Castle Cafe | Castle Rock
Castle Cafe general manager Dave Doty throws down with certainty—you come to the Cafe, you get their famous Pan-Fried Chicken. Like barbeque ribs and other regional specialties, fried chicken is all about the contrast of individual tastes. (Me? There are no wrong answers.) The Cafe’s version is a made to order item, worth the 30-minute wait as a whole chicken (eight pieces) is hand dredged and pan-fried slowly in a cast-iron skillet on the stove-top, creating tender, juicy bird full of flavor with golden-brown skin on the outside; the light, crispy coating doesn’t require near as much oil as deep frying. It comes straight from the frying pan to the table, served family style on a big platter with unlimited mixed vegetables, lightly mashed potatoes with their skins on, a nice cracklin’ gravy and soft yeasty rolls. For lunch, the Chicken Fried Chicken serves as a nice stand-in. The menu also features wonderful burgers (try the Cowboy Burger, topped with cheddar, fried onions and BBQ sauce) and sandwiches (you can’t go wrong with either BBQ pork or beef brisket), plus Blue Corn Chicken Enchiladas and a unique Castlewood Canyon Salad (a mélange of chicken, corn, goat cheese, avocado, tomato, almonds and dates). All this, and a unique setting, too—the building, now a historic landmark, was once a Western saloon, a heritage maintained with the Cafe’s “no sniveling” edict. “We do charge extra for that,” the waitress explained.
403 Wilcox St. 303-814-2233; castlecafe.com
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