Restaurant Reviews

Good ol’ pub fare

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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 ...

The return of succulent sushi

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About a year ago, I was dismayed to learn that Longmont’s Ichiban was suspending its sushi and sashimi service, as this was perhaps my favorite spot for variations on the raw fish theme. I was out of sorts until learning that a retooled version of Ichiban reopened ...

Making the familiar seem new

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Opened earlier this year, Louisville’s Bistro 4 provides an unexpectedly elegant venue to enjoy a thoughtfully prepared breakfast or lunch. Tucked away in a strip mall a waffle’s throw from the local multiplex, this eatery’s ambience easily rises above its prosaic ...

Pearl Street gets a new riff

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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 ...

Solid Italian for a song

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A sign outside Boulder’s Il Pastaio sums up the experience at this eatery, as it features the famed Leaning Tower of Pisa juxtaposed against the mountainous backdrop of the Flatirons. Assuming this graphic isn’t intended to serve as a vivid reminder of the power of...

Pizzeria Locale gives Bay-area pizza a whirl

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Boulder’s Pizzeria Locale has been in business almost two years, and has solidified its position as a go-to spot for wood-fired, Naples-style pie. Starters such as arancini, an addictingly rich fried melding of risotto and cheese, and desserts like the sensual ...

A soft spot for Indian food

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Located in a mall near the multiplex movie theater and home improvement monoliths of Louisville, Delhi Darbar possesses a provenance familiar to those who’ve been in the area for a while...

Back to basics

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You don’t need a Wayback Machine to know that the ancient Roman forebears of today’s Italian cookbook writers embraced the bedrock principle of cooking seasonal ingredients of top quality. These scribes advised that spices and other superfluous adornment were to be ...

Old favorites at the new Pinyon

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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 ...

Moving on up

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The ugly truth is that for all Boulder’s highminded foodieism, it’s no picnic finding a decent taco to take on a picnic. Sure there’s some decent facsimiles, but because of Boulder’s obscene rents and completely absurd food truck regulations, if you want the real ...

Pica’s Taqueria

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Co-worker David Accomazzo was blunt in what to expect from Pica’s Taqueria: “hipster tacos,” he said...

Mexican that meets expectations

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One sip of chai too many, and colleague Carin plunged into a caffeine-fueled burst of manic energy where she was seemingly channeling the obsessive Carrie Matheson from Homeland (or as I like to call it, “My So-Called War on Terrorism”). She was bouncing off the ...