First things first: I am a big fan of the Boulder dining scene.
Block for block, there’s no town in Colorado that can rival it for exquisitely prepared restaurant food, much of it local, organic, sustainable and whatever other Earth-friendly term-du-jour moves the most product.
But too many people (mostly Boulderites) are too eager to dismiss Denver as a bastion of culinary cretins. Sure, our mass of fancy restaurants might not be quite as critical as that of our stepsister to the northwest, but the fact is we have plenty to crow about down here.
For one thing, we have Frank Bonnano, whose pair of Cap Hill restaurants-Mizuna (225 E. Seventh Ave.) and Luca D’Italia (711 Grant St.)-still set the standard for area food and service.
For another thing, we have Potager (1109 Ogden St.), where chef Teri Rippeto started serving local, seasonal and sustainable dishes over a decade ago, without all the self-congratulatory hype that goes along with such food-thinking these days.
We have Federal Boulevard, especially that golden stretch between Sixth Avenue and Evans. No strip in the state is denser with Vietnamese, Mexican, Chinese and Salvadoran restaurants. Among the best: Ha Noi (1036 S. Federal) for pho, Tacos y Salsas (910 S. Federal) for tacos, Vihn Xuong (375 S. Federal) for banh mi sandwiches, and Super Star Asian (2200 W. Alameda Ave.) for dim sum.
(OK, fine. Super Star Asian isn’t on Federal, it’s on Alameda, but it’s most definitely not in Boulder.)
We have El Taco de Mexico (714 Santa Fe Drive), which still has the best green chile anywhere I know of.
We have Cora Faye’s Cafe (2861 Colorado Blvd.), with fried chicken and potato salad good enough to make my eyes roll back in my head.
We have the Capital Grille (1450 Larimer St.) and Del Frisco’s (8100 E. Orchard Road, technically in Greenwood Village), excellent examples (albeit chains) of that ilk of conspicuously ostentatious high-roller steakhouses that I count among my (numerous) guilty pleasures.
We have Tables (2267 Kearney St.), Duo (2413 W. 32nd Ave.) and Z Cuisine (2239 W. 30th Ave.), three of the best neighborhood restaurants anywhere, each serving seasonal, beautiful and extremely personal meals to local fans.
We have Dolce Sicilia (3210 Wadsworth Blvd.), where the pignoli cookies are unbeatable.
We have the Buckhorn Exchange (1000 Osage St.) which, even if all the animal heads feel a little kitschy, has one of the best whiskey lists in the country.
We have Fruition (1313 E. Sixth Ave.), which as far as I’m concerned can compete with about any restaurant in Boulder, or any restaurant in the state for that matter, when it comes to a lovely, relaxing, elegant and memorable evening out.
And last, but certainly not least, we have Casa Bonita (6715 W. Colfax Ave.), with its roving mariachis and indoor cliff diving shows.
Take THAT, Boulder. Think you’re so fancy? Get back to me when you have indoor cliff diving.
Dining critic Tucker Shaw can be reached at 303-954-1958 or at dining@denverpost.com.
What’s your favorite thing about the Denver dining scene? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
