Steamboat Springs, CO dining

I searched and didn't find a thread, so I thought it would be OK to start one on Steamboat. My family and I recently spent a ski vacation in Steamboat and the dining was surprisingly good! We were limited to places to which we could walk from the Sheraton or places where the Sheraton shuttle would take us. We ate well.

Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grille
435 Lincoln Ave
Steamboat Springs, CO 80487
970-879-3773

A quality brewpub with a varied menu, kid's menu and good service. Plenty of vegetarian options. Requisite pub grub with quality burgers and a "dipping menu" of sauces from which one may choose to dip one's grilled meat selection. Portions are huge and the food is pretty darn good. Craft brews of good, but not great, quality. We would go back.

Slopeside Grill
1855 Ski Time Square
Steamboat Springs, CO
970-879-2916 (direct)
http://www.slopesidegrill.com/

I set myself up to really dislike this place because it's been my experience that dining options right next to the slopes don't have to work very hard. Boy, was I wrong! We had lunch here three of the five days we were in Steamboat and never tired of the food. Pizzas are hand-thrown and brick oven-baked - very good crust IMO. Burgers cooked exactly as ordered with plentiful dressings. The french fires were excellent. My SIL had the Joe Grinder three times in a row, it was that good! French Dip passable but Mrs. D said she wouldn't order again.

Steamboat Smokehouse
http://www.steamboatsmokehouse.com/
910 Lincoln Ave
Steamboat Springs, CO
970-879-7427

This place is not in Chicago, North Carolina or Memphis so I wasn't expecting much. But the aroma of woodsmoke (and the fact they had a kids menu) roped us in. This place was another pleasant surprise and the Davooda boys enjoyed the "peanuts on the floor" atmosphere. It's authentic pit BBQ done low and slow and they have Ranger IPA on tap - SOLD! Mrs. D and the SIL had St. Louis racks. I went with an order of burnt ends (for the price, a really large and delicious helping) and a pulled pork dinner. Cole slaw left a lot to be desired but the fries and mashed potato sides were tasty. The meat is the deal here and it did not disappoint. STL racks sported a serious smoke ring, bark and featured that toothsome quality that may well elevate them to G Wiv approval status. My youngest son approved of the pulled pork, and I thought it tasted really good - but I'm a burnt-end man from the get-go and I ate those first. So, I ended up taking the pulled pork back to the condo for lunch the next day. Still really good a day later and nuked. This place offers two tomato-based hot and mild sauces - for my money the hot is the ticket as the mild just doesn't add much flavor.

We did not dine at the Sheraton or in the village outside of Slopeside so I cannot offer any suggestions there. But - it's a start!

Davooda

***edited for gross misspellings due to being rushed at time of posting

Thank you for these suggestions Davooda. I just found out I'm going to Steamboat for 2 1/2 weeks and I just started researching the area.

Took the kiddos to Steamboat in early April for the end of the season.

Loved Creekside and Freshies for breakfast off mountain. Freshies has a Colorado mountain hippie vibe with a well done choice of New Mexico style chile.

Mahogany Ridge was about the best meal we had in town, it was a very good. Dipping menu was a hit with our crew.

Overall, we have enjoyed the food in Aspen and Vail much more than in Steamboat.

I don't have a car this week, and I'm walking from where I am (not taking the bus yet), so I stayed close to home. I went to The Rusted Porch and had a great burger there. They put 5 slices of nice smoky bacon on the burger. In fact, if you order bacon on anything, you're getting 5 slices - nice. Great bun, McDonald's size fresh cut fries, I was very happy with the meal and ended up having it twice already. I also went over to Slopeside Grill the other night and tried a French Dip. It was decent, fries were frozen, nothing special. I noticed they have a pizza special after 9pm every day that I'll try next.

The Rusted Porch
690 Marketplace Plaza
Steamboat Springs, CO 80487
970-879-1455

Oh wait, I did have a blah order of mozzarella sticks late the night we came in town at Tap House Sports Grill. Couldn't wait to get out of that place with the young kids blasting annoying music.

A little update. I went back to Slopeside a couple of times and had the happy hour pizza special (12" for $7.00 after 9pm) which was excellent. Wood fired oven, nice crust, oily cheese, and tasty spicy sausage too.

Well I'm back from Steamboat. I am not one of the ethnic cuisine foodies on here, so I am not giving you fancy 9 course meals for $300 a person. But if you want good ol' American food, that's me. Can't say I had anything the blew me away, but overall I was very pleased with most of my meals - although one place I went to 4 times was Lil House Country Biscuits and Coffee - so I'd say that was a winner. I had their chicken biscuit which is everything Leghorn will never be, and a bacon and egg biscuit. They also do Breakfast Burritos, Biscuits and Gravy, etc. It's a little shop with a half dozen tables.

Lil House Country Biscuits and Coffee
2093 Curve Plaza
Steamboat Springs CO
970-870-8507
http://www.lilhousebiscuits.com/

I tried Steamboat Smokehouse. Meats were definitely smoked, sliced brisket was too lean, and dry, but had good flavor. Pulled Pork could have used a nice Carolina Vinegar sauce, but I didn't mind the cumin based sauce on the table. I'd go back when I'm town.

Johnny B Goode's was a nice diner type place, had a french dip that was decent at best. I tried a pretzel burger at McKnight's Pub which was a letdown. The bun was not a bun, it was a pretzel shaped like a bun and was really tough and chewy. I pointed this out to the server who said she had heard other people say the same thing. As a pretzel is was decent, as a bun, it was awful. Sandwich itself was good.

Had very good New York style street pizza at Brooklynn's Pizzeria. Love the crisp, thin crust. Weak link (as with most NY style pizzas I've ever had) was the sauce. But still very good. My girlfriend thought the Stomboli was decent as well.

Brooklynn's Pizzeria
57 10th St
Steamboat Springs CO
970-871-1000
http://www.brooklynnspizzeria.com/

Had a couple of nice meals at Cugino's Italian Restaurant. I loved their Caesar dressing, very pungent, strong flavor. Sausage pizza was good too. (I had the salad for 2 of the meals for light lunches).

Cugino's Italian Restaurant
41 8th St
Steamboat Springs CO
970-879-5805
http://www.cuginosrestaurant.com/

We went to breakfast at Freshies one morning. I thought it was good, but I should have tried Winona's or Creekside which are probably even better. Once I found Lil House Biscuits, that was all I needed.

We took a trip to Estes Park last weekend and had excellent BBQ at Smokin' Dave's. We had this place last time and my girlfriend said it was her favorite meal of both trips. It really is good.

Smokin' Dave's BBQ and Tap House
820 Morraine Ave (US 36)
Estes Park CO
970-577-RIBS
http://www.smokindavesq.com/

We went out of town on the weekends, and tried to eat a little more simple during the week, so I don't have any steakhouse reviews or places like that. I have a feeling I'll be back there again since my girlfriend's company is there.

Just returned from another great Steamboat trip and wanted to share a couple winners:

Cafe Diva
http://www.cafediva.com/#home
1855 Ski Time Square Dr
Steamboat Springs, CO 80487
970.871.0508

Very nice, fine-dining spot near the slopes. Good, but not great, wine selection. Varied menu and excellent service. They are really on their game (pun intended) with elk tenderloin/scallop surf and turf as well as the stuffed walleye special.

Carl's Tavern
http://www.carlstavern.com
700 Yampa St
Steamboat Springs, CO 80487
(970) 761-2060

This place is new since our last visit and seems to be quite successful. The space is an homage to a local ski legend. Polished concrete floors, contemporary bar and lots of stainless steel -you get the look. Food was very, very good - upscale pub grub and clean plate club all around. Service was attentive but not intrusive. One caution -when they say the sides are enough for 2-3 persons, they must mean 2-3 toddlers because they are not sized that way!