Cuisine
Would you like some wine with that burger?
Burgers are a thing nowadays, and a new spot, Boulder’s Drakes Haus, has jumped firmly into the fray, identifying itself as the “Home of the Merlot Burger.” Drakes also sports a logo spotlighting what one presumes is its namesake’s visage, a bespectacled and ...
Coffee up and brunch
For my money, the key predictor of the success of a brunch outing comes with the first sip of house java. My bleary-eyed pal Cyn and I had just blown into Lyons, ensconced ourselves in a corner table at the Lyons Fork, and requested coffee first thing out of the gate...
A hut with potential
With ith a name like Elephant Hut, it’s initially unclear what’s served up at this Boulder restaurant, housed in 30th Street’s Steelyards development. Those with dark imaginations may envision it as akin to Pizza Hut, except with a certain massive land mammal ...
Simple and happy
Panaderia Sabor A Mexico has been in Boulder since 2001. It’s sort of tucked away in a strip mall between an Asian grocery and an Indian grocery; a tax preparation company, and I think an insurance company? Its location is inauspicious at best, yet the Nieto family ...
The Protein Bar out-Boulders Boulder
The PR and marketing department for the newly-opened The Protein Bar has been lobbying BW for its approval, sending over a catered lunch and emailing this reporter offers to set up an official tasting, as if there existed some alternate universe in which the grizzled...
Drinking pink
As a kid, I was aware that a pink wine called white zinfandel existed, but my dad considered it crap. That memory lasted well into my adulthood: Don’t buy pink wine because it’s garbage. Fast forward to five years ago or so, and you’ll find entire rows of rosé in ...
Belgium, bikes and burgers
Blending the disparate elements of cycling, Belgian gastronomy and burgers, Rueben’s Burger Bistro is a recent, if not risktaking, addition to the downtown Boulder dining scene. This space’s interior harkens back to its two-wheeled heritage, with a depiction of ...
Pearl Street gets a new riff
In the late 1990s, I worked on west Walnut Street, a stone’s throw from the Pearl Street Mall. For lunch, I’d patronize now-defunct venues like Juanita’s and the New York Deli, and I’d often pick up morning coffee at the old Bookends Café. Like many, I felt a touch ...
Extra special
Once upon a time — like five years ago — all a craft microbrewery needed was an empty warehouse and a good recipe for an IPA, and it was ready to roll. Of course, that’s still true, as startups like Wild Woods, J Wells and Bootstrap have proven...
Keeping it hush-hush
Groucho Marx famously sent a telegram to the Friars Club, a selective association of entertainers that counted the comedian among its membership. His wire went like this: “Please accept my resignation. I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept people like...
The great forgotten Italian red
Judging by Boulder County menus, wine shelves and conversations, the only two red grapes that matter from Italy are nebbiolo and sangiovese. The only regions that matter for reds, it seems sometimes, are Piedmont and Tuscany...

















