Heading West to Idaho, Washington and Wyoming - Part 3

I continued the trip in Laramie, Wyoming taking an early flight from Spokane to Denver where I would get a car for the 2 hour drive into Wyoming. Any time I have a car in the Denver area I have to stop at one of my favorite Triple D places, "Lauer Krauts" in Brighton, Colorado. Robin, the owner has been featured on Triple D twice and once on Triple D Nation. I'm so grateful that Robin came in ton her time off to visit, I'm proud to call her a friend. She served me the Lauer Krauts version of a Chili Dog, a thick german style sausage wrapped in a fresh baked roll, served Pig-in-the blanket style. The chili was hearty with a kick of spice, although there were homemade condiments on the table, they weren't needed. The sausage was flavorful but the real highlight was the roll, fresh baked and tasty. Robin also gave me one of their newest t-shirt printed in 70s retro style! One fun fact about Robin and her first Triple D fiming, at the time she was 8 months pregnant, the day I visited was her sons 13th birthday, she calls him her "Kraut" baby! Thank you so much Robin and your incredible staff. If you're anywhere in the Mountain Time Zone Lauer Krauts is a MUST!

The drive to Laramie was very scenic, rolling through small canyons and hills, just a beautiful drive. I arrived into Laramie, home of the University of Wyoming and got started. "Alibi Wood Fired Pizzeria and Bakery" lives up to it's name featuring pizza and sweet pastries. I decided to try the Agrodolce Burrata. It was like a pizza without cheese. Mine was topped with garlic and Balsamic Vinegar, with fresh cut tomatoes and fresh housemade mozzerella. The wood fired crust was crispy and delicious with the mozzerella and balsamic adding to the great taste. Being so close to the university, I could sense it is a popular spot for students.

Before heading to the next place I went to check-in to my hotel and it was closed! I don't want to go into great details but the nightmare portion of the trip had begun. Luckily I was able to find a place, unfortunately it was so bad that I decided to get all the places done and head back to Denver! My next stop is the place I was looking forward the most. In Herndon, just a short walk from my apartment is a place called, Jimmy's Old Town Tavern. Jimmy's is almost like a modern day Cheers bar. It also is where Buffalo, New York sports fan gather to celebrate their Western New York sports teams. The current QB of the Buffalo Bills is Josh Allen and he attended the University of Wyoming, so I noticed people wearing a lot of Wyoming gear but I noticed a fair amount of Bills gear, too. "Weitzel's Wings aka Double Dubs" is a food truck system as they operate a sevveral trucks in the Laramie and nearby Cheyenne communities. One of the featured spicy wing sauce is dedicated to and a favorite of Josh Allen. Weitzel's has participated in the Buffalo Wing Festival and taken home 12 winning ribbons! I loved this truck, it was painted like a fighter jet and even had art to reflect the winnig ribbons from the festival. I ordered 6 wings in what they called C79 sauce, which was a Bufflo style sauce with a bit of a kick. They were really good. The truck, parked in a liquor store lot, was doing a huge business, but the guys running the truck took the time to talk to me and sign my book and I really appreciated that.

After a rough night at the hotel, I made out a plan to go to the last places in Laramie. I headed out to a small but very popular place in the downtown area. "J's Prairie Rose" caters to the breakfast crowd. I was given a seat at the counter. With a few other places to try I went light, or so I thought! I ordered one pancake and a side of hash browns. The hash browns were good, but the pancake was huge, the size of a dinner plate, it was tasty and filling, so good that syrup wasn't really needed. The service was very good and the staff extremely friendly.

After packing up and thankfully checking out, I headed out to the last few places in Laramie. First stop was at a place featuring pub grub. "Born in a Barn" is a small place at the corner of an area with numerous shops and restaurants. I took a seat at the bar and ordered a Chicago Style Hot Dog. It was true to the Windy City staple. The huge dog was served on a tasty roll topped with mustard, tomatoes, relish and sport peppers. It was so big, I needed to use and knife and fork. Before leaving I met the owner who signed my book and ironically later that night they were featured on a Triple D rerun.

About 200 yards from Born in a Barn was my next place, "Sweet Melissa", a Vegan Restaurant, which is not a cuisine I usually eat. I decided to try two dishes based on foods I enjoy. I tried the Crab(less) Cakes and Kimchee scallion pancake. Both were good, I thought the pancake was ok, it came with a spicy chili sauce. The Crab(less) Cake was interesting, it looked like a crab cake but made from veggies. It didn't have a crab taste but it was really good. I had the nicest server and when I told her about what I wa doing she went and got the owner and namesake of the restaurant, Melissa, to come over to the table to sign my book. I did enjoy Sweet Melissa, more than I thought I would, if you enjoy Vegn then Sweet Melissa is the place for you.

After visiting the University of Wyoming bookstore, I headed to wmy last stop in Laramie. "Crowbar and Grill" is in the same area as the last two places and features Pizza, both by the pie and by the slice. I ordered a white pizza slice with ground beef and ricotta. It was tasty but my favorite part of the slice was the awesome crispy crust.

My trip ended with a two hour drive south to Denver. It was a fantastic trip, I got to try a lot of great places and food, see old freinds and make new ones, what could be better? As I flew home my Triple D count stood at 940.