He wants to eat Fort Collins

I have a cousin visiting from Omaha this weekend, and I want to show him a decent time and a little bit of what makes Fort Collins unique. (We've already done the brewery tours with him, so don't start there.)

If I were visiting him, the choices would be relatively easy to figure out. Omaha is the home of stockyards, eastern European immigrants' descendants and the College World Series. So he'd likely take me out for a steak, some classic Czech cooking or a hot dog, even if it might cause "genetic mutation."

But what constitutes a classic Fort Collins meal, or even a classic Colorado meal, for that matter. It's not as if Fort Collins lacks good places to eat, but the best spots (in my opinion, Jay's Bistro and the Canyon Chop House) feature fusions of many cuisines, none of which Fort Collinsians were sampling in the '70s, let alone a century ago.

For "classic" Fort Collins cuisine, long-time residents tend to prefer places like Nico's Catacombs (in business since 1973), the Charco Broiler (serving charred and broiled beef since 1957) or Bisetti's (sticking things to the ceiling since 1979). But their longevity hardly stacks up to the century-old traditions in Omaha, and two of the restaurants specialize in Italian food, which belies Fort Collins' German-American and Latino heritages.

So where does one go for a traditional Fort Collins meal? Is it Consuelo's, the home of New Mexican cuisine in northern Colorado? How about the Moot House or the Crown Pub, both of which attempt to re-create and English pub setting? Or should we just head to Coopersmith's, which just might embody the essence of Fort Collins: homemade beer.

Let me know what you think.

My cousin arrives on Friday.