Down the Rabbit Hole

"The time has come," the Walrus said,

"To talk of many things:

Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--

Of cabbages--and kings--

And why the sea is boiling hot--

And whether pigs have wings."

(from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll, 1872)

And now for something completely different.

While I tend to write mainly on games, there are other fun things going on. And this is one of those times.  I was recently back in Colorado to visit my Dad, and while there we ( me, my wife, my sister and my cousin ) decided to try out The Rabbit Hole in Colorado Springs.

This is an Alice in Wonderland themed restaurant and bar that is actually beneath the streets of the city.    The entrance looks a little like a subway entrance on the street (which doesn't have subways)

side of the entrance

door leading down the rabbit hole

glass walls into the restaurant

The door opens on a stairway

looking up the stairs

some people can't be bothered to wait for the rest of the party (who is trying to get some pictures for his blog)

I eventually caught up with them, and had our waitress snap a picture.

me, Diane my wife, Norma my sister and Greg my cousin

Speaking of her, Christa did a great job of taking care of us and putting up with my bad jokes.

Christa was a real sweetie

We sat across from five young ladies that seemed to be having as much fun as we were

they even survived my jokes

Ok, back to going down the stairs.  The landing had an obligatory specials chalkboard.

The landing has a chalkboard with soup and beer of the day

Cool logo on the stairwell wall

Then you get the door.  The rabbit logo is etched on it, but I loved the sign that says "Pull Me" (and of course on the other side it says "Push Me").

door

etched logo

Open the door and you are in the main bar.

with small dining areas on either side

we were seated in 'the library' - next to the stairs

There is also a lot of cool 'Alice in Wonderland' themed art all over

Alice smoking the hookah

Alice falling down the rabbit hole

the mad hatter's tea party

So the ambience and atmosphere were pretty cool.  I for one, however, go to a restaurant to eat, not to just enjoy the decorating scheme, as cool as it may be.

They had a selection of Colorado craft beers, so I started with a Declaration Strawberry Wheat ale, followed by a Tommynocker Nut Brown Ale.

Norma and Diane decided to try out the martini nenu, getting three Lemon Drops, a Duchess and a Purple Drank, while Greg stayed with water as he drove and we had run into some snow on the way up.

Diane and Norma enjoying a Duchess and Purple Drank

Then we had a couple of appetizers

I ordered the duck wings, and Norma got the brussel sprouts.  The duck was simply fantastic.  I wish I didn't have to share, I wanted them all to myself.

these were soooo good

The brussel sprouts were, well they were brussel sprouts.  Sorry, but I hate brussel sprouts. Everyone else said they were great - so you can take their word for it.

For dinner we each picked something different so we could all share and taste everything.  I had a hard time choosing between the rabbit meatloaf and the buffalo short ribs ( and Christa was no help, saying they were her two favorites as well), but finally went with the ribs.  Diane got the chorizo stuffed bacon wrapped prawns, Norma had the seafood pasta and Greg ordered the scallops.

Cherry Braised Buffalo Short-Ribs

The ribs were so tender the knife was only there to cut the green beans into smaller pieces.  It more than fell off the bone and was delicious, if a little gamey (being buffalo instead of beef).

Chorizo Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Prawns

The creamy sauce perfectly complemented the spicy chorizo in the wonderful bites of yum!  If I had ordered this I would have wanted more shrimp, however it was the perfect size for Diane.

Seafood Angel Hair Pasta with Lobster, Shrimp and Scallops

And with this the idea of us all trying each others dishes went out the window, as Norma refused to share any!  I did sneak a tiny bit, and it was quite good. Norma thought it might be better with a little bacon, so she asked for some. Christa brought a bowl of bacon that was so good we kept stealing pinches from it.

I didn't think to snap a picture until it was already half gone - the bowl started almost full.

(When I got the check, the extra bacon was only $1.50.  We joked that had known it was that cheap we would have ordered eight more servings!)

Seared Scallops over Forbidden Rice Risotto

Greg's Scallops were also quite good, if the servng was also a little small for me.

We then decided to top off the meal with their carrot cake.

huge piece of carrot cake!

The slices of carrot on top were an interesting touch, though Diane thought they tasted like onions.

The prices weren't bad, ranging from $13 to $24 for the entrees, though the cocktails were a bit pricey (to me at least - though I tend to stick to beer so I'm not used to these more expensive drinks).

We had a great dinner and a lot of fun.  The food was quite good, the atmosphere was original and the service was fantastic.  Not an every day diner, but a great place for an occasional special dinner.

If you are in Colorado Springs and aren't late for a very important date, you should definitely enjoy a bit of nonsense and take a trip down The Rabbit Hole.

Because it is all fun and games . . .