Hopscotch

Ambiance is created several ways: the most common is by the décor. The second way is by the personality of the staff. Hopscotch is physically a simple structure, but the attitude and greeting of the owner warms in a way much more satisfying than a cozy chair and a cute lamp.

Hopscotch is a coffee bar with personality and a few sweets thrown in - most notably, their ice cream, which is used in cones, sundaes and shakes. The ice cream is “home made” which means manufactured without preservatives and the additives found in large batch commercial operations. They use heavy cream and natural flavors; this is the good stuff. In fact, their purveyor, Glacier, was picked as the second best ice cream maker in the entire country, according to owner Marie Krebs.

Every day brings a new special based on Krebs whim for the day. The special during my visit was warmed pie, a scoop of ice cream and a drink – choose from chai, coffee, steamers, soda, hot chocolate, espresso, tea or a latte – for only $4.75! There are coffee shops where you would pay that much just for the drink.

I’m sorry to say the pie was average, but the ice cream was sensational and my hot chocolate and my daughter’s Carmel steamer were as good as anywhere.

Hopscotch has stools gathered around large, rolling stainless steel tables that are covered with games such as chess, checkers, tic tac toe and Parcheesi. There were several kids present and they naturally chose a game and started playing, creating a nice diversion for their parents and a lubricant for conversation, making it a great destination for parent/child outings.

Hopscotch is located on the main street in downtown Idaho Springs at 1434 Miner St., across Tommy Knockers. They are open 7 days a week, from noon to 6pm Monday through Thursday, noon to 10 pm Friday and Saturday and noon to 7pm, or when the traffic trails off on Sundays, and definitely worth a visit on your way to or from the mountains. Their phone number is 303/463-9062. More information can be found at hopscotchdesserts.com.