I'm SOOOO Hungry

I've been watching the Food Channel on television way too much lately. Every time I see a Diner, Drive-In, or Dive I wish that Colorado Springs had a great place to go for breakfast. We have more franchise food places than any other town in Colorado, but the family run, locally owned inventive places are too few.

I usually judge a town by using its local coffee shop as a base. Skip Denny's and IHOP, I have been using Village Inn for my baseline. Yes, it's a chain but they have better coffee and they give you a whole pot at a time.

The best chain restaurant, though, is Black Bear Diner. The freshly made hash browns are good enough for a finicky 8 year old to eat, and have fresh orange juice and huge, huge meal portions.

The best of locally owned places is Western Omelette and Mountain Shadows over in Old Colorado City. The southwestern part of the menu at Western Omelette is to die for, because you can't get any decent Mexican style food here beyond Monica's. Mountain Shadows has the best coffee and the best service, with the most eclectic menu; probably where I would take someone from out of town to impress them.

It's been said that the sign of a really good cook is how they prepare eggs. 90% fail at cooking decent eggs, and that's among professional chefs. Stepping down to the humble breakfast diner and you are lucky to get anything beyond frozen potatoes and bad coffee. My brother-in-law makes great pancakes from scratch, and I love making omelettes with over 6 kinds of cheese in them. I would begin going to Denver, but that means waiting for over an hour's drive. It might be worth it if I could find a place worth driving to...

-yiquan