Carly and Lauren are joined by Colorado Springs foodie and brunch expert Meagan Thomas, aka Springs Native, for a mouthwatering deep dive into the best breakfast spots around town. From buffet strategy at the Broadmoor to hidden gems, hangover cures, and one brunch horror story you won’t believe (seriously… gross!), it’s all served with a side of laughs and local love.
Grab your mimosa and tune in! If you love brunch as much as we do (or just want the inside scoop on the best local eats), this one’s for you. Warning: you will be hungry by the end.
Core Collective These pilates classes are designed to help you build strength and flexibility, improve your posture and mental health, and reduce stress. If you use the code SPRINGSANDTHINGS, you can get 3 classes for $30. Head to their website to get this offer!
Chapters
Brunch lovers, this one’s for you!
Carly and Lauren are joined by Colorado Springs foodie and brunch expert Meagan Thomas, aka Springs Native, for a mouthwatering deep dive into the best breakfast spots around town. From buffet strategy at the Broadmoor to hidden gems, hangover cures, and one brunch horror story you won’t believe (seriously… gross!), it’s all served with a side of laughs and local love.
Grab your mimosa and tune in! If you love brunch as much as we do (or just want the inside scoop on the best local eats), this one’s for you. Warning: you will be hungry by the end.
Core Collective These pilates classes are designed to help you build strength and flexibility, improve your posture and mental health, and reduce stress. If you use the code SPRINGSANDTHINGS, you can get 3 classes for $30. Head to their website to get this offer!
What is Springs and Things?
Welcome to Springs and Things, the podcast where two close friends spill the tea on all things Colorado Springs! From culture and community to hidden gems and neighborhood lore, we’ve got it covered. Join us as we sip our coffee (or maybe something stronger) and dive into the stories and secrets that make this city so unique. Whether you're a local or just passing through, our fun, light-hearted, and always entertaining take on the quirks, hot topics, and insider tips will keep you coming back for more. Discover what’s really happening in the Springs—beyond the mountains and parks!
Speaker 1:
Lauren, I'm I'm simultaneously full and salivating thinking about this episode.
Speaker 2:
Yes. Same. There's just something about hanging out with your family or your friends on a I'm not an evening person. Like when somebody wants to do something at like 08:00, I'm like, are you kidding me? Why can't we just do this earlier?
Speaker 2:
So brunch is like my love language. I love having people over for brunch, having people over for waffles. This whole thing started. This whole podcast started because I was supposed to
Speaker 1:
go to your house for waffles and the kids. Whole family was gonna go to your house for waffle Sunday.
Speaker 3:
That's right.
Speaker 1:
I know. Okay. So thank you brunch. I know a few years ago, Santa gave me a little jar and it had 12 brunch places that I could pick one out of I would pick a place out of a jar every month. And it was a brunch place and we would try a new brunch place and to try to figure out which brunch spot was our favorite.
Speaker 1:
Anyway, needless to say, we are brunch gals and we found another brunch gal.
Speaker 2:
We did. That's Megan Thomas. You probably know her as Springs Native. She brings you all the good food stories across the city on Instagram. And on a blog.
Speaker 2:
I've never read the blog but I didn't know that it started as a blog. So yeah, I follow her on Instagram and yeah, we became friends several years ago. And now she is your friend too, Carly.
Speaker 1:
Yes. You'll hear how that awkwardly happened. So let's get to it. Enjoy this interview with Megan.
Speaker 2:
So last time we ran into Megan Thomas, we were at the Broadmoor having brunch, and now she's here joining us on our podcast sitting in my bed, actually, all three of us. Not weird at all. This is why we don't do video because we get really good audio right here on my bed. So Megan Thomas owns Springs Native, which started as an Instagram account, but now you do marketing for all kinds of restaurants, and you do all kinds of things. Tell us a little bit about Springs Native and what what motivated you to start it.
Speaker 3:
Yeah. So I started Springs Native about ten years ago this past fall. It started off as a blog and eventually turned into more of an Instagram, and that's really where I keep most of my content now. Then in 2020, when COVID era was happening, I lost my job. And a lot of the restaurants knew me because of my Instagram account.
Speaker 3:
And they trusted me and they had this PPP money that they could use for marketing, but they didn't know what to do with it. And so they were like, hey, we know you, we trust you. Can you help us? There were a couple people. And so I started helping them.
Speaker 3:
And then as I started helping them, word kind of grew like, oh, she's helping you. I like what she's doing. I need help too. And that's how Springs Native Creative started. And that's my marketing agency side of things.
Speaker 3:
And so I do mostly work with restaurants, but I also have some other really great local businesses that are clients around town. And I help them with social media marketing. I help them with, you know, e newsletters, public relations. I do a lot of public relations work and a lot of influencer management, so helping them bring in influencers and things like that. And so it's kind of fun for me.
Speaker 3:
I get to play both sides of the field for that portion of my job. It's really neat.
Speaker 1:
Can I ask you a really awkward question that I've always wanted to ask an influencer?
Speaker 2:
Oh my
Speaker 1:
god, yes. So we just met a few weeks ago at the Broadmoor, at the Winter Polo Classic as well. But I have been following you for a while just from a food recommendation standpoint, restaurant recommendation. But when I met you, I was like, do I need to pretend I don't know you and play it cool? Or do I say, oh my gosh, I love your recommendations.
Speaker 1:
And I think I put it quite like I was like, hey, I'm Carly. Nice to meet you. Like, alright. You have quite the following now. Do you run into people all the time that recognize you and how should they approach you?
Speaker 3:
Yeah. So I do. I actually have one girl who I just saw at the wine festival. And of course, name is slipping my mind now. If you listen to this, I'm sorry.
Speaker 3:
I know you. Every time I see her, we usually I won't lie. We've both had quite a bit to drink every time we take a photo. And her husband is always like, stop asking her for photos. And and I'm always like, let's post all over the Internet together.
Speaker 3:
So it really just depends. I mean, obviously, I like love saying hi to people. It makes me feel like what I do is important because it can feel like you're talking into a void on the Internet sometimes. And so it is nice when people come up and they're like, oh, you helped me pick this place or this or whatever the case is. It can be a little bit overwhelming for me sometimes if like I'm on a first date.
Speaker 3:
Like, mean, I am in the dating pool. And so like when I'm with someone, I mean, it is kind of fun to be like, oh, yeah, that's me. Hi. I look so important on a But it can also be a little bit overwhelming. I do feel like people I know people aren't just watching me, but it can sometimes be like, oh my god, people are watching me.
Speaker 3:
So my advice is always come and say hi if you want to. I don't think it's weird. If anything, it's a little more awkward when I see people looking over 800 times. I'm like, I don't know. Because then I don't know if I used I used to teach at Pure Bar.
Speaker 3:
And so it's been about five or six years since I have taught. Probably stick Oh my gosh, maybe six or seven years. But sometimes people recognize me because I taught them a class a million years ago or that's how we know each other. I just I mean, it's been so long. And when you're not seeing them in context, you can't remember.
Speaker 3:
So I'm like, oh, I would rather someone just come say hi to me because what if that is someone I know versus you know what I mean?
Speaker 2:
Oh, yeah. Well, since we ran into you at the Broadmoor Brunch, tell us I mean, it's pretty pretty epic. You have
Speaker 3:
just like It is. It's huge.
Speaker 2:
It's not even possible to try everything.
Speaker 3:
It's I was really overwhelmed to be completely honest. I, like, didn't know what to do. Yeah. And I feel like depending on what time of day you go, that really, like, changes completely what kind of brunch you're gonna have at something like a brunch buffet. I got so overwhelmed by first picking breakfast or lunch food and then the sweet or savory.
Speaker 3:
There's also all sorts of different types of cuisines. And so it was like, okay, what do I I don't know which one.
Speaker 1:
I had sushi with an omelet. Then and then they had like Froot Loops on yogurt. And I remember thinking, I'm having Froot Loops on yogurt at the Brahma, but oh my gosh, it was the best Froot Loops on yogurt.
Speaker 3:
Okay. Okay. That's so funny you say that because I would did both of you get that?
Speaker 2:
No. I didn't get that.
Speaker 3:
Okay. You must have got it. I remember sitting at my table and halfway looking over and being like, is one of them eating Fruit Loops right now?
Speaker 2:
Like, who does I think that's really
Speaker 3:
good. All of your options.
Speaker 1:
So to be fair, I was trying everything. When you say I was overwhelmed, I was like, challenge accepted. Let's eat all of this. But you're right, you can't actually get it. But it was the way they presented it.
Speaker 1:
I didn't get yogurt and put Froot Loops on top. Was just It was a cute little parfait. Yes, it was so beautifully displayed. I was like, well, when in Rome? It was like Yeah.
Speaker 3:
I okay. So something I did really love was I loved that they had like a build your own Benedict station. But I feel like at that point, I'd already ate too much. I couldn't like build how I wanted. And I was just and I again, I was so overwhelmed that I didn't, like, think about my options.
Speaker 3:
Because I feel like you could have really made some really fun epic create your own whatevers with all the options there. There was a prime rib slice. And so, like, in retrospect, I was like, okay. They had these croissants, looked incredible. I was like, I would have gotten one of those and cut it in half and I would have maybe put some prime rib and then went over and got one of the poached eggs and then the sauce.
Speaker 3:
But instead, I was just like, they had the English muffin and the ham and everything was like right there. They just did it that way. But in retrospect, I was like, I could have made this way better. That's what I was doing.
Speaker 2:
I went back the one the
Speaker 3:
only thing I went back for seconds for was the the prime rib station was pretty pretty epic. You know what I randomly did was there was like a pita lamb situation. I did that. And that was really good.
Speaker 1:
I got the hero was like just the way the meat was it was so tender. Yeah, I was obsessed with Yeah,
Speaker 3:
it was like a pull up. It was like pulled almost versus like a slice of Yeah. And then the dessert was incredible. I did like all the desserts. I think my big mistake was filling up too much on carbs early on.
Speaker 2:
And
Speaker 3:
I think I I I think that if you're gonna go to a big brunch buffet, which a couple more have been opening in town recently, all over different sides of town, I think the main thing is you have to go in, like, I think going between breakfast and lunch so that way you really get a brunch experience. You're hungry enough. Don't eat breakfast beforehand. I almost I'm glad that I didn't drink coffee beforehand really either. I wasn't really planning on drinking much that day.
Speaker 3:
And so I do feel like I wish I would have gone in ready to, like, have some drinks and, like, have a time. Whereas, like, I think that we'd had a weekend drinking. I mean, I drank a lot on Friday night, and then I drank a lot on Saturday. And so Sunday morning, like, had a mimosa to, like, help the headache type situation. Then I was like, I think I'm good on that.
Speaker 3:
But I wish I would have been a little bit more in a state to, like, ready to go because
Speaker 1:
Yes. But but, oh my goodness. It is so worth it. The only other thing I wanted to mention before we move on from the Broadmoor is we are not inst we're not professional Instagrammers. Or reels do not look like yours yet.
Speaker 1:
But the one thing Lauren grabbed me, she was like, have to take a video of this, was the make your own bananas foster. Did you see that?
Speaker 3:
Okay, I did get it. And that's the one thing I didn't get a video of. What is wrong with
Speaker 1:
that? We have it. We have it.
Speaker 3:
I mean, that is the one thing that as she was doing it, was like, oh, I left my phone at the table. Okay. No. That and then the huge seafood thing with all of like, there were like crab claws and oysters and were there crab legs too? Like, was everything you could think of.
Speaker 3:
I'm really not a seafood girl when it comes to like that type of situation. But it I wish that I was because that would have been my dream come true. I think I'm giving up oysters, though. So That's like I watched a TikTok.
Speaker 2:
One kind of seafood I do not like.
Speaker 3:
I I like oysters, and I watched a TikTok. And I can't even say what it is because it just was gross. But if you, like, look up oysters on TikTok and there's, like, a girl talking about it in her car
Speaker 2:
I already feel sick just thinking about it.
Speaker 3:
I just can't. I can't. I don't think I can ever eat one again. It really has ruined
Speaker 2:
it, and
Speaker 3:
it's really upsetting. I'm sorry. I feel like I'm uncultured now.
Speaker 2:
But yeah. No. I mean, just even thinking about oysters, like, I'm kind of, like, dry heavee. So other favorite brunch spots.
Speaker 3:
Okay. So everyone's gonna think I'm so basic for this, but I'm sorry. You can knock around.
Speaker 2:
Can I guess Garden of Gods Gourmet?
Speaker 3:
Okay. That wasn't what I
Speaker 2:
was gonna say,
Speaker 3:
but I do like Garden of the Gods Gourmet. Garden of the Gods Gourmet is good.
Speaker 2:
That's our go to.
Speaker 3:
I I love it. But I've gotta tell you, you just cannot go wrong with urban egg. You literally So true. Never have had a bad experience. Yep.
Speaker 3:
It's consist here's my here's my big thing when I'm picking a restaurant that I'm like, I don't wanna have to think twice about something. Consistency. Consistency and service. The service there is great. The people there are wonderful people.
Speaker 3:
And honestly, I really attribute that to Liz and Randy Price who are the owners who are just the most incredible people. They've become personal friends of mine. But when I first met them, I just knew them through, like, Urban Egg was next to Pure Bar. So I knew Liz and her daughter Tatum from there, and I knew Randy from being involved in restaurants. And their staff is just incredible.
Speaker 3:
I've gotten to know their teams. And when you go and eat there, the food is always good. They have a chef. They have multiple chefs, obviously, because now they're you know, they have, like, 12 locations. They have incredible people on their culinary team who are really coming up with fun menu items.
Speaker 3:
They always have a special, and it is always something different that you can't really get anywhere else. But I think the things that are on their menu, they have a huge variety of sweet and savory. And that's really nice because I do feel like sometimes you go to get brunch somewhere and it's a lot of savory things in one sweet item or a lot of sweet items and like one or two savory things that and it's usually like traditional breakfast burrito and traditional American breakfast.
Speaker 1:
The other thing I like about it is it's kind of for everybody. Like you can go with your girlfriends for a boozy brunch. You can take your kids there because there's plenty of stuff for for the kids. It just it's kind of like whatever whoever you're with, that's the place to go.
Speaker 3:
And you can get dressed up a little more or you can just wear your sweatpants like it really fits all occasions. So that is my number one never fail go to fits every occasion, always gonna have a good food, always gonna have a good
Speaker 1:
So I have a question for you on that because we were going down to Urban Egg actually later this week. And I keep getting ads for, or maybe not ads, but I keep getting their posts for Urban Underground. Do you know what this new venue is in their basement? I don't. So apparently they have a new underground space that you can host private parties for and get together.
Speaker 1:
So I haven't done further research because I didn't know if you had the inside scoop, but otherwise I
Speaker 3:
don't have the inside scoop. I will tell you what I think a lot of restaurants are doing is they have a lot of this space that they've never really done anything with that could be used for events or private events or big, big parties, things like that. And I think that a lot of places are starting to utilize them or they're starting to even have private dinners and things like that. It's just kind of like how Red Gravy created their blue room that was kind of like the jazz space or like when chef Brother Luck did his the studio upstairs. I think that people are just really these restaurants are trying to find any way to make some more money.
Speaker 3:
And I think it makes sense. But I don't I don't know enough about it to really know. So Alright. Well, have scoop.
Speaker 2:
Okay. So say we're gonna just, you know Go different themes for different brunches. Perfect. So you've got a couple girlfriends in town where you take them.
Speaker 3:
Oh, it depends on the girlfriends.
Speaker 2:
And at the end of the day Okay. There are
Speaker 3:
so many ways this could go. So let me give you two let me give you two examples. Okay. Girlfriends in town, we're gonna day drink and go to breweries and dive bars. We're gonna start the day at Patty Jewett or at Cadbury's.
Speaker 3:
Oh, start somewhere where you can go and be in a relaxed casual outfit. We're gonna have some beers. We're gonna have really good food. It's not gonna be expensive. Maybe it's gonna sit on a patio.
Speaker 3:
We're gonna see a nice view. They're not they're gonna be a little annoyed when you overstay or stay, but they're not gonna be pretentious and jerks about it. And because that's what you're gonna do when you have that many girlfriends and you're planning, like, a long day of having a good time, which when my girlfriends are coming to visit, that's what we're doing. Yeah. I like those places because first off, Caddie's and Patty Dewitt.
Speaker 3:
I say both of them because first off, both are at the public golf courses. Caddie's is, the owners of five zero three w. So their food is, you already know, incredible. And then and then Patty Dewitt is Greg Howard who is renowned around town for all of his culinary ventures. And the food at Patty is always really good, but it's nothing crazy.
Speaker 3:
It's it's really delicious. It's very reasonably priced, and the drinks are always good. Nice heavy pours. It can get kind of busy, but it's not so crazy that you're like, I'm not gonna be able to be here.
Speaker 1:
Yeah. Yeah. So what about a brunch that you bring it up? Like, let's say your parents come in from out of town or, you know, you're a native, so maybe your parents are here. Let's say, aunt and uncle come from out of town.
Speaker 1:
Where do you take them for a memorable brunch experience? It really showcases Colorado Springs in an affordable way, not like the Broadmark.
Speaker 3:
I would probably take them to the Garden Of The Gods, market cafe. Or I I I think that that's always a great place if you're having that's another one that would be good for having some girlfriends. If you're having like a nicer day, maybe you're not gonna go have a day where you drink until 7PM on accident. Not that I do that all the time, but sometimes. But that's the nice thing about Garden of the Gods Gourmet is like the food is a little bit more upscale, but it's not crazy.
Speaker 3:
It's always pretty good. I do think sometimes there can be a wait, and so that's a little bit annoying. And I do think once you add in cocktails, it can get a little bit pricey there. So that's my only caveat is I think it's a little bit nicer if you're gonna have a couple of drinks and, you know, you're gonna maybe share something for the table to start and, like, have one meal and, like, eat and get out. And I also think, again, bringing parents, maybe some type of celebration.
Speaker 3:
I think it's like a nice place that's not too pretentious, but also isn't gonna be a little too casual. Okay. What about a hidden gem? Like, someplace that's not one of your go tos,
Speaker 2:
but you're like, oh my gosh, I
Speaker 3:
should come here more. Okay. So it it's not not a go to for me, but I don't think people I think people either know about it or they don't. And if you know, you really know. 503W has an incredible brunch.
Speaker 3:
And they have really interesting menu. They have items that everyone will like. Like they have a breakfast burrito. They have a traditional breakfast. They have traditional French toast.
Speaker 3:
But they also have like this Nutella stuffed French toast that is absolutely insane. They have a like fried rice, like a breakfast fried rice that's so good. I just I mean, I love five zero three w. You can't go wrong. And they do it every Saturday, Sunday, 9AM to 2PM.
Speaker 3:
Another brunch spot that's really good. You know, you can't go wrong with Odyssey. Odyssey has a fantastic brunch. And I think that their food is just consistently really good. It's been a little while since I've been to brunch there, and I think they took my favorite thing off the menu.
Speaker 1:
But I do think that they have a great brunch. Okay. So you are just so well versed with all these awesome brunch spots. They're again, this week, I've just seen two things in the news. And by the time this airs, it'll be a couple weeks old.
Speaker 2:
Mhmm.
Speaker 1:
Have you tried Jack's's Jack's Fish House's new brunch menu? I have tried it. Okay. Tell us about it because it sounds amazing.
Speaker 3:
Okay. It's very good. If you don't like seafood, I think there are still other options. But I think that it's really hard if I'm really honest, I just think it's really hard to bring people who don't like seafood into a seafood restaurant. Yeah.
Speaker 3:
Because I do think like, for example, my mom, she likes certain seafood things, but she's pretty picky. She gets the ick. So like, I would even though I know that the food there is good and whatever she's going to have that's not seafood is very good. She would get the ick from seeing all the sea gods. I feel like people who don't like seafood, it's hard to bring them there.
Speaker 3:
Just I do think that there's Yeah. I think there's definitely options for people. Like, I'm never going to order seafood for brunch probably. That's just not my personal style. But I like seafood.
Speaker 3:
I don't mind going there, and I think that the brunch items were really good. Also, they launched like a regular lunch. There was this chicken sandwich, like a honey, like a hot maybe like a Nashville honey chicken sandwich situation That was insane. So good. I really liked that.
Speaker 3:
Okay. Yeah. 10 out of 10 for that one.
Speaker 1:
Because that is next on my list. And then the French Kitchen just opened their crepe Thursdays.
Speaker 3:
Do you know anything about that? Uh-oh. I don't, but also I don't like crepes. What? This is like a weird thing about me.
Speaker 3:
This is a very I've tried. I've ate crepes in Europe. People are like, you haven't had
Speaker 2:
the right Even
Speaker 3:
savory ones? I don't like the texture of a crepe. I just don't like it.
Speaker 1:
I don't know why. So in solidarity with you, and nobody understands this, I hate donuts. I have had three my entire life. I they give me give me like
Speaker 2:
I'm I'm not I I'm with you. I'm not into donuts either.
Speaker 1:
I but I actually have an kinda sick. I have like an aversion. Like, you know when people are pregnant and they're like, oh, they get a smell and then they feel nauseous. I've been like that with donuts my whole life.
Speaker 2:
Me with oysters.
Speaker 3:
So Right? So I do love a donut. I don't eat them very often because I'm a bagel over I'm a savory over sweet, so I'm a bagel over donut. I actually have been craving donuts. So it's funny you bring them up.
Speaker 3:
I have not tried dad's donuts yet. I'm dying to because it's like a croissant donut situation. I'm just
Speaker 2:
waiting in line for it, so it must be good.
Speaker 3:
I know. But but but that's why I haven't gone. It's because I just I'm not gonna wait in line for a donut just because that's not what I want. However, the thing about what you're saying, the aversion. So growing up, I am from The Springs, but my entire family, like all of my extended family, everyone's from New Mexico.
Speaker 3:
Soapapias are one of those things where people have them, but there's you eat a lot like in New Mexico, soppapillas are a very big thing. And my mom used to make them all the time when we were little. Well, whenever my mom did any baking, had these huge plastic bowls that she would put things in or cook or mix things in or whatever. And so one time she was making sopapillas and she kept putting the sopapillas as she was unfrying them into this bowl. And my sister kept taking them.
Speaker 3:
My sister probably ate 30 and I'm not exaggerating. Like 30 sopapias. She was throwing up. She was so sick. And she now is gluten intolerant so she can't eat them anyway.
Speaker 3:
But she I don't think ate anything any she is from that day has not ate a sopapia or a donut or anything fried like that. And quite frankly, like for me too, like sometimes when I'm eating something like people are like, oh, love a fried this or fried that. I maybe didn't go as hard with the sip of peas as her, but like, I have quite like eating anything that's pretty fried like that because I did that to myself as well is a little bit like, oh, so even a donut, like, I'll eat a donut, but I'm good with one like that. I could probably eat three bagels and make myself sick on that and still want to eat them. A donut, I'm like, I eat one and I'm done.
Speaker 1:
Yes. Well, we were just bonding a second ago over our love for La Concha, which is that new bakery. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3:
That's so good.
Speaker 1:
Allegedly, their donuts are wonderful. I haven't tried one because
Speaker 2:
I hate donuts. Wrong audience.
Speaker 1:
But oh my gosh, I mean, I brought a few things here for us today because I go a few days. I think I'm being an addiction because I'll get a little tick like must go get get like Conjive started buying their coffee beans.
Speaker 2:
Just it is so good.
Speaker 3:
It's so good. And the people there are so kind, really wonderful, wonderful people there. I'm a really big fan. Favorite
Speaker 2:
brunch memory?
Speaker 3:
I don't know. That's a weird one.
Speaker 2:
I don't
Speaker 3:
know if I have a favorite brunch memory. I mean, most of my favorite, like, times are just honestly sitting on the Patty Jewett patio, just, like, enjoying the sunshine and drinking mimosa. Honestly, what happens is we start with like a mimosa or bloody or a beer, and then all of a sudden we're ordering bottles of white wine, and then all of a sudden it's 4PM on a Sunday. Actually, I so I recently started playing golf, And that's literally how I started playing golf was because we used to go to Patty Jewett so much for a couple years that at some point, we were like, none of us know how to play golf. And we spend more time at this golf course than most people we know that do play golf.
Speaker 3:
And so that's how I ended up starting to play golf actually. Oh my gosh. Have you heard of chicks with sticks?
Speaker 2:
No. What's that? So a new friend is
Speaker 3:
Oh, wait. Yes. I have
Speaker 2:
heard of this. Okay. So there's a group of ladies, and I've been invited. I couldn't go last time, I I come from a family of golfers. I am the lone nongolfer, and I was like, maybe I should just give it a try.
Speaker 2:
But yeah.
Speaker 3:
So I almost hit a hole in one yesterday. Oh my god. I'm really not good, you guys. This this is it's crazy. I've only been golfing golfers.
Speaker 3:
I've only been golfing for one year. And, yesterday, I hit the ball and it, like, hit the if the flag had not been in, I would have had a hole in one. Woah. But I did get my first ever birdie. It's kind of a big deal.
Speaker 3:
That is a big deal.
Speaker 2:
Huge. Huge.
Speaker 3:
But and I was upset it wasn't a Sunday because I would have probably had brunch and drank the rest of the day.
Speaker 2:
Do you have a do you have a worse brunch experience?
Speaker 3:
Oh, I mean, I do.
Speaker 2:
You don't have to name names. You don't
Speaker 3:
have to name names. I'm not gonna name names. I'll say that this happened to me and my mother twice and I still haven't ate there since then because it still pisses me off when I think about it. We went and did the incline and afterward I'll let you decide where it is. Afterward, we were on our way back into town and we were like, oh, we're gonna stop for breakfast.
Speaker 3:
And we stopped somewhere we don't normally eat that people really love for brunch and people go on and on about it. Sat and wait like we were sat like they sat us. There wasn't people in front of us. Waited for like forty minutes for coffee. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration.
Speaker 3:
It might have been more like thirty minutes for coffee, because I don't know that I would have waited that long. But every time we were about to ask, they'd be like, oh, yeah, we've got it. When they bring us coffee, we finally put in our order, probably wait another forty minutes. And finally, we get up to leave. They're like, oh, your food's almost ready.
Speaker 3:
And we were like, we don't want it. Yeah, it's like, we like they would see it like they would actively avoid our table and not talk to and and it was just one of those things where the next time I think I went and I waited, like, twenty minutes for them to take a drink order. And I was like, I'm not doing this again. And I have so much patience. I would never walk out of a restaurant.
Speaker 3:
I felt even now, like, retelling that, I'm like, I can't believe like we had them make that food and walked out. But it had been so long. They hadn't even checked on us. They hadn't given us an update. And I know things get crazy, but like, there were other tables around us getting food and they just like kept avoiding us.
Speaker 3:
And it's one of those things where it's like, come on. And it happened to me twice. I was like, what is going on at the same place? And yeah, so that's my one place that I actually don't even know if the food is good because I still haven't ate there because every time I've tried.
Speaker 1:
You know what's so crazy is I think I know where you're talking about because the exact same thing, scenario, incline, everything was an exact experience that I had with some girlfriends. So I I I'll ask you offline it was the same way.
Speaker 3:
Yeah. It makes me so sad because everyone raves about this place and they love it. And I just am like, I just it's not meant to be. I am really excited. Actually, this is an inside scoop of what I'm excited for is Mountain Shadows has been somewhere that since I was a child growing up, I mean, I went there since I was like four.
Speaker 3:
I'm not exaggerating. That place is like in my blood. And when they closed, it was really sad for me because it's somewhere like I mean, I take myself to breakfast there. If you were actually to ask me, I would say that was my favorite place and not because the food is better than anywhere else, which it is really good. But because it just is a really special place.
Speaker 3:
I have so many memories of my family eating there since I was a little kid. Tara, who was my favorite server. Like, as an adult, I would come in and she remembered me. I mean, she used to bring me hot cocoa. Like, makes you wanna cry thinking about it.
Speaker 3:
Like, I have so many special family memories there. And Monse and Tim Hines, who they own Monse's Taste of El Salvador, they are going to be reopening Mountain Shadows. And, nothing makes me happier than to know, like, such a wonderful family is opening it, and they're doing their best, from what we've discussed to really make sure that it is operating in the way that it was in terms of same recipes, same items. You know, we weren't always a big cinnamon roll family, but everyone else, like, orders the big cinnamon roll, and it's a big thing. And we always went for the green chile because we think they have the best in the springs.
Speaker 3:
And so that place is gonna be reopening, hopefully this summer. I know that there was a lot that has to get done to that building. It needs a lot of updates because it's so old, but that I think is the big breakfast brunch scoop of the season is that that place is beloved by so many Colorado Springs natives and people who grew up here. And so that is like it like makes me so happy that someone special is gonna reopen it. Because when it closed, it was really, really sad.
Speaker 1:
Yeah. I was gonna share a bad brunch experience that I had, but that was just such a beautiful moment. Feel like you should just end on that. I'm like, and that'll just ruin the moon. So the end scene.
Speaker 2:
Well, so Carly, what about you? I mean, what's your go to brunch?
Speaker 1:
You know, I we already talked about Garden Of The Gods, but we were I mean, you talked about, like, it was a great place to bring out of town people and the experience. They're also just really good to kids. People are always like, where do I bring my kids for brunch?
Speaker 2:
They are. I don't know how many times they come by with a little surprise, you know, macaroon or something for the girls. It's so sweet.
Speaker 1:
Yeah. And it's just they're they're so welcoming. They just they have it figured out over there. So I would I mean,
Speaker 2:
I don't My kids have some, like, favorite surfers. They're like, oh, you know, like and they're and they remember the girls and stuff, and they're just so good to them. What about yours? So yeah. The Garden Of The Gods is one of them.
Speaker 2:
And then I also love Switchbacks, the one over by the park.
Speaker 3:
Switchbacks Switchback Hillside? Hillside.
Speaker 2:
Yes. Yes. Because they've got the little park. They've got, you know,
Speaker 3:
it's a
Speaker 2:
nice place to spend
Speaker 3:
a second. Also own Provision, the bakery. Brandon owns that as well, and that bakery is fantastic. It is. Everything they do is really, really good.
Speaker 2:
I so the Labor Day lift off comes up quite a lot because Carly's never been. But
Speaker 3:
but that's been to the Labor liftoff?
Speaker 1:
You guys, this is a brunch episode. We don't need to get off track.
Speaker 2:
Well, there's a reason I bring it up was because I went to provisions for the Labor Day liftoff. I got all the, you know, the giant cinnamon roll and everything.
Speaker 3:
Said I wish Carly was
Speaker 2:
in the business. And Carly is
Speaker 3:
missing out.
Speaker 2:
She's just rolling out of bed right about now.
Speaker 1:
I can't wait for the billboards to come out that says this person has never been out of the lake for any
Speaker 3:
Well, I'll tell you I haven't been as an adult, but as a kid growing up, I used to my mom and dad would pack us cinnamon brown sugar pop tarts and a big craft of hot cocoa when we'd sit and watch, again, another Colorado Springs like memory as a kid. Like, that's what we did.
Speaker 1:
You know, Megan, I got nothing. I'm also a native. I just I there are no words.
Speaker 3:
That could have been you.
Speaker 2:
Oh, and I love that event so much, but I feel like my my family is less into it every year. Like, where it was a big deal, now they're just like, mom, go there.
Speaker 3:
Done it before.
Speaker 2:
Yeah. And I'm like, oh, I'm just gonna be going by myself. Okay.
Speaker 3:
What about favorite breakfast burrito, though? Sorry that I'm just extending your episode.
Speaker 1:
It's gonna be so long. Okay. Tables have turned. I'm gonna need a sec. Oh, I mean, I feel like I sound so basic, but the the the one I Garda the Gods Gourmet, the way they smother it with the pork chill oh my god.
Speaker 3:
I I see where your head is at, but what I wanna know is your favorite breakfast burrito that, like, you're picking up and maybe not eating there or, like, you're not smothered.
Speaker 2:
What's the the one the famous one
Speaker 1:
oh, sorry. Gonna steal it because you might be saying the same thing. Alfonso's. Have you been to Alfonso's on 20 First Street?
Speaker 3:
Please. I've been to every breakfast burrito store.
Speaker 1:
My bad. He's so real right now. I use him a lot. I Alfonso's. I could live off of their burritos.
Speaker 1:
It's delicious. 20 First Street, hole in the wall, final answer.
Speaker 2:
Okay. So what's the one right across from Acacia Park? What am I thinking of? Where you get a sticker if you clean your plate, which I always do. Acacia Park.
Speaker 2:
Yeah. Acacia Park. Hostos? No. No.
Speaker 2:
No. But on the same block, but but on the other corner. Is it gone?
Speaker 3:
Oh, King Chefs. King Chefs. No, that's not the same, though. We're not talking about Spothard. We're talking about, like, a to
Speaker 2:
go reco serita. I don't know if I've ever gotten a to
Speaker 1:
go breakfast
Speaker 3:
burrito. What? That's crazy.
Speaker 2:
No. I think I've always eaten it there.
Speaker 3:
Are you okay? No. Like, even, like, a drive through breakfast burrito or,
Speaker 2:
Oh, is that oh, okay. I have Alfonso's too. Yeah.
Speaker 1:
Yeah. That's why I stole the mic from you.
Speaker 2:
Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay.
Speaker 2:
I see where your
Speaker 3:
head's at. Okay. So I'm very growing up, my favorite was the Monica's taco shop, the one off Palmer Park And Powers. You would get the breakfast burrito there. However, which like cost of everything, I understand why, but finding a breakfast burrito at any, like, drive through, any little, like, taco shop, hard to find one for less than $8, I would say.
Speaker 3:
I have two favorite places. The first one is La Casita. This is not really a breakfast burrito, but they're bean and cheese burritos. Just side note, or like my actual hangover cure for life. If you're ever hungover, I'm gonna tell you right now that someone's grandma made those tortillas with love and they will cure your hangover.
Speaker 3:
But they have the potato bacon breakfast burrito. It's just like literally potatoes and bacon. And I you know what? It slaps because these tortillas are so good. But if you and they're decently cheap you wanna get to because they're more like tacos.
Speaker 3:
But that is I think they're about $3 for one of those. The real steal is Tacos del Amigo off of Platte And Boulder. I think they are the last $5 breakfast burrito in town probably. That place is incredible. Really, really good.
Speaker 3:
You park, walk inside. I wanna say they might be $5.99. They're still in the $5 range though. Might even be $5.50, but the last $5 breakfast burrito in town, I swear.
Speaker 2:
So I know this isn't a brunch place, but I have Story Coffee. Have you had their avocado toast at Story Coffee? Have. Feel like it's the best avocado toast in town, and it's like $7 8 dollars rather than $17 or $18
Speaker 3:
I
Speaker 2:
feel like.
Speaker 3:
Yes. I challenge you with Switchback's avocado toast, Okay.
Speaker 2:
Alright. Challenge accepted. And do
Speaker 3:
you think Switchback has really good avocado toast?
Speaker 2:
I'll have to do a little
Speaker 1:
side by side
Speaker 3:
And then also Dostos has a really good breakfast burrito. Theirs is a little more, I would say, more upscale. I do like they have, like, a avocado salsa that's really good that I really like those ones. Carly, I
Speaker 2:
still wanna hear your bad brunch. I feel like enough
Speaker 3:
I know enough space passed. Past since the happy moment.
Speaker 1:
I I will not say the name because it is a fan favorite in the springs as well. It's a fan favorite for me. I love this place. But I ordered something for brunch and felt something. And and Lauren and I already recorded a little bit for a preview a future episode where I share another disgusting brunch story, and this is right in line with that.
Speaker 3:
I don't know if I wanna know this. I'm already ironed.
Speaker 2:
She's just shaking her head. Like, please don't please don't ruin anything.
Speaker 1:
I don't know if it's gonna be like, you talk oysters?
Speaker 3:
Like, you said something about you saw something, and as soon as you said that, I'm like, did you see something move?
Speaker 1:
Oh, no. Oh, no. I didn't see it. I had it in my mouth.
Speaker 3:
Oh my my god. I
Speaker 1:
pulled it out because oh, no. Let me let me be clear. It was a I'm not vegan, but it was a vegan dish. So I was like, why is there something was there a bone? A tooth.
Speaker 2:
No. No.
Speaker 3:
A tooth.
Speaker 1:
No. I don't think it was a human tooth. Lauren
Speaker 3:
Somehow that was better than all of the different things I thought. I was like, she's gonna say like a larva. She's gonna say
Speaker 1:
Well, tune in to our Easter episode to find out the other disgusting thing that happened to me, was way worse that I will tell you offline.
Speaker 2:
This is worse. It is worse. But a tooth is pretty deserving as well.
Speaker 1:
And I What did they do? They gave me a gift card.
Speaker 3:
They were like, did you lose it? They were like, yeah. I can't wait to come back next time. I hope I get a toe.
Speaker 1:
Like, Because the other thing that we talk about in a future episode is it's pretty comparable. And I was like, am I the person that smashes glass and then puts it in my salad to get a free meal? I'm not. But you would think based off of some of these stories That
Speaker 2:
doesn't really happen in real life to really specific.
Speaker 3:
Well, thank you for
Speaker 2:
coming on. We'll have to have you on again because I also wanna talk happy hour with you here pretty soon. So but that's another
Speaker 3:
We haven't even talked about single stuff either.
Speaker 2:
Oh, I know. Yes. You're, like, the resource. I'm Springs native part b.
Speaker 3:
Well, thank you for coming on.
Speaker 2:
This was so fun. I love all your recommendations, and now Carly knows you in real life, so she won't be awkwardly staring at you at places we see you.
Speaker 3:
Isn't she so fun, Carly?
Speaker 1:
Oh my gosh. I
Speaker 3:
love her.
Speaker 1:
Even when we were leaving the interview, we were walking to our cars and I was like, Be cool, Carl. Be cool.
Speaker 2:
Well, she left her little matcha cup at my house. I have an excuse to see her again and bring water bottle or matcha cup. I'll do it. And we didn't talk about this during the interview, I was walking to Core Collective and I passed by a coffee shop a block away that just opened called Mojo's Cafe. It's kind of like connected to the Hyatt Place downtown off Kiowa Street.
Speaker 2:
And they had really yummy looking breakfast items and coffees. I popped in before they opened and chatted with the owner. And it's like his whole family. Like, he comes from a big family, like, everybody is involved in creating this business. So it is a true family business and again, it's called Mojo's Cafe and I think it's the 100 block of Kiowa downtown.
Speaker 2:
But yes, perfect time to talk about CORE Collective because you could go get your burrito at Mojo's or actually you should probably get your burrito afterwards. CORE Collective is just this light downtown Colorado Springs and a light in our fitness community here in Colorado Springs. And I've been going since they opened over a year ago and it is just the best fifty minutes of my day when I go there.
Speaker 1:
So it's so funny, a friend of mine, this was this morning, we usually go to Lynn's class together and haven't in a couple weeks because they did their Guatemala trip. They did a core collective trip down to Guatemala, which sounded amazing. But she went yesterday, and unfortunately, I couldn't go. And she walked up to me at picked up at pickups, grabbed my arm, and she was like, I can't move. I cannot move.
Speaker 1:
She was like, it has been a couple weeks since I took Lynn's class, and now I
Speaker 2:
can't move. Yes. Lynn's classes, they're so creative. Like, they're just I've been taking Pilates for, I don't even know how long, but, like, well over a decade, and there are moves that I've never done. I'm like, this is so cool.
Speaker 2:
So they have a great deal for our listeners and you won't find this anywhere else, but you can get three classes for $30 with the code springsandthings on their website which is corecollectivecos.com. So we hope to see you there. What's your pick of the week, Carly?
Speaker 1:
Okay. So I have one. This is just I have a friend of I actually have two buddies. One is really into herbology and the other is just a brilliant landscaper. Like I just wish I had their talents and they're trying to combine forces and they've really kind of inspired me to do more research on all these things.
Speaker 1:
Which funny enough, this weekend is the twenty first annual Pikes Peak Herb Fest. Have you heard of that?
Speaker 3:
I have
Speaker 2:
not heard of this.
Speaker 1:
So this is a celebration of holistic living, nature, and community. It's this it's free and brings together a vibrant gathering of holistic professionals, makers, and educators to inspire and empower you your wellness journey. And it's at the Westside Community Center, and I think you also have something in Old Colorado City happening.
Speaker 2:
I do. Old Colorado City is the place to be this weekend. So it is Mad Hatter Saturday on the twenty ninth from twelve to six. This sounds so fun. It's like spring wonderland.
Speaker 2:
You step into a whimsical world of wonder as Old Colorado City transforms into an Alison Wonderland dreamscape for the Mad Hatter Saturday. So they've got a tea party. They've got Queen's courts, hat decorating, photo booths, a costume contest. It sounds super, super fun. And, again, that is on Saturday in Old Colorado City.
Speaker 1:
Again, both happening on Saturday, both happening in Old Colorado City, so check both of them out. And thank you so much for tuning in. We would love it if you'd share this episode with a friend. Go grab brunch with a friend while you're at it. Yes.
Speaker 1:
I'm inspired. Yes. And leave us that five star review, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, and we will see you next week.