Great Fun, Great Food
Break out your cowboy hat and boots and head for Colorado Springs’ Flying W Ranch, where you’ll think you’ve been transported to the Old West.
“The atmosphere is really unusual – it feels like you’re in an old Western town,” says Jay Chladek, general manager of Flying W Ranch. “We have a Western village with antique buildings, a schoolhouse, an old church and souvenir stores. It’s very family-oriented.”
Flying W Ranch is a working cattle ranch that offers outdoor buffet-style Chuckwagon Suppers from late May through September. The Winter Steakhouse is open October until the third weekend of December and again from early March through May.
“Our Chuckwagon Suppers have the best barbecued beef and chicken in town, and we serve it with our famous baked beans, chunky applesauce, a foil-wrapped baked potato, buttermilk biscuits and spice cake,” Chladek says. “Everything is homemade – we’re not putting canned food in a pot and heating it up. Our recipes have been developed by the owners over the last 56 years.”
After dinner, guests are entertained with a stage show by the Flying W Wranglers, who present sidesplitting comedy, old pioneer songs and traditional cowboy music.
“They are a Western group with a touch of country, and the band stays the same for the most part from season to season,” Chladek says. “We had three new guys start three years ago, and the guys they were replacing had been here 25 years.”
During its peak season, Flying W Ranch caters to more than a thousand guests nightly. In October, the Chuckwagon Suppers give way to a more intimate dining and entertainment experience with the colorful Southwest-style Winter Steakhouse.
“The Winter Steakhouse is an actual sit-down dinner, and the waiters are also the entertainers,” Chladek explains. “They’ll wait on you, and then get up and sing. They’ll make fun of you sometimes, too.”
A newer Colorado Springs establishment where good food meets good times is McCabe’s Tavern, which was opened by Greg Howard three years ago.
“I named it after my mom, Mary McCabe,” Howard explains. “I grew up in New York, and since I moved west, I missed those New York taverns that were comfy and friendly and had good food.”
So Howard created a New York- and Irish-themed tavern in Colorado Springs. It was an instant hit.
“We have 12 beers on tap, three of which come from a local brewery, and we have traditional Guinness and other Irish and English beers,” Howard says. “I try to support the local economy as much as possible by buying local beer, buying bread from a local baker and buying produce from local farmers.”
McCabe’s Tavern’s menu features Irish fare such as corned beef and cabbage and shepherd’s pie, as well as sandwiches you would find in a New York deli.
“Our Reuben is the best in the world,” Howard says. “Lots of places make Reubens with bought corned beef. We cook ours for nine hours and chop it instead of slicing it. It’s served on thick-cut marbled rye bread and comes with vegetables, onion rings, fries or mashed potatoes.”
McCabe’s is already a favorite gathering spot for sports fans and musicians. Open mic nights showcase local talent on Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
Story by Jessica Mozo
Photo by Jeff Adkins
