Restaurant Reviews
Good ol’ pub fare
Neither an homage to the silent (but perhaps most cerebral) of the Marx Brothers, nor a clandestine Oprah operation, Boulder’s Harpo’s Sports Grill is precisely what its name implies. It’s a casual joint spotlighting affordable drink specials, tavern staples ...
Good as it gets
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. This is how a proper deli sandwich looks and tastes...
Upscale Mexican street food
One of my pet peeves is the eatery that appropriates inexpensive ethnic food and gussies it up beyond recognition with little resulting benefit. Adding insult to injury is the establishment that jacks up the prices on affordable chow to something approximating the ...
Step away from the buffet
As part of my ongoing efforts to craft a taxonomy for Chinese restaurants, I recently realized there are two main angles to categorizing these eateries. The first is assessing the formality and pricing of the place, ranging from the come-one-come-all budget dive to ...
Deck snacks at the Rex
For over a hundred years, the building housing The Louisville Rex has provided Main Street with entertainment of one kind or another...
Making culinary connections
The Culinary Connectors concept is simple — up to 10 diners pay $99 to tour three restaurants in an afternoon, with each stop lasting approximately one hour. Each visit affords an opportunity to sample menu and wine highlights, as well as converse with chefs. But...
Respecting the urban taco’s roots
I’ll argue that the most critical determinant of an ethnic restaurant’s success is how much it respects the source cuisine. Go to any ethnic neighborhood in a big city, and you’ll likely chance upon a family-run hole in the wall that’s wildly popular due to its ...
If it ain’t broke
In many ways, Boulder’s restaurant culture, with its focus on local, organic and high-quality ingredients and preparation, serves as a model for what the rest of the country could be doing to help Americans eat better. But a significant barrier to that end is that ...
Yellowbelly is for Boulder´s culinary chickens
There’s no way around it; with its efficient combination order-counter/steam-heated prep line, brightly colored walls and easy-clean tile floors packed into a strip mall unit on Arapahoe Street, Yellowbelly looks just like a fast food restaurant. And the contents of ...
An overdone riff
The word “riff” implies improvisation and excitement. It instantly brings to mind a memorable guitar solo, and applied to food, the expectation for something inspiring. Unfortunately, in the case of Riffs Urban Fare, there is such a thing as too much riffing...
No furry blue puppets, just good Korean
Exploring the basement food court on University Hill, I recently encountered an eatery with the unlikely moniker of Goody Monster. I was mildly disappointed to discover that the person behind the counter wasn’t a furry blue puppet with ping-pong ball eyes. But my ...
Revisiting a revamped classic
In some ways the Chautauqua Dining Hall might be to Boulderites what the Statue of Liberty might be to New Yorkers. Sure, you know it’s there, but you may not venture out there that much unless you have out-of-town visitors or are obligated to attend a special event...
















