Amicas

 

V-Amicas is located in downtown Salida a few blocks from the river. I had been to the old Amicas location a few times and generally enjoyed the funky, laid-back feel. The new location has a similar decor and ambiance, but it gets so damn crowded that it loses a little of that small-town charm. Even when I visited early on a random Sunday evening in March it was getting busy. There is a small patio out front too, which is prime for tourist watching.

Q-Amicas brews its own beer and, while I don't remember liking Amicas beers that I had tried on my visits a few years back, I definitely enjoyed the IPA I tried when I visited most recently. The guest taps are also pretty high-quality stuff, e.g., Crooked Stave, Elevation, and (fellow Salida brewery) Soulcraft.

Ser-Amicas does the order-first-then-find-a-table thing, which is not my favorite, but the food and beers arrive in good time and the servers that bring your food will also take drink orders and additional food orders. My IPA was served in a shaker pint with virtually no head on it (boo), but my lady friend's Crooked Stave sour arrived in a nice looking tulip (yeah).

Sel-Amicas had about ten beers on tap when I visited, including three or four in-house drafts and about a half-dozen guest taps. The style spectrum was mostly covered, but don't expect to pick from 40 taps or to find the latest, craziest, hype-iest beers here.

F-I recall really enjoying the wood-fired pizza here, but my most recent dinner was just OK. The salad was fresh but a little over-dressed and the pizza was uninspired; like it had been under a warming lamp for a while.

O-The large crowds can be super annoying and the food is nothing to write home about, but the downtown location and decent beer selection make Amicas a worthy stop, especially for families, if you are in Salida.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would say the only knock on this place was the limited brewing capacity. But they sure did make use of the small space that they had.

The atmosphere was great. The pizza is tossed and created right in the center of the restaurant. The bar is small and located close to the entry. I bellied up there and was greeted by nothing but pleasant and friendly wait staff.

I did not eat, but I think the rest of the city did. There was always someone in line at the to go pizza counter and the phones were ringing with orders every 5 minutes.

I did the sampler platter of beers which was a great value. I enjoyed all of the beers, and I felt the quality was very high. The selection was very broad, but they only had 7 taps. That is not bad for a small pizza joint, but I felt the need to mention it. They only served their beers on tap, I am not sure if they had bottles elsewhere.

I got to meet the brewer, Mike. Very nice guy. Showed me the brewery. Also his assistant brewer was there (Tony, I believe... argh I hate forgetting names). Both were pleasant to chat with and really made you feel like you had known them for years. They had just finished bottling a Strong Scotch Ale in Bombers, which I was able to pick up a couple of and take home.

Although I don't know when I will be back in that area, I do know that I will stop here again.

Following a long soaking in the Salida Munciple Hot Springs we rolled into Amicas located in downtown Salida on a rainy Wednesday night. This place was very busy with tourists and locals.

Walking in you must get a table then you can order food. However, there is a bar next to the register area that had 7 house brews on tap; Bomber Blonde Ale, Headwaters IPA, Big S Brown, Rex’s Amber Ale, Ute Trail Pale Ale, and a very interesting and good Black beard’s Delight German style Black Lager, and another interesting Honey Bourbon Brown 10 year anniversary ale. I have to say the black lager, IPA, and 10th anniversary ale were very very good and were imbibed by several in our party.

What is interesting is that we were able to order beers and then when we ordered our food we could tell the person how many we had, a real honor system.

My wife and I split a calzone (meat), and veggie pizza, both were good.

We really enjoyed this brewery and would love to return

Located downtown in a surprisingly vibrant area. Very busy when we were there mid-week in August 2010. Like a few before me noted, the ordering/seating process is a bit confusing but once you get the hang of it you're ok. Large pizza and calzone list and 6-8 house beers. The pizza was very good and the IPA and oaked/smoked porter were solid. Purchased a chili beer to go-yet to have it. Overall a good experience and the service was good once seated-just don't get frustrated with ordering/seating process-ask if confused-I did!! Recommended.

Took a day trip up to Salida just to go to Amica's. When you walk in there is a menu on the wall and you are expected to know what you want before you are seated, something I am not used to.

They had an impressive beer list. We ordered some pizzas and Caesar salads and of course beer!

The Caesar salads at Amica's are the absolute best I ave ever had, no lie. They top them with real anchovy, you don't just taste it in the dressing. The pizzas were good, but the salads outshined the pizza something fierce.

The beer was all delicious. Not one beer from the sampler was flat, infected, or nasty in any way, they were all tasty.

We ordered a few growlers to go and here's where my review goes downhill, the beer didn't last in the fridge, it went flat rather quickly in comparison to Mc Clellans which lasts a week in our fridge and tastes fresh from the tap.

My biggest beef with Amica's is the bums rush. I did not like the rushed feeling we got AT ALL. We were given our check three different times before we were ready for it.

Advice for Amica's: take a chill pill and stop pushing the check until we ask for it. Good beer, but it doesn't keep.

This has become our go-to place before or after the Colorado Brewers Rendezvous. Its fairly small, with a counter and bar near the front where you place your order. Behind that is a nice sized pizza oven. Menu consists of pizzas, calzones, and some salads - they also have gluten free crusts. Nice combination of interesting toppings. Beers have all been good - solid examples of the usual styles as well as some different offerings like green chili or other spiced.

Definitely worth a stop - both the pizza and beer were good enough to come back for.

Hit this place yesterday

Decor was alright, but the place didn't strike as great place to hang, mostly because of the horrible din. Acoustics were terrible!

Service was good, staff was friendly

Beers were pretty good, the green chille, amber & the IPA stood out. The porter & brown were average

7 ales on tap, all top fermeted

Food was pretty good, but if you don't like pizza or Italian you are out of luck

Pretty good value, don't order the sampler flight unless you are thirsty, they were at least 4 ozs each. If you are in the Arkansas river area, give this place a try

This is rated on my drive-by visit in September 2006: My impression: This is a groovy little place in a quiet town away from the rush in Colorado. They just have a tiny little bar and I’d say the emphasis is on their wood-fired pizzas and other food. But they were pouring about 8 beers the day I visited, and for the most part they were pretty good. The restaurant is inside a restored older building with a cozy atmosphere and friendly staff. Definitely worth the drive, so if you're out in Salida, definitely make time to visit Amica's!

Amicas is a funky little spot just off the main drag of Salida. It's a worthwhile visit if you happen to be in the area, meaning its a good place to get a brew and some food (good, but not quite great).

The atmosphere is decorated in an almost haphazard manner with lots of color and christmas lights and all sorts of delights. It lends a nice atmosphere without being distracting. The seating area is not huge (nor is the entire place), but big enough I think.

My main complaint about Amicas is their ordering/seating method. When you walk in you have to order your food at the cash register, pay, and then you get seated. If they don't have a table available, you dont get to order yet. This means if you go at any normal eating hour there is a crowd of people just inside the front door waiting to order and be seated. Its kindof annoying. Once you get seated the service is great, but you already paid so tipping the waitresses is kindof awkward (especially if you only have plastic).

Otherwise, Amicas is (almost) a great place. The food is terrific with a lot of wood-fired pizza options and other salad/sandwich/italian options. Topping are diverse for the pizza, and I can definitely recommended the #3 pizza (michangelo).

As for the beers (this is a beer site, right?), they are good but nothing out of this world. I had their nitro-dispensed stout, which was like a creamier, thicker version of Guinness. I sampled their strong Scottish ale (Loyal Duke I think), and that was really tasty. Sadly, since it is a special brew they didn't sell growlers of it. I have their IPA sitting in my fridge, to be reviewed tonight!

Amicas is a good place to swing through anytime you're in the Salida area--I've driven 10 miles out of the way when driving back home from Great Sand Dunes National Park, Monarch, and Wolf Creek ski areas.

The interior feels a little like a mountain-town version of California Pizza Kitchen: a strange amalgam of murals, Christmas lights, and aluminum siding. I'm not sure that I've ever felt this way about a brewpub before, but, were I to own this place, the first thing I'd do is hire a new interior decorator.

But, this would never stop me from paying another visit...

The best thing about this place is their food: fresh ingredients for the pizza, delicious salads, and a variety of other eclectic menu choices, make a great combo. To boot, their large pizzas are only $9! The brewing, then, seems to be more of a side piece than their main attraction; nonetheless, they faithfully keep seven beers (and a homeade honey root beer) on tap. Their year-round Headwaters IPA is a safe, worthwhile selection, and I've found their stronger, rotating offers to be consistently above average as well.

Again, a surprising beer oasis at the southern end of the Sawatch Range; as the only brewpub in a sixty mile radius in any direction, Amicas is a worthwhile stop if you're looking to imbibe in the area.

No reviews for Amicas yet? Where are you, beer advocates of Chaffee County?

Anyway, Amicas is located in the old ll Vicino spot in Salida, one block west of the main drag. It preserves most of what Il Vicino was all about -- wood-fired pizzas, four or five homemade beers on draft, a warm and comfortable atmosphere.

Food is ordered by standing in line at the register and selecting an item from their large list by number. You are then given your own order number on a small table placard, and find a seat. The pizzas are really quite good, with that thin, crisp crust that we all like so much. The salads are immense -- my wife and I usually split a salad and each get an individual pizza and are more than satisfied afterwards.

The beers are usually very good. Their IPA -- Headwaters IPA, I think -- has no shortage intense Chinook/Columbus hop funkiness, a nice change of pace from the tepidly hopped IPAs that are all too common everywhere.

You know, there aren't too many places in Salida to go -- Laughing Ladies, First Street, the Vic, and Amicas, and that's about it. Amicas is always my first choice from that list.