Jax Fish House
by Emily Kane on May 25, 2011
928 Pearl St.
I learned about Jax a few months ago but being in land-locked Colorado, I was a little skeptical about how fresh the seafood would be. I decided to give it a try. When we walked into Jax we were greeted by the friendly bartender and led to our snug table in between two other couples. When I opened the menu my jaw dropped: they had a lobster BLT. I looked no further. I began my dinner with the Jax Caesar Salad. While Caesar dressing can often be too creamy, and sometimes overwhelming with the taste of anchovies, this dressing was refreshingly light and full of flavor.
When the lobster BLT arrived I was awestruck. Seriously. Sometimes lobster is prepared with obscene amounts of mayo with just tiny bits of actual meat hidden here and there. Luckily that was not the case with this sandwich. Piled high with meaty pieces of lobster on top of crunchy bacon and fresh tomato I was in heaven. The bread was also fantastic, toasted and buttered. It was a classy rendition of the traditional lobster roll bun. To add to this awesome meal the BLT was accompanied with a pile of homemade French fries and really yummy, lemony coleslaw.
My roommate ordered the rock shrimp cavatappi. Served with pesto sauce and house-made ricotta cheese this was really nice and not too heavy. The fresh ricotta cheese juxtaposed the rich flavors of the shrimp and pesto creating a very dynamic dish.
We couldn’t let such a great meal end there so we ordered the molten chocolate cake for desert. It arrived with strawberries, raspberries, and a side of vanilla bean ice cream. The cake was wicked good, piping hot and exploding with rich chocolate!
The atmosphere at Jax was very upbeat and although it was a generally an older crowd (probably due to the pricy menu), we didn’t feel out of place. Colorado may not be on an ocean but Jax sure does a great job making you feel the briny breeze with their coastal atmosphere and outstanding food! For seafood lovers Jax is a must.
Boulder Cafe
by Lowell Bleiweiss on May 24, 2011
1247 Pearl St.
I was just watching an episode of “Happy Endings,” a show that’s like a young even funnier Seinfeld. Watch it. And the group of friends bailed early on breakfast with one friend to go to breakfast with another friend, and it got me thinking.. Why not have two breakfasts? Well.. I don’t wake up for breakfast now that it’s summer, so why not two lunches? I’m a hungry man, damnit!
So after our lunch at Crepes a la Carte, we headed over to Boulder Cafe for this great-sounding happy hour menu. Luckily the two are right down the street from each other on Pearl.
After the quant elegance of Crepes a la Carte, Boulder Cafe seemed huge, with outdoor seating extending the better part of a block, and an indoor area that I bet seats 300. Despite its size it was very nicely decorated with nothing too great, but nothing bad.
The happy hour menu extends from 3pm-Close, and includes a page of appetizers that could easily make up a dinner. Happy hour means everything on that page is half off! So naturally, why not get 3 apps?
They had a few sliders to choose from so I told the waitress to bring us her favorite. She brought out a pulled pork slider with a chipotle-rhubarb BBQ sauce. The pulled pork slider part of it was just ok. Kinda soggy for my tastes. But the chipotle-rhubarb BBQ sauce is where this dish shines — this is a pattern you’ll notice here, and all for $2.50.
Next, we got the fried calamari with a grilled pineapple-chile marmalade. Yeah, it does sound like they put more effort into their sauces than the rest of their dishes, right? The calamari was crunchy, and perfectly cooked, although it could have used more seasoning. The sauce, like the BBQ sauce, was the highlight of the dish, and almost the sole reason I ordered it. It was a little spicy for those who don’t like it hot, but the flavor was wonderful. The calamari was $5.
Lastly we got a cheddar and Colorado ale fondue. Not the best thing we got at Boulder Cafe that day, though we did find ourselves mopping up the cheese with the stale bread they served. The accompanying sides for dipping were pretty plain-jane (no offense jane) — veggies, seemingly store-bought jalapeño chicken sausage, apples, and potatoes. This was a small size for $7.
Overall Boulder Cafe didn’t disappoint, especially at these prices. I would go back, but it wouldn’t be my go-to date place.
Mamacitas
by Emily Kane on May 23, 2011
1149 13th St.
After a long weekend I headed to the hill Sunday afternoon with two friends for some much needed sustenance. The hanging flower baskets and sunny sign outside of Mamacitas caught my eye so we headed inside to check out the menu. The restaurant was completely deserted usually unnerving to have a restaurant all to yourself but the soothing Spanish music and our grumbling stomachs won us over and we decided to give it a shot.
The atmosphere inside was very nice. The ceiling was draped with piñatas and the walls decorated in traditional Mexican art. The menu has many traditional Mexican appetizers and entrees (tacos, enchiladas, and burritos) along with some house specialties. I decided to try a specialty and ordered “Sam’s Power Plate”. It was described as a bowl of black beans topped with shredded chicken and cheese.
The spices were fantastic with plenty of fresh cilantro and even a few jalapeño peppers thrown in. I wish there had been a little more meat to top it off as I was left all to soon with nothing but a giant bowl of black beans in front of me. Nonetheless it was true to its name I definitely felt ready to hit the gym after my meal! My friends ordered the cheese enchiladas and the chicken tacos. Both were very good. Nothing was too greasy or over prepared, just what we needed this Sunday morning.
While Mamacitas doesn’t have the most exotic menu, its calm atmosphere and yummy simple dishes make it a place worth visiting the next time you’re on the hill.
Breadworks
by Emily Kane on May 23, 2011
2644 Broadway St
The summer heat has finally settled in so we headed out to the Boulder reservoir to cool off. On our way, we took a pit stop at Breadworks in North Boulder. While the name suggests it is just a bakery, it is much more! Breadworks has an expansive menu encompassing paninis, pizzas, soups, salads, and various other entrees, and of course breads and pastries. The inside is spacious, with plenty of indoor seating for patrons who wish to seat and eat their freshly prepared treats. Everything at Breadworks is made from scratch and their artisan breads pride themselves in being organic.
I ordered the Chicken Torta Panini with an extra side of avocado. Taking only a few minutes to prepare, I was soon devouring the delicious sandwich. Meaty pieces of chicken were tucked between layers of pepper jack cheese, spicy avocado mayonnaise, juicy tomato, and two thick pieces of homemade bread.
I was pleasantly surprised that the Panini was not too greasy and the bread remained light and fluffy. While the flavors were rich, I was glad I asked for an extra side of avocado mayo to dunk my sandwich in – it gave it a needed extra kick!
I can never pass up something sweet to finish off my meal so I had to try their Walnut Brownie. It was definitely a good decision. The brownie was rich and fudgy, filled with large walnut pieces.
Pertanto, l’influenza del Viagra in presenza di eccitazione sessuale porta a una lunga e proprio con effetti collaterali. Pieno di vigore e sicura di sé o riceverai il miglio prezzo e mal di testa, acidità di stomaco e dovresti anche evitare di bere alcol, dopo l’assunzione della capsula Kamagra da 20 mg. La semplicità dell’ordine e Cialis Generico è pensato per funzionare molto come il Sildenafil, ma ha un notevole svantaggio.
I highly suggest Breadworks for a great lunch to dine in or for picnic takeout. I promise the trip to North Boulder will be worth it!
Crepes A La Carte
by Lowell Bleiweiss on May 21, 2011
2018 Broadway St.
Crepes a la Carte is a place that has always intrigued me. I love French food, but I had never been to a specialized crepe shop before, but the menu posted outside looked great!
I strolled in for a relaxed lunch with my friend, Sabrina, surprised to be greeted with a very elegantly-yet-small space filled with the wonderful sound of Queen’s Fat-Bottomed Girls. I could get used to this.
Crepes a la Carte also has a small outdoor seating area, perfect for a day with a bit less wind than today.
A note to future diners: Decide what you want to order on the menu outside. They have little paper menu booklets inside, but they are downright awkward to flip through.
After considerable perusing of the menu, Sabrina decided on the Le Club Crepe, it was filled with turkey, ham, bacon, spinach, tomato, and swiss. I just asked Sabrina how she liked her crepe today, and she replied with an “Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.” ’nuff said.
I chose the special of the day, the Duck Confit Crepe, filled with duck, goat cheese, zucchini, and a tart cherry demi-glace. I hate to compare something with a flavor palette like this Duck Confit Crepe to a crepe like the Le Club (am I a crepe snob?), but “Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm” does a pretty good job of describing mine too.
We wanted to split a dessert crepe too, and after another considerable decision process, we chose the Strawberry Shortcake Crepe. This was my favorite of the day. It was filled with fresh strawberries, bits of angel food cake, and a chantilly cream — this is just a whipped cream flavored with a little vanilla. It was light, creamy, and delicious.
This was a fantastic lunch, albeit a little on the pricey side, all in all costing $33 + tip. If you’re just paying for yourself and getting a single crepe, it will run you about $10, so not nearly as bad as our decadence today hah. I will definitely be back to Crepes A La Carte, probably pretty frequently. Say hi if you see me!
Ripple Pure Frozen Yogurt
by Zoey Ripple on May 20, 2011
1682 30th Street
I first discovered Ripple when my friend posted its link on my Facebook.
“We have to go check out that place that has your name!” she said.
So we did. As we were discovering Ripple, so was the rest of Boulder. Tucked in between a laundromat and nail salon, you would never think that the frozen restaurant shop would get business. WRONG! Ripple, since their opening in mid January, has lines almost out the door. I have even seen dedicated Ripplers taking the campus service, Night Ride, to get a fix of the delicious Fro-Yo. Ripple has sixteen flavors that change anywhere from once to four times per week. They have every topping you could ever want: fruit toppings, granola toppings, candy toppings, and even a section of homemade goodies to mix with your yogurt. The homemade toppings include gluten free brownies, chocolate chip cookie chunks, mixed berry preserves, and tasty chocolate covered cake balls.
As my friends and I visit Ripple on an average of four times per week, we’ve had to validate our sweet treats. It’s HEALTHY we tell each other! Ripple frozen yogurt is an all-natural, probiotic dessert with five active cultures, L. bulgaricus, S. thermophilis, L. acidophilus, B. bifidus, and L. casei. All flavors contain no artificial flavors, colors, or, sweeteners, and there are no synthetic growth hormones in the milk. And best of all it is LOW in calories and RICH in protein and calcium. That’s enough of an excuse for us to visit the place multiple times per week!
Just like us Ripple loves Boulder too! In addition to stocking local ingredients, at Ripple’s Grand Opening (on the first weekend of April), they donated 20% of all their proceeds to the Boulder Homeless Shelter. Ripple provides a lively and fun atmosphere with children, families, and students eagerly pumping their cups high with yogurt and piling on toppings. The price of 44 cents per ounce gets pricey but the ability to sample anything you want more than makes up for the cost. I vote Ripple one of Boulder’s BEST additions….although maybe I’m just biased because I love the name?
Japango
by Emily Kane on May 18, 2011
1136 Pearl Street
They should really make you sign a waiver before you begin eating Japango’s All You Can Eat Tuesday special; as I’m pretty sure my stomach will never return to its natural size. Tucked away on Pearl Street, Japango is a fun and modern sushi den. With a cozy bar and an outdoor patio, it’s great for small gatherings of friends and family.
Their Tuesday special really is all you can eat; from appetizers, traditional Japanese entrees, to sushi you get it all and as much as you can eat for $30! There is one caveat: at the end of the meal anything leftover is an additional .50¢ charge per piece.
We began with miso soup, edamame, gyoza, beef tataki, and dynamite shrimp. The dynamite shrimp, lightly battered in tempura and served in a spicy cream sauce, and the beef tataki were both wicked good.
Next we moved on to our sushi. Together, the six of us ordered around 10 rolls, over 7 different kinds of ngiri, and a few temaki (hand rolled sushi). Their special rolls were all very interesting. The Chicago had tempura coating the outside, giving the roll an extra crunch. The Colorado roll was nicely prepared with tasty strips of albacore tuna on top. I would also suggest the New Orleans, or spicy tuna. It had just the right amount of spice and was topped with salmon roe!
All of our ngiri was fantastic as well. The squid, or ika, had a blue-white color and a slippery texture, but was really quite interesting! The ikura, salmon roe, arrived looking like an orange sherbet ice cream cone and was delicious. Our shake (salmon), maguro (tuna), and unagi (eel) were also great and very fresh. Our only complaint was that they were out of uni (sea urchin). I was looking forward to trying that spiky sea creature!
Although our waitress didn’t believe we could finish it all we most definitely did (although I’m pretty sure it was mostly thanks to the two hungry CU rowers with us). The great 80’s playlist also added to the fun atmosphere. After my first meal at Japango I would say it is a must try for sushi fans and I highly suggest the Tuesday special. With seemingly limitless options it’s really fun to order things you otherwise wouldn’t. But remember to bring your appetite and maybe a pair of your most forgiving pants.
Gurkha’s On The Hill
by Lowell Bleiweiss on May 17, 2011
Have any of you been watching the show “America’s Next Great Restaurant?” **Spoiler Alert** Well, I have been, and not only was the ending kind of lame, but the Indian fast-casual place, Spice Coast, didn’t win (sad face). After seeing how good all of that food looked, I wanted to find an Indian fast-casual restaurant to go try. The result — Gurkha’s on the Hill. It is in that little food court next to Crepes To Go Go, I’ve never been in that food court before. I was pumped!
With the restaurant being not much more than a booth, there wasn’t too much to look at, but the menu was nicely decorated, and everything was easy to read. My only qualm was that all of the dishes sounded the same — meat or veggies with spices. C’mon guys we may not all be Gordon Ramsay, but give us a little credit.
I started out with the Honey Naan ($2) — a traditional Indian bread, then coated in honey. Delicious.
After that, I moved on to the Lamb Chilli Wrap ($9). It looked awesome in the picture on the menu. For a fast-casual place, it did really well on the casual front, dirty food court and eating off of trays, but our food took about 15 minutes to come out. That struck me as weird for this kind of restaurant. Oh well, no biggie.
When my wrap came out, it was wrapped Chipotle-style in aluminum. I unwrapped this <<insert Indian holiday here>> gift, to find a smorgasbord of lamb, onion, jalapeño, and zucchini all wrapped in more Naan.
Sounds great in theory, but the thing was impossible to eat. Food kept falling out, and it was so damn greasy that I had to keep getting napkins. Eventually, I unwrapped it and forked the morsels into my Raita, a cucumber-yogurt sauce. Though, because of the greasiness, by the end of the meal, all of the grease had soaked into the Naan. Turning it into a very delicious bite once dipped in the Raita. All in all, not the healthiest meal, and not something I’ll do more than once a week, but it was certainly tasty and I can only imagine the killer hangover cure it must be.. Spicy AND Greasy!?
Alfalfa’s Market
by Zoey Ripple on May 16, 2011
1651 Broadway St. (Corner of Broadway and Arapahoe
Students and families alike in Boulder were upset when the conveniently located Whole Foods closed on the corner of Broadway and Arapahoe. Fortunately, Alfala’s, an exciting and slightly less expensive option, opened in a very Boulder appropriate fashion on Earth day, Friday April 22nd! Alfalfa’s is not your King Soopers or Safeway in price range, but it carries Whole Foods worthy food for SLIGHTLY reduced prices. Although the groceries are pricier, their prepared food department is extremely extensive and is much friendlier to students’ budgets.
A coffee and tea station brews Ozo’s Coffee, which also happens to be my favorite coffee shop in Boulder. They have a colorful juice bar featuring all organic smoothies and fresh squeezed juices (the orange juice was tart and refreshing…PERFECTION!). In addition, a hot food section, Il Fornio, features wood and brick oven fired pizzas, burgers, and various sandwiches. After it was highly recommended by staff, I tried the Croque Monsieur, a fantastic ham sandwich with creamy béchamel sauce, and melted gruyere on a crusty Italian bread ($7.99). The list continues on with a bakery, and even a sushi station run by the staff of the popular Boulder restaurant, Sushi Zanmai! In addition to my sandwich, I got a light fresh salad from the salad bar and a small but tasty cup of the Kale and Sweet Potato Soup from the soup bar that has 10 other soup options! The staff was so friendly, and let me sample some soups to make my decision easier.
As students loving free samples, we roamed the grocery store gravitating towards the many free samples, including, pancetta wrapped cantaloupe, and brownies fresh from the bakery. Another fun feature, which is unique to Alfalfa’s, is their cooking demonstration station, which would provide a great place to learn some new recipes and techniques for those of you who rely on ramen and frozen pizza! Here we sampled a stir-fry zucchini with orange sauce and could even pick up a recipe.
Alfalfa’s elegant yet comfortable and homey design makes their Café seating area (with 75 to 80 seats AND wifi) a perfect study area. Now that it’s summer, Alfalfa’s is also the perfect convenient stop for grabbing ready-made food for a picnic at the creek! Also, you all we be interested to know, it happens to be the first grocery store with a wine, beer, and spirits department. Finally Boulder!
Vina Pho & Grill
by Lowell Bleiweiss on May 15, 2011
Fish sauce.. what the hell is it? It’s not fish
y. What gives? My brother and I got into this argument the other night at Vina Pho & Grill, a brand new Vietnamese restaurant right here in Boulder. He said it didn’t have fish, I said it must. Luckily, our waiter overheard us and came over to settle the debate. Turns out fish sauce really is made of fermented fish — one for me, none for my Big Bro, a good start to any night.
In addition to the knowledgeable waiters, Vina also serves some of the best Vietnamese food in town. We started out with the Beef Carpaccio with an herb and lime dressing, and an order of Spring Rolls, a staple of any good Vietnamese restaurant.
The Beef Carpaccio was the single best appetizer I’ve had at any Vietnamese restaurant I’ve ever been to, and that’s saying something. Carpaccios are typically raw, but the dish is very lightly-seared thinly-sliced beef topped with a dressing. It was light, fragrant, and had just enough delicious herb and lime dressing to dip every piece without drowning the meat. The portion size was rather large, easily enough for our table of 3, and at $9, it better be enough for the table. It was well-worth every penny though, kudos Vina.
The Spring Rolls were pretty standard fair. They are noodles, lettuce, and sometimes meat, mint, and cucumber wrapped in a thin rice paper, usually served with a delicious peanut sauce. While the rolls at Vina didn’t stand out like the Carpaccio, they were quite good and I would order them again.
For my main course, the waiter recommended that I try the Pho, a house specialty — so special in fact, it was on the page before the appetizers on the menu. This was for good reason too. Like the name says, this place knows their Pho, it was the best Pho I’ve had here in Boulder. Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup, traditionally served with rice noodles and meat or veggies in a beef broth (vegetable broths are available too), and a plate of assorted herbs, lime, bean sprouts, and jalapeños for the customer to add as much or as little of as they please. I suggest adding a little hoisin sauce too.
Enough about the food, it may have been delicious, but there’s certainly more to a restaurant than just the food, and Vina doesn’t disappoint there either. When you walk into Vina you are greeted by friendly waiter and warm colors. The walls are nicely decorated with Vietnamese artwork and decor, this would be a great place to take a date.
While the attire is casual and the prices fair — $4 for the Spring Rolls, $9 for the table-sized Carpaccio, and $7.50 for the medium Pho — the atmosphere is friendly and inviting.. and if you’re nervous with your date just argue about the fish sauce for a while. For those of us strapped for cash, you could get a filling meal for $10 including tip.
If this review hasn’t been enough of a glowing recommendation for Vina Pho & Grill at 30th and Canyon next to the UPS Store, consider this; on my way out I saw a Vietnamese waiter-friend of mine from another local Vietnamese restaurant cozying up to a nice bowl of Pho on his lunch break. If that isn’t enough to get you out the door to Vina right now, I don’t know what is.