Roadfood_ Revised Edition - Jane Stern [205]
Conway’s Red Top
1520 S. Nevada Ave.
719–633–2444
Colorado Springs, CO
LD | $
Conway’s motto, referring to its hamburger, is “One’s a Meal.” The colossi they dish up in these restaurants are genuine whoppers—a half a foot across, served on broad-domed buns, accompanied by shoestring French fries and titanic pitchers of soda. Panavision-wide but not gourmet-thick, they are happy lunch-counter patties with enough of an oily smack to imprint the bun with their savor. They are sold whole or half, topped with cheese (Cheddar, Velveeta, American, mozzarella, or Pepper Jack), chili, mushrooms, or hickory-flavored barbecue sauce.
One definitely is a meal, especially if accompanied by good, shrivel-tipped French fries, onion rings, or a combo known as frings. But it would be a shame to visit the Red Top without a taste of the soups and stews that are still made from Grandma Esther’s (Phyllis Conway’s mom) original recipes. The navy bean soup, for example, is a stout brew with a profound, long-simmered flavor redolent of hickory-smoked ham and spice. With its accompanying sourdough roll, it is hearty enough to be a filling lunch (with a minuscule price tag). Beef stew is another homespun delight—hours in the making, so all the juices of the beef and vegetables have a chance to mellow and blend and soften. It is so thick you need only a fork to eat a bowlful. You can also have a bowl of spicy green chile (made with pork) or a split, grilled hot dog served on a broad burger bun.
The Red Tops have been a family operation since 1962, when Norb Conway bought the hamburger shop he worked in and he and his wife and ten children went to work. The Conways instilled an unshakable pride in the business that is as much a part of this restaurant’s charm as are the giant hamburgers. After all, the Red Tops aren’t really much more than hamburger shops, with waitresses in red hats and blue uniforms who deliver the check with your meal and provide the kind of quick service one expects. The honest menu, homemade food, and genuine hospitality are delightfully oldfangled.
(There are four other Red Tops in Colorado Springs, at 1228 E. Filmore, 390 Circle Dr., 3589 N. Carefree Circle, and 5865 Palmer Park Blvd. And there is one in Pueblo at 112 W. 2nd St.)
Durango Diner
957 Main Ave.
970–247–9889
Durango, CO
BLD | $
It was pancakes that made us fall in love with the Durango Diner—plate-wide pancakes, preferably with blueberries, glistening with butter and running rivers of syrup. We branched out to other breakfasts, and liked them plenty, especially the “half and half” plate of biscuits with gravy and green chile, and the big warm cinnamon roll. Breakfast is a particularly good meal to eat in this Main Street hash house; you will share it with some locals who claim to have been having coffee at these seats for more than thirty-five years.
Then we discovered hamburgers. If you are a connoisseur of hamburger excellence, put Durango on your treasure map, for here they make one really wonderful variation known as the Bonus Cheeseburger Deluxe: one-half pound of meat under a mantle of melted Swiss cheese and a heap of diced green chiles, French fries on the side. We love the Durango Diner’s bacon double cheeseburgers almost as much as we love the chiliburgers (available red or green), and although some customers combine all these toppings on one mound of meat, we must confess that bacon and chili together atop a cheeseburger are just too much for our delicate palates.
Johnson’s Corner
2842 S.E. Frontage Rd. (Exit 254 off I-25)
970–667–2069
Loveland, CO
Always open | $
A favorite truckers’ stop along Highway 87 between Denver and Cheyenne since before there was an interstate, Johnson’s Corner is known for round-the-clock breakfast and is famous for its plate-size cinnamon roll. The roll is the most bang for your buck, a monument of dough blanketed with what