Restaurant Reviews
A high-end food court
Neither good food nor subtlety was a strong suit at the busy suburban mall food courts of my youth. In those pre-Sbarro years, kitsch was king. Over-the-top Union Jack displays heralded the fish and chips stand, and garish, if not stereotypical, lanterns and kimonos ...
A platter by any other name…
Having never eaten a Pu Pu platter on a boat or with a goat I thought it was high time I sampled this classic Chinese-American appetizer assortment. You see, when I went to Chinese restaurants with my folks, things like braised chicken feet were far more likely to ...
An authentic Chicago dog, hold the ketchup
The finer points of the Chicago-style hot dog have always been a bit cryptic for me. A few layover meals of sausage in a bun at O’Hare did little to deepen my understanding of this Windy City nosh. Unsurprisingly, I was happy to have friend and Windy City native Paul...
Getting dizzy on Boulder’s newest donuts
I fed Mara donuts until she wept. Well, not really, although we certainly did a fine job of indulging ourselves at Dizzy’s Donuts, Boulder’s newest venue serving fresh takes on old-school baked goods. Donuts are big nowadays, akin to where cupcakes were a few years ...
A Niwot breakfast without pretense
Many hold the Niwot Market’s Friday evening summer dinners in high esteem. However, it’s also worth noting that this hospitable family-run grocery also dishes out reasonably priced breakfasts and lunches throughout the week...
Latin health food
While my mom wouldn’t approve of my eavesdropping, committing this socially dubious act did help me pick up an intriguing tidbit about Zudaka Healthy Latin Food, Boulder’s new vegetarian restaurant. Zudaka is a derogatory term for a South American person, our server ...
Double fantasy
What with all the wood furniture and the fireplace and the quiet and the snow, Praha feels like a model of a restaurant in a miniature holiday village. The keeper of the restaurant is a nonagenarian with very poor hearing, and she struggles with the weight of our ...
Comfort and warmth in Arabesque’s kitchen
With my Italian family, the kitchen is the focal point of our lives. Gathering around the kitchen table is where we find ourselves as we sit through laughter, joy, sadness and loss. It is our common denominator and of course there is always endless food to fill our ...
Make a mess at Ras Kassa’s
The name sounds like it belongs to the latest Batman villain, but the reality of Ras Kassa’s is much less nefarious...
Louisville’s Bob’s generous on portions, easy on pocketbook
Nowadays, you can stop in at a national sandwich chain and choke down the exact same Italian sub whether you're outside Denver or Duluth. Consistent with this alarming trend, the local sandwich shop in Boulder County is increasingly rare especially those that offer ...
Nice pupusas
While most people have bad dreams about missing final exams or involuntarily appearing naked in front of a crowd, the foodie’s nightmare is different. A dedicated diner’s disturbing visions revolve around discovering the perfect ethnic hole-in-the-wall, known but to ...
Moby taco
I search for tacos like Ahab searched for the great white whale; with a manic obsession few understand. “Why do you need tacos,” my friends wonder as we drive on into the stormy night, eyes peeled and hands lashed to the steering wheel. “Why don’t you?” I fire back...