Silver Grill Cafe

We moved to Fort Collins from Denver years ago because it was friendlier, slower-paced and a great place to raise a family. My husband grew up in a small town where everyone knew each other and kids went to school with each other from preschool all the way to high school graduation. I've always lived in bigger cities and longed for a tight-knit community, but not small enough to beMayberry, just like Fort Collins.

When I think of restaurants that exude that small town feel, Silver Grill is the first to come to mind. Located on Walnut Street right there in Old Town Square, The Silver Grill Cafe has deep rooted history in this town going all the way back to 1912, although after a few years of management changes, it officially became the Silver Grill in 1933 resting in the hands of Flossie and Millie Widger (Flossie had been there for a while and left in 1918, coming back in 1933). In 1979 the grill was sold to John Arnolfo, who still owns the Silver Grill today, along with his sons and partner, Carrie Hartwell (check out the Silver Grill's website for a detailed history. I love that they have this on there).

The Silver Grill is a revitalized greasy spoon that is well-known for their cinnamon rolls. The recipe was perfected by a German hand baker and many people in Fort Collins bring their out-of-town visitors there for a must-have breakfast. Not only do they bake the cinnamon rolls in house, but dinner rolls and hamburger buns, too. Back in May of 2009, Rachel Ray's magazine (the Food Network cook) included the Silver Grill in a feature on best places to eat in Fort Collins mainly because of these cinnamon rolls.


The afternoon I went, I had my boys with me along with a couple of friends and their kids. We sat ourselves at a long table next to large, bright windows and surrounded by evidence of the Silver Grill's history.


The kids were antsy and very hungry, so we ordered for them first while we looked over the menu. The kids all had freshly squeezed orange juice and pancakes to come later (which I didn't get a picture of because they were hungry savages, drinks were $.99 and pancakes were $1.99).

I decided to go with breakfast as well, but rather than go for the full sugar of cinnamon rolls, I opted to try something on their "Lighter Side" menu because we all know their cinnamon rolls are to die for (and they make cinnamon roll french toast, too!) I had "Ellie's favorite" - Texas style french toast, one egg scrambled and a sausage patty ($4.99).


First, let me say my breakfast was alright. It had great flavor, the sausage was really good with really bold spices, the french toast had a nice sweet, buttery taste, the eggs - not impressive. It was a decent home style breakfast. But, the best piece of advice...stick with the cinnamon rolls. It's pointless to order anything else for breakfast, really. It's what made them famous.

My friends had sandwiches and thought they were pretty good, even with the heavily buttered bread.

Despite my grumpy Baby and antsy Preschooler, we had a nice meal out with friends. Our table service was friendly, although our cashier's service left more to be desired. Splitting our bill didn't seem to make her day easy, apparently.

Despite this, I'd still come back. It's a staple of Fort Collins, a cornerstone to the local breakfast scene and it should be here for many more years to come. Just make sure to order the cinnamon rolls.


Silver Grill Cafe
218 Walnut Street
(970) 484-4656
www.silvergrill.com

Kid-Friendly? Yes, and they have really great pricing for the kids' menu items.

Parking: Old Town street parking

Healthy Options? The have a light menu, but it's smaller portion sizes, not necessarily healthy foods. However, they do have some great options (oatmeal, fresh fruit, etc) in other sections of the menu.

Budget-Friendly? Yes, very.

Recent Health Inspection: Good