King's Chef Diner

Gary seems to be bursting at the seams after this little adventure....good thing he didn't get that tee-shirt!!

August 3, 2011

Good Morning.  I have to tell you that Colorado is no place to sleep late, especially this time of year. Although I am totally enjoying the slow mornings that I am known for, here, if you get a late start you are assured of getting wet in the afternoon. It is almost like clockwork that at 3PM the thunderstorms start arriving. I have gotten used to it and always have my raingear packed on my bike. But it just doesn’t sprinkle here, it fucking rains with thunder and lightning in full force. I don’t usually pull over for rain but this is the type that blankets the road with visibility of about 10 feet. The nice thing is all you have to do is wait it out and it passes over you in about 45 minutes and you’re on your merry way again.

So this morning I got up at 9:30am and headed down the 25 south to ‘King’s Chef Diner’. This is another place my sister recommended. It is in a nice section of Colorado Springs that has streets lined with old large homes with sprawling lawns and gardens.  Not that most will know this, but the exit off the 25 is Unitah (pronounced U-in-ta), make a left to Nevada Ave, make a right to Bijou Street and it is right on the corner. There is plenty of street parking but one caution right off the bat, you have to put enough money in the parking meter for at least an hour and a half or it will cost you a $20 parking ticket. How do I know this? Experience. Yes, I stayed so long in this place I exceeded my time and upon leaving was greeted with a very neatly written parking ticket.

The reason I was in there so long is that this place is amazing. I walked in and sat at my usual place at the counter which is totally 50’s style. The vantage point at this counter gives you full sight of the food being prepared which is in such abundance it is almost wrong. I looked over the menu and picked a dish called ‘The Thing’. This is a huge mound of food that consists of many layers. I will start at the bottom and work my way to the top. 

The first layer is Texas toast which is twice the thickness of regular bread, then the next layer is heaps of sausage and bacon, which is then topped with wonderfully cooked hash browns which are not greasy or too salty, then topped again with the eggs of your choice (I had over-easy, of course) with melted cheddar cheese on top of that with a choice of green chili salsa either on top of that or on the side. I chose to have the green chili salsa on the side because my waiter ‘Taco’ said it is real spicy and I may like it better with doling out my own portions.

I am glad I took his advice because this stuff is not for the faint of heart. It is ‘hot’. This mound of food must be 6” high. The eggs on top were cooked perfect and once you get through them, the fun begins because this is like digging for a lost treasure. I mean there are so many hash browns on top that it takes some eating to get to the sausage and bacon, and then you have to eat through all of that to finally get to the Texas toast. By the time you are even close to getting to the bottom, on one side mind you, I was just about as full as one can get.

As I am sitting there trying to consume more food than two people can eat, my sister texts me and asks me if I ordered the biscuits and gravy. What? Are you kidding me? They are going to have to call a tow truck to get me out of here as it is! Well, the reason for her text is that my brother-in-law Ted (he’s been with Jane for umpteen years, so he is my brother-in-law by time served, LOL) makes an awesome biscuits and gravy and he said this is better than his. So ok, you know I had to order a side of biscuits and gravy but ‘Taco’ says (who thinks I am totally nuts by now) it’s actually better with the Texas toast, so again, I take his recommendation and order it that way. Well, this gravy is just delicious. I still think Ted’s is a bit better (he paid me to write that) but man, they are real close and I ate the whole fucking plate of this. Now I am really stuffed and I need to get back to ‘The Thing’. I can’t finish it; I really tried. I found out (Taco again) that if you eat it all they give you a prize of a tee-shirt and candy. Just what I need, more shit to eat and a shirt that certainly won’t fit by the time this stuff digests. Plus, I think the prize should be a free gift certificate to some fat clinic because if you eat here on a regular basis, you will need it. 

Now, as I was eating all this, I was watching the kitchen, and was amazed at the amount of potatoes that this place goes through. So I had to ask and an employee who was eating at the counter (Hope would have liked this, she hates it when the employees run around with food in their mouths) told me that they go through 4 tons of potatoes a week. What? That is 8000 pounds!  He informed me that with all the hash browns, country potato dishes and the fresh French fries that are served during the week, this is a modest number. The cool thing is that all the potatoes are from Colorado farms and grown not far from the restaurant. So they are super fresh and I may be crazy but I swear you can tell the difference. 

Now it was not that crowded when I was there but as I was leaving this place started to hum for lunch, which by the way, offers burgers of a ‘half pound’ each, and their ‘to go’ orders were starting to mount up. ‘Kings Chef’ also only deals in cash so don’t bring checks or credit cards but they do have an ATM on the premises, so no worries.  The place is spotless clean from kitchen to bathrooms, has plenty of ‘stuff’ on the walls to keep you looking around and the most friendly staff that I have encountered so far on this trip.

So, after an amazing time with a cast of characters (employees) that all feel that they own the place and they say this with pride, I hoisted my ‘full to the top’ body on my bike to go for a ride. Not far from ‘Kings Chef’ is truly one of the most beautiful city parks I have ever seen. It is ‘Garden of the Gods’ that is solely cared for by the city of Colorado Springs. Now to me this is amazing because it is a pretty big size park that is the size of most cities and takes an hour and a half to ride through. Mostly because you stop a lot for photos and it is a slow ride. It is worth every minute of it and then you can top it off by going to Manitou Springs which is a right hand turn after the exit of the park. There you get to enjoy all the little shops, coffee houses, museums, and beautiful homes and churches that have been there since the 1800’s. After ‘Kings Chef’ you will need to park the bike and walk. It will do you some good to try and wear off some of that food.

So as my ride to Colorado comes to a close (I will be leaving Saturday) and my ride back to Los Angeles begins, ‘Kings Chef Diner’ was an ‘ Off the Charts’ experience to start  the ride home.  I do have to add that I did miss my partner in crime (Hope) on this trip because I don’t like getting fat alone but I will really miss my family.  Many thanks to Jane and Ted for being such wonderful hosts and for recommending these wonderful restaurants. So if you’re in Colorado stop by ‘Sheldon’s Luncheonette’ and ‘Kings Chef Diner’ and tell them Hope and Gary sent you. Well, for now, just Gary.

131 East Bijou Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80903-1407
(719) 636-5010

Ride Safe……

PS:  I will be riding through New Mexico and Arizona on the way back so if I find anything I will let you know.