Two new restaurants worthy of attention and praise opened recently.
Thai comes to Manitou Springs
Manitou Thai & Ramen marks what may be the first Thai place this town has ever seen.
For a village rife with burgers and beef jerky, this humble Asian eatery in the space inside the Baker House formerly occupied by Persephone Grae’s comes as a welcome Manitou amenity.
(I was mourning Persephone’s until I heard it had relocated to the Westside – 511 N. 30th St .).
My first taste of Manitou Thai and Ramen was the Pork Belly Bowl, a chancy choice, for sure, as pork belly can be fatty. That fat can be rubbery and ruin a dish, but here, it’s been stewed to perfection, blending perfectly with the tasty pork.
I enjoyed the same pork belly slices in the Tonkotsu Ramen, which also boasted perfectly cooked egg and fish cake in a hearty broth I’d put up against any ramen place in the region.
For Thai standards, I’d recommend the Panang Curry and Pad Thai, both on par with those at Wild Ginger Thai in Old Colorado City, which is to say, outstanding.
The owners are former caterers from Denver, so it’s not surprising that all the dishes are spectacularly plated.
Finally, great Thai in Manitou!
Ambli gets a romantic Italian makeover
Ambli Global Cuisine, one of the most adventurous restaurants in Colorado Springs, struggled after opening near the Costco on Nevada Avenue in 2020. The gorgeous, glittery multi-cultural restaurant made this our go-to for special occasions or the random Tuesday happy hour.
But opening during a pandemic with a name and cuisine that probably were confusing to the Red Robin crowd made Ambli Global Cuisine a challenge. They changed the name to Ambli Kitchen + Bar, but it still never got the attention it deserved.
Owners Pariza Mehta (the most vibrant and gracious hostess of all time), chef Ricardo Morffin and Kelly Morrison opened Latin Social in October. The name is once again a bit confusing, suggesting Latin American cuisine when it’s actually Mediterranean and European, but the romantic vibe, the killer kebabs, and the proximity to the hopping Sushi Row seems to be making it the current “it” place for the dating crowd.
Meanwhile, the trio of owners recently rebranded and reimagined the original Colorado Springs Ambli location as Amore Italian Grille, joining the fabulous downtown Oro and Westside Sopra, as a spot for delicious upscale Italian cuisine.
Amore proves easy to love (and to understand) with dishes both familiar and slightly exotic.
Our favorite was Aglio E Olio, a scrumptious squid-ink linguini with shrimp and scallops that tastes like love on a plate. My god, the buttery pasta alone made my tongue dance, and the sauce was amazing.
The Arancini and the Pasta Bolognese show the magical subtlety in spices at work, the saffron cream sauce on the Arancini and the garlicky tomato sauce on the pasta make the ordinary extraordinary.
Amore should catch on. As my Jewish mother would say, “What’s not to love?”
