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Matthew Schniper on Muck Rack

Matthew Schniper

Colorado Springs
As seen in: Side Dish with Schniper, Apple Podcasts, The Atlantic, Substack, Miami New Times, Westword, East Bay Express, Salt Lake City Weekly, Boulder Weekly, SoCo Insider, Rochester City Newspaper and
Covers:  food and drink of every kind
Food Critic • Journalist • Former Food & Drink Editor for the Colorado Springs Independent • Podcaster: State of Plate / Vulnerable Creatures

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Matthew Schniper’s Biography

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Matthew Schniper is an independent food/drink journalist and the former food and drink editor at the Colorado Springs Independent. Matthew launched Side Dish with Schniper, a food/drink Substack, in March, 2023. He began freelancing with the Indy in mid-2004 and joined the staff full-time in early 2006, working as an arts editor as well as food critic and environmental reporter. He held the position of head editor from mid 2016 to mid 2019. From 2019 to early 2023 he was food and drink editor a…

Matthew Schniper’s Journalist Portfolio

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Operation Peter Pan offered Cuban refugee kids a home in Colorado, but life was no fairy tale

Operation Peter Pan offered Cuban refugee kids a home in Colorado, but life was no fairy tale

Hector and Ada were just two of the 14,000 unaccompanied minors who fled Cuba between Dec. 26, 1960, and the …

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In 'Fight Club 2,' Tyler Durden Returns-In Comic-Book Form

In 'Fight Club 2,' Tyler Durden Returns-In Comic-Book Form

Sixteen years after the novel's release, Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club antagonist is back-in comic-book form. …

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Raising the barista

Raising the barista

So many variables stand between a barista and the perfect espresso, perhaps the single purest expression of a…

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Trading places

Trading places

Colorado Springs' Yobel International combats world poverty with fair trade, but that's only half the mission…

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Mr. Rogers' neighborhood

Mr. Rogers' neighborhood

Jermaine Rogers is an elusive rock-poster artist who has fostered a diehard base of collectors across the wor…

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Sit. Stay. Start over.

Sit. Stay. Start over.

Because of its success in many arenas, Colorado Correctional Industries, a non-tax-supported division of the …

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Articles

Side Dish with Schniper

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By Matthew Schniper
| Side Dish with Schniper
Forge Coffee Lab owners Shawn and Robin Krzykowski. Photos by Matthew Schniper. Forge Coffee Lab just passed the four-year mark in business, having opened off Jackson Creek Parkway i…
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By Matthew Schniper
| Side Dish with Schniper
Thai Style owners Chanupong Mahakiattikhun (NU) and Nadakorn Yancharoon (Joy). Photos by Matthew Schniper. Around this time last year Lauren and I were in Los Angeles visiting friends and eating yummy food, of course. One spot our pals introduced us to was a place near their Pasadena home named Cluck2Go. It specializes in Hainan chicken and rice, of Chinese origin but now widely popular across Southeast Asia under other names. One of those is khao mun kai — the Thai moniker.
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Side Dish with Schniper

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By Matthew Schniper
| Side Dish with Schniper
Left to Right: WHealthy Unlimited Juice Bar Manager Jennifer Almonte, Site Director Dominique Thompson, and Career & Wellness Coach Kiara Lewis. Photos by Matthew Schniper. WHealthy Unlimited opened in early 2024 downtown at 121 E. Bijou St. (across from Story Coffee). If you’re still unacquainted, know that it’s a smoothie and juice bar with a deep mission behind the welcoming coworking storefront.
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Interview

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What was your first job as a journalist?

An arts feature on a tap-dancing theater show.

Have you ever used a typewriter?

A couple times, as a kid.

How is social media changing news?

Speed, reach, in-the-moment reporting, easy data mining.

Awards

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2025 - A&E and Food Criticism

First place. A trio of stories: Downtown’s Dilemma, State of the Scene, and Glamour Underground.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2025 - A&E and Food News or Feature

Third Place: A Night Out with Bar Mom.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2021 - A&E and Food: Criticism

First place: Taste Makers: Black Box Provisions is Seattle hip in the Steel City

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2021 - A&E and Food: Criticism

Third Place: Barley and Bliss: The Beer Spa lets you soak in brewery ingredients while sipping suds (as if you could hipster any harder)

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2020 - A&E and Food: Criticism

Second place: Mark Anthony’s Pretzels become overnight delivery hit during quarantine blues.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2017 - A&E and Food Criticism

Second Place for "Purple Toad; The Summit; Chef Bob's Lobstah Trap" food criticism, reviews.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2015 - A&E Criticism

Second place for a batch of restaurant reviews from the Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists — Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism Awards.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2014 - Multimedia Story

First Place for "Trading Places" in the Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists — Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism Awards.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2014 - Investigative/Enterprise Reporting

Second Place for "Trading Places" in the Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists — Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism Awards.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2014 - Agriculture: General Reporting

First Place for "Gamble Fish" in the Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists — Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism Awards.

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AAN AltWeekly Awards

2013 - Breaking News

First Place, "The Waldo Canyon Fire." Staff award for the Colorado Springs Independent: Pam Zubeck, Bill Forman, Chet Hardin, Kirk Woundy, Edie Adelstein, Bryce Crawford, Kirsten Akens, Jeff Koch, Matthew Schniper, J. Adrian Stanley and Claire Swinford.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2013 - Business: General Reporting

Second Place for "Adventures in Crowdfunding" in the Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists — Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism Awards.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2013 - Sports: Enterprise Reporting

First Place for "USA Pro Challenge Preview" with co-writers Kirsten Akens, Edie Adelstein, Bryce Crawford, Claire Swinford and Jeff Koch in the Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists — Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism Awards.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2012 - A&E Features in Food/Beverage Reporting

First Place in A&E Features in Food/Beverage Reporting for "Meal Plan" from the Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists — Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism Awards.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2012 - A&E Criticism

First Place in A&E Criticism for "French Twist; Divide and Conquer & Ham-Bungler" from the Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists — Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism Awards.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2012 - A&E Features in Food/Beverage Reporting

Third Place in A&E Features in Food/Beverage Reporting for "Deal-A-Meal" from the Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists — Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism Awards.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2011 - Arts and Entertainment Criticism

First Place in Arts and Entertainment Criticism for "Catch Him If You Can; Radical Realization at Fruition Restaurant and How Now Green Cow" from the Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists — Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism Awards.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2010 - Arts and Entertainment Reporting: Food & Beverage

Second place in Arts and Entertainment Reporting: Food & Beverage for "Kitchen Consequential" from the Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists — Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism Awards.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2008 - Arts and Entertainment Reporting: News or Feature

Second Place in Arts and Entertainment Reporting: News or Feature for "Mr. Rogers' Neighbhorhood" from the Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists — Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism Awards.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2008 - Arts and Entertainment Reporting: Features in Food/Beverage Writing and Reporting

Second Place in Arts and Entertainment Reporting: Features in Food/Beverage Writing and Reporting for "Brewin' In the Boys Room" from the Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists — Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism Awards.

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2007 - Arts and Entertainment Reporting: News or Feature

First place in Arts and Entertainment Reporting: Features in Food/Beverage Writing and Reporting for "Arts Guide" in the Colorado Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists — Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism Awards.

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