COLORADO
Rocky Mountain State

As you head north out of Denver along I-25, you have no idea that just outside of Loveland at exit 254 awaits what Travel & Leisure Magazine has named one of the 10 best places in the World (the only one in the US) to have breakfast. Though there are signs along the way which beckon you on to the Johnson's Corner Cafe as a good place to eat, there is nothing to distinguish it from the hundreds of other signs which dot the highway.

There's nothing fancy about the entrance to the cafe as you make your way around the gas pumps out front and under the roof which extends out from the building to the island. Once inside it's pretty much like all the other truck stops you ever visited with truckers and other road warriors occupying u-shaped counters which jut out in front of the kitchen. As you make your way through the haze which envelops the place, past the pie cabinet with all those wedges of pies with meringue and cream toppings which resemble an Elvis hair do, we wade through the cacophony of chatter and clanking dishes until we finally make our way to the non-smoking room in the rear.

We eye the diverse and varied menu, but we've come mainly for the highly touted cinnamon rolls. As it's 10:30 already we decide to call it brunch. I order one of my all-time favorites, an open-face roast beef sandwich with gravy and mashed potatoes. Another in our party orders the breakfast burrito. Another orders biscuits and gravy. Another gets adventurous and orders the German sausage, eggs and hash browns. We all order cinnamon rolls. They arrive, hot and steamy, dripping with cinnamon frosting and taking up virtually an entire dinner plate. We get two "smaller" ones which dominate yet another plate. The food was good, the portions large, and the prices reasonable, about $34.00 (including 6 cinamon rolls) for the five of us. What more can you ask ?

Is it any wonder the Johnson's Corner Cafe has been serving up great breakfasts, lunches and dinners, 24 hours a day, every day since 1953.