Fruita’s got the gourmet hat trick. A half block off Interstate 70 is a small shopping center with slow-cooked BBQ, fresh-made toffee and free sips of Colorado wine.
Start at the Rib City Grill and order a Skyscraper Sandwich (a half-pound mound of BBQ on a garlic loaf) or a rack of ribs. Don’t miss the Rib City coleslaw. Stroll next door to the Colorado Wine Room and sip some of Colorado’s finest wines. The Garfield Estates syrah is quite tasty. Check out the fancy pouring gizmo (preserves wine, they say, and thwarts taste-killing oxidation) in the tasting room. Tote your bottle and BBQ next door to Enstrom’s Candies and grab a pound of almond toffee, which happens to dance really well with the syrah.
Load up your vino, meat and sweets for a picnic at one of the many parks along I-70 and the Colorado River near Fruita.
Get there — All three stores are behind the Vietnam War Memorial Park on the south side of Interstate 70 at 455 Kokopelli Drive.
Got eats? Know a great high-country restaurant/bar/cafe/burrito stand? Send tasty tips to outdoorextremes@denverpost.com.
