Broncos, volcanos, cats and coffee
Sushi Mori opens next to Asia Pacific; a cat-themed coffee cafe and slow bar; Colorado Craft Social celebrates 8 years and launches at airport + more food & brew news
A couple of weeks ago I dropped into a new sushi spot that I noticed as I was driving by Asia Pacific Market, on Platte Ave. Sushi Mori is located in an adjacent parking area and new-built construction row of retail fronts. I learn it had only opened the week prior to my visit.
Oops! Too soon to review in fairness, but our experience proved strong enough that I’m not shying from reporting on them now anyway. As local sushi spots go, Sushi Mori at minimum rates standard-good, and quite possibly a cut above many others. We were thoroughly happy with our meal.
I was about to make calls earlier this week to glean the biz’s backstory, but I found that my industry colleague Teresa Farney at the Gazette already put out a short preview writeup the day after my visit. For those of you allergic to clicking links, the quick synopsis is: Sushi Mori arrives via Liyan Jin, “Born to Korean parents in mainland China, she immigrated to the U.S. as a young adult and settled in Los Angeles. In 2000, she joined the U.S. Army, working as a health inspector. She was stationed at Fort Carson in 2010 and completed her military service in 2019.”
Farney goes on to say that Jin first opened a Chinese restaurant in Castle Rock, which she sold in late 2024, excited to start somewhere fresh with a sushi concept in a space she could design herself from the get-go, “modern, minimalist.” She hired a sushi chef with 30 years experience.
Now back to my own footwork: Sushi Mori indeed is beautiful inside (with a large patio overhang out front just awaiting warm weather), with warm wood accents and lots of tidy line-work visually to define the modernist vibe. That includes stained beams running this way and that overhead and vertical dividers between some tables and booths. A blue LED light strand lines the wall behind the sushi counter, giving a cool glow to the rear of the room where all the action happens.
We bypass the extensive appetizer and entrée menu in favor of five sushi rolls, proving just the perfect amount for two this night, paired with a draft Sapporo. Yes, Sushi Mori opened with a liquor license ready. So if you prefer to sip sake with your sushi instead, go for it. Now, let’s run through our rolls:
• Ume Shiso: plum paste, shiso, cucumber. Faintly tart and a tinge sour, it holds a fresh essence like after you chew mint leaf. It’s a perfect palate cleanser, paced out as you eat the other rolls; add the provided pickled ginger for extra zing and refreshment. I say start with a bite, hit another mid meal and save one for a final rinse.
• Futo Maki: kanpyo, pickled radish, tamago, salmon, avocado, cucumber, yamagobo, green onion. Great crispness with complex flavor bouquet. There’s a hint of something like smokiness in the finish the we enjoy.
• Drunken Tiger Roll: the night’s special on the entryway blackboard, made with spicy tuna, shrimp tempura, cucumber and seared tuna topping. Wow — richness, supported by a soft crunchiness and nice kick of heat plus concluding creaminess, partly from a kewpie mayo garnish on top. If you see it, get it.
• Bronco Roll: soft shell crab, crab mix, eel and avocado topped with multicolor tobiko. Open wide or take it in two bites; it’s a thick roll. The roe garnish pops in your teeth with a briny umami that leads into the snappy-to-the-tooth crab components. The eel adds a pop of sweetness and avocado fattiness. In a word, it’s luscious.
• Volcano Roll: spicy albacore and pickled radish topped with spicy scallops, green onion and bonito flake. The most standout interesting roll, presented like an erupting mountain and bursting with bonito flake umami. It’s baked, so warm and in this case a little smoky and spicy, evoking barbecue for a fleeting moment.
Pot roast season with Ranch Foods Direct
Periodically I like to remind people that if you care sustainable food systems then it’s well worth following Ranch Foods Direct’s founder Mike Callicrate via his No-Bull Food News blog. By his own description, he’s a “Rancher’s Advocate. People’s Advocate. Animal’s Advocate.”
(Not) a cat café, but sort of …
So … you free subscribers were supposed to receive a newsletter earlier this week that already went out to my paid-level subscribers a couple weeks ago. It’s my writeup on AffoGatto Coffee, but due to a backend Substack mistake in the auto-scheduling, that didn’t happen. (Hey meow — oops.)
So I’m entreating you to please click that link, or even this redundant one right here, to check out the worthwhile Falcon spot. It’s a cat-themed cafe, but not one with the actual animals to pet like at the Springs’ Biscuit Factory or Comfort and Joy. AffoGatto is a legit coffee shop first, and they give 2 percent back to Wild Blue feline rescue and sanctuary in Black Forest.
And, well, you need to click that link to read all the rest. Including their awesome house AffoGatto with caramel cat stripes caramel drizzle and white chocolate cat ears. And their blackberry, Brie and bacon croissant. (Photos await you!)
And — bonus: In the same writeup, I also write about my return visit to Reception Coffee & Cocktails to check out their daytime slow bar. Whereas I’d spotlighted their brilliant build-your-own-espresso-martini menu by night hours, here I’m sampling superlative pourovers and seasonal specialty espresso drinks. To get the deets on the image below — you know you wanna — click it to read the writeup.
Also, while we’re on the subject of backend buffoonery on Substack, if you want to be among the first to read my dining reviews when they publish versus wait for the re-release, you can subscribe and check out currently available write-ups on Gossip Point (Indian food truck) and Wild Rose Bakeshop. Here’s my 2026 special offer:
Colorado Craft celebrates its 8th anniversary, launches Colorado Springs Airport kiosk (finally)
“Our Craft Burger was the first thing we put on our menu,” says Chef/Co-owner Mario Vasquez of Colorado Craft Tejon Street Social. “We knew we had to have one, and it ended up helping us survive through Covid. It’s a reminder to stick to the basics and our belief in fresh ingredients. It’s why it’s at the front of everything we do.”
It’s also why the Craft Burger — with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and house Comeback Sauce — is at the focus of the restaurant’s 8th anniversary celebration. All day on January 22 (from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.) the Craft Burger will be just $10, down from the regular $17.50. And it will be paired, should you wish, with $4 beers from sister company Urban Animal Beer Co.
I was at Colorado Craft earlier this week to photograph next month’s Side Dish collaboration recipe with Ranch Foods Direct. Chef Mario is contributing his personal pozole recipe, handed down from his grandmother and in development since for the past 15 years. “I don’t think it’s ever going to be perfect, or done,” he says, telling me he makes it at home at least twice a year, making minor tweaks and playing with different, non-traditional garnishes.
While we’re chatting, I comment on Colorado Craft’s steadiness with a rarely-changing menu that hearkens back to The Ritz and its heyday in the ’90s and early aughts. (If you’re newer to town: The Ritz used to be in Colorado Craft’s space, operated by Concept Restaurants, who still runs José Muldoon’s and MacKenzie’s Chop House. In the old days, The Ritz was THE place for a Cosmo and convo. It’s where Chef Jay Gust of Pizzeria Rustica and Homa cut his culinary teeth.)
Mario says “it’s the curse of this building,” adding that people still come in asking for and even expecting items from the Ritz menu. Yes, eight years later.
In a way, Colorado Craft has dialed in an eclectic enough, catch-all menu to match consumer demands in the same approachable, relatively affordable way that The Ritz did in its day. Mario says he’s still trying to fully grasp the demographic, but they enjoy a good business-lunch crowd, reliable happy hour patrons and good dinner rush ranging from families to folks from the colleges and people just wanting to watch a sports game over the bar.
When they first opened, the menu catered more to casual fine dining. During Covid they literally pared down to burgers to run on a skeleton crew. When it was time to reboot full force they leaned more into a gastropub direction with greatest hits, comfort-food items. Mario revived his Cubano alongside the bestselling spicy chicken sandwich. They upgraded their mac & cheese into an entrée portion with optional protein add-ons. Of course there’s wings and nachos and french fry variations (including green chile smothered). But at lunch, the buttoned-up Cobb Salad among half a dozen others. Only sporadically will you find seasonal weekend specials, such as a recent short ribs entrée with winter accouterments for seasonal flavor.
What else is there to know about Colorado Craft right now, I ask. Mario mentions The Archives’ new social media push on Instagram. That’s been lots of videos featuring Bar Manager Shayne Baldwin and his crew breaking down cocktail components or riffing on something amusing, such as calling a bartender a mixologist. (The Archives is located in the basement of Colorado Craft, if ya’ didn’t know.)
Lastly — and this is something I’ve been monitoring since I first reported on it in October 2023 — Colorado Craft’s spot at the Colorado Springs Airport has finally opened as of Jan. 21, says Colorado Craft co-owner Bryan Bradigan, who I spoke a couple of weeks ago for my Tejon Revitalization blurb. He says it’s initially just bar service, with their food menu following sometime later in the year or so. Their concept will be sharing a kitchen with Brother Luck’s kiosk.
Relatedly, I had last reached out to the Airport’s PR people seeking updates in July 2025, and was told “the brands are still being discussed with the Airport. We don't have a final decision.” My question to them had been: “Drifter’s Hamburgers was on the original list for concessions coming, but they have since closed their sole location in town. I was wondering if that means they’re no longer planning to be a vendor at the airport?”
I messaged them again this week seeking updated info and timelines, but didn’t hear back by publishing time.
Bites & Bits
• 707 Pizza Co., who launched last July at the Ed Robson Arena on CC’s campus — and I reported on here — appears to have permanently closed. Google has them listed as such, and reporting by the Gazette earlier this month placed 707 as temporarily closed. Several social media pages and websites have dark recently for both 707 and the owners’ original Penrose Pizzeria & Pub near Cañon City and Florence. The business didn’t respond for comments to the Gazette and I have yet to hear back from messages I left 707 this week as well. I also reached out to CC for information and didn’t hear back by publishing time.
• Codswallop has introduced a new item that’s apparently been a viral social media item in the past, born out of Chinese takeaway shops in Ireland. Called a Spice Bag, it’s “a mix of chicken, chippy chips, sliced onions and peppers, chip shop curry sauce, and a sprinkle of imported spice bag flavourings” according to their press release.
• Food Trucks Against Homelessness is looking for food trucks “to help serve our neighbors experiencing homelessness with care, dignity, and really good food.” Service is at Westside Cares, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Mondays; a $1,000 stipend covers 100-125 meals. More info here.
• Last week I wrote about taking a staycation at Hotel Polaris. Another local staycation deal happening now, FYI, is at The Mining Exchange Hotel, where, with a minimum two-night stay, they’re offering a $400 food and non-alcoholic beverage credit. It can be used at Oro and Golden Hour, which I recently wrote up here.
• “Shane in Los Angeles is weighing the pros and cons of opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant for his focaccia sandwich retail and catering concept.” That’s part of the episode description for a recent episode of the Wondery show How I Built This Podcast with Guy Raz. And the Shane mentioned is my pal and C. Springs-launched Chef Shane Lyons. The sandwich business noted is Vesti, which Lyons co-founded and co-owns. Give the episode a listen here.
• How would you like to crack open a can of cold beer brewed from recycled shower and laundry water?
• Gourmet magazine, dead since 2009, is being revived as an online newsletter.
• Even Mayor Yemi had things to say about news of Aldi coming to C. Springs.
Hoppenings of the week
Beer Events
Pint Night with Odell Brewing at PubDog: Jan. 23, 6 p.m. Pint night with Odell Brewing, featuring their Isolation Winter Warmer Ale, Off Leash Lager (Pub Dog’s own Lager!) and Mountain Standard IPA.
Battle Bots at Wackadoo Brewing: Jan. 24, 2 p.m. An officially regulated battle bot competition. Come enjoy the chaos with some delicious beers and BBQ.
Puzzles & Pints at RedLeg Brewing: Jan. 25, 2 p.m. Ready, set, puzzle! Join a speed jigsaw puzzle contest where teams go head-to-head. $22 entry includes a 500-piece puzzle to take home and two flagship pints.
Beer Releases
Nottacider Apple Ale at Lost Friend Brewing: It looks like a cider, drinks like a cider, and smells like apples, but it’s still beer.
C’s Get Degrees Session IPA at Peaks N Pines Brewing: Celebrate the end of Dry January with this crisp Northwest Coast IPA featuring Cascade, Chinook and Citra hops. Releases Jan. 26.
Curated by Brandon Heid and Gerry Reyes. For full listings of beer-related events and releases download the free Hoppenings app on Apple on Google.
Side Dish Dozen happenings
Gold Star Bakery: Valentine’s Cookie Kits now available for preorder. Reserve interactive kits online by Feb. 10 for pickup Feb 12-14 at Ivywild School. Enjoy hours of fun with 12 freshly baked sugar cookies, 3 piping-bags of house-made vanilla frosting and decorative sugars and sprinkles! Great for kids, date night and family-time. $24/kit.
Edelweiss: Join us in the Ratskeller for our NFL Playoff Championship Event, running 1-9 p.m., Jan. 25: Broncos vs. Patriots followed by Rams vs. Seahawks at 4:30. $25 tickets get you access to a special buffet and happy hour pricing on select drinks, plus entry into a raffle. Also, make Valentine’s Day reservations early — we fill up!
Kangaroo Coffee: We’re excited about many new developments as we’ve hopped into 2026! Stay tuned for updates on our growing partnership with Gold Star Bakery, a Pike Ride bike station, and about the buildout of our Hillside Coffee House! Meanwhile, stop in with your holiday gift card to treat yourself to our featured January beverages!
Allusion Speakeasy: The Stranger Things theme closes Jan. 25 downtown. Next up: Bar-kini Bottom (SpongeBob SquarePants) at the downtown location. Lord of the Rings returns to our Powers location Jan. 22. Wobbly Olive: Every weekday happy hour at both locations is 4-6 p.m.; all cocktails and beers are half off, plus $5 house wines.
Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar: Walking in the light... or joining the dark side? Either way, we’ve curated a special menu that flips the script on January. Choose your vibe with boozy or booze-free beverages this Dry January at Jax, where every choice is the right one. Catch happy hours, 4-5:30 p.m., Tuesdays-Sundays and all night Mondays.
Goat Patch Brewing: Stay in the know and download our new app! Live music with Deuces Wyld, Jan. 23, 5-7 p.m. in Monument. Join our laid-back social Singles & Mingles Mixer at Northgate, Jan. 24, 6-9 p.m.; $20 tickets include two pints and charcuterie. Bleating Heart Night with CASA, Jan. 27, 5-9 p.m. at Lincoln Center.
Upcoming events
Jan. 22: Colorado Craft 8 Year Anniversary. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; $10 Craft Burgers and $4 Urban Animal Beers.
Jan. 24: Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) wine certification courses at Ivywild School. WSET Level 1, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., $350; a foundational course with guided tastings, food pairing and an exam.
Jan. 24: Local Relic’s Small Brew Saturday. Noon to 4 p.m. New beer releases and light bites available.
Jan. 24: Cooking Class with Chef Brother Luck. 2 p.m., $65 includes instruction on the five French mother sauces, with companion tastings.
Jan. 27: Neon Poker Night(s) at Cocktails After Dusk. 6-9 p.m. every Tuesday. $5 drinks; get an extra $100 in poker chips per dry good donated to Care & Share.
Jan. 27: Passport to Veneto Wine Dinner at Pizzeria Rustica. 6 p.m.; $89, five courses, a portion of proceeds to benefit Ukraine Power.
Jan. 29: Sip With Schnip at Stellina. 6-9 p.m. Get $2 off select apps + $2 off boozy bevs + BOGO gelato. Any pizza + half salad for $20.26. Guests entered to win a $50 gift card or seat at the March Stellina Supper Club. Goodie bags for paid Side Dish subscribers.
Jan. 29: Jake & Telly’s European Wine Tour dinner. 6 p.m.; $99, five paired courses.
Feb. 2: Cocktails After Dusk's Title-Belt Championship, Round 3 at Caddie’s. 7 p.m.; $25 includes a welcome drink, samples of seven competition cocktails and more.
Feb. 4: WhistlePig Rare Whiskey Dinner at Viewhouse. 6:30 p.m.; $100 includes four paired courses.
Parting scoops
In anticipation of our Jan. 29 Sorseggia Con Schnip popup at Stellina, I ducked in to scope out the gelato selection last week. Because at the event the extended happy hours means gelato will be BOGO all evening! Anyway, we had a, um, large misunderstanding. But it all worked out in the end:
Great roundup of the sushi scene! That Drunken Tiger Roll with shrimp tempura and seared tuna topping sounds absolutley incredible. I've found that tempura in rolls adds such a good textural contrast when its done right, especially with the heat from spicy tuna. The fact Sushi Mori hired a chef with 30 years experiense shows in those detailed descriptions of each roll.