College Inn

Food Options: College Inn boasts a menu full of typical bar fare with an added emphasis on Mexican items. A glance at the appetizer menu reveals typical items like nachos, chili cheese fries, potato skins, and chicken wings. They offer a sandwich section which includes burgers, clubs, and dips. The sandwiches can be served with homemade potato chips which is a tasty and unique touch. Pulled pork barbecue is another option on the sandwich side of the menu; this savory meat is is smoked at a sister restaurant – The Old Man – and served at College Inn as well as other Little Pub Company bars and restaurants. Mexican food is plentiful with every item seemingly slathered with green chili (choice of hot, medium or mild). For the health conscious and those seeking a lighter option one can find a few salads to pick between on the menu as well.

Drinks: The major beers offered at any Denver bar are also on tap here at College Inn. I did not notice any particular micro brew brands associated with the bar, but drink specials are a daily offering and will be posted on the specials chalkboard daily. Saturdays until 3pm offer $2 Coors Lights and a $3.50 Bloody Mary bar with quite a few tasty fixin’s.  In full disclosure, I have never been to the place at night so I cant vouch for happy hours and late night specials.

Tastes: I have only ordered from the appetizer menu as I am typically at College Inn to watch sports, specifically the Kentucky Wildcats. I enjoy munching on these over the course of a game as opposed to dining on a proper meal. The items I have tried include the chili cheese fries and chicken nachos.  Both were tasty; the plate of nachos is enormous and nearly too much for one person to finish.

Staff: I probably average 3 visits a month to College Inn and the staff makes it a laid back place to hang out.  They are attentive when you need them to be but make you feel at home so you’re comfortable just walking up to the bar to ask for something extra. Dan always seems to be around during the day along with the guy in the Notre Dame hat (Mike maybe?).  They will shoot the shit with you and still not miss a beat when it comes to serving your food.

Atmosphere: The building is pretty old and dated but it’ s everything it needs to be. TV’s are plentiful and hung from the ceiling all around the main room; it would be nearly impossible to miss a game from any booth or table. The bar would be the one downside to this place in my opinion.  It is set up in a strange sawtooth configuration where patrons sit next to wait staff’s computers.  The TV’s behind the bar are small and weak  compared to the 37+ inchers hanging from the ceiling.  Its a place you could go sit at the bar solo but there are definitely bars that seem more inviting.  The seats are also a thumbs down.  Raised bar chairs are cushioned with backs but oddly shaped so as not to allow for lazy slouching. The men’s water closet is a little on the cramped side as you would expect any dive bar to be.

Location & Links:
College Inn
4400 East 8th Avenue
There is a very small parking lot which the College Inn shares with a liquor store next door; the spaces fill up fast. On the weekends street parking is plentiful and there are no restrictions or time limits when parking on Birch St. adjacent to the bar.

Curtis Park Creamery

It was on my roommate’s recommendation that I checked out Curtis Park Creamery.  Contrary to what ideas one might conjure by the name, this place does not serve ice cream.  It does serve Mexican and tasty Mexican at that.  Before entering the store I knew it was not a sit down place and you need to be aware of that as well.  It looks like they serve everything to-go, and the inside of the place resembled a gas station convenience store with its large glass doors along the back wall displaying refrigerated contents including water, sodas, and juices.  Looking at the menu is simple – it is posted overhead in 2 places and the offerings include burritos, enchiladas, tacos, tamales, and menudo among other things in both a la carte and combo form.  One thing I did not notice were menu items created with the option of different meat ingredients like chicken or pork.  It looked like most items would be bean, beef, or cheese based.  The combos go for around $5 to $6, and I ordered one that included a bean burrito, enchilada, and tamale.  The dish is concocted right in front of you like a less fancy version of a Qdoba or Chipotle assembly line.  As my combo was created, I was unimpressed with the looks of what was being put together; refried beans were slapped on a flour tortilla for the burrito, a handful of cheese rolled into another tortilla for the enchilada, and the tamale – i chose mild – was unrolled from its corn husk.  I ordered my meal smothered which included a red chili sauce poured on top.  The whole concoction was placed in the microwave in its styrofoam to-go container and heated so the cheese would melt.  My enchilada was then topped with lettuce and onions and the meal was ready.  If you have a mother like mine, she would not be happy with anything microwaved in styrofoam because of potential cancer risks.  However, in the name of reviewing restaurants, I compartmentalized this detail and tried not to let it affect my conscience while dining.

The food was really good once I sunk a fork into it.  The beans in the burrito had great flavor and complexity much richer than typical refried beans that come as a side on most Mexican dishes.  The mild spiced tamale was flavorful and probably included some type of meat like pork in its creation although it was not defined as that on the menu.  My enchilada which looked the least appetizing of the 3 items was as great as it was simple after being microwaved.  Ordering the items smothered was a good decision; the hot red chili sauce added some great flavor.

Curtis Park Creamery would be a great place to go for food on a nice day when you can go sit in the park across the street and eat.  It’s a quick order place; you can be in and out in less than five minutes if there is no line.  I used a visa credit card  so its safe to assume they accept most forms of credit cards along with cash.  There is no drink fountain – all bottled items.  While the creation of your meal in front of you does not offer the greatest presentation, thats not what most people are looking for when it comes to fast food Mexican.  The items I tried tasted great, the prices were reasonable, and the street parking is plentiful.  Just look for the Curtis Park Creamery sign painted on the side of the store, it’s hard to miss and right across 30th Street from Curtis Park at 908 30th Street.