Restaurant Reviews
Where in the world?
There’s something about the term “international” that makes it a sort of red flag when judging a restaurant by its menu cover. It’s understandable prejudice on one hand — jack-ofall-trades, master of none, bringing to mind half-assed buffets and ubiquitous houses of ...
Oak has recovered — and then some
When assessing the recently reopened Oak at Fourteenth, the lazy tendency would be to open with a sentence such as this: “Like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, Oak has returned from months of rebuilding from a debilitating fire.” Given this tough history, it’s also...
Snarfing it down
My relationship with sandwiches has been ambivalent at best, due perhaps to their constancy as a lunchtime staple through my elementary school years. One unintended consequence of this routine is that I occasionally experience an inexplicable craving for Underwood’s ...
Crazy flavor
There is no shame in the occasional indulgence. As long as your actions don’t hurt anybody and you don’t cross the invisible line of no return, joy becomes you during the indulgence of booze, pizza, burritos, fried food and ice cream. Especially ice cream. And ...
Old favorites at the new Pinyon
When they see a name like The Pinyon, Pearl Street passersby might mistake this newly opened venue for a place that serves Southwestern cuisine or, if one is a language scholar, a place to transcribe Chinese characters. Neither of these descriptions is entirely ...
Thai one on at Naraya
Boulder´s Naraya Thai and Sushi, formerly known as Siamese Plate, offers an affordably priced Southeast Asian and Japanese menu, similar to its predecessor...
Power lunching on Pearl for $10
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,” famously wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. Perhaps a modern corollary to this pearl of wisdom is “A foolish inconsistency is the hobgoblin of short-lived restaurateurs.” We’ve all fallen in love with particular ...
Rolling with noodles in Lafayette
The brief email arrived late on Saturday afternoon from old friend Daniel, who I hadn’t seen in years. It was a summons to Lafayette’s Udon Kaisha, which he deemed “the best!” Not one to turn down such an invitation, I soon found myself in a strip mall chockablock ...
Chinese, like mama used to make
For me, a visit to a Chinese restaurant is either an exercise in frustration or dewy-eyed nostalgia. I either feel that the chefs are butchering the favored dishes of my youth, or they should immediately be canonized for their uncanny ability to reproduce the ...
Basta’s brunch among the best
Once known as Pizzeria Basta, the Boulder eatery now simply known as Basta still serves savory wood oven pies. But this name change more accurately reflects a menu offering much more than just pizza, which is a smart move. Because while I’ve always felt the pies here...
