Triple Chocolate Espresso Torte
Blackbelly, 1606 Conestoga St., Boulder, blackbelly.com
When three separate people recommend a dessert in a restaurant as well-reputed as Blackbelly, you get that dessert. The triple chocolate espresso torte is that dessert, and it lives up to the hype. The dense, rich torte is topped with peanut butter miso, bruléed marshmallow and smoked salt. It’s a massive upgrade over the regular old chocolate torte with some kind of berry sauce. The peanut butter miso — salty, sweet and umami — should be bottled and placed in a time capsule so future people can see how good we did food in 2018. The bruléed marshmallow ends up being the thing our fork gravitated to, though. It’s a thick, gooey marshmallow, and the toast on top is irresistible. $8.
Heirloom Blue Corndog
River and Woods, 2328 Pearl St., Boulder, riverandwoodsboulder.com
Who says corndogs are just for kids? At River and Woods, this childhood classic gets an upgrade fit for an adult palette. A continental pheasant spinach bratwurst, packed with salty, savory flavors, is wrapped in a coat of Bow & Arrow heirloom blue cornmeal and fried to crispy perfection. The accompanying condiments — wildflower honey mustard, a stone-ground mustard and an organic ketchup — round out the experience with subtly sweet and sharp highlights. We subbed a salad for the herb sea salt fries, but only because we ordered a larger portion of fries to share with the table. Let’s just say we wish everything came with unlimited refills. $13.
Beef Brisket Platter
Moe’s Original Bar B Que, 675 30th St., Boulder,
www.moesoriginalbbq.com
There’s nothing like finishing a summer adventure in Colorado with a hearty plate of barbecue; at Moe’s, you won’t be disappointed. The platter offers ample meat, along with cornbread and two sides, leaving you satisfied no matter how many calories you burned playing outside. The sign of good barbecue is the flavor of the meat pre-sauce, and Moe’s does it just right. The beef brisket was perfectly tender, needing only a plastic fork to cut through the meat. The sweet and tangy sauce is a bonus, especially when the meat is mixed with cornbread and vinegar slaw, to create the perfect bite. $15.
Egg Salad Sandwich
The Dish Gourmet, 1918 Pearl St., Boulder, dishgourmet.com
With plenty of gluten-free and vegetarian options, the egg salad sandwich at The Dish Gourmet drew us in with its promise of not only farm fresh eggs, but also avocado, muenster cheese, tomato and lettuce, all on pumpernickel bread. First, the bread. Pumpernickel is often under-utilized in most delis, but the sweetness of the coarsely ground rye, along with sprinkled golden raisins baked in, was the perfect complement to the savory, richness of the rest of the ingredients in this take on a classic sandwich. Ample avocado and muenster accompanied the egg salad, made of nicely chopped (not smashed) eggs mixed with herbs. Plus, the house-made pickle was the perfect accompaniment. $8.95.
