it right.)
Some other things to know: 1) Munchies is proudly an LGBTQ safe space. 2) They do stay open until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays as one of the rare late-night dining options downtown, otherwise closing at 9 p.m. weekdays. 3) Saturday and Sunday mornings mean a dedicated brunch menu until 1 p.m. 4) Expect some new additions to the front ice cream parlor soon, mainly some video game consoles to join the newly designed front-cocktail bar that complements the full, rear bar counter.
Side Dish featured on the COS Business Podcast
A big thank you to Andrew Hazzlee and Marcus Alvarado for having me on their COS Business Podcast recently. Check out my episode and subscribe to their YouTube channel while you’re there. They support a lot of small, local businesses via their community interviewing and respective marketing and digital services.
Happy holiday from Side Dish sponsor RFD
Cheers to everyone who supported our Thanksgiving recipe collaboration with Ranch Foods Direct and Gather Food Studio. Brine/spice packets flew off the shelves at RFD’s retail markets as did Gunthorp Farms and Red Bird turkeys. Speaking for all of us, we sincerely hope you have a fantastic holiday and enjoy the flavors created by these top-quality ingredients. We have another special holiday recipe planned for December, which I’ll announce very soon; so stay tuned in here for details.
Phantom Canyon celebrates 30
In a roundabout way, Focal Pint and Side Dish teamed up this week to cover Phantom Canyon’s impending 30th Anniversary Birthday Party. Ryan Hannigan sat down with Head Brewer Charles McManus on Monday to sip through a batch of special-release beers and talk shop. He published his own roundup here on Tuesday, which includes his beer tasting notes and the deets you need on the party happenings. (In brief: It’s Saturday, Nov. 25 at 6 p.m., free to attend with an optional buffet upstairs, plus live music, giveaways and more. RSVP here to get entered to win prizes.)
Then, on Tuesday, I attended a separate beer tasting with McManus alongside food samplings from a partial throwback menu that will be featured at the party. Those items were presented by chef Manny Coss, who’s been with Phantom for eight and a half years (having come from Mission Catering). For his part, McManus counts five years on site and another five working for the same ownership company at Wynkoop Brewing in Denver.
To food first, Coss served us the beloved beer cheese soup (made these days with Phantom’s Dos Lunas Mexican Lager) and a special buffalo chicken soup, equally rich. Next came a trio of fine wings: buffalo, maple bourbon and Alabama white sauce. Then, segments of a pepper steak hoagie with blackened tomato, peppercorn aioli and arugula (nice bite!) and an ESBLTA with “extra special” candied bacon, spicy mayo and the requisite lettuce and tomato with added avocado. After that: delightful, fresh, crunchy vegan Bibb lettuce wraps with vermicelli, bean sprouts, carrots, chickpeas and bell peppers and a chile-ginger sauce. And finally for savories a zesty, juicy lemon-Tabasco sauce chicken skewer with blue cheese and chive garnish. For a sweet finish: a classic panna cotta with colorful fruit topping and an exceptional tiramisu in a parfait glass with great coffee flavor. (Recommendation: Do the buffet on Saturday.)
Speaking to marking the 30th Anniversary, McManus says “it’s the community that got us this far, and community is built here at Phantom as well.” And in explaining the Legacy Beer Series releases (available now) as part of festivities, he says “it’s to honor our longtime employees; each has their own story and impact. This place wouldn’t have happened without them; they’ll be remembered 20 years from now… I invited them to be involved and they came in and brewed with me… none had brewed before. We’re excited. These are my friends and coworkers; we’re a family unit.” He adds that he’s grateful for their institutional knowledge that predates his time at Phantom; they fill in history for him. He’s Phantom’s seventh head brewer over the years.
Each beer on the menu notes the name of the contributing employee, who got to choose the style they wished to brew. Shauna Stewart’s Two Headed Shauna double IPA emerges as my favorite, “boozy but smooth, with a ton of citra hops” in McManus’ words. It’s a deceptive 9.5-percent ABV. Johnny Mills chose to revive Phantom’s original Cascade Amber Ale (a precursor to the longtime Railyard label which then morphed into today’s Boxcar label; each has a different recipe and flavor profile). McManus had to go hunting in the basement for the original brew logs, he says, and then decipher a mess of notes and make best guesses based on less than precise recipes and his own scientific intuition. According to one-time Phantom head brewer Troy Johnson (now at Cerberus Brewing Co.) who came to sample, McManus “nailed it.” Mills agrees, and I’d like to pause on that to say holy shit this guy has been at Phantom Canyon since day one, 30 years ago! That’s unheard of in the industry. Mind blown. Kudos. (I gotta get back and interview this guy sometime …)
Next up, "Pops” — real name Jimmy Schmidt — has been at Phantom since year two (equally impressive) and according to McManus he’s personally trained about 80 percent of the bar owners in the Springs. Whether that’s an accurate number I’m not sure, but I do know it to be true that a lot of today’s restaurateurs started in humble positions back at Phantom in the day. “Pops has had a major impact in this town” says McManus. Pops chose to make a robust porter that’s absolutely perfect for the season with significant dark malt roastiness. Not a far cry from that, “Miss Patty” (Patty Lovekin) wanted an imperial chocolate peppermint stout, which McManus aged on six pounds of Ghanian cacao nibs and a restrained amount of peppermint. He’d never brewed with peppermint, he says, conceding that it doesn’t show up prominently and is more a contributing factor to smoothness and a cooling quality on the palate. Indeed I wouldn’t know from a first sip that it’s hitting at 10.5-percent ABV.
Lastly, in addition to the Legacy brews, McManus has released a 30th Anniversary cognac barrel-aged barleywine that also smacks at 10.5-percent ABV. He brewed the beer back in February then aged it on French cognac barrels for three months, noting with first-use barrels the flavors infused quickly (so they don’t require more time in waiting). The lack of a charring process in cognac barrels also meant more oak character coming through with the cognac undertones. (He says he’s since placed some of Pops’ robust porter in the barrels to age for next year as a planned “Pops Premium” release.) The menu rightly describes the barleywine as “rich” and “silky.”
While chatting with us, McManus says he and his tiny team are on track to brew 1,200 barrels of beer in 2023 (each barrel equates to 31 gallons), all sold on site. Translation: Business is good. He seems happy: “I get as much experimental license as I want, here,” he says. Only four of the 16 beers on tap at a given time are flagships, leaving him ¾ of the menu to play with as he sees fit. That should keep Phantom — the Springs longest standing brewery just ahead of Bristol Brewing Co. — interesting for many more years to come.
Bites and bits
• Beginning January 1, 2024, Colorado restaurants will no longer be able to use Styrofoam containers or cups. This is thanks to a law passed in 2021 that’s just now coming into effect.
• Whataburger’s sixth C. Springs location — since launching here only back in February 2022 — opened earlier this week at 706 E. Fillmore St. For my part, as I opined in a column I penned in mid 2021, I still say what about it? (FWIW I know a better burger just blocks away at El Chapin Handmade Burgers & Shakes outside of Side Dish sponsor Ranch Foods Direct. I wrote about them here back in September.) And if you think the outfit’s done expanding here, think again: they’ve already broken ground at 17889 Fat Tire Dr in Monument, near Pikes Peak Brewing Co.
• Nov. 25 is Small Business Saturday. Show your love all over town by shopping local. In support of my PartnerSchnips, I’ll note that Gather Food Studio is offering 20 percent off in their spice shop from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. (both Friday and Saturday). And take your receipt from Ranch Foods Direct (from anytime this week) over to Distillery 291 to get a free cocktail and bottle discounts. Another quick shoutout: Stop by Acacia Park downtown from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to nab this year’s Downtown Colorado Springs coupon book — full of BOGO deals and much more to make your shopping more lively (and affordable).
Parting shot(s)
This past Saturday was my birthday and we opted to do a progressive meal of sorts around downtown, by foot, over the course of many hours. My partner did some documentation, because that’s the kind of always-sorta-working people we are. Without further ado:
Happy Birthday 🎂 🥳
Happy birthday! Looks like you had a great night - I trust my fabulously talented li'l sister Chef Nora at Ephemera treated you well :-)
In case Charles from PC is reading: Alpenglow is one of my favorite local beers and I hope he keeps it on as a flagship during all of his experimentation.
Congrats on 30 years to them!
You mentioning El Chapin reminded me that I had forgotten to follow up with a thank you on the original post - we tried it out a couple of weekends ago on your recommendation, and holy shit, spot on. We'll definitely be going back (and we'll order something from the taco truck too - everything coming out to tables around us looked equally awesome). I will NEVER go to Whataburger!!