Lombard’s (in the Double Eagle Hotel & Casino, Cripple Creek) - Dinner

We spent this past weekend up at Cripple Creek with the Mensa group at what we Mensans call a Mini-RG (Regional  Gathering).  There were probably 20+ of us – and we did all the tourist things at “The Creek” – ride the train, went to the Butte Opera House for the Melodrama, visit the Homestead House museum, etc.  And – luckily, we hit the peak weekend for aspens.  It was beautiful!

We stayed at the Double Eagle Hotel and on Saturday night all gathered for dinner at Lombard’s, the casual restaurant in the hotel.  (Winfield’s is the upscale restaurant at the Double Eagle.)  Some folks ordered off the menu and some of us did the buffet.

Surprisingly – everybody (and I mean everybody) said their meals were actually very good. Mike and I opted for the buffet – comes with the salad bar – and were impressed with the quality of the food.

Start with the salads – the lettuce was fresh and crisp, all the bins of accompaniments were full – and they even had whole hard boiled eggs and blue cheese!  The dressings weren’t labeled, but it was easy to tell which was which – as the blue cheese dressing was chock full of blue cheese chunks.  (Can you tell I like blue cheese?  Always have.) The pasta salad was made with penne (I think, I’m no pasta expert) and was dressed really nicely – not soupy or too much mayo.  I didn’t have the navy bean soup, but one of our group did and she said it was excellent.

For those who ordered off the menu, all agreed that portions were bigger than expected – and the lady sitting across from me had the linguini dish – which she said was very, very good.  Overall, there were no complaints about any of the menu-ordered meals.

The buffet’s main dishes were stuffed pork loin, chicken breasts stuffed with gorgonzola and ham, and frog legs.  Frog legs?  Yes!  I had to have those!  So, I loaded my plate with the chicken and about 4 frog legs, as well as the mac and cheese.  Wow, frog legs do taste like chicken!  One of our group was an experienced frog leg eater and he proclaimed those were some well prepared legs – and I’ll have to take his word on that, as that was my first time eating them!  They were delicious!  The chicken breasts were excellent – not dried out or anything.  When you cut into them, the cheese oozed out and the chicken was tender and moist. 

I don’t think anyone opted for dessert – we were all just too full! But, if the salad, menu items, and buffet were indicative of the quality – I have no doubt that dessert would be excellent, too. 

Overall – Lombard’s for dinner was a pleasant surprise – and I’d definitely Do Again … if Mike can pry me off the slots machines!!