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A new restaurant drawing diners to a Boulder business park joins other fresh eateries as we approach Memorial Day weekend and the tastes of the Boulder Creek Fest. Plus: We offer a pasta with green garlic recipe, and a local cafe server talks about the unseen toll of high gas prices.
— John Lehndorff
Send questions, quibbles and local food and dining news to nibbles@boulderreportinglab.org.
Flatirons Business Park is known as a center of Boulder industrial innovation as well as street after street of identical, faceless beige buildings. The area has never been a dining destination for locals.
That all may be changing thanks to the opening of East & Co. at 2100 Central Avenue.
“We are in a unique position because East & Co. is designed to be an amenity for people who work nearby, as well as a full-service restaurant and bar for people in Boulder,” according to Greg Topel, co-owner of the facility with Josh Dinar’s Working Title Food Group, which includes River & Woods.
Topel previously worked in Boulder at The Med, Bramble & Hare and Via Perla.
The unassuming building is fronted by an expansive shaded patio area with views of the Flatirons and the foothills. The huge, airy interior is divided into work-friendly seating areas, a coffee bar, a cocktail bar and a shop offering goods from the Boulder Farmers Market, as well as grab-and-go sandwiches and heat-and-eat dinners to take home.
Widely experienced Executive Chef Libry Darusman oversees an opening menu at East & Co. that offers options from breakfast through dinner, plus cocktails.
“We are focused on using high-quality ingredients and local suppliers, and sourcing from farmers. The kitchen is doing everything, including dressings from scratch,” Darusman says.
Breakfast options include OZO espresso drinks, egg burritos, Moe’s Bagels and pastries from Denver’s acclaimed Black Box Bakery.
Sandwiches, including a New England clam roll, charcuterie boards and salads, fill out the lunch roster. Late-day dining choices range from small plates of savory tapas like whipped feta, lamb kofta skewers, chorizo-stuffed dates and croquettes to grass-fed steaks.
East & Co. adds a sorely needed “third space,” where folks who live and work nearby can eat, meet and hold meetings and events. It joins East Boulder’s growing roster of destinations including Blackbelly, Ironwood Grille and the new Odd Rabbit.
Hip sandwich fills the need at retro Johnson’s Station
The Korean fried chicken sandwich served at Johnson’s Station in Longmont makes a splendid lunch. The chicken is brined in red curry buttermilk before being coated with crumbs and fried super-crispy. The kitchen dips it in spicy gochujang sauce and puts it on a griddled brioche bun, served with freshly cut, thin truffle fries.
When we recently visited for lunch, we also sampled tuna-topped avocado toast and ham croquettes.
The Station’s menu also includes jerk chicken with coconut herb rice, a pulled pork sandwich, and scratch-made milkshakes made with Denver’s super-creamy Little Man ice cream.
Lunch also gave me a chance to appreciate how the historic Johnson’s Station has been preserved with neon signs and vintage gas pumps, as well as being updated and expanded with ground-floor and rooftop patios.
The cocktail selections include the Kerouac Martini, a nod to the fact that the Station made a fictional appearance in the novelist’s 1950s classic, “On the Road.”
Wellness Counter, The Vault and The Turn open
Dry-aged fish and upscale sushi are the focus at the newly opened Wellness Counter at 1117 Pearl Street, the former site of High Country and Mork & Mindy’s New York Deli. The restaurant features a 12-seat chef’s counter.
Crab cakes, burgers, Detroit-style pizza and soft-serve ice cream are on the menu at The Vault, recently opened at 26 Peak to Peak Highway in Nederland.
The fare at Louisville’s Coal Creek Golf Course has been upgraded with the opening of The Turn at Coal Creek. Open to the public, The Turn is operated by Chris Rubeck, who launched Ruby Ru’s Street Eatery in Lafayette.
Coming soon: Longmont Indian Kitchen, 838 North Coffman Street.
$5 gas is tipping point for Boulder server
When she delivered my lunch with a smile, I asked my server how things were going given the economy:
“I’ve been a coffee shop waitress for 30 years in Boulder. I live up Magnolia Road in the mountains. It’s costing me $20 or $30 more than a couple of months ago just to commute to work in Boulder. I don’t get that back in pay or tips. My regulars tell me that the cost of gas and food has them cutting back on dining out.”
Be sure to celebrate National Waitstaff Day on May 21 by leaving a larger-than-usual tip.
Other food news odds and ends
In Food & Wine’s recently released Global Tastemakers Awards, Johnny Curiel’s Alma Fonda Fina took second place on the list of the top restaurants in the United States. Its sister eatery is Boulder’s Cozobi Fonda Fina.
Takeout junk like plastic utensils, napkins and condiment packets will only be available at restaurants by request, thanks to the Skip the Stuff (SB26-146) bill recently passed by the Colorado legislature.
Creekfest fare, from wurst to scoops
The annual Boulder Creek Festival, May 22-25, includes local food vendors like Tiffin’s India Cafe, Sweet Action Ice Cream, El Cubanaso, Opa Greek Eats and Bohemian Wurst.
Ironton Distillery, Two Steppin Hard Ginger Beer, Asher Brewing, Crooked Stave Brewing and others will be pouring at the Creekside Beer Fest May 23 and 24. Tickets are available here.
Tickets for the debut Colorado Pizza Festival on Sept. 15 in Longmont are on sale. The festival will offer tastes from more than 20 local pizzerias, with proceeds benefiting Boulder County food banks.
(Get your upcoming food event, festival or class listed free on Boulder Reporting Lab using the self-submission form here.)
Market Meals: Getting to know your alliums
Green garlic, garlic scapes, green onions and chives are filling baskets at local farmers markets. We tell you how to use them and offer a recipe for pasta with fresh spinach and sauteed green garlic.
“It was beautiful in Longmont. … And after a refreshing sleep filled with cobwebby dreams of my past life in the East I got up, washed in the station men’s room, and strode off, fit and slick as a fiddle, and got me a rich thick milkshake at the roadhouse to put some freeze in my hot, tormented stomach.” – From “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac
Want more Boulder bites?
Odd Rabbit opens in Boulder with sushi, ramen and more from Michelin-recognized chefs
The team behind Denver’s glo Noodle House expands to East Boulder with a broader, more experimental menu designed for sharing. Continue reading…
Nibbles: Ironwood Bar and Grille brightens east-side dining at Boulder’s Flatirons Golf Course
From Ironwood’s debut to Half Fast Subs’ comeback and King Arthur’s pop-up, a wave of openings, classes and festivals is reshaping Boulder County’s dining calendar this fall. Continue reading…
Check out recent editions of Nibbles:
🥐 The Boulder bakery race we desperately need
🌶️ A summer of Colorado food festivals worth the trip
🍣 New sushi bars hit Boulder, The Merc fights to survive, and peach trouble
