Colorado Restaurant Compendium

Great thread LB. I'm going to assume that Boulder can be included.

Zolo Grill, $$, upscale southwestern cuisine
2525 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder, 303-449-0444
Always good eats, the enchiladas are great (smoked gouda kills it!), lots of food for the price. Good margs. Good guac.

The Med, $-$$, Mediterranean cuisine
1002 Walnut St, Boulder 303-444-5335
Great tapas menu, can eat a great dinner just from it. Good pizzas. Nice bar area. Outdoor atrium/patio. Great date place, not too expensive but is classy. Very hot waitresses and hostesses.

Lucilles, $, cajun, breakfast/lunch only
Numerous locations (Boulder, Denver, Longmont, Ft Collins, Steamboat).
Great breakfasts. Biscuits are out of this world, especially with the homemade strawberry rhubarb jam. Beignets are good too. Great hollandaise sauce. Huge portions.

Chez Thuy, $-$$, Asian.
2655 28th Street, Boulder. 303.442.1700.
Huge menu, largest I have ever seen. Is techincally Vietnamese, but has most asian cuisines represented, almost all of it very good. Big fan of the pork/black bean hot pot. Service is good but somewhat brusque.

LB,

We need to add Nine75 to the list. 10th and Lincoln in the Beauvillon. Varying menu from small plates to full on entrees. Consistently, it is both unique (lobster and tuna taco appetizers) and absolutely delicious.

Can be inexpensive if you order smaller plates, but the entrees are pricey, but worth it. Great cocktails, good bar, decent wine list.

thanks you guys, yeah B-town is fine and I need to get better at editing things together. Danno, would you mind fleshing yours out a tad?

In other news:
Restaurant Week Approacheth!

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Originally Posted by lemon boy

Danno, would you mind fleshing yours out a tad?

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done!

and bump!

The Corner Bar, $-$$, upscale pub food
corner of 13th and Spruce in the Hotel Boulderado, Boulder, (303) 442-4560.
One of my favorite places in Boulder. Food is publike but a bit fancier, and always good (shares the kitchen with Q's, a really nice restaurant). Nice mellow atmosphere, almost always table space but also rarely empty. Because it's a "hotel bar" it's open on Christmas Day. :) Always have a beer of the day for $2, all day.

ive hesitated on posting this one and I still do a bit, but here goes

Nono's Cafe - $-$$ - Creole\Cajun\Homey type foods
3005 W. County Line Road, Littleton, Colorado 303-738-8330

LB, Ill let you edit this as you please. You did a great job on my others.

Ive been here probably a dozen times in the past few years.
They used to be located in the Brickyard BBQ location I reviewed above, but have since built a brand new place atop a hill next to the Harley dealership in littleton. Walking in to No-Nos is always frustrating. Im greeted invariably by a lack of one. "Just a minute" \ "Be right with you" is the norm and is always frustrating to me. Expect to wait at least 2-3mins if its not busy, 10 if it is busy but with open tables, and 30-45 if you have to wait for a free table. Service once seated however is standard and good. Food is very consistent, however, some dishes come out too oily and too salty, ie their stroganoff. They have an interesting cajun style ranch dressing they serve with their bread they bring out thats pretty tasty. They also have cajun seasoning on the table which I think is their own blend, which goes well on everything. Things worth ordering, the mac and cheese, spaghetti (which is actually angel hair :( ) and meatsauce, bread pudding, shrimp bisque (according to my gf), and kickin chicken sammich. Their pork chops look pretty amazing too, but I dont do swine so I dont know. They have a solid fixed menu with new items rotating in once every month.

The time before last, it was a busy Saturday, and the volume level was insane. The place has hard concrete floors and a hard ceiling. It made it hard to have a simple conversation accross a small table. I noticed they added some accoustic panels and draped over quilts to help, but it was pretty quiet there when we went, so I cant comment on it now. Something just to be aware of it you want a quite dinner or have a kid in tow.

so this completely goes against the "NO CHAINS" rule, but considering how many other good fish places Ive found in Denver, Im going to post it anyway. If it LB doesnt think it should be here, no worries, Ill just delete this post.

So onto the rulebreaking post :p

Bonefish Grill - $$-$$$
8100 W. Crestline Ave., Unit F, Littleton CO 80123
(303) 948-3474
Reservations Reccomended

I grew up in Tampa\St. Pete where the original, and at the time not a chain, Bonefish Grill was started. Ive eaten at the original and other locations in that area many times and is really quite excellent. The same goes for the one here in Denver (I can only speak for the above location though). Atmosphere is great and makes a fun date place. Service is really excellent, especially considering this is a chain. Everything from the way the way your server takes your order to the way they present and pour wine is by the book. Ive never ordered or had anything other than fish here, so I cant comment beyond that, but they have a GOOD* selection of fish, interesting specials, and good staple items. I had a fish here they had on special last visit ive never tried before let alone even heard of that was excellent.

Good sized wine list and wines to suit any budget.
Im very picky with my fish, so I tend to stay away from their fancy specials as I find them too rich and overpowering of the fishl. I tend to stick to stuff like the Pan Asian Sea Bass\Rare Tuna or Warm Mango Grouper.

The creme brulee is always tasty, although once when we ordered it, the top wasnt as hard as we like it. em0 unicorn tear.

*Not as good a selection as the Florida locations...for obvious reasons, but it is just as fresh, tasty, and well prepared as far as my palate can taste.

Ohhhh you're making me cry dude!

holy shit am I behind on editing this bitch. Whoops.

Saxy's Cafe, $, paninis and salads, coffee, no web site
2018 10th St (just off Pearl), Boulder, (303) 786-8585.
Basically a hipster coffee shop. To be honest, I have never had their coffee (pretty expensive). But their paninis and salads kick ass. Also kind of pricey ($7.95 for panini, $8.95 for salad) but the sammys are pretty big and come with a small side salad, so it is actually a pretty good deal. The best are the Tacchino and the Salmone Fume. Very gourmet sandwich food.

Steak & Rib - $$-$$$ - they have a lot (steak, venisson, ostrich, ribs, lamb, etc)
208 N. Main Street, Breckenridge, CO

I haven't been to this place in about 4 or 5 years, but I remember it being one of the best and coolest restaurants ever. It has very very good food, but a casual atmosphere. At the bar downstairs, a lot of people usually pile in after a days skiing. My favorites are their stuffed filet and also the buffalo ribeye is super good.

Like I said, I haven't been here in quite some time, but if nothing has changed since the last time I was there, it is definitely worth trying.

What are the best places in Winter Park? I've got until friday to sample the goods....

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Originally Posted by hop

What are the best places in Winter Park? I've got until friday to sample the goods....

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Smokin Moes is good BBQ. The Sushi Bar has one of the most amazing specials ever, the "sushi for 2, 3, or 4" meal deal. The sushi is pretty average, but anytime you can get a full meal, with miso, salad, and ice cream dessert along with sushi, for under $20/person, that's worth mentioning.

The Pub for locals flavor and good pizza. Hernandos is also good pizza.

The best place in Boulder = Sherpa's on Walnut St.

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Originally Posted by hop

What are the best places in Winter Park? I've got until friday to sample the goods....

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Dude, you come all the way to my home and don't say hi or shit? Damn :nonono2::nonono2::nonono2:

The pub is all you need.

More specifically, their cheesesteak is all you need.

Summit County entry:

Himalayan Cuisine - $$ - Indian/Nepali
409 Main Street, #109, Frisco, CO
(970) 668-3330

Finally, an Indian restaurants has opened up in Summit County. Owned by the same folks who run the Indian place in Aspen, this small place is located on the first floor of the Frisco Mall, right across from the Butterhorn Bakery.

The food is simply excellent! Having been born and brought up in the Indian subcontinent, I like to think I know a teeny bit about curries, and this place has some of the best I've had anywhere. My favorite is the sheekh kabab (ground lamb) -- in my top 2 sheekh kababs I've ever had. Dishes are spicy, but unlike many Indian restaurants, spicy doesn't mean just loaded with chilies. Lots of options from red meat, chicken, fish, to vegetarian.

There's also a cheap lunch buffet ($7.95, Mon-Sat only) with a pretty decent selection (usually 3 meat + 3 vegetarian choices), although it's toned down a bit (read: not as tasty as their dinner/menu items).

One word of warning: a lot of their wait-staff is from S. America (at least this winter) who are not all necessarily very familiar with the dishes. It may be a good idea to double-check to make sure they got your order down correctly. Service is good though.

^ went here this weekend
damn it was solid

ordered paneer pakora, lamb vindaloo, and momo cha? dumpingls
everything was kickass
cant wait to go back

service kinda sucked, but it was 2 guys waiting on 15 tables, what would you expect?
go here for the food and not service or ambiance.

the owner\waiter appoligized profusely when he forgot our appetizer, brought it out asap, and then gave us a free dessert. radness.
on, and their gulab jamun is awesome.

The Yardhouse

Try the Mac and Cheese (Squared)

okay, lots of stuff added. Please review and suggest additions as necessary.

Too lazy to look up and type out a bunch of the ones w/o detailed reviews so there you go if yours ain't on da list.

Mona's Cafe

Two locations. One at 15th and Platte and the other on South Broadway and Cedar (?)

$

The future-Mrs. Rontele and I went on Saturday to sample this quite popular "brunch" locale. Never wanting to fight the weekend crowds at their 15th and Platte location, we opted for a later time and the secondary location on South Broadway.

The food is excellent. I had turkey noodle soup and a breaded chicken sandwich. The future Mrs. Rontele had a chicken salad sandwich on cibatta. Each of the sandwiches were unique in their own right with Mona's taking a good twist on pretty easy to nail recipes. The highlight, however, are the french fries, which are well-done (a must for me) and seasoned (another must).

Price is reasonable and we'll definitely be back.

DUDE! please help me out and conform yourself to the blue book format for these bad boys, TIA.

;) ;)

it really does take a lot of work to edit the things together after the fact.

^ em0 unicorn tear :p
(but for real people, conform and make lb's life easier)

oh, and another em0 unicorn tear for bonefish not making the cut
since im now not allowed to eat here since its not included in this thread, what other places in denver does fish right?
ive had little bits here and there for appetizers or parts of an entree, but nothing which compares and features fish as what they do.

Dude, you knew the rules and still tempted fate! You're lucky I can't go in and edit your posts. :) I did go look at the website though and decided that it was simply too massive an enterprise to be included.

To taste fish the way it really should be done then you need to go to…Los Portales (mexican section) ;) fuck a bunch of that bland NE style boring bs. Otherwise, and it's been YEARS since I ate there and I am not a fish eater generally (mex excepted): no love for Jax?

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Originally Posted by lemon boy

no love for Jax?

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only been to the one in Boulder, but I thought it was pretty good.

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Originally Posted by Rontele

Mona's Cafe

Two locations. One at 15th and Platte and the other on South Broadway and Cedar (?)

$

The future-Mrs. Rontele and I went on Saturday to sample this quite popular "brunch" locale. Never wanting to fight the weekend crowds at their 15th and Platte location, we opted for a later time and the secondary location on South Broadway.

The food is excellent. I had turkey noodle soup and a breaded chicken sandwich. The future Mrs. Rontele had a chicken salad sandwich on cibatta. Each of the sandwiches were unique in their own right with Mona's taking a good twist on pretty easy to nail recipes. The highlight, however, are the french fries, which are well-done (a must for me) and seasoned (another must).

Price is reasonable and we'll definitely be back.

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Abstract:

I got no exercise, ate a big meal in the middle of the day, tried to eat healthy, but ended up with a bunch of fried food which I liked.

bump for those of you who like Chinook or want an excuse to go

Go fill your car up with 15gallons or more of gas
Get a receipt
Go have dinner at chinook
Give them the receipt
They give you 15$ off in their "Save 1$ off gas promotion"

Sounds like it runs through Apr 28th.