Try taking a look at the Independent’s Best of Colorado Springs list. Each year, the Colorado Springs Independent compiles votes from readers to create the Best of Colorado Springs list.
There were 55 categories in the Food and Drink awards this year. Our very own neighbor, Wooglin’s Deli, won the award for “Best Deli,” and the Rabbit Hole on North Tejon Street won “Best Overall Restaurant.”
Some category names were a little more fun.
La Casita Mexican Grill was dubbed “Best Bang-For-Your Buck Restaurant.” La Casita started in a garage in 1989. Since then, they have grown to three bright pink locations, encompassing their goal to “stay true to ourselves.” Everything is homemade and the Grill is known for being “local, staying fresh, and giving the people a good value for their money.” What separates them, they say, is their “good consistency with good consistent portions across the board. You’re not going to get something different from time to time.”
Rasta Pasta on Tejon Street was given the title for “Best Caribbean Restaurant.” “We are an ethnic fusion restaurant – Italian and Jamaican,” said Rebecca Taraborell. This was the first year that the Independent offered this category. “We were thrilled,” she said. “We were surprised to win gold, especially over our friends at Spice Island Grill, an authentic Jamaican restaurant. I think it’s strange but cool that we won. I guess to the average Colorado Springs diner we are just a little more well known.” However, what makes them unique? Rasta Pasta is the only Jamaican pasta joint in the world.
Seeds Community Cafe was the only non-profit business to win out of the 55 on the list. Seeds has no set prices and no set portion sizes. This encourages customers to not waste food and establishes trust between customer and restaurant. They’ve only been open for two years, but have won “Most Sustainable Place to Eat” both years. “Sustainability is a lot of what Seeds is about,” said Lyn Harwell, founder of Seeds. “We are non-profit. I think it’s great to have won an award with so many for-profit restaurants when we are a non-profit social enterprise that helps people through the power of food.” Their mission, Harwell says, is to “really to get local, healthy food to everyone in our community and make it available to everyone.”
Coquette’s Bistro and Bakery won the award for “Best Gluten-Free Friendly.” They have been open since 2009. “We’re very happy that voters took the time to vote for us and keep us in the number one position. It means a lot to us especially since we keep expanding what we’re doing and offering more to customers. The award really means we’re doing most things right.” Since their opening, Coquette’s has “made a mark in this genre since we made the full commitment to be 100 percent gluten-free. We have a very broad menu, which is rare to find. I think the fact that we are good food that happens to be gluten free, and have a full inventive cocktail bar, allows a varied group of people to be together when not all are gluten free. That’s a big part of our success…and our proprietary flour blend.”
Zach Black says that the main reason Humble Coffee won the award for “Best Local Coffee House” is quality. “Quality ingredients and quality relationships,” Black said. Humble is two things: “drinks and people,” Black said. “We place the entirety of our focus making sure we have the absolute best of both. We sincerely care about those we serve, and we don’t keep it a secret. You’re not a number here but a valued member of an awesome community. We promote goodness and love amongst one another, and I think people appreciate that.”
You can check out the full list of “Best of 2015” at csindy.com.
Tara Labovich
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