Spring menus everywhere
Blk Mgk finally opens; Lemon Lodge closes; a Peruvian Seco de Carne recipe; results from the Rooftop Invitational; + more food & drink news
Remember that time, back in October last year, when I talked about the opening of Blk Mgk coffee shop inside of The Mining Exchange hotel? It was supposed to happen on Halloween, but didn’t. And then months passed with no updates. I messaged PR to no avail, and even dropped by in December, earning a free coffee from the desk clerk just for inquiring. They were apparently serving hotel patrons then and working out procedures in a very limited capacity.
Everyone had pretty much forgotten about Blk Mgk. And then, quietly inside the last couple months, it soft opened with no big ribbon cutting or media day or anything more than an Instagram post in early April to drum up followers via a swag giveaway for tagging friends. (Influencers, does that actually still work? I’ve never been a fan.)
Anyway, I feel it’s almost been a disservice to Blk Mgk, because it’s actually cool as hell and pretty unique, even if scaled down from the early menu previews I’d seen last fall. At that time, they were leaning heavy on an apothecary-evoking theme, featuring (as I reported then) “tinctures (like rose syrup and orange peel bitters); herbs (like turmeric, cayenne and mushroom extracts); ‘elements’ (like magnesium, zinc and charcoal); medicinals (supplements and superfoods) and ‘potions’ like a habanero shrub, ‘Summit Sawdust’ (white pine and gold flake) and ‘Snake Oil’ (literally Chinese water snake oils said to be rich in Omega 3 fatty acids).
As you can see in the photo of the menu above, we’re down to just “remedies” like collagen and colloidal silver and a handful of featured speciality lattes outside of the expected espresso standards. I asked staff if we could expect anything more soon and didn’t get a clear indicator we would. But, for the menu they launched with, offerings are commendably interesting. And Hold Fast is roasting a custom Black Magic Ethiopian bean for them, which they serve on drip. (Their ‘spro is Hold Fast’s City Slicker label.)
I order the Royal Crown iced and the pistachio ube latte hot. The first reminds me of a cold brew and also the enjoyable pairing of coffee with tonic water. But here, the Hold Fast espresso’s mixed with ginger-lemon kombucha and honey-ginger-lemon syrup plus some drops of hellfire bitters for a lightly spicy back bite that folds into the ginger and citrus zing. It’s a wonderful, refreshing sipper.
The pistachio ube latte by contrast plays on the sweeter side, right up against being cloying with the syrup additions in an oat milk base. The espresso shots darken the mix such that the ube’s purple power doesn't shine through visually. Still, it’s good, with a finish flavor that evokes pistachio gelato. Sometime when I do want a boozy drink, I’d like to return for the Mgk Martiki with cold brew, macadamia, coconut cream, saline, rum and Bittercube Trinity Bitters; it reads beautifully at least.
Beyond the menu appeal, Blk Mgk’s draw (once you’ve been in) is the spacious social and work space around the lobby that’s stylish in a sophisticated, boutique hotel kind of way. Slender sconce lights on columns and round bubble lights on chandeliers emit warm light to match dark wood paneling and lots of gold/brass accents and fixtures. Paying homage to the wealthy Mining Exchange history of the building, it all lends a feel of being in a metropolis bank in the era when art deco flourished (the 1920s and ‘30s). Except caffeine is the currency on exchange.
Before I depart, I ask about the lobby bar across the way that looks completed as far as its buildout goes. But it’s not yet stocked with product and sits as a placeholder. All I’m told is “it’s coming soon.”
Uh-huh. Color me playfully skeptical, but the last time I heard that … well, five months later, here we are.
Ranch Foods Direct goes to Peru with May Schnip’s Pick
I know I say this every month, but you really need to try this month’s featured collaboration recipe with Ranch Foods Direct and our May guest The French Kitchen. TFK culinary instructor, Chef Luis Pagan, shares what calls “one of the iconic dishes in Peru,” Seco de Carne. Speaking as the guy who got to eat his preparation of it right off the stove, I can tell you it’s an outstanding, hearty, deeply flavorful dish. It’s a cilantro beef stew marinated with a fermented drink the Incas used to drink, named Chicha de Jora (available at local import markets). Chef Pagan recommends serving it with rice and and Mayocoba beans, for which you can find many recipes online and pick a favorite. Some use lard and bacon, but Pagan prefers pig tails for their natural fat. Ranch Foods Direct will have you covered on all the pork products you seek, in addition to their Callicrate beef cuts. Get the recipe here.
Bites and bits
• Lemon Lodge Ski Bar has closed downtown, citing initial woes with Pikes Peak Regional Building Department during their attempted opening months in early 2023. “For four long months the El Paso County Regional Building Department (RBD) held us up, not allowing us to move into our space. Contradictory oversight and capricious delays cost us an unexpected $80,000, which doesn’t include other expenses that accrued or the inability to generate income while we waited and waited,” owners Melanie and Matthew Hexter wrote in part of a post on Lemon Lodge’s website. In an interview with The Gazette, they claimed RBD inspectors would show up unannounced and require “unnecessary” changes.
• “We are building a legacy for our children… and we hope to empower those that are cultivating their own creations to move forward and keep going,” says Chantal Lucas in this week’s Springs Magazine, speaking to Dionne Passacantando about the new Luchals location in Fountain. (Lucas was a guest on my State of Plate podcast in late 2022.)
• Also in Springs Magazine this week, Jeremy Jones outlines what’s ahead for the Springs’ inaugural SoCo Collab Frost Fest on May 11 at Bear Creek Regional Park. My co-host on tap&table Ryan Hannigan is quoted saying “With the talent pool in our local brewery scene, the beer possibilities are endless. Plus with some professional BJCP judging and the beautiful setting of Bear Creek Park, Frost Fest is poised to become a yearly celebration for our local scene.” My good friend (and former publisher at the CS Indy) Carrie Simison is co-chair of the event committee, and she tells Springs Mag, “This festival is not only about enjoying great beer but also about acknowledging the incredible breweries that have helped put Colorado Springs on the map for craft beer.” Get your tickets early, here.
• Results from last week’s 13th annual Patrick Robinson’s Chef Showcase in benefit of Rocky Mountain Pace: 1st place: Inefable by Fernando (successfully defending his win from last year). 2nd place: Lumpia Lheas. 3rd place: Bear Creek Senior Living.
• Felipe’s 109 has temporarily closed its 3008 S. Academy Blvd. location (for the rest of the week) to prep for its grand opening of its second location at 11 a.m. on May 4 at Trails End Taproom.
• The Warehouse Restaurant & Gallery will be featured on an upcoming episode of America’s Best Restaurants. Chef/owner James Africano hosted a group of invitees to dine during the filming of his segment on May 2. I was among them, and greatly enjoyed samples from the latest spring menu (described in the caption below). Africano says he’s unaware at this time of the episode air date, but I’ll keep an eye out and share a link when I have one.
On top at the Rooftop
The inaugural Rooftop Invitational was held at Lumen8 late last Sunday night with competing bartenders from The Archives, District Elleven, Cork & Cask, Shame & Regret, Tipperary Cocktail Parlor, Gift Horse Bar, Bar Thirty Three and Lumen8.
It drew a huge crowd early on, which slowly thinned out as the hour grew past midnight and beyond 1 a.m. Whereas the bartender battles I co-presented and judged throughout last fall at Tipperary Cocktail Parlor were more geared towards spotlighting local mixologist talent for the general public, the Rooftop Invitational felt more like an industry party thrown for itself (fun!) with the public welcome to spectate.
In that for-us-by-us approach (hence starting at 8 p.m. and running night-owl hours), co-organizers Shayne Baldwin (from The Archives, and who took top place competing at Tipperary), Luis Rodriguez (longtime local legend bartender) and JB Bogolia (F&B Director for Lumen8) selected the competing bars and acted as the event’s trio of judges. I sat with them on the rooftop patio during each round (judged blind) and I tasted alongside them to quietly observe how they evaluated the cocktails. They were matter of fact, blunt and plenty descriptive when presenting results from each competitor back to the crowd. (In other words they didn’t pull punches.)
Each competitor could bring a colleague to bounce ideas off of, hence the photos below of the bartenders facing one another across the counter. And the audience could order the drinks created directly after each round, inviting participation. In the end, Leslie Bhattacharyya from Cork & Cask made it to the final round, up against Vyper Jade Medina from Tipperary Cocktail Parlor. Both their drinks were excellent, but the judges weighed in favor of Medina and she brought home the trophy for Tipperary, supported by her coworker, cocktail coach/helper Jacob Pfund.
Medina (who everyone knows as “Vyper”) was formerly the bar manager at La Burla Bee and helped create the menu at Bloom Ultra Lounge, she tells me. She says she’s “been behind all kinds of bars through my years, like dives, rowdy biker bars, restaurants and nightclubs. The first bar I ever tended was in Southern California outside of Palm Springs, though I grew up in Colorado Springs.”
Congrats to her, Pfund and Tipperary as well as the other talented competitors and the organizers for a very energetic event with ample mad skills on display. Cheers!
Side Dish Dozen happenings
• Ascent Beverage: Industry Night May 6 with Jackson Hole Still Works at Wobbly Olive downtown. 6-8 p.m.; free product samples, swag, cocktail specials and extended happy hours.
• The French Kitchen: Preorder your Mother’s Day special Dark Chocolate Raspberry Guava Tart; $29.99, feeds 4-6 people. And consider a gift card for a cooking class as a gift. To celebrate the 12th anniversary of owner Blandine Mazéran’s cooking classes, get 15% off all classes purchased through May 5. Coupon code: 12YEAR15.
• Kangaroo Coffee: Check out our auction items for the May 11th Humane Society of Pike Peak Region Fur Ball – especially the KC Cat Café. Win a morning of Kangaroo Coffee and Organic Bliss treats for ten with a whole bunch of kitties to cuddle!
• Four by Brother Luck: Brunch Party Pop Up at Eleven18 with chefs Brother Luck and Beto Reyes, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., May 4 and 5. Live DJ, patio open, food tower specials, frosé all day. Menu preview here. Reservations encouraged here. Catch chef Brother Luck’s Shrimp Cocktail & Filet Mignon cooking class, May 11, 6 p.m. at the Studio; $75. Tipperary Cocktail Parlor just released a refreshed spring/summer cocktail list.
• District Elleven: Chef Dustin Archuleta’s new spring menu is out. And your favorite bartenders have released their latest seasonal cocktail list, which includes four fantastic mocktails. Cocktail to try first (based on my sampling): Charodinger’s Dram, made with gin, rootbeer leaf syrup, coconut milk, lime and Chareau aloe liqueur. Plus: New art on the walls for First Friday (through May) and Cinco De Mayo Weekend at T-Byrds with $6 margs and swirls Saturday and Sunday. DJ spinning beats on Sunday.
• Red Gravy: Chef/owner Eric Brenner says “Chef AD is going old-school with Chicken Cacciatore this week.” It’s served over porcini polenta and fresh broccolini. Save room for desserts like an affogato, tiramisu crème brûlée, lemoncello panna cotta and the unusual and awesome blueberry gooey buttercake.
• Edelweiss: Make your Mother’s Day reservations now. The special menu, running 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., includes herb-rubbed prime rib and crab-stuffed salmon. All moms get a free strawberry dessert.
• Bristol Brewing Company: Barrel Room now open for the season, 5-9 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Spark BBQ has added Wednesday evenings, 5-9 p.m. to their schedule.
• Odyssey Gastropub: Brunch & Bottomless Mimosas, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays. Reserve now for Mother's Day Brunch, with specials including a free “Momosa” for all the moms and a Berries ‘n Cream Pain Perdu plate.
• Blue Star Group: May pie of the month at Gold Star Bakery is a chocolate cream pie with Oreo crust. Order by May 10 for pickup on the 17th. Dine at Decent Pizza Co. on May 8, where 10% of sales will benefit Piñon Valley Elementary. Also May 8, catch an extended happy hour on Stellina Pizza Cafe’s patio after the Hot Girl Walk with Local Springs (meet at 5:30 pm. in Monument Valley Park at Mesa and Cache la Poudre).
• Wobbly Olive: Chef Mark Henry’s new spring menu just released, hosting a number of vegetarian, gluten-free and vegan items. Available at both locations.
• Goat Patch Brewing: Annual Mother’s Day Market featuring local vendors, May 4, noon to 5 p.m. Trivia, 6:30-8:30 p.m., May 8. Therapeutic Thursday Coloring Night, May 9, 6-8 p.m.
• Rasta Pasta: Proudly serving five local beers on tap. We always carry Bristol's Beehive and Laughing Lab and Goat Patch Hazy IPA and Blond, and we recently added a rotating tap, currently pouring Goat Patch's Purploid Sour.
• The Carter Payne: On draft right now: Green tomato and thyme sour; sea salt and bay leaf Gose; and Thai tea table sour. Chef Brent raved about how much he loved the Ensalda de Carrucho when he was in Puerto Rico recently, and he finally found a great source for conch, so it will be featured as a special for the next few weeks. It's ceviche-style conch salad with pineapple, red and yellow bell peppers, cucumbers, serrano chiles and fresh lime juice.
Upcoming events
• May 4: 2nd annual Kentaco Derby Event at The Well. 4-9:30 p.m. Vendor taco specials, Derby cocktails, live music, Josh & John’s ice cream truck, giveaways.
• May 4: April Showers Bring May Flowers wine tasting at Wayfinder Coffee. 6-9 p.m. $60; five wines and a welcome cocktail with food pairings.
• May 5: Cinco de Mayo programming all over the city. (In other words: too damn many to list.) Go support your favorite local taco/Mexican spot and make it a margarita Sunday.
• May 9: The Broadmoor's Meet the Maker wine dinner with Bindi Sergardi at Ristorante Del Lago. $250. Menu here; tickets here.
• May 11: SoCo Collab Frost Fest at Bear Creek Regional Park. 1-5 p.m., $30.
• May 11: NAMIWalks Mental Health & Wellness Fest at Panorama Park. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., includes service from food trucks RJ Foodies, Ricky's Island Cafe and Williams Soul Food between 10:30 and 12:30.
• May 13: An Agave Adventure master class with Del Maguey’s Valerie Alvarado and Codigo’s VP Brice Erichsen. 5:30-9:30 p.m.; $70-$130. Live DJ, a 503W Asian-Mexican infused taco/nacho bar, curated cocktails, and optional “small agave themed tattoos in-person” from area artists.
• May 15: Taste of Tri-Lakes Cares Chopped-style fundraiser in Larkspur. 5:30-8:30 p.m. I’ll be co-judging the friendly competition (with challenge ingredients plucked from the food bank) to help raise funds for the vital community services center.
• May 15: Hillside Gardens’ Summer Concert Series begins for the season; it offers excellent food and drink vending throughout.
• May 16: Sip with Schnip at Wobbly Olive downtown. 6-9 p.m., more details to come.
• May 17: The Chuckwagon 719 grand opening at 6453 Omaha Blvd., noon.
Parting shot(s)
A shout-out to my printer, Local Design Shop, who’s refreshed my lineup of Side Dish T-shirts, from the original designs by my tap&table cohost Ryan Hannigan. The French Kitchen is now representing for me (pictured top left) and of course I had to ham it up and look like a jackass posing in my own shirts. Anyway, as a special promotion this week if you wish to buy one, use the discount code LOCAL to waive shipping and pick your shirt up directly from me at a future Sip with Schnip event.
