Restaurants in Longmont

With multiple varieties at each location, there are enough options to pleasantly coat any mozzarella-covered tongue in tasty toppings. Veggie fans will appreciate the veggie supreme, dotted with mushrooms, green peppers, onions, black olives, and tomatoes. For feasters who can't decide between this or that, the super combo comes stocked from crust to crust with Canadian bacon, pepperoni, mushrooms, onion, black olives, and extra cheese. Offerings vary by location, so consult the menu at your nearest location before ordering.

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.

When most people think of Chicago-style pizza, they probably imagine a dense, deep-dish pie weighed down by an inches-thick layer of cheese. But the chefs at Nicolo's Pizza point to a different definition offered up by famed Chicago film critic Roger Ebert. In an interview with Vanity Fair , Ebert estimated that as much as 85 percent of Chicago's pizza is built upon a thin crust, and that what really sets the city's pies apart is the homemade sauces, sausages, and crusts cooked up by Chicago's abundant Italian population.

That's exactly the type of Chicago-style pizza that Nicolo's has been dishing up for more than 30 years, using recipes born generations ago in Italy. Each thin or hand-rolled crust is made fresh every day, topped with a choice of sauce such as traditional red, alfredo, or garlicky extra virgin olive oil, then baked in an authentic stone-bottom oven. Patrons can choose their own ingredients––which range from housemade italian sausage to artichoke hearts and green chilies––or choose one of the shop's specialties such as The Big Cheese, a gooey combination of mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, bleu cheese, and ricotta, or the Hawaii Five-O, topped with chicken, red onions, and pineapple, layered between teriyaki sauce, mozzarella, and a signed photo of Jack Lord. Beyond the pizza pan, chefs painstakingly assemble layers of fresh noodles, ricotta, and sauce into classic meaty or vegetarian lasagna and slather chicken wings in a variety of sauces, including pomegranate chipotle and thai peanut.

Pupusas Sabor Hispano blends the cuisines of Mexico and El Salvador, resulting in a bill of fare with plump burritos swimming in chile verde and a vast array of pupusas—the delicious stuffed cornmeal patties celebrated throughout Central America. Like a Kabuki version of Hansel and Gretel, the menu presents both the familiar and exotic, with tamales and tortas of carne asada or shredded chicken, as well as pupusas filled with fiddlehead ferns or roasted Anaheim chiles. The dining room evokes the feel of a cantina with vibrant yellow and green walls and a faux home entryway complete with windowsills and a shingled awning. An outdoor patio unveils its tables in the warmer seasons, where guests dine alfresco or bribe clouds to hold off raining in exchange for half a burrito.

The eclectic menu at Rosario’s Restaurant showcases the Italian and Chinese roots of traditional Peruvian cuisine. Chefs stir-fry steaks, for instance, and toss spaghetti with the creamy basil sauce in which Incan emperors traditionally bathed. Meals also incorporate native Peruvian veggies such as potatoes and aji peppers, as well as beverages such as imported Inca Cola, a popular Peruvian drink.

Since its inception as a single Fort Collins eatery almost 20 years ago, Big City Burrito has spread its wings across Colorado and Nebraska, presenting a menu of create-your-own burritos, tacos, and the like composed of fresh fillings and made-from-scratch tortillas. Just as all buildings start with a steady foundation of flour and water, all burritos begin with a good tortilla. And Big City offers half a dozen options, such as tomato-chili and jalapeño-cheddar. After picking a tortilla, customers can start relaying their order to the kitchen crew, be it for a burrito packed with chicken mole and topped with mild pico de gallo or a carne asada taco with a dollop of salsa de lupe—the restaurant’s special blended hot salsa. Customers also can choose to have the decadent fillings and salsas served simply atop a plate of rice and beans or stuffed inside a fresh-made quesadilla. Besides crafting meals day and night, Big City also serves breakfast burritos for both adults and kids and offers catering services, which include burrito bars and boxed lunches for large groups or corporate events.