ultigirlinCO's Profile
Six89, Carbondale, CO: outstanding!
Food in Greeley is a tough battle but I will recommend Crabtree Brewery. They hosted a tourney/party last year and their beers were really excellent. They have a sampling room open from 1-6 Wed.-Sat. and give tours on Fri & Sat. Maybe they can give you some local recommendations. Protos (pizza) and Cazadores (Mexican) both have good (but not great) online reviews.
Big City Burrito (CO)
Forgetful employees,
dazed
and confused...
In Boulder...
never...
Denver Downtown
3 non-celebration nights in Denver?
Vesta Dipping Grill for dinner one night would definitely make the list.
If you want New American, hit Fruition.
More standard fare but done excellently -
Duo for great American food.
Try the jalepeno/ cream cheese burger at My Brother's Bar. Don't worry. You can walk off the calories in the monstrosity that is the REI flagship store.
Buenos Aires pizzeria has nice pizza made with excellent ingredients. Not your typical pizza but lovely.
None of these places are "destination eating" (though sometimes I think the JCB should be), but are all excellent.
fresh tofu - denver
Tofu in Colorado sucks. I've tried Denver's. I've tried Boulder's. The national chain tofu tastes better than either of them - and that ain't saying much.
In the end, I blame it on the nigari that both companies use. It just gives the tofu a nasty aftertaste. I'm not a fan of gypsum in my tofu either. Wallboard goes on the wall.
I miss Oregon tofu. There must be some magic about making tofu on the West Coast. It all tasted so amazing out there.
I-25 Denver to Albuquerque
On your way back home, get off I-25 at Monument and take Santa Fe (85?) up through Sedalia. Grab a burger at Bud's Burger. There's a reason that Westword (LoDo centric as it is) rates Bud's as the best.
Sushi restaurants in Denver?
Suburban sushi is its own art form.
We, by chance, ended up at Fontana's as well. The food was good at a decent price, giving me hope that this tough formula can work.
I first fell in love with sushi up in Golden at sushi Uokura. Some of the best sake (salmon sashimi) I have ever had. I hope they are still holding it down.
The one that hasn't won me over is Namiko's in Arvada. At the time, sushi was an extreme luxury but I was craving it. I ordered the sake and it came out orange. Bright, parking cone orange because they used farmed salmon. It was the most underwhelming sushi I have ever had. Bland. Instead of a buttery, almost steak-like texture, I got stringy and sort of mealy.
So, alas, I'm still searching for sushi in Arvada.
Looking for some Denver Recommendations
I think all of my votes are seconding...but that just tells you how great the first recommendations are:
Steakhouse - The Fort. Elways if cougar is your favorite type of meat. If you don't want to drive, the Chophouse could work out.
Breakfast spot - N/A
Brew Pub - Wynkoop. Chili beer! If you want to do Breckenridge as well, I'd take the Brew & BBQ at 471 Kalamath Street over the ballpark brew pub any day.
Sports bar - ESPN Zone
Must try - Falling Rock. Another favorite with out-of-town guests is brunch at Red Rocks. The brunch is pricy ($15 or $17 per person). The food is good but not great. Really, you are paying for a chance to sit out on the natural red sandstone patio, wander around Red Rocks and enjoy a nice view of Denver.
Perfect day - Get a rental car the night before. Early breakfast at some greasy spoon in Denver. Early tee time at Arrowhead golf course. Finish up and drive up to Red Rocks for brunch. Check out Dinosaur Ridge. "Fish" (i.e. sit in the shade by the creek and drink beers) Bear Creek. Hit the Fort for an early dinner. Drive down to Denver and wander around downtown - Falling Rock for beers, the Rio for margaritas and insanity or maybe a show at the Comedy Works.
Favorite Restaurant In Denver?
Right now, O's. If there was only 1 restaurant, would that make O's cheaper?
Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona unique must try food
Unfortunately, Colorado's tourist trap food/claim to fame has already spread to the grocery store near you.
Beau Jo's in Idaho Springs has been serving prairie-style pizza for forever and is an after-skiing tradition. The once-bizarre combinations of chicken pizza with bbq sauce can now be bought as a microwave dinner from a national chain. The tradition of putting honey on the thick, puffy soapilla-like crust is really all the novelty that remains.
Ideas for Delegates????
"My hubby and I will be looking for local hole-in-the-walls and cheap ethnic food."
Southeast Denver is your mecca then - particularly Havana which turns into Hampden and heads west.
Your categories are:
Steak
On Havana, check out the Aurora Summit. My Dad says they serve a mean steak. However, they lack the inflated ego of other Denver steakhouses. If you are willing to drive, I would definitely encourage a visit to either the Fort or the Buckhorn Exchange if you want a memorable, quirky experience.
Mexican
I can't think of any good Mexican out that way. Ajuua's (7777 E Hampden Ave, Ste 232) apparently got good reviews from our daily newspaper food critic. Personally, I love Chubbie's smothered burritos - think hole-in-the-wall becomes a chain (9865 E Hampden Ave, Denver, CO).
Italian
Eh...San Lorenzo Ristorante (2500 E. Orchard Rd, Littleton, CO) in Greenwood Village won Westword's best mid-priced Italian food this year. Italian? In Denver? Eh.
BBQ
Um...This is Colorado. We just put KC Masterpiece on it and consider it done. Actually, since Luther's closed up and packed it's Texas-style bbq out, I haven't found any bbq that I adore. Brother's BBQ will suffice in a pinch but I can put the KC Masterpiece on the meat myself.
Local Hot-Spots
I guess most of these will fall under "local hot spots". There is amazing Korean food on Havana. Sae Jong Kwan (2680 S. Havana St., Aurora, CO) won best Korean food this year from Westword (a regional weekly) and rightfully so.
My favorite Korean dumplings / potstickers in town, however, are behind the Big-O tire around Mississippi and Havana (maybe Jewell?).
There is/was amazingly good Afghani food at Yale and Havana (think Indian meets middle eastern food).
For breakfast, I'll second the Original Pancake House. I dream of their dutch baby. Servings are ridiculous sized so buy one thing for 2 or even 3 people or plan on having breakfast-for-lunch leftovers.
Kathy and Bill's (Mississippi and Havana) reminds me of the great greasy spoon I had breakfast at in Charlotte, NC. Cheap, hot, greasy goodness. The only thing missing is the best grits in the world.
If you have never had Pho, I would highly recommend it. Pho 79 is the best place to do it - 1080 S Havana St, Aurora, CO. This soup is flavorful, rich yet light, all while satisfying.
God I miss living in SE Denver. The cheapest, best and most interesting food in town.
recommendations in boulder
For the pre-teen and up crowd, the Sink is omg, sooo cool. It's definitely a joint and the food isn't bad.
Denver power spots
I would have said the Petroleum club but I'm not sure now that is is above Denver Athletic Club. Though the way oil prices are, the food might be exceptional again.
I'll second any restaurant at the Brown Palace. Rialto's and Mirepoix have also won best power breakfast from Westword but I haven't seen either place.
In the end, when I think business, I tend to think DTC not downtown. Del Frisco's comes to mind first.
Help for Food in Longmont, CO
If I had an expense account, I'd make a beeline for O's.
It's not in Longmont (or even nearby Boulder). Take Main Street south for about 30 minutes until you hit Hwy 93. Just before that, you'll see the Westin Westminster, which is home to O's.
They have a very interesting tasting menu ($50/person or $70?/$75/ with wine). Unbelievable variety of flavors in amazing combinations - blue crab meat with jalapeno jelly on a pineapple chip is the one that still lingers with me from a Mom's Day outing there. The chef makes ice cream tableside with liquid nitrogen to finish the meal - our ice cream was an apple pie/creme brulle makeout fest.
Food from the menu is also well done. My grandma's crab cakes made me think that maybe Colorado wasn't 1000 miles from an ocean.
Middle Eastern in Denver/Boulder
I'll second Jerusalem's though I don't remember their hummus being particularly memorable. I adore the baba ganoush there though. The shaded patio is lovely on a nice afternoon.
The place that is the most memorable for pitas to me is actually not Lebanese at all. It's Afghani. 4 or 5 years ago, the restaurant won an award for best Afghani food in Westword and then promptly fell off the map (as happens to lots of amazing restaurants not in downtown Denver). The restaurant is off of Yale and Parker Road in Aurora/Southest Denver. Based on some googling, I'm guessing this is the right address:
11002 E Yale Ave, Aurora, CO.
While you are there, you might look for hummus in Hahn Mart (NW corner of Parker Rd & Yale). They do diverse food (particularly fresh, cheap vegetables from around the world and uncommon brands of ethnic food) well.
