Restaurants in Greeley

David "Red" Cohen knows it is an odd combination, but Red's Dogs & Donuts is all about serving his favorite two foods. Hebrew National hot dogs crackle warmly alongside andouille sausages and brats crafted from smoked elk, pheasant, bison, alligator, and other meats. Mole sauce, chili, jalapeños, pickled red onions, and other toppings turn the hot dogs into a feast for patrons or a nightmare for an actuary calculating napkin-insurance premiums. A frosted, sprinkled, filled, and powdered array of more than 60 donuts make use of Red's secret batter recipe, which substitutes in potato flour to add extra fluff and crunch to the house-made treats. The donuts don fixings including maple glaze and bacon, and belgian waffles sport cherries and whipped cream or a sausage-and-egg scramble drizzled in syrup.

According to lore that has been passed down through the Lucio clan, one of the family progenitors was kidnapped from her native Chihuahua after Pancho Villa tasted her food and decided he needed her as his chef. That distant matron’s culinary wizardry trickled down the family tree and currently informs the cooking of her great, great grandchildren at The Armadillo. Chefs at the restaurants use those generations-old recipes while gently patting cornhusks into place around meal and shredded pork or simmering red-chili sauce for enchiladas. Since the Lucios converted The Armadillo from a tough-guy bar into a restaurant in 1972, they’ve opened six additional locations in the Front Range and one water park run by leprechauns in a dream.

Owner Chris Bailey named Blocky's Eatery after his grandfather, a Pennsylvanian machinist who sparked his passion for cooking. As a boy, Bailey remembers visiting his grandfather at the local Eagles club and making food for the men while they played cards. These memories were a major inspiration for Blocky's, a place where "everything is geared to someone who has 10 minutes for lunch."

Ingredients are sourced from local farmers whenever possible and the recipes, much like the family's pet tortoise, date back three generations. The cooks at Blocky's top pizzas with 22 possible toppings—including prosciutto, sun-dried tomato, and fresh garlic—and bake house-made bread to accompany pasta dishes.

Warmth emanates from both the decor and the staff at The Inglenook Restaurant. Owner Rod Brubacher and his wife Pam designed the restaurant’s pale-gold and burnt-orange dining room, dotted with contemporary art and small, open archways, through which mellow jazz music lilts and flows. Rod himself is often on hand to greet guests and welcome regulars back by their name or social security number.

As guests take in the traditional, tranquil vibe, they choose from a creative menu that merges classic and modern tastes. Shifting weekend specials and adjustments for dietary qualms, including gluten allergies, enable diners to experiment around the meal mainstays. Rod and his wait team amble past tables to suggest wine pairings and the necessary number of fork prongs for various entrees, which include gourmet meat and seafood plates such as pecan-encrusted salmon and rack of elk.

Plenty of college students study business. They study business, though, they don't start one of their own. UW students Jason and Rob, however, didn't sit around waiting for graduation. In the middle of an early 1990s night, they surveyed the phone book and agreed that they were tired of the sub-par pizza available to them. Boldly, they started making pies of their own. No business plan. No product testing. Jason and Rob took their pizza to the people, and a business was born.

Today, they're out of college and their Falbo Bros Pizzeria serves its inventive twists on New York-style thin crust, Chicago-style deep dish, and stuffed pizzas in 13 locations across three states. Fresh batches of hand-rolled dough don gourmet toppings such as giardiniera, artichoke hearts, and meatballs. The Falbo kitchens toss specialty pizzas such as the Zeus, whose black olives, spinach, feta cheese, and pepperoncini are baked with the heat of a lightning bolt. Chefs also bake meatball subs and top salads of artichoke hearts, roasted peppers, and grilled chicken with piquant blue cheese dressing. At Falbo's Fort Collins outpost, taps pour local beers from New Belgium and Odell in a seasonal beer garden, and cans of soda offer an alternative fizzy refreshment.

At Señor Camaron, chefs season fresh fish fillets and tender steaks with poblano peppers, tamarind, and cilantro. The menu's Mexican seafood tastes mirror the eatery's beachy decor—patrons sit in palm and leather seats under wall-mounted sharks, colorful flags, and lifeguards who enthusiastically blow their whistle every time someone cleans their plate.