The Slopper!

Rarely am I surprised by a food offering… I’m tuned in to what’s going on in the food world… I used to watch the food TV… I read the food magazines… I partake in in-depth perusal of the food interweb… I know about most regional food offerings.

On my recent trip home from Colorado I was surprised for the first time in a long time… A wonderful surprise.

Timing up meals on trips so they line up with places offering with unique and worthwhile food is one of the keys to making good travel plans.

I thought I had effed this one up… I left my aunt and uncle’s house near Boulder, Colorado to go back to Texas at 6 am… I was taking the Pueblo route to try to find Cousin Eddie’s house… It was supposed to be on US Route 50 East of Pueblo… The course was going to put me in Pueblo at breakfast time… With no other major food destination until Amarillo, six hours away… If I was lucky, I’d find a Cracker Barrel... If I wasn’t lucky, I’d be eating a sausage biscuit from The Flying J.

If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s Googling-And-Driving… Or Yelping-And-Driving… As I approached Pueblo, I started my quick research on what to see and where to eat in town… That’s when I came across something I had never heard of before… Multiple references to The Slopper.

The Slopper!

A cheeseburger smothered with red chile or green chile or chile sauce… I don’t know how I had never heard of this before… Pueblo is known for them… It’s their shtick.

Gray’s Coors Tavern (how great is a Tavern named after Coors) and Sunset Inn are the two main names in the town when it comes to The Slopper… I couldn’t wait to try one of them… I was giddy with excitement… But shit!... It’s 8:30 am… Neither one opens until 11 am… The roller coaster of emotions is unreal… Going to have to eat at Cracker Barrel :(… Going to get to eat The Slopper! :) ... Going to have to eat at Cracker Barrel :(

I wonder if they have Coors?

After finding a hotel that was allegedly used in National Lampoon’s Vacation and not recognizing it, so thusly not photographing it, I decided to take one last stab at the GoogleYelpUrbanspooning… That’s when I come across “Musso’s Restaurant”… Three or four people, who I think I can trust, gave reviews on various sites alleging they had the best slopper in town… There’s a science to reading reviews… Never trust someone who has just reviewed one or two places… They’re a plant… Never trust someone who loves every place… Never trust someone who hates every place… My women’s intuition also allows other sciences to sort through the veracity of the reviews… Three or four people were calling this the home of the best The Slopper in town… And they’re open for breakfast! … We’re back in the game.

I got to Musso’s at 9 m… It was about half full on a Sunday… I reckon people eating some vittles before heading to church… I had the nicest waitress… I think she wanted to make out with me… At least that’s what I always think when they constantly refill my beverage without me having to ask.

I gave a fake lookover of the menu… How was I going to order anything but The Slopper

When it came out, it was a sight to behold… I love green chile… This was an open faced double cheeseburger smothered in green chile sauce… The sauce didn’t overpower the cheeseburger, which I reckon would’ve been a pretty solid cheeseburger without the smothering… It also came with some pretty legit fries fries… In all, it was a hardy breakfast… I’d give it a 4.5 on the Yelp scale.

The Slopper at Musso's Restaurant

While eating my meal, I did some Googling-And-Dining, which I almost do as well as Googling-And-Driving… From all that I read, Gray’s Coors Tavern and Sunset Inn were supposed to be a step ahead of all the others and Musso’s was in the next tier… If Gray’s Coors Tavern and Sunset Inn’s The Slopper was better than what I just ate, they have to be pretty amazing, because Musso's was fantastic.

NOT MY PHOTO - The Slopper at Sunset Inn

Pueblo may never be a destination for you, unless you are intent on finding Cousin Eddie’s house, but it should most definitely be “on the way” to somewhere... For The Slopper.

My only regret is giving the menu a fake lookover... As it turns out, Musso’s, which is also known for its homemade Sicilian sausage sandwiches, makes ‘The Italian Slopper’ with sauseege instead of a cheeseburger.

After my inspiring meal, I hit the highway in search of Cousin Eddie’s house, which I never found… But it didn’t matter, because I was happy with what I did find… The Slopper.