The Green Line Grill — Restaurant in Colorado Springs

When we rocked up to the Green Line Grill I couldn't believe this place was the same place with 4.6 stars on Google.

Green Line Grill is - no exaggeration - the filthiest restaurant I have ever eaten at in the United States. The outside is streaked with greasy dirt. The floor inside is dank with dirt and grease. And don't look at the kitchen. Well do, I took a photo for you. An archeologist could spend years digging through the layers of grease on the grill.

Don't go in the bathrooms. Really, don't. No matter how dirty your hands are, they will only be dirtier if you wash them here.

There is also the homeless guy sitting at the front table with a wet cough watching Fox news on a mobile phone.

I have no idea how the Colorado Springs Health Department lets this place stay open. It's nasty.

[UPDATE: I found Green Line's last health inspection - see below for excerpts. They must have friends in high places to stay open]

But, hey, it has 4.6 stars so lets risk the food poisoning and have a taste.

And a taste is well worth it. This place serves up fantastic burgers and even better fries. Fortunately both are served piping hot so whatever is living in the grime is probably incinerated by the time it reaches your mouth. Maybe one of the best burger and fries combos I've had in Colorado Springs.

I'm giving Green Line Grill three stars- five stars for amazing food, but one star for probably culturing the next pandemic in its kitchen.

FROM EL PASO COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT inspection:

Food employees shall clean their hands in a hand washing sink or approved automatic handwashing facility and may not clean their hands in a sink used for food preparation or warewashing, or in a service sink or a curbed cleaning facility used for the disposal of mop water and similar liquid waste. Observed food employee wash hands in 3-compartment sink.

Cooked time/temperature control for safety food shall be cooled within 6 hours from 135°F to 41°F or less. 1. Observed a container of cooked chili meat in stand up cooler at 62°F

Observed cooked beef and large quantities of pork that were not separated into smaller portions or facilitated with rapid cooling equipment.

-Equipment shall be maintained in a state of repair and condition that meets the requirements specified under the Code. Observed the refrigerator in the shed maintain a minimum ambient temperature of 60°F. Time/temperature control for safety foods shall not be placed in unit until it can maintain food at a temperature of 41°F or less.

A test kit or other device that accurately measures the concentration in MG/L of sanitizing solutions shall be provided. Facility did not have quaternary ammonium test strips during time...

Overall, the best burger we've had in the Springs to date. To quote my wife, "when I say I'm craving a burger [in the future], this is what I'll mean."

There's a lot of positives about this place. Several options and ways to customize your burger. Prices are very reasonable. Tons of seating. Quick ordering process and friendly staff - we would have accidentally ordered too many fries and the cashier made sure we knew the differences in sizes.

We had the Mushroom Swiss and the Bacon Bleu... both were phenomenal. This place does not skimp on the toppings at all; both were fully loaded. Buns are locally sourced (truly outstanding) and are tossed on the griddle to hold up to the burger and filling. Fries were salty and well-seasoned, and slightly greasy... but perfect all the same. You HAVE to get the cheese sauce for dipping, trust me!

They have several (local) draft, can/bottle, and some liquor options, but also have the standard array of non-alcoholic drinks.

It's definitely a "greasy spoon" kind of place. The only real negative we noticed was that the staff is was just slammed with tickets and didn't really have time to wipe tables or clean up minor accidents. Most people bussed their own tables while a small handful did not. Even with this, we didn't feel like cleanliness was necessarily an issue moreso that the staff could've probably used just one more person on shift to help out with those things. When staff had time, they were busting their butt to do side jobs.

We can't wait to come back and try some other options. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a damn good burger in...

Imagine an American dive bar. Under dim lights, pool balls knock, ice cubes rattle in their pitchers and Bon Jovi wails through the jukebox. The smells of hamburgers, beer, perhaps a nightcap Marlboro waft from the kitchen and probably from the walls themselves. It’s not your imagination, it’s Green Line Grill on Pueblo Ave.

While the competition respects the onion as a stately companion to the sandwich, I cherish the vegetable with a quasi-religious need. It was high time I rub my buds on Green Line’s onion-fried selection. Without a recommendation from the counter fellow—he seemed befuddled by the dearth of vegetarian options—I strode innocently into the folds of the mushroom Swiss.

Mmm! Shreds of crispy bulb bumped uglies with soft porcini in a milieu of fat-spattered decency. This gizmo brought a gallery of pub staples—your icebergs, your indeterminate beefsteak rounds, the odd slice of swiss—into enlivening discourse with one another. Oh and the bun! Simple, light, pressed to the griddle like the chef wanted its lunch money. The end product was potent, omnipotent perhaps. I scarfed without regard for clothes or conversation. And in that last bite, I found some essential fragment of America. Something honest, gritty, a selfless nourishment. If Guy Fieri hasn’t been here yet, he’s driving 90 in the HOV lane to beat the evening rush.

On the whole, I’d liken this little patriot to the 10th Amendment. An absolute triumph that offers a chance to root around and hammer out our democratic values. Power to the people. My best to you &...