What else to do when you’re feeling utterly lost then to get in the truck and find a different way to get lost? Though lately, I’ll admit, I’d much rather be boarding a plane than sitting in my vehicle.

Nonetheless, we’re traveling to the town of Morrison, Colorado. The town is home to The Fort Restaurant, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and the Morrison Natural History Museum, which you can read about in the July 6, 2023, edition of The Mountain-Ear.

The town is also home to small boutiques, several restaurants, and the thousands of motorbikers that visit during summer.

Today, we’re stopping at Tony Rigatoni’s Italian Kitchen and Rooftop Tavern. The restaurant opened on December 21, 1990. Since its opening, it has undergone many facelifts. Good ones. Unlike botched ones that generally leave us feeling bad for someone.

By 2001, the second floor received what would make the venue even more popular: Vinny’s Bar. And with the growing popularity of outdoor seating, the Rooftop Tavern was born. Here guests will enjoy local craft beers and spirits and a beautiful view of downtown Morrison and the surrounding foothills.

The Rooftop Tavern menu offers salads, panini, antipasti, mussels, and the soothing sounds of the Bandimere Speedway. After an attempt to sit outside, the rains forced my friend Amy and me to sit inside for lunch in a beautiful and peaceful setting. That’s until the bachelorette party took over the bar.

At the rate they were pouring drinks and the unnerving levels my stress had been reaching, I desperately wanted to crash their party. Luckily, they were well-behaved, and not being much of a drinker or partier, I opted to remain in my “Amy and Omayra bubble.” I felt safe there.

After deep conversations about food, fitness, relationships, art, and dinner plans, we paid our bill and walked down the steep stairs to the first floor and out the exit into the bustling streets of Morrison.

Morrison, much like Tony Rigatoni, offers a compromise of two worlds. Flatlanders can get away from the hustle of city life without traveling into the mountains, and mountain folks can get a taste of the city without experiencing overstimulation.

The Rooftop Tavern is located on the second floor of Tony Rigatoni’s Italian Kitchen at 215 Bear Creek Avenue, Morrison. You can find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile. php?id=100063778173597 or you can give them a call at 303–697-5508.