March is Oyster Month, and it’s a big deal at Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar, 11 S. Tejon St.

For Sheila Lucero, culinary director for the Big Red F Restaurant Group, oysters aren’t just a menu item — they’re a calling. She’s been shucking, sourcing and dreaming up briny creations since joining Jax as executive chef in 2009, and she couldn’t be prouder of the restaurant’s long-running mollusk mania.

Shucks, she even dressed the part, donning a full-body oyster costume at a recent media sneak peek highlighting the month’s festivities.

Jax has celebrated Oyster Month since 1994 with specials and giveaways, including the popular “Dozen Dozens” promotion. Order a dozen oysters anytime in March for a chance to win a dozen free every month for a year.
With a nod to the decade when the first Jax opened, the restaurant will also host ’90s Hip-Hop Tuesdays — an invitation to channel your inner Biggie or Tupac while slurping East and West Coast oysters.

The celebration culminates on March 31 with the wildly popular 1994 Happy Hour for National Oyster on the Half Shell Day. The first 100 guests receive their first dozen at 1994 prices: 50 cents per oyster. Do the math — and plan your lineup strategy accordingly.

Hours are 3–9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 3–10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with Happy Hour all night Monday and 3–5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Details: 719-357-4554, facebook.com/JaxFishHouseColoradoSprings

From brine to birthdays

The Broadmoor, 1 Lake Ave., is marking two milestone birthdays: Colorado’s 150th anniversary and the United States’ 250th, with a limited-time celebratory menu at Summit.

Available all month, the 150/250 Menu offers a three-course dinner for $150 per couple, or $250 per couple with wine pairings.

A curated lineup includes nods to seasonal elegance. Starters include charred radicchio salad or English garden pea soup. Entrées range from Eagles Nest Ranch honey-glazed chicken breast to risotto al fungi or Colorado striped bass. Dessert is either a pistachio apricot tart or a dramatic Mikado chocolate bomb.

Reservations are required at broadmoor.com.

Swinging into spring

Susanna’s Comfort Cuisine, 124 N. Nevada Ave., is lining up a busy spring both at the restaurant and on the road.

Looking for a bite after the St. Patrick’s Day Parade? The restaurant’s Sabor food trailer will park along the parade route on Tejon Street from 9 a.m.–2 p.m. Saturday, serving crowd favorites such as Shooks Run Mac & Cheese, BFF Burgers, Chicago Dogs, 719 BLTs and OMG quesadillas.

Easter weekend brings extended brunch hours. The restaurant will be open Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m.–1 p.m., with reservations highly recommended.

“Easter weekend is one of our busiest two days of the year,” owner Susanna Maestas said. “Our Sunday brunch fills up fast, so we’re opening Saturday morning as well.”

Summer hours are 5–8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with Sunday brunch from 9 a.m.–1 p.m.

Details: 719-352-6844, susannascomfortcuisine.com.