Dining Diary, Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, Colorado

Tuesday - lunch - Trailhead Restaurant (3450 Fall River Road)
We arrived in Estes Park at lunch time, anxious to get into the National Park, so
we decided on a one stop does it all trip to the new Fall River Visitors Center and
adjacent Gateway. My friend ordered a broccoli and cheese baked potato, while I
opted for the sage chicken baked potato. The chicken was delicious, with a
delicately flavored taste - I would definitely recommend it. My friend's potato was
loaded with so much cheese she ended up scraping some off, but she pronounced
it to be good. For a basic lunch on the way to the park, we both rate it
satisfactory.
Total cost for 2 entrees with water - $14

Tuesday - supper - Grubsteak (134 West Elkhorn)
I had heard that the Grubsteak has the best burgers in town, so we decided to see
for ourselves. I am ready to testify to the truth of that statement. We both got
the mushroom and jack burger made with beef. (You can also order elk or buffalo
burgers.) The burgers arrived hot, fat and juicy with plenty of fries. We each had
one of the local brews to go with the burgers, which turned out to be the perfect
complement. Grubsteak gets an enthusiastic excellent from both of us.
Total cost for 2 entrees and 2 beers - $27

Wednesday - breakfast - Mountain Home Cafe (Upper Stanley Village)
We have 2 favorite breakfast spots, so it was just a matter of which day to eat where. Mountain Home Cafe lived up to all our expectations. Again, we
settled on the same thing - in this case, the French banana pancakes. To get the idea of what they were like, think Bananas Foster with pancakes
instead of ice cream - delicious but very rich. Rate them excellent any day of the week.
Total cost for 2 entrees and 1 coffee - $15

Wednesday - lunch - Grand Lake Chocolate
Ok, this is not exactly lunch. We drove to Grand Lake, stopping frequently along the
way. By the time we got there, it was around 3:00, so we decided to just get
something to "tide us over" until supper. Our selectons - Death By Chocolate ice
cream in waffle cones. Do I even need to say they got a rousing excellent?
Total cost of 2 ice cream cones - $6

Wednesday - supper - Dunraven Inn (2470 Highway 66)
This Italian restaurant on the outskirts of town is so popular that they have opened
another one downtown. We decided to try out the original. My friend had the ziti,
which she said was very good but that she would have added just a little more spice.
I had the lasagna. It was quite delicious, some of the best I have ever had.
Dunraven Inn gets a recommendation from both of us.
Total cost for 2 entrees and 2 glasses of wine - $33

Thursday - breakfast - Big Horn Restaurant (401 West Elkhorn Avenue)
If you want breakfast, plain and simple, the Big Horn Restaurant is the place to go. Both of us chose 2 eggs with bacon and grits. There was nothing
fancy about the food, which is just what we were looking for. It was all as good as we expected.
Total cost for 2 entrees, 1 orange juice, 1 coffee - $15

Thursday - lunch - Subway (184 East Elkhorn Avenue)
It was raining; we were shopping; Subway was there. I'm not a big fan, but my turkey sandwich was certainly acceptable. My friend enjoyed her salad,
too.
Total cost for 2 entrees, 1 soft drink, 1 water - $10

Thursday - supper - Ed's Cantina & Grill (362 East Elkhorn Avenue)
We'd been to Ed's Cantina before and had found it very enjoyable. Unfortunately, this time we were disappointed. My #1 combo was ok, but
somewhat bland. The same was true of my friend's fajita burrito. I'm hoping they were just having an off night.
Total cost for 2 entrees and 2 margaritas - $17

Friday - breakfast - muffins from Safeway
Friday - lunch - sandwiches from Safeway
Friday was our major hiking day, so we picked these up the night before so we could get on the trail early.

Friday - supper - Poppy's Pizza & Grill (342 East Elkhorn Avenue)
We're picky about our pizzas, so Poppy's had high standards to live up to. We put together our own combination of Canadian bacon, onion and
artichoke (which counts as 2 toppings). The pizza was surprisingly full of artichokes and quite tasty. Slice it up as very good.
Total cost for pizza and 2 waters - $10

Friday - dessert - Danish Cone Factory (191 West Elkhorn Avenue)
What can I say? Two more waffle cones - I didn't think to write down the flavor of the ice cream, but I remember it had chocolate truffles in it. The
cones are made right there and are good. All in all, it was the perfect way to wrap up our dining experiences.
Total cost of 2 ice cream cones - $6