THE MASON JAR in Colorado Springs - A Great American "Meat & Potatoes" Restaurant
Written: Mar 29 '05 (Updated Sep 02 '07)
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Pros: Great homemade American food. Friendly, attentive service. Totally unpretentious.
Cons: Tables are a bit too close together and not very big.
The Bottom Line: This family restaurant does everything right... the food, the service and the reasonable prices... without any gimmickry. The Mason Jar is a Colorado experience you're sure to remember fondly.
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| radioroger's Full Review: The Mason Jar |
If you are a "meat and potatoes" person... or even if you aren't, your family's visit to Colorado Springs will not be complete without enjoying a meal at The Mason Jar. This unpretentious full-service restaurant offers an extensive variety of entrees. The service is friendly and attentive. The staff seems to truly enjoy their work. The prices are quite reasonable and the restaurant is entirely kid-friendly. Appealing to my rural Midwestern sensibilities, The Mason Jar hit the bullseye.
Colorado Springs was our final stop on a two-week western vacation. Traveling with my mother and 2 daughters (9 and 11), we had just descended from the Pikes Peak summit, and were ready for a nice meal before embarking on the long cross-country trek back to Ohio the next morning.
The Mason Jar fit our needs perfectly. We arrived at about 5:30 PM on a Sunday night in August. The dinner rush was just beginning. Although they were already busy, we had less than a 5-minute wait. The friendly hostess escorted us into the medium-sized open dining room to our small wooden table for four. Our modest table had flowers, salt and pepper and silverware wrapped in a cloth napkin... and no place mat. The one-post wooden tables were fairly close together, but not to the point that it's difficult to move around. The dining area is wide open. There aren't partitions between tables. The decor is neat, but not fancy or even remarkable... there's no "theme" per se. The modest decorations include a few local street name signs, a few unremarkable wall pictures and some Air Force Academy sports memorabilia. Built within the north cement block wall, the large brick fireplace is the room's centerpiece, and undoubtedly adds an extra dimension to the ambiance during the colder months.
The diverse menu consists of no-nonsense American dishes. Their offerings include herb-rubbed prime rib, sirloin steak, fried chicken, chicken-fried steak (their specialty), pork chops and baby back BBQ ribs. They have many seafood selections such as Boston bluefish, Atlantic salmon, fried catfish, fried shrimp, broiled shrimp and fresh Rocky Mountain trout. Their vegetables are fresh (not canned) and their mashed potatoes are made from scratch (or as they call them... "real" mashed potatoes... none of that powdered stuff). The homemade desserts at The Mason Jar are just like my sweet grandma used to make... blackberry cobbler, peach cobbler, chocolate walnut brownies and strawberry shortcake. And if you just want a dish of ice cream, it's just a buck-39.
They have a children's menu (10 and under) filled with kids favorites like hamburgers, corn dogs, pizza, grilled cheese and popcorn chicken. They also offer kids a small version of their chicken fried steak. The Mason Jar is very family-friendly, providing puzzles and coloring sheets, While the meal is being prepared, they provide irresistible little toys called "wikki stix" to occupy the kids, which they can take with them.
I ordered the 16-ounce prime rib (I was HUNGRY!... Okay!). Mom had prime rib and shrimp. The kids had corn dogs and pizza. My 16-oz prime rib was a perfect medium rare, just as ordered. The hot, fresh green beans and moist, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy perfectly complemented my pound of meat. I ate every bit of that prime rib as well as my side dishes. Although my innards were quite satisfied, I couldn't turn down our friendly waiter's suggestion of hot blackberry cobbler. The freshly-baked a-la-mode treat was a great finish to a wonderful meal... although blackberry seeds tend to get stuck between the teeth.
As for beverages, The Mason Jar has what you'd expect... soft drinks, iced tea, lemonade, coffee, etc. They also offer basic cocktails and a small selection of wine and beer. And yes... The Mason Jar serves all of their drinks in... mason jars... the glass canning jars in which Grandma put her locally famous pickles and stewed tomatoes.
The prices are reasonable. Dinners range from 8 to 21 dollars. Most are in the 9 to 13 dollar range. Salads and sandwiches (with fries) are all about six or seven dollars. Desserts are three or four dollars. And kids meals (for 10 and under) are all about four bucks.
From the hostess, to the waiter and cashier, the service is friendly and attentive, but not overbearing. The atmosphere is informal, lively and comfortable.
Bottom line... this unpretentious American restaurant does everything right... the food, the service and the reasonable prices... without any gimmickry at all. The Mason Jar is not fancy. They don't try to be something they're not. The Mason Jar is a Colorado experience you're likely to remember as fondly as your visit to Pikes Peak or Garden of The Gods.
The Mason Jar is located at 2925 W. Colorado Ave, near the intersection with 31st St. - not far from Garden Of The Gods.
The Mason Jar's Website
www.the-mason-jar.com
My Review of the Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak Area
TO SEE OUR MASON JAR PHOTOS, PLEASE VISIT MY TRAVEL WEBSITE:
www.mikebechtol.com
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations We visited on a Sunday evening, typically a relatively slow dinner time for restaurants. We arrived at about 5:30 PM. When we left, about 6:30, there were 3 or 4 parties waiting for an available table. Also, the blackberry cobbler was especially satisfying... so don''t skip dessert.
Best Suited For: Kids and Families
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Epinions.com ID:
radioroger
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 - Top 1000 |
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Location: Rural Ohio
Reviews written: 46
Trusted by: 32 members
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