You’ll make a plan to have dinner together in Boulder, and you’ll find yourself standing with your date in the middle of the Pearl Street pedestrian mall, not sure where to go. Not because there’s nowhere to go, but because there are so many places to go.
You’ll consider The Kitchen just up the mall. You’ll wonder if Frasca has a free table, or if the bar at Mateo has space. L’Atelier will beckon. Perhaps it’s a Black Cat night. Or should you jump in the car and drive a few blocks to Radda, or a few blocks more to Alba.
Boulder’s embarrassment of culinary riches dizzies you. If you choose one, will you regret not having chosen the other? Will your date, too polite, or too smitten, to contradict your suggestion, wish you’d made another decision?
You won’t panic. Instead, you’ll look up and realize you’re already standing outside the 14th Street Bar and Grill.
Dusk will be falling as the cheery yellow awning waves you inside this casual, low-key and breezily romantic room, where you’ll settle at a table looking out at the to-ing and fro-ing on the street. You’ll order a bottle of affordable wine, perhaps a zingy vinho verde, and sip while you gather your wits and peruse the straightforward menu.
You’ll fork your way through the fresh, crispy mixed green salad, tossed with pickled carrots and chunks of gorgonzola. You’ll rinse your mouth with water, just in case lettuce got stuck in your teeth.
Then, you’ll order a pizza, the simplest one, just tomatoes, basil and cheese (mozzarella and fontina) and you’ll be surprised by how lovely the understated dish, with its crisp crust and fresh toppings, is. Conversation will slough from flirting, fleeting words into low food-moans and closed-mouth chew-smiles.
By now you’ve had a glass or so of wine, and you’ve sunk deeper into your chair, and you’ll notice the light on the street is changing from dusk to dark, and the people walking by change from missioned to meandering. You’ll gaze at your date, talking only with your eyes now, and you’ll understand that it didn’t really matter where you had dinner, you’re just lucky to be here, tonight, together.
You’ll wonder if you should say yes to dessert, and you’ll figure, sure, why not a slice of orange pound cake to soak up the last of the wine.
Besides, you’re in no rush.
14th Street Bar and Grill
Contemporary American. 1400 Pearl St., Boulder, 303-444-5854,
