Hang on Sloopy

http://umc.colorado.edu/dining/aprg

OK, we are off to another restaurant adventure. But before we start talking about ambiance and table settings, salad presentations and beverage choices let us step off the beaten path for a moment and check out something that combines some gruesome American history, higher education and the gastronomic arts. Inside the University of Colorado, Boulder, University Memorial is a restaurant and grill. This place was lovingly named by the student body to memorialize a famous Colorado native. The name of the restaurant is, "The Alferd Packer Restaurant & Grill, and 'Alferd' is the correct spelling of his first name." If you know the history of Alferd you will immediately understand that the name is also a joke and gory one at that. Alferd Packer is the only man in the USA ever convicted of murder by Cannibalism. During an attempt to cross the Rockies during an especially bitter winter to get to gold fields in California the party he was leading was snowed in with sparse provisions. Two months later a bedraggled and hungry Alferd Packer walked into the Los Pinos Indian Agency near Gunnison Colorado...alone. Poor Alferd just could not keep his story straight about what happened to the other five members of the party. After his story changed a few times the authorities sent a search party out to locate the missing members. What they found showed that the rest of the party had been killed by unnatural means and two had been snacked on. A trial quickly ensued and Mr. Packer was duly found guilty and sentenced to hang. An apocryphal account says the judge sentenced him with this statement, "Stand up yah voracious man-eatin' sonofabitch and receive yir sintince. When yah came to Hinsdale County, there was siven Dimmycrats. But you, yah et five of 'em, goddam yah. I sintince yah t' be hanged by th' neck ontil yer dead, dead, dead, as a warnin' ag'in reducin' th' Dimmycratic populayshun of this county. Packer, you Republican cannibal, I would sintince ya ta hell but the statutes forbid it. " There is more to this story but I will let you find it at your own pace. I will let you know there was no hanging and he died on April 23 1907 in Jefferson County Colorado. Some will celebrate his 171st birthday this month.

It would be great if that was actually what the judge said but it is not. But here is what is dead center true. I have on my bucket list the fond hope to eat there one time. I will have the El Cannibal Tacos or Giant Cannibal Burger with a bit of roughage from Al's Greens Salad Bar. Along with fine university food I will soak up the ambiance in a diner that has "Have a friend for lunch" as their motto.

In keeping with the University Dining Hall theme, we will turn away from the great State of Colorado and look at a little diner in the new OSU Student Union on High Street. It is called Sloopy's Diner and it is new, clean, and bright. It has a 1950's Diner theme and it is more 1950's Diner than any actual '50's Diner ever was. It looks like the set designer for Family Days and American Grafitti had a sever OCD episode and before they got his meds back in balance they locked him in Sloopy's diner. It serves Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. They have a game day buffet for $12.95 that sounds good but I have never tried it. Their meats are OSU farm raised and the cooking is done in a large kitchen in the Union.

I have had breakfast, lunch and dinner at Sloopy's. All meals I had but one were good, workman like meals in a clean and interesting setting. For breakfast they have all the usual entrees, skillets and omelets. They have an all meat, smoked bacon, sausage, ham and cheddar cheese, omelet and a garden omelet. Both are good and having fresh local eggs does make a difference. My partner on one occasion had the Smothered Breakfast Burrito and reported it was above average.

Dinner is a traditional diner menu and includes burgers, fries and pot roast. Yeah, pot roast and it was very tender, well presented and was cooked one time and in house. If you like pot roast give it a try. Their fries are also very good. They are soft inside with a slight crunch on the outside. Also prepared in house.

For dinner their fried chicken is good by any standards. This is by far the best entree. They do offer a steak that I have not tried. They also offer spaghetti and meatball but it is pedestrian at best being more like Spaghetti Warehouse fare. Then we have the one entree that is a complete failure. I had to try the "Seafood Cake" just to see what I would get. It really was bad. Again, you do not order a hamburger in a fine French restaurant and you do not order something called "Seafood Cake" in a diner in Columbus Ohio. I really consider ordering the seafood entree my mistake as much as theirs.

Ok, let's wrap up. There is no tipping and they are serious about that. They offer beers, all of it from Ohio. They even have an offering from Thirsty Dog Brewery in Akron called OLD LEGHUMPER A ROBUST PORTER WITH A RICH, CHOCOLATY TASTE 6.7% A/V. That is their description.

Then there are the deserts. They offer real and traditional Milk Shakes, "Cows", Sundaes, and an honest Banana Split as they were supposed to be made. You could choose from home made Cookies, Chocolate Covered Cream Puff, Fruit pie, Buckeye Pie, and finally a Red Velvet cupcake that is rich and moist.

Sloopy's Diner is worth a try and has some very good offerings. As long as you avoit the "Seafood Cake" you will be in good hands. And remember:

Hang on sloopy, sloopy hang on Sloopy lives in a very bad part of town Everybody else, tries to put my sloopy down Sloopy I don't care, what your daddy do Cuz you know sloopy, girl, I'm in love with you And so I say now Hang on sloopy, sloopy hang on Hang on sloopy, sloopy hang on (yeah) (yeah) (yeah) (yeah) (yeah) (yeah) Wo, uh, wo, uh, wo, uh, wo, uh