If you ask a Puebloan what food makes their city unique, the answer is immediate: the Slopper.
What Is a Slopper?
An open-faced hamburger — beef patty on a halved bun — topped with melted American cheese and smothered completely in Pueblo green chile. You eat it with a spoon as much as your hands. It is, as the name implies, sloppy.
The History
Gray's Coors Tavern (2420 S. Santa Fe Drive) has served the Slopper essentially unchanged since 1934. Star Bar on Union Avenue is the fierce rival.
The Pueblo Chile Factor
Pueblo grows its own Mosca chile variety — earthy sweetness, medium heat, distinct from New Mexican chiles — grown along the Arkansas River Valley. The green chile in Sloppers is a thick, stew-like preparation of roasted Pueblo chiles, often with pork.
Chile & Frijoles Festival
Every September, Union Avenue hosts the Chile & Frijoles Festival — one of Colorado's longest-running food festivals with over 100,000 visitors. Fresh-roasted Pueblo chiles at peak flavor, live music, and Sloppers everywhere.
If you are coming from Canon City — 45 minutes northwest on CO-50 — after a day with Royal Gorge Rafting, a Slopper in Pueblo is the perfect end to an Arkansas River adventure. Fly into Colorado Springs (COS) 45 minutes north, or Denver (DEN) 2.5 hours north on I-25.