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Colorado Recap #3: Fort Collins

in Other, Restaurant Reviews

Ahh, where were we when we last left off?  That’s right!  My boyfriend and I had just finished off our third day in Colorado with lots of adventures and good eats in Denver.

Next up: a Tuesday in two small and quaint (okay small and quaint compared to Denver!) Colorado cities.  Expect lots of beer and tasty food ahead!  What can I say… we like our drinks and we like our eats!  Let’s take a walk around Fort Collins, shall we?

New Belgium ColoradoOur First stop in Fort Collins was picked out by Jeremy.  We had an 11:30 (<– that we just barely made it to thanks to sleeping in a bit too long) brewery tour at New Belgium Brewing.  I have been to a decent amount of brewery tours so far in my life and I must say that this one was definitely the best.  The tour lasted approximately 90 minutes and I would guess that we ended up drinking a total of around two to three beers… for free!  There is nothing quite like drinking before noon, right?

New Belgium Colorado 5I tried the Yuzu, Ranger, La Folie, and Fat Tire.

New Belgium Colorado 7My favorite was the La Folie.  La Folie is aged in oak barrels (that are often previously used for wine or whiskey) for approximately one to three years.  As their website says, this is “not a beer for the timid.”  I must not be “timid” because I loved it!  Over the past year or so I have discovered that I have a major love for sour beer.  I also found out that, unfortunately for me, sour beer is bottled a lot less frequently than other varieties.  Not cool, my friends.  Not cool.

New Belgium Colorado 2Yes.  We like beer.

Colorado 33After riding down a slide to finish off the tour (seriously, their tour is awesome) and another beer at the bar, we headed off to our next stop for lunch.  But not before we took a picture of our matching shorts.  I made him wear his camo shorts on the same day that I wore mine.  Aren’t we awesome? 😉

The Mainline ColoradoI did a little research before our trip and had my eyes (and stomach) set on The Mainline, which serves “Southern comfort” food and is quite vegetarian/vegan friendly.

The Mainline Colorado 2We were quite hungry after the beer, so we started things off with an appetizer.  We originally planned to order the Fried Okra n’ Buttermilk Ranch Orange Marmalade but they were out of okra, so we went with the Hand-Cut Fries n’ Hot’chup.  Essentially these were salty and perfectly crispy fries served with a spicy ketchup.  While I love me some spice, I ended up eating the majority of mine with a mixture of the hot’chup and regular ketchup.  I loved these… a lot.

The Mainline Colorado 4Our lunch selections came out a short time later.  Jeremy ordered the Shrimp Po’Boy which came with… you guessed it: more fries!  As a shrimp lover, he really enjoyed it.

The Mainline Colorado 3I was tempted to order the BBQ Tofu Sandwich but am sometimes leery of how tofu is cooked at unfamiliar restaurants (if it is bad, it is bad) and I wanted to try something a bit out of the norm for me, so I chose the Black Eyed Peas n’ Green.  It was a great choice!  I loved this dish and felt great about eating it after so much heavy food and beer over the previous couple of days.

We both really enjoyed our food at The Mainline, but did think that the service could have been better since we were one of the only groups of people in the entire restaurant.  I don’t know about you, but I am not a fan of having to ask to have my water refilled several times.

Odell Brewing CoOnce our bellies were full, we finished off our time in Fort Collins with one more stop to another great brewery: Odell Brewing Company.  Not only is their brewery gorgeous, but we tried some really great beer.  And… (drum roll please)… I finally found a dark beer that I like!  I looked at the Dr. Acula beer like I do with most dark beers and thought, “definitely not ‘gonna like this one!”  But then I tried it and was so pleasantly surprised.  It had hints of fruit, vanilla, and coconut and I really truly enjoyed it.  Unfortunately, Jeremy tells me that I will almost likely never be able to find it in a store here in Nebraska.  Figures, right?

After we wrapped things up in Fort Collins, we drove southwest over to Boulder.  More on that second “quaint” town in the next recap post!

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{ 19 comments… add one }
  • Becky @ Olivesnwine June 30, 2014, 5:55 am
    I'm bummed we couldn't get a tour at New Belgium but Odell's was pretty awesome! I've seen it sold in stores here in Chicago, but the tour guide said that they don't distribute in Illinois so someone must be smuggling it in! Crazy, right? You just need to find a Nebraska smuggler, hehehehe. Becky @ Olivesnwine recently posted...Marathon Training Weeks 1-3My Profile
    • ClnEatingVegGrl June 30, 2014, 4:05 pm
      Whoa.. people in Chicago are crazy! ;) haha jk! And actually Odell's is here in NE...BUT not the kind that I like. In fact, I am not sure it is bottled anywhere :( boo!
  • Liz @ I Heart Vegetables June 30, 2014, 5:59 am
    I totally know what you mean about tofu at restaurants. (It can be so good, but also sooo not good haha.) That black eyed peas and greens dish looks yummy!!
    • ClnEatingVegGrl June 30, 2014, 4:35 pm
      Yes... tofu scares me at restaurants that aren't known for good vegetarian/vegan food!
  • Jessie June 30, 2014, 7:25 am
    Free beer... say no more! I now want to visit asap. How far was is Ft. Collins from Denver btw?
    • ClnEatingVegGrl June 30, 2014, 4:39 pm
      Haha, I like the way you think!! Fort Collins is only about an hour from Denver, so it is definitely the perfect day trip!
  • Ashley June 30, 2014, 7:46 am
    So much good food! Those breweries sound like so much fun. My husband and I keep meaning to do a tour (we have a bunch of places by us that do them). Happy Monday! Ashley recently posted...Berry Chocolate Chip Mascarpone TartMy Profile
    • ClnEatingVegGrl June 30, 2014, 4:40 pm
      You definitely should! I love brewery tours and they are something fun to do that is a bit out of the norm.
  • meredith @ The Cookie ChRUNicles June 30, 2014, 8:46 am
    Those fries look delicious and I am more of an onion ring girl than fry girl. Looks like you guys really had a great time! meredith @ The Cookie ChRUNicles recently posted...Thought Per PictureMy Profile
    • ClnEatingVegGrl June 30, 2014, 4:40 pm
      They were SO good!! They also had onion rings at the restaurant that I would LOVE to try next time!
  • Joanna @Makingmine June 30, 2014, 8:57 am
    Ah - you make me want to move!! The matching camo shorts are a kill - I need to meet this guy who is willing to do this ;) Your Black Eyed Peas 'n Green looks amazing! Hope you see you recreate it on your blog soon! :) Joanna @Makingmine recently posted...corNfield corNfield: my 1st 10kMy Profile
    • ClnEatingVegGrl June 30, 2014, 4:41 pm
      Trust me, half of the time that I was there I was thinking... "I could totally live here." And yes... it still makes me laugh that he didn't care one bit that we were matching. People probably thought we were nuts ;)
  • Coco June 30, 2014, 8:58 pm
    I love beer but haven't done a brewery tour - I will have to do one. I learned this year that I don't like sour beer, so you can have mine. ;-) Coco recently posted...My First Trail Run In Balboa Park San DiegoMy Profile
    • ClnEatingVegGrl June 30, 2014, 9:29 pm
      You definitely should! And yes, I feel like sour beer is definitely one of those things you either love or hate. I'll totally take yours! ;)
  • Jeremy DeHague July 1, 2014, 8:42 am
    Lets move there! Nice shorts!;)
    • ClnEatingVegGrl July 1, 2014, 4:52 pm
      Haha, okay! ;)
  • Erin @ Girl Gone Veggie July 1, 2014, 1:52 pm
    What a great trip! I love sour beers! That and ciders are the only kind I like!
    • ClnEatingVegGrl July 1, 2014, 4:52 pm
      Ahh, well we need to be trying and drinking some sour beers together then it sounds like!

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