Welcome to Nibbles, my new weekly food newsletter. Look for Nibbles every Tuesday for a buffet of Boulder County food and restaurant news, restaurant recommendations and practical cooking tips.
And a quick heads up: Xcel is planning a power shutoff in parts of Boulder County tomorrow that will affect local restaurants. Read our latest update here.
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Because I’ve been so good this year, today’s Nibbles shares my Letter to Santa asking for yummy, cool local culinary gifts ranging from cactus spirits to watercolor paints made from Boulder herbs and vegetables. Plus: Bread meets brie as Moxie Bread opens in Longmont, and a yet-to-open Boulder eatery is already being touted as one of “The 7 Best New Restaurants (in the U.S.A.) to Try This Winter.”
Send comments and information about Boulder County restaurants, food classes, events, tastings and tours to nibbles@boulderreportinglab.org.
— John Lehndorff
Dear Santa Claus,
I have been a very, very good food editor this year. I have tipped generously and I’ve been pretty nice to almost everyone.
You don’t have very many days to find the right culinary wonders to fill my giant stocking with “John” stitched on the side. Thanks, Mom.
Fruitcake aside, my wishlist skips all the usual foodie suspects imported from various parts of the globe. All I want for Christmas is unique taste treats created in Boulder County.
I don’t need to remind you that the jolly gifting holidays ahead include the conclusion of Hanukkah, Winter Solstice (Dec. 21), Festivus (Dec. 23), Kwanzaa and New Year’s Eve.
Hopefully, the following list of season’s eatings will inspire others to spend their dollars locally for gifts and holiday party splurges. Food gifts are great because almost everyone has a secret culinary passion you can satisfy … and they are presents they won’t return the next day.
Please bring me coffee and pie
My quality of life depends on imbibing large cups of great coffee every morning. I would enjoy a subscription that delivers freshly roasted beans to me at home.
Boulder boasts an impressive roster of java artisans – just Google “Boulder coffee roasters.” If you live in the City of Boulder, The Coffee Ride delivers freshly roasted ground-to-order coffee by bicycle.
To go with my caffeine, I will need a monthly pie subscription from Penny’s Pie Shop, a newish Lafayette-based cottage bakery that delivers freshly baked pies and treats every month. Details here.
Please give me a great local food book
Every Christmas morning as a kid, I knew there would be a book wrapped up for me under the tree. I still need a good read. My current passion is collecting locally produced cookbooks that tell the stories of the people who live here. I’d like a copy of the new Intercambio Community Cookbook. Launched in 2001 in Boulder and Longmont, Intercambio brings English learners and community volunteers together in language classes and gatherings, including potlucks. This cookbook collects recipes and stories from 35 nations submitted by students, volunteers and staff. Order here.
Please bring me some great local honey
Besides various health benefits, I just love the taste of locally harvested, minimally processed honey. One of my favorites is the fennel pollen honey offered by award-winning Bee Squared Apiaries gathering from hives in Weld, Larimer and Boulder counties.
Bring me vegan paint for happy broccoli trees
Art and local farming and gardening come together beautifully in the watercolors produced by Boulder Colors using fruit, vegetable and flower discards. For instance, the home-based company’s Stone Fruit collection includes six handmade, vegan, organic watercolors made with chokecherry, black cherry, plum and pluot pits. Order them here.
Please restore my spirits (and my liquor shelf)
I don’t always imbibe, but when I do I like to sip some of the outstanding spirits created at Boulder County’s many distilleries.
I deserve a bottle of the remarkable oak-aged, award-winning Reserve Cactus Añejo from Longmont’s Dry Land Distillers. It may be a tequila relative. But this smooth sipper has its own mellow character all its own.
I’m happy to appreciate anything Alastair Brogan crafts at his highly regarded Boulder Spirits, but the distillery’s Adventure Kit makes the tasting fun. Six 50 milliliter bottles (three bourbons and three American single malts) are included.
Although many local bar lovers have sipped elaborate cocktails made with liqueurs from Grove Street Alchemy, few knew they were crafted in Longmont. Grove Street produces spot-on, pure liqueurs in flavors including lemon, hatch chile, chai, Meyer lemon and my favorite: tart cherry. They are also tasty gelato toppings.
Bring me some sweet Pascal celery
I’ve only tasted it once in my life, but Pascal celery is a revelation: Soft, tender and sweet white stalks served simply in a vinaigrette.
In the early 1900s, Arvada was famous for celery buried in ditches after harvest for two months and shipped across the nation including to the White House for Christmas dinners. Over time, Pascal celery has largely disappeared from farms and menus. Boulder’s MASA Seed Foundation has revived the crop and has produced a harvest this year of sweet, “ditched” Pascal celery for the holidays, available this week at its farm stand.
Read more about Colorado’s celebrated celery history here.
Please fill stockings with local foods, snacks, meats and fresh produce
Don’t have time to shop around for local goodies? Luckily, the online Boulder Farmers Market is open year-round for pickup at various locations each week. Besides fresh local produce and meats, you can order Hinman hand pies, Westcliffe chevre with herbs de Provence, Boulder Valley Honey, Mountain Girl Pickles Corn Relish, Full Stop Bakery sourdough crackers, Bibamba chocolate, Havenly gluten-free breads and Little House of Tempeh sesame ginger strips. Check out the offerings for online ordering and pickup.
Reuniting with doro wat, injera and the joy of Ras Kassa’s Tsehay Hailu
Looking for a memorable dinner destination to enjoy with my son and his wife, we ticked through the roster of cuisines until I smiled and said: “Ras Kassa’s.”
My first experience with Ethiopian fare was in 1988 when Tsehay Hailu plopped some injera-wrapped kitfo into my mouth. Raised in Addis Ababa, she oversaw an odd, tiny Ethiopian roadside bar at the intersection of Highway 93 and Eldorado Springs Drive. Ras Kassa’s Ethiopian Restaurant migrated to several Boulder locations and has settled comfortably at 802 S. Public Road in Lafayette.
Walking into Ras Kassa’s recently, I saw Tsehay Hailu going table to table feeding guests and guiding them in the joy of hands-on fork-free dining.
She hugged us and we gabbed and grabbed bites of gomen (collard greens and potatoes) and yebeg alecha (lamb stew) with a steady supply of spongy bread. In an industry where the average restaurant barely lasts five years, Ras Kassa’s continues to shine because of the presence of Tsehay Hailu, the smiling embodiment of true hospitality.
Yet-to-open Boulder eatery already among America’s hottest restaurants of 2026
The 2026 opening date of Casa Juani has not been announced yet. Even so, Bon Appetit is already touting the new Boulder Spanish eatery from chefs Eduardo Valle Lobo and Kelly Jeun as one of “The 7 Best New Restaurants (in the U.S.A.) to Try This Winter.”
With locations in Boulder, Lyons and Louisville, Moxie Bread Co. is bringing its fresh milled heirloom breads, pastries, sandwiches and espresso drinks to Longmont’s Cheese Importers, which had hosted a pre-pandemic in-house café.
According to Moxie Bread Co. owner Phillipa Clark, the takeout counter will open before Christmas.
“It seems like such a natural fit for us. An awesome, kind family runs Cheese Importers. They stock an incredible range of products, and they have curated that space beautifully,” Clark says. On sunny days, seating is available in the shop’s backyard.
“PIEOWA: A Piece of America,” a new documentary celebrating the myriad ways pie is woven into Iowa’s culture, will be shown January 24 at The Dairy Center. Director Beth Howard is an author and self-described “pie evangelist” who ran a pie stand while living in the famous American Gothic House. Pie will be served. Tickets here.
Get your tickets now for the always sold-out CineChef competition and tasting on April 9, 2026. The event opens the annual Boulder International Film Festival. This year’s CineChef theme: Badass Women Chefs. Make reservations here.
“It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like ‘What about lunch?'” — From “Winnie the Pooh” by A.A. Milne
Want more Boulder bites?
New Boulder cocktail bar Siren brings a nautical, East Coast tavern vibe to South Boulder
The team behind Jungle has opened a martini-forward neighborhood bar with tinned seafood, vintage-ship decor and a family-friendly feel. Continue reading…