Welcome to Nibbles, my weekly food newsletter. Look for Nibbles every Tuesday around lunchtime in your inbox for a smorgasbord of Boulder County food and restaurant news, dining tips and cooking hacks.
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Face it: You’re stuck in a dining rut, eating at the same handful of eateries month after month. You are not alone. Today’s Nibbles is devoted to events and opportunities that will help you expand your dining universe. Plus: A highly anticipated Spanish eatery opening, a soup-and-sandwich duel, a Boulder CSA party and some dining wisdom.
If you have Boulder food questions, restaurant suggestions or quibbles, send them here: nibbles@boulderreportinglab.org.
— John Lehndorff
Nearly 30% of Americans experience “menu anxiety,” or the fear of trying new restaurants. Nervous diners want to be adventurous but often fear wasting money, not liking the fare and facing weird menus.
No wonder they only frequent the same half-dozen Boulder restaurants that are familiar and safe.
As someone who visits new eateries almost every week, I feel their pain. How do you know if a new Boulder bistro, trattoria or café can be added to your “like” list?
Boulder Reporting Lab offers the following buffet of events, guides and openings designed to expand your “like” list.
Restaurant week revives date night options
Boulder hasn’t had a restaurant week since First Bite ended in 2024, but a bunch of Boulder County eateries are participating in Denver Restaurant Week, March 6-15. Local restaurants offering multi-course meals from $25 to $55 include Vinca, Dagabi Cucina and Cafe Aion in Boulder, and Via Toscana, Bittersweet, Melting Pot, Por Wine House and Jasmine Bar in Louisville.
For instance, one Denver Restaurant Week menu at Jill’s Restaurant features mushroom arancini, short rib bourguignon and sticky toffee pudding with whiskey brickle ice cream. At the Boulder Cork, the special meal can start with a classic wedge salad, move next to lobster ravioli and finish with prime rib. Complete menus here.
Plan ahead: Longmont Restaurant Week is scheduled for Oct. 2-11.
Stroll and sample Boulder food and drink
River and Woods, Leaf Vegetarian, Busaba Thai, Pasta Jay’s, T/aco and Centro are among the eateries offering bites during the Taste of Pearl on March 29. Attendees will stroll Pearl Street to 16 shops for tastes paired with local beverages from Dry Land Distillers, Boulder Spirits, TooSteppin and Abbott & Wallace. Limited tickets here.
Denver eats: A trustworthy dining guide
I don’t recommend most dining guides because I don’t trust the companies, people or bots who assemble them. They often have an underlying agenda, don’t actually visit the restaurants and include inaccurate info. Sometimes there are financial connections to certain eateries.
Ruth Tobias is one of Colorado’s wisest and most experienced restaurant critics … not to mention a witty writer. If you are looking for dining options in Denver, check out the free Eater Denver guide penned by Ruth Tobias here.
Sancho’s menudo made my morning
I’ve always been a fan of the scratch-made food at Sancho’s Mexican Restaurant in Gunbarrel. Honestly, I’ve always ordered my comfort favorites: chile rellenos, burritos and tacos.
For a recent birthday breakfast, my easy choice was tamales smothered in green chile with eggs. My friend ordered a big white bowl of steaming menudo with corn tortillas, lime wedges and onions on the side.
I love classic Mexican soups like caldo de res (beef soup) and caldo de 7 mares (jammed with seafood), but I’ve always been a tad squeamish about menudo: chile broth swimming with chunks of cow stomach. Many menudos I’ve sampled were a little too chewy and the flavor too funky for me.
Sancho’s menudo with a squeeze of lime is exceptional, with a wonderful fiery broth and tender, mild pieces of meat. What a perfect warmer on a cold winter morning. Better yet, it calmed an old food prejudice.
One way to explore Mexican soups is to belly up to Denver’s Bowl of ‘Zole on March 26, featuring pozole variations from Work & Class, Luchador Taco, El Chingon Bistro, Tamayo and Palenque Cocina, plus tequila, mezcal and other spirits. Tickets here.
Spanish cuisine celebrated at Casa Juani
Chef-owners Eduardo Valle Lobo and Kelly Jeun will open Casa Juani on Feb. 26 at 901 Pearl St. The eagerly anticipated restaurant from the former Frasca chefs will focus on Spanish regional fare. Casa Juani’s highlights include a marisqueria — a raw seafood bar — an extensive Spanish wine list, Basque cider on draft and a chef’s table.
Hapa Sushi tops OpenTable list
OpenTable, the online restaurant reservation platform, tracks the most-booked eateries in Boulder County. Hapa Sushi Grill is currently No. 1, followed by the Melting Pot, Cozobi Fonda Fina, Japango, Acreage, Salt, Stella’s Cucina and others. However, only restaurants listed on OpenTable are included. Complete list here.
Side dishes: A reader alerted me to add Holy Crepe to my Feb. 17 list of local French cafés operated by French immigrants. The tiny shop at the corner of Arapahoe Avenue and Broadway is owned by Eric and Lisa Albuisson.
We lift a tea toast to the remarkable Rett Ertl who died on Jan. 30. During the 1980s, Ertl and his wife, Tania, were instrumental in bringing the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse to Boulder.
Opening
TooSteppin Saloon is open at 4843 Pearl St. (formerly J&L Distilling), offering Australian-style hard ginger beer brewed from fresh gingerroot.
Closing
History nerds are hopeful someone will surface who was there the night when Robin Williams reportedly worked front door security at the World Famous Dark Horse. If you have stories to tell, join Historic Boulder and the Museum of Boulder Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. at the Dark Horse until the lights go out on March 14.
The gatherings are free, but you’ll want to spill one last pitcher of Coors and order some Rocky Mountain oysters and a 1/3-pound Royale Burger with American cheese.
Slow Food turns CSA Fair into a party
Slow Food Boulder County will celebrate National CSA Day by hosting a local food party on Feb. 27 at Boulder’s Elks Lodge with food trucks and a cash bar. This CSA fair is like a speed-dating session to secure a season’s worth of fresh local food. Farmers from Aspen Moon, Cure, Friends Farm, Golden Hoof, MASA Seed, Ollin Farms, Red Wagon and others will be there to offer various kinds and sizes of CSA shares. Details here.
The Boulder Farmers Market has also compiled a handy directory of local CSAs. Sign up! Many CSAs sell out long before spring.
Boulder’s “M’m! M’m! Good!” duel
Boulder’s second annual soup-and-sandwich face-off pits perennial contenders, Lindsay Shaw, the muscle behind Lindsay’s Boulder Deli, versus Marcy Miller, powerhouse owner of Organic Sandwich Company. Through the end of March, they offer their takes on a bite of Americana: grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. A portion of sales benefits CASA Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children and Blue Sky Bridge, Boulder County’s Child Advocacy Center.
(Get your upcoming food event, festival or class listed free on Boulder Reporting Lab using the self-submission form here.)
Hey, Nibbles reader: Which Boulder bistros love local artists?
Most of the fine art that Boulderites actually see is hung in local restaurants, cafés and bars. Which eatery does the best job of displaying local artists? Let us know at nibbles@boulderreportinglab.org.
“Dine (verb): to eat a good dinner in good company, and eat it slow. In dining, as distinguished from mere feeding, the palate and stomach never ask the hand, ‘What are you giving us?'” — From “The Devil’s Dictionary” by Ambrose Bierce (1911)
Want more Boulder bites?
How Boulder’s Kimbal Musk appears in the newly released Epstein files
Newly released court documents and emails reference Musk’s social and personal connections to Jeffrey Epstein and people in his orbit. Continue reading…
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…
Check out recent editions of Nibbles:
🇫🇷 A taste tour de France — without leaving Boulder County
🍫 Chocolate meets mushrooms in Boulder
🍲 Saigon District One brings Boulder County a taste of Vietnam