I think I know what's been keeping you up at night. You have NO IDEA where to dine when you go to Georgetown, Colorado next, right?? Well, lucky for you I recently visited the Victorian silver mining town and uncovered my own treasure at the mountain's base.
52 miles west of Denver, on the "C.C." division of the Union Pacific railway, Georgetown is a dusty boom town time capsule nestled between some of the most lofty peaks in the Colorado Rockies. Charming as the historic main drag mercantile and soda fountain were, I began to worry a little about what we would eat for lunch. I foresaw a dry burger from a saloon, but where we ended up was a delightful surprise.
Leave it to my sister, the Iron Planner, to research out the best place in town. To boot the
Euro Grill serves the food of 'our people', their menu focusing largely on Bohemian and Czech peasant food (cuisine increasingly hard to come by in the West).
We were almost the only people in the cozy, cabin-like dining room, windows looking out over a rushing creek where a patio deck was being built (oh were they finished!). The bartender -who was from Prague- seemed pleased to have diners familiar with his home, chatting us up while pouring Pilsner Urquel and Warsteiner Dunkel to quench our afternoon thirst.
There are so many tasty and comforting options on the
menu, but the server helped me decide finally on the Szegedin Goulash. The flavors were so much more sophisticated than the description "chunks of pork in a sauerkraut cream sauce" makes it sound. The savory and slightly tangy sauce base was imbued with the rich pork flavor, the meat falling apart with the softest touch of a fork. The airy potato dumplings reminded me of the holidays with my family, an ideal side for sopping up the goulash, along with a hefty scoop of sweet and sour cabbage. This is serious Euro comfort food 101. So good!
My sister was tempted by the pork schnitzel, which was fried lighter than I recall from my teenage exploration of Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic (where I had much schnitzel)... But this is not a complaint! It was golden deliciousness. The crispy potato pancakes we got my four year old niece were herbed and earthier than I'm used to, but didn't seem to phase her, eager to finish and get out to play across the street at one of the coolest (appropriately Alpine-themed) park playgrounds I've seen.
Dessert was a couple handfuls of sweet cinnamon popcorn (
addictive) and assorted goodies from the old-fashioned
Georgetown Valley Candy Company while chasing nieces and strolling the historic streets, breathing the freshest mountain air these Angeleno lungs have encountered in quite some time!
Euro Grill
1025 Rose St. Georgetown, CO 80444; 303.569.2126
eurogrillrestaurant.com
Georgetown Valley Candy Company
500 6th St. Georgetown, CO 80444; 303.569.2778
shopgvcc.com
