The Village Smithy, Carbondale Colorado

Under a spreading chestnut-tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands. -  (The Village Blacksmith) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

One of our favourite vacation traditions in Colorado is the Village Smithy in Carbondale Colorado; simply called “Smithy's” by locals in the Roaring Fork Valley, it has been a breakfast institution since 1975.     When I was a kid, we’d visit the location that used to be in Glenwood Springs next to the Walgreen’s Drug Store.  Back in those days, in the mid-1970s, my main objective was to get to the world famous Hot Springs Pool as fast as humanly possible, but my parents insisted on breakfast. Lame.   Nonetheless, I loved this restaurant because it had a sandwich named after one of my favourite animals (the B.A.T.  - bacon, avocado, tomato), cool decorations like a huge old-timey coffee grinder, and was adjacent to the beach balls, nose-plugs and pool toys at the Walgreens.

The Glenwood Springs locale closed years ago, but the original Carbondale restaurant is as popular as ever with diners waiting to eat on the sunny patio.




These days, I’ve replaced my once-beloved “BAT” sandwich with one of their numerous veggie friendly dishes that can be customised to be vegan: scrambled tofu with veggies and “Smithy 7” (Kashi 7-grain pilaf with zucchini, mushrooms and veggies),  grilled veggie salad, famous “McGurks” hashed browns with peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and onions, vegan tomatillo green chili, southwestern wrap, and more.
My dining companions had all of the above, and everything was fresh, hot and delicious. The Kashi was a welcome, healthy change of pace from usual sides.  The only thing that was a little awry were English muffins that were stale and the texture of roofing shingles.

This time I had the “Southwestern Wrap”,  sans chicken, and sampled some of the “McGurks” potatoes and Kashi Pilaf.  The wrap contained romaine lettuce, guacamole, black beans, corn, rice and tomatoes.    It was all fresh and delicious, though the french fries were your standard diner variety chips.
Luckily for me, it still ended up being a “BAT” after all (beans, avocado, tomatoes? )  and my inner child was happy.