Here’s something to shout about.

The Brit, 645 S. Sierra Madre St., has plenty to celebrate. In less than a year, the pub racked up four honors in The Gazette’s Best of the Springs awards: gold for Best New Restaurant and Best Pub, plus silver for Best Gastropub and bronze for Best Pub.

Now comes a new promotion that feels tailor-made for regulars and the curious alike. It’s called The Bite Club — and if early buzz is any indication, it’s poised to take off like lightning. Especially with its unofficial rule: tell everyone.

After spotting the announcement on social media, we reached out to Meredith Klube, owner and general manager, for details.

“Every Wednesday, Chef Phil (Griffin) creates a different three-course meal for dinner. It is priced well at $25 per person,” she said in an email.

We didn’t hesitate. Reservations made, we settled in for a recent dinner — and were quickly won over.

The opening course was a shared appetizer of Moroccan-spiced oven-roasted bell pepper, smoked paprika, garlic and lemon. Roasted garlic cloves, soft and creamy, were scattered over a generous pool of chickpea purée, surrounded by grilled zucchini, red and green bell peppers, and warm triangles of pita.

Next came two small, screaming-hot cast-iron skillets of shepherd’s pie. Each was filled with tender cubes of lamb, carrots, peas and parsnips — hearty, satisfying and generously portioned, with enough for leftovers.

Dessert sealed the deal: a vanilla cheesecake, set on a smear of pumpkin mousse, finished with charred mini marshmallows and candied pecans.

We were hooked and already booked for the next themed dinner: Curry Night.
Klube added a few practical notes for diners.

“Reservations are required so Phil knows how much food to prepare,” she said. “For a single diner, they can order the three courses just like everyone else. The shared portions will be a tad smaller for individual orders. The whole table does not need to order The Bite Club.”

Parking is complimentary for restaurant patrons. Skip the garage QR code; instead, come inside and enter your license plate with the host for two hours of free parking. There’s a 30-minute grace period.

Hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, and 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday. Details: 719-368-8707, tinyurl.com/yc4utzy8.

Chef Showcase showdown

Local chefs brought serious heat April 13 at the Polaris Hotel at the U.S. Air Force Academy for the Patrick Robinson Chef Showcase, hosted by Rocky Mountain Health Care Services.

Seventeen chefs competed for bragging rights in the lively tasting event, where attendees cast votes for the most tantalizing flavors of the night. In addition to medals, winners took home monetary prizes.

The winners were:

Gold: Bowl in the City, chef Caleb Amador.

Silver: Monse’s Taste of El Salvador Pupuseria, last year’s first-place winner, chef Monse Hines.

Bronze: Gossip Point COS, chef Varun Bindal.

The evening also carried a meaningful tribute. James Africano, chef and owner of The Warehouse, received a special recognition award for his presence at every Chef Showcase since its inception. Africano shared a close personal friendship with the late Chef Patrick Robinson, the event’s founder, adding a layer of poignancy to the honor.

The annual showcase continues to celebrate both the depth of local culinary talent and the legacy of a chef who helped bring the community together around food.