Restaurant Reviews
The resurgent cupcake, reconsidered
My reaction to the cupcake’s resurgence in popularity isn’t all that different to my response to REM’s popularity when I was in college. I get how others might like a red velvet cupcake and/or Michael Stipe, but personally, neither one’s my cup of tea. Speaking with ...
Snoopin’ out the Dogg House
How strangely fitting that my entrance into Geisty’s Dogg House with my friend Dan was delayed by a leashed-up canine that needed to sniff us out before granting us entry. A quick examination of the dog revealed it to be more friendly pooch than cut-rate Cerberus. ...
Over the forest, through the woods
How do you review Christmas dinner at grandma’s house...
A memorable culinary trip to Morocco
Stepping out of a nondescript 28th Street parking lot into Tangier Moroccan Cuisine is a transformative experience. Once inside, one removes one’s shoes and absorbs the warm ambiance of a dining room packed with richly colored rugs and comfy cushions. Faced with ...
Al fresco at Zucca
Located smack dab in the middle of downtown Louisville, Zucca Italian Ristorante boasts an inviting ambience balancing the rustic with a subtle but unmistakable European flair. The same can also be said of the menu, which ranges from old standbys like comforting ...
The frontier
Boulder’s strict growth boundaries make heading north on Broadway a bit of a cliffdrop, with the city ending abruptly as the street y’s into U.S. 36. But nestled right up against the edge is a restaurant that would be as at home in the urban core as it is on the ...
Master of one
Breadworks in Boulder is two businesses. That’s the only way to look at it. Well, the easiest way at least...
When in Roma
Stepping off the Pearl Street Mall into Boulder’s Antica Roma, one immediately notices the pains taken to recreate a Roman Holiday-worthy street facade. Exposed brick and other architectural details rendered in earthy reds and browns give this interior a retro, back ...
Truth in advertising
Aside from its distinctive flavor palettes, food has more abstract emotional appeals to the senses as well. Dessert tastes like joy. A giant chunk of meat roasted over an open flame tastes deeply, primally, invigorating, like surviving a plane crash or the thrill of ...
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 ...
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...
A fresh memory
The best food transports you. Where Volta transports you is to a long, green lawn on the side of a lake for a reunion of friends and family on a late spring day. You can smell it — in the drink and in the food, and in that place in your mind where the senses create ...