Korean Fried Chicken and Waffles
What the Fork food truck, Mobile, Boulder County, whattheforkboulder.com
Every day we thank our lucky stars for the Rayback Collective. Nowhere else in Boulder County can we get such a diverse array of hand-crafted foods. The ingenuity that the food truck model inspires is on display in What the Fork’s Korean fried chicken and waffles. Three double-fried hunks of chicken are placed atop one half of a crispy waffle and topped with a hearty helping of chorizo gravy. The chicken’s crust is extra-crunchy, with a lighter and airier feel due to the double frying. The meat on the inside is downright succulent — juicy and savory. The waffle isn’t overly sweet and gives the dish both a foundation and a rich butter flavor. And the chorizo gravy on top isn’t as rich as it sounds, so it balances well — the gravy has little chunks of the spicy meat, but overall provides more savory notes and welcomed moisture. $11.
Pretzeled Chicken Pot Pie
West Flanders Brewing Co., 1125 Pearl St., Boulder, wfbrews.com
Chicken pot pie is one of the least sexy dishes in the food game today. Not only does it call to mind frozen food aisle nightmares, but the very nature of eating an entire pie for, say, lunch is antithetical to the current food scene’s steadfast conviction to quality over quantity. Truth be told, the pretzeled chicken pot pie is rich in both quantity and quality. It starts with the billowing pretzel crust. It acts almost as a reverse soup bowl, with it’s crackly shell and pull-apart bread serving as an ideal companion to the pie’s contents. The pie contains beautiful cubes of Red Bird Farms’ chicken, celery, carrots, potatoes and a pretty irresistible gravy. It’s a dish probably best reserved for the cold weather of winter, but it’s a pie certainly worth breaking rules for. $16.
Kabob Platter
Ali Baba Grill, 3033 28th St., Boulder, alibabagrill.com
Ali Baba Grill made their way up from Denver with an outpost on 28th Street earlier this year. We’re happy to report there’s a lot of quality food being served at this Lebanese and Persian restaurant. We took a beginner’s course with the meat lover’s kabob platter, which includes rice, hummus and grilled skewers of chicken, lamb and kobideh. The meats each have a beautiful thick bark, well-spiced and charred. Beneath their skin are tender meats; the lamb chunks and kobideh (ground beef and lamb with spices) are especially well-made. A simple but powerful hummus with olive oil provides a clean injection of creaminess when necessary. $14.95.
Frank’s Famous Italian
Your Butcher Frank, 900 Coffman St., Suite A, Longmont, yourbutcherfrank.com
This is the sandwich to end all sandwiches. Your Butcher Frank’s knows what they’re doing with their famous Italian sub. Hot ham, cotto, pepperoni and provolone are truly, honestly, legitimately piled high and topped with fresh lettuce, tomato, onions and black olives. Mayo and Italian dressing add more liquid than you’d think you’d need but you’d be wrong. Because this is a perfect sub. The long, chewy hoagie roll soaks up all the goodness and provides the necessary backbone for Frank’s sandwich fillings to shine. It’s not too spicy, not too soggy and certainly not too dry. And with everything sliced in the shop seconds before it graces your sandwich, it’s all fresh. And maybe the best part about it is the price: $7.49.
