Fort Collins Restaurants That Are Gone but Not Forgotten – Todd’s Top Five

Nate's Steak & Seafood was at the corner of College and Horsetooth in Fort Collins. It has been torn down and a Chic-Fil-A is in its place. Nate's could have been called Great Steak & Seafood or Great Prime Rib. The food was always great at Nate's. One of my first dates with my wife was there. I took her there to impress her. If I remember correctly she was very impressed by the food, but not that much by me.

The 1st restaurant I ever ate at in Fort Collins was Round The Corner. I remember the red phones where you could order from your table. I also remember great burgers. It is one of the 1st places I remember where you could get what I would call a gourmet burger. There were two locations in Fort Collins. There was one in Campus West and one on South College that has since become a car dealership.

I miss Swensen’s Ice Cream Parlor, formerly located at the corner of College and Monroe, where Chico’s is now. They had wonderful ice cream, a train that ran around the entire restaurant, and from what I am told, a killer cob salad. Over 10 years ago my wife and I had a guest visiting from England. We decided one night to go on an ice cream crawl. We visited 5 Fort Collins ice cream shops in one night. By far, our favorite was Swensen's...and what was that thing called that had like 8 different flavors of ice cream in it.

Bennigan's closed in Fort Collins in July of 2008. It was located at College and Rutgers. It is now a dentists office. Our whole family misses their Monte Cristo sandwich. It was the stuff legends are made of. The massive sandwich was turkey, ham, and cheese, dipped in batter and deep fried. Then you dipped it in jam or honey. Bennigan's Death By Chocolate was heavenly. I still dream about it. I remember the day they closed. Tragic.

Nico's Catacombs was an institution in Fort Collins for 35 Years. We had the K99 Christmas party there for a decade. In March of 2008 Nico Zentveld retired. A few months later, Nico's became Sonny Lubick Steakhouse. We loved Nico and we loved his food. My wife and I still talk about the Beef Tenderloin soup. It was an amazing starter but could have been the entire meal and that would have been o.k. The best lobster I have ever eaten in my life was at Nico's. What really was different about Nico's Catacombs was the atmosphere and unmatched service. If you wanted to eat like a king and be treated like one as well, it was Nico's. We miss you Mr. Zentveld.