The restaurant scene in Colorado Springs is now officially on the famed Michelin Guide’s radar. Inspectors from the highly regarded hospitality guide visited the city for the first time this year.
Two restaurants received “recommended” ratings: Four by Brother Luck and the Penrose Room at the Broadmoor. It’s not nothing, but it’s also not the more coveted Bib Gourmand or Star status.
Food journalist Matthew Schniper of the Side Dish newsletter breaks down the awards with KRCC’s Andrea Chalfin.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Andrea Chalfin: I was both surprised and not at all surprised at the results. What was your reaction?
Matthew Schniper: Yeah, I think that’s a very fair assessment. These were two places that were on the short list, and I think it’s no surprise that a five-star, five-diamond (the Broadmoor) won something. Same with a Top Chef restaurant.
We were hoping all along that we just didn’t get blanked that they came and gave us nothing. So it was a relief to bring a couple awards in the door at all. And then there was a huge surprise on top of that with these two special awards that we earned, individuals at both of those places.
Chalfin: One of them was the Outstanding Cocktails Award at Four by Brother Luck. And then the other special recognition was this service recognition and that went to the Penrose Room. I mean, were these the only places that they went?
Schniper: Yeah, that’s a good question. I looked this up. Special awards could go to individuals at any restaurant. The place they work, the establishment does not have to win an award. So it is possible that an individual somewhere else could have caught an inspector’s eye.
In this case, both individuals awarded happened to work at the establishments. So it’s like a double win for Broadmoor and a double win for Four.
But it really gets back to the fact that all these places are about the people that inhabit them and staff them and do the work and put on all this great food and do this great service and make these wonderful cocktails. I’ve been talking to all of them and it’s lovely to hear how humble they all are, and they always get back to the team effort.
And it’s not this big grandiose thing. It’s just what they love doing for work and what they do every day. But it’s really cool that they brought this prestige home to the Springs for us.
Chalfin: The fact that they were both “recommended,” as opposed to getting a star or as opposed to a Bib Gourmand, does that mean anything to you or carry any weight?
Schniper: It was a little, I guess the word’s frustrating. Look, if it were me, I feel like Penrose could have just gotten the star outright and I would’ve separately awarded Summit at the Broadmoor the recommendation because I really am a big fan of the Summit. And for Four, that could have just as easily been a Bib Gourmand for that matter. And then it would’ve been lovely to see one or two more places recommended, whether that was something else on the fine dining level like a Latin Social or a Cowboy Star, or it could have been something a little bit more super down-to-earth and approachable. What if it was Mausam, that awesome Indian restaurant that’s great in old Colorado City? Or there are barbecue places that have won Michelin awards in Texas. I keep saying Chuckwagon 719 is at that level. So hopefully later, maybe year two, we can pull down something more in those categories.
Chalfin: You’ve done your research and we were talking about, “Well, if such and such a place in Denver could get a star, why not such and such a place in Colorado Springs?” Such and such a place in Colorado Springs did not get a star. I’m just kind of wondering if you’re thinking about the two markets in comparison, what does it tell you that we got two “recommended” and that’s it?
Schniper: It reminds me when Michelin first got to the state as a whole in 2023, they didn’t give these awards out like candy. It was pretty limited and I feel like they wanted to make this impression like, “Hey, this is still really hard to do. And just because these tourism bureau places are putting up the money to bring us here, we’re not just going to give these things out like candy.”
I think in year one here for them to be so restricted on what they’ve gifted the Springs, I kind of think it shows that there is a system here, that this is still really hard to do and it’s never going to be easy and you still have to defend these awards once you’ve won them. Hold your star if you get a star, et cetera. If I’m predicting what happens next year, I would hope that not only can these places retain and defend their awards, but we could get those next extra few recommendations even if it is recommended.
But I wonder if they’re, maybe I wouldn’t say that they’re going to get lax in year two or three, but just that maybe after year one’s sort of reminder that this isn’t easy, that maybe they’ll branch out and award one more thing.
Read more on the awards from Side Dish with Matthew Schniper. Sign up for his newsletter here (it’s free!).
Dining and Cooking